You can't keep a good man -- or in this case, a good pitcher -- down.
It got hairy early for surging Mets right-hander Nolan McLean during Thursday afternoon's series finale with the Detroit Tigers. With two outs in the top of the first inning, tall lefty Gage Workman launched a McLean sweeper over the left-center fence for a three-run homer.
McLean wasn't fazed. In his words, he "just had to find what was working."
Throughout the next six innings, the 24-year-old righty reminded everyone why he's considered one of the most promising young pitchers in the game. Even factoring in the early mistake, McLean's final stats were impressive. Seven full innings, seven strikeouts, six hits, and three walks across 93 pitches is the type of efficient line aces record and bullpens greatly appreciate.
By the time McLean left the mound in the middle of the seventh inning, the game was already out of reach with the Mets leading 7-3. Juan Soto led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo shot to deep center to punctuate that fact.
As McLean carved up the Tigers' lineup, the Mets' batting order burst into life. Carson Benge, Marcus Semien, A.J. Ewing, and the aforementioned Soto all stepped up with two hits apiece for a combined 4 RBI to help secure the three-game sweep over the Tigers, 9-4 the final score.
Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza only needed to call on his bullpen twice today, opening the eighth inning with Tobias Myers and handing the ball to Craig Kimbrel to handle the ninth. Excluding a home run hit by Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler off of Myers, the two relievers didn't allow a baserunner.
McLean attributed his mid-game bounce back to a conscious decision to "get creative."
Breaking down his performance today, one aspect which certainly stands out is McLean decided to "mix in the cutters in counts [he] normally wouldn't throw them a ton."
That cutter (8 percent usage) is the least-used in McLean's six-pitch arsenal, behind his sinker (36 percent), four-seam fastball (18 percent), sweeper (16 percent), curveball (12 percent), and changeup (9 percent). Today, 16 of McLean's 93 pitches were cutters, more than double his usual rate.
That uptick supplanted the usage of his sweeper and changeup, which were both down during his outing.
With the team looking to extend their three-game win streak against the cross-town rival Yankees, McLean remarked that the Mets "know how good [their] clubhouse is, and that's all that matters... [they're] not worried about anybody else."
His next start is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, the second game of a four-game road series against a familiar NL East foe, the Washington Nationals.
Mighty Miguel Vargas tries to lead the White Sox to a winning record … yes, in May … tonight. | (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Sorry everybody, but stepdad David is in charge tonight. You will not be getting a detailed preview. What I can promise you is a screengrab of the Statcast Game Preview, ice cream before dinner and no bedtime. Don’t tell your mom.
Tonight it’s Anthony Kay on the mound for the White Sox, who hasn’t been the most steady of starters but has managed to justify his position thus far. A bigger challenge for the White Sox await in Kris Bubic, who has acquitted himself to a 3.50 ERA on this thus far massively disappointing Royals season.
As if Derek Hill isn’t already ruling the Vibes Chart on the White Sox, he gets the start in center tonight and has hit Bubic extremely well (in yes, an extremely small sample size).
First pitch is 6:40 P.M. CST. You can watch the game wherever you normally watch it. I’ll be watching on CHSN and then I’ll be back with you for the recap. Talk about the game below!
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 13: Carter Jensen #22 of the Kansas City Royals safely slides into second base in front of Colson Montgomery #12 of the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning at Rate Field on May 13, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jayden Mack/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Royals are back at it tonight on the South Side of Chicago versus the White Sox. Entering tonight’s contest, the Royals are 19-24 and tied for third in the American League Central. The Pale Hose, meanwhile, are 21-21 and in second place in the AL Central, just a game-and-a-half behind the inevitable Guardians.
Chicago’s won both games of this current series, taking the opener Tuesday night 6-5 before winning last night’s game, also 6-5. What are the odds of another 6-5 Chicago victory tonight? I don’t know the answer, that’s why I’m asking.
Last season, the Royals smoked the White Sox in their season series, going 10-3 while outscoring Chicago 61-37.
This season, that has not happened. Instead, through six games, the White Sox have the upper hand, going 4-2, including a four-game split at Kauffman in April, while outscoring the Royals by a single run, 20-19.
It sure would be nice for the Royals to win this evening. 20-24 isn’t great but it’s a lot easier on the eyes than 19-25.
And, yes, it’s somewhat personal: I have yet to write a winning recap for the Royals as they’ve lost every Thursday on which they’ve played in 2026. They are 0-5 on Thursdays. Was it something I said?
Ah, yes, with the lefty on the mound, must sit Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone while starting (and again batting third!) Lane Thomas.
Let’s check on Thomas’ 2026 splits. As we all know, he was signed to face lefthanders, so by Gawd, he’s going to face lefthanders. How’s he batting against them? .235/.409/.353 with a double, a homer, 10 walks, and seven strikeouts. Those are not the numbers of a) someone signed to hit lefthanders nor b) someone who should be batting third.
Lane Thomas, please make me regret those comments. I’d love to eat my words.
Now, the White Sox, who face fellow southpaw Kris Bubic:
Hey, Randal Grichuk gets the start! Thought about him the other day. When he started for the Cardinals, it looked like he and fellow young outfielder Stphen Piscotty would be stars for St. Louis for years to come. Unfortunately, as happens more often than not in baseball, that didn’t come to fruition for either player.
The White Sox are Grichuk’s seventh team since leaving the Cardinals, which includes, of course, a spell with the Royals last year. He has collected over 200 career home runs and more than 1,000 hits in his 13-year career. Overall, a solid career, despite not reaching stardom.
ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 11: Blake Snell #7 of the Los Angeles Dodgers poses for a photo with Zach Neto #9 prior to the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Monday, August 11, 2025 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Tom Wilson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Had things gone according to plan, Friday would be Blake Snell’s 2026 debut with the Dodgers, who open a series against the Angels on Friday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. But instead this will be Snell’s second start of the season.
Jack Kochanowicz starts for the Angels, with his 3.97 ERA and 5.00 xERA through eight starts. He’s coming off his worst game of the season, with seven runs (six earned) allowed in four innings against the Blue Jays on Saturday in Toronto. Before that, the right-hander had a 2.17 ERA in his previous six starts.
ATLANTA, GA - MAY 13: Mauricio Dubón #14 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the eighth inning during the game against the Chicago Cubs at Truist Park on May 13, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves have already clinched the series win against the Cubs in their second-consecutive high-profile series. Now they’re going for the really loud statement of pulling off a sweep against the Cubs. Ben Brown and the rest of the North Siders aren’t likely to just roll over, so this should be another closely-fought contest between the two. Hopefully we’ll be talking about a Braves win once the end of the night comes around. For now, settle in and and enjoy yourselves while the game is happening.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 14: Mitch Garver #18 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates after hitting a two run home run against the Houston Astros during the fourth inning at Daikin Park on May 14, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In a day when the Mariners lost their starting catcher with Cal Raleigh going on the IL, Mitch Garver stepped into the role and had his best game of the season – on both sides of the ball – in an 8-3 victory. With that win, the Mariners not only secured a series win over the Astros, but guaranteed a winning season record over their AL West rivals.
It wasn’t just Garver contributing to the offense, though. The Mariners batters had seven extra-base hits, setting a season high, and seven of their eight runs came with two outs. They had traffic in all but two innings, pounding out 11 hits, and struck out just six times while walking five times.
The Mariners offense staked Castillo to a nice three-run lead early, thanks to a leadoff Brendan Donovan double and then some two-out production: Randy Arozarena walked and Luke Raley got a fastball on the plate from Astros starter Mike Burrows that he did not miss:
I do not know why, in a 1-2 count, after Raley had swung and missed at a changeup previously and then fouled off another, Burrows then thought the next move was “fastball up in the zone to a man with arms that look like Douglas firs stapled to his shoulders” but I’m not upset about it.
For a moment, it looked like Luis Castillo was going to give all those runs right back. He got his first two outs before walking Yordan Álvarez, which, understandable, but then walked Isaac Paredes on five not particularly-close pitches. His command wasn’t much better to Christian Walker, although he was able to get Walker to fly out harmlessly to end the inning. But it came at the cost of his pitch count: 23 pitches in the first inning alone on a day when the Mariners bullpen was perilously short-handed.
The Astros had a little more life in the bottom of the second, but Castillo was bailed out by a baserunning error by Braden Shewmake, trying to make it from second to third on a Cam Smith infield hit right at J.P. Crawford (and then maybe bailed out again on a challenge that went the Mariners’ way). Castillo got out of that inning, and after that, seemed to lock in. He did give up a solo homer to Álvarez in the third, because Yordan gonna Yordan, but also struck out three in that inning, and then worked a clean fourth – again with some help from Garver, who made a clutch challenge to overturn ball three into an inning-ending strike three – and a clean fifth, this time with some help from a nifty snag by Cole Young.
Meanwhile, the Mariners hitters continued to stack offense for Castillo. With J.P. Crawford on board but two outs in the fourth, Burrows hung a slider to Garver in an 0-2 count—which again, feels like a bad idea when in his previous at-bat he’d hit a slider hard but straight to center, but hey, I’m not the professional here – and this time, Garver did everything the same (literally the exact same exit velo, 99.1, and actually ten feet shorter via Statcast – 369nice vs. 379) but yanked the pitch into the Crawford Boxes instead.
Rewatching that, I feel like 369 feels short as a measurement, but also, I delight in Mariners hitters making the homer-inflating Crawford Boxes work for them, so it’s a quandary. Perhaps as a certified Tall Person I should consult José Altuve on what it feels like to be short.
That homer gave the Mariners and Castillo some breathing room, but Cole Young decided to crack the window even further in the sixth after the two batters ahead of him had reached with two outs – Dominic Canzone on a single and Garver on a walk. Young fell behind 0-2 but laid off a changeup and a slider (good Cole!) until he got a sinker right on the plate he could smash into right field. A little adventurous fielding from Astros right fielder Cam Smith allowed seventh-percentile-sprint speed Garver to score all the way from first without a slide. (NB: If you’re watching this highlight at work or in front of delicate ears, mute it, because Burrows swears loudly and distinctly right after this pitch gets hit.)
That healthy lead let Dan Wilson roll with Castillo into the sixth, and it looked like it was going to be another inning of smooth sailing for The Rock despite a one-out Álvarez single. Again, Garver came up with a clutch challenge, flipping a count for Paredes from 2-0 to 1-1; Paredes would eventually strike out. But then Christian Walker refused to just strike out, instead working a nine-pitch walk. Trying to get one last out and maybe a quality start for Castillo, the Mariners opted to leave him in, and he left a fastball on the plate for Braden Shewmake to send to that tricky left field wall, scoring both runners. Nick Davila, making just his fifth big-league appearance, was called in to stop the bleeding and did, getting Brice Matthews to ground out.
Davila went on to deliver a scoreless seventh, working around a walk, and Domingo Gonzalez – now given a five-run lead after a J.P. Crawford RBI double in the eighth – worked around a leadoff double to, who else, Álvarez, and then capped things off in the ninth. Of his six outs, Gonzalez got two strikeouts and four ground-ball outs, which seems like a pretty useful reliever even if the Mariners’ infield defense is shaky on the left-hand side.
The Castillo-Garver battery isn’t the matchup most Mariner fans are most excited about this season, but today the supposed weak links of the roster gave what they had to this victory: Castillo, whose velocity was up a full tick on his fastball, hanging in there for 108 pitches; and Garver, calling a good game for Castillo (who doubled his changeup rate today, with some success – two of his six strikeouts were on the pitch), winning back strikes with savvy ABS challenges, showing patience at the plate, and punishing the mistake pitch he saw. Add in the bullpen performance from Davila and Gonzalez, two pitchers buried in the pile this spring training, and you have a solid win in a game that might have looked like a loss on paper. It’s especially weird because I thought this recap would be all about Brendan Donovan, who had three hits and fell a homer short of the cycle today, but the 2-4 hitters behind him today combined for just one hit and five strikeouts (Randy did walk twice, not trying to take anything away from ArOBParena). Huh, maybe RBI is an important stat.
Jorge Polanco hasn’t played a game for the Mets since April 14 against the Los Angeles Dodgers due to a wrist issue as well as a lingering Achilles injury.
Around that time, about a month ago now, Polanco received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his Achilles to try to help aid the healing process, reports The Athletic’s Will Sammon.
While the shot has made the injury feel better for Polanco, he’s still not fully healthy and his timeline to re-join the team remains unknown. David Stearns said on Tuesday that Polanco needs to be “asymptomatic” before the Mets can even think about setting a possible return date for the veteran.
“We want to have more good days than the days I don’t feel so good,” Polanco told The Athletic. “That’s when I know I’ll be ready to go.”
The 32-year-old, who signed a two-year, $40 million deal in the offseason after a great year with the Seattle Mariners, has only appeared in 14 games for New York and is hitting .179 this season with one home run.
“It is tough to deal with, but at the same time, I can’t control that,” Polanco told the Athletic. “I wish I could because then I could be on the field every day… but what else can we do but try to stay positive, keep going and come back.”
In the middle of Thursday's game at Citi Field, the sun came out for the Mets -- literally and metaphorically.
Following a dreary morning and early afternoon where the tarp didn't come off the field until the first pitch was getting close -- and after Nolan McLean and the Mets found themselves in an immediate 3-0 hole -- New York erupted.
They hit five home runs, including the first big league homer for 21-year-old rookieA.J. Ewing.
The red-hot Carson Benge was in the middle of things again, going 2-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored.
And McLean, who got jumped for a three-run homer in the first inning, didn't allow any Tigers to cross the plate after that. On a day where there was constant traffic on the bases and his stuff (especially his two-seamer) wasn't really there, McLean showed moxie while getting through seven innings and emotion as he struck out the last two batters he faced.
The result was a series sweep, with the Mets erasing deficits in all three wins.
On Tuesday, New York trailed 2-0 before pounding out 10 runs. In Ewing's debut, he provided an immediate spark, ripping a triple, drawing three walks, scoring two runs, and driving in two more. Meanwhile, Benge had two hits, an RBI, and a run scored.
On Wednesday, the Mets fell behind 2-0 again and didn't tie it until the seventh inning. From there, the bullpen locked things down until Benge delivered a walk-off hit in the 10th -- driving in Ewing.
On Thursday, the Mets were down 3-0 before Ewing homered to cut it to 3-1 and Brett Baty went yard to tie things. From there, the offense exploded, with Mark Vientos,Juan Soto, and Marcus Semien also going deep.
May 14, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing (9) celebrates his solo home run against the Detroit Tigers with right fielder Carson Benge (3) during the third inning at Citi Field. The home run was the first of Ewing's MLB career. / Brad Penner - Imagn Images
The Mets are still just 18-25. They have a long way to go.
But they are 8-4 over their last 12 games, and the baby Mets (plus McLean, Soto, the pitching staff, and others) are giving us a glimpse of what this team can still be in 2026 -- and beyond.
That caveat was the offense, which was a league-worst unit as recently as a few days ago.
And despite their showings on Tuesday and Thursday, it's fair to believe the offense will have to grind things out for the foreseeable future since the team is still without Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., and Francisco Alvarez.
The Mets got good news on Lindor before the game, the day after he had a follow-up MRI on his calf. Manager Carlos Mendoza said "it's getting better, showing signs of healing," but added that there is still no timetable for Lindor to resume baseball activities.
But without Lindor and three other key offensive cogs, the Mets' offense has come to life.
Speaking after the game, Mendoza did not mince words when admitting that it felt like "the game was over" earlier this season when the Mets fell behind by a couple of runs. That isn't the case anymore.
"Now, we're down three in the first inning, you still feel good," Mendoza explained. "You could just have that sense in the dugout. Sure enough, we get that homer. In general, the pitching is gonna keep us in games -- they've been doing that the whole year.
May 14, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Nolan McLean (26) pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Citi Field. / Brad Penner - Imagn Images
"And it's just good to see the guys fight back. They're resilient, and they're not gonna give up. They're not gonna put their heads down. They're gonna keep going. That's who we are."
Regarding Ewing and Benge, Mendoza said they have brought "contagious" energy. But it hasn't just been them. Baty has been better at the plate recently, Vientos has been providing power (and has his OPS for the season up to .720), and Semien had a big day on Thursday as he reached base three times.
More will be needed, especially from Bo Bichette.
But as the Mets wait for Bichette to come around and their injured players to return, they've shown that they have what it takes to hang in there.
So much of it will come down to the pitching, which has featured McLean, Clay Holmes, and Freddy Peralta performing like All-Stars and Christian Scott starting to re-establish himself. There's also a chance Jonah Tong, who has found his footing in Triple-A, could be up sooner rather than later and add another element to the rotation.
As far as the bullpen, Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, and Huascar Brazoban have all been lights out recently.
When the Mets fell to 10-21, it felt like their season was in danger of slipping away, but it also felt like anything that could've gone wrong had gone wrong.
Yes, the offense was struggling badly, but there were also extenuating things. That included the injuries (especially one that kept Soto out for three weeks), the absurd travel schedule (three trips to the West Coast), and the awful, often extremely cold conditions the Mets were playing in regularly.
With all of those things in the rearview, the season has stabilized, and there's an energy around the team that wasn't there a few weeks ago.
Things are still tenuous and the Mets will need to grind it out until they get healthy, but it feels like a corner has been turned.
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers got a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first inning Thursday night, and they put a runner in scoring position in three of the next four innings. Over that same time period, the Giants had two hits: One at 71 mph and the next at 73 mph.
And yet, the final matchup of this four-game series was tied up heading into the sixth inning. The Giants had a chance to steal one, but those two bloops ended up being their only hits. The offense fell flat Thursday and they fell 5-2, finishing with a series split after winning the first two games.
With Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts getting the night off, Will Smith led off — and he blasted a sinker out to right-center. The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead an inning later, but the Giants tied it up in the fifth when Teoscar Hernandez misplayed a Jung Hoo Lee bloop into an inside-the-park homer.
Hernandez made up for it an inning later, lining his third hit in as many at-bats to put two runners on and end Landen Roupp’s night. Matt Gage has been a magician in the middle innings this year, but after a strikeout of Dalton Rushing, he gave up a two-run single to pinch-hitter Alex Call.
That was more than enough against the Giants, who had plenty of big moments in the four-game series but left town eight games under .500.
Jung Hoo History
Lee blooped an 0-2 pitch into the left field corner with two outs in the fifth and Hernandez appeared to think it was going to bounce off the dirt and into the seats for a ground rule double. Instead, the ball hit the padding and rolled all the way to the left field wall, and Lee never broke stride. Third base coach Hector Borg was waving him all the way and Lee slid in safely ahead of a high throw from Miguel Rojas.
Amazingly, it was the first inside-the-park homer for the Giants at Dodger Stadium, which was built in 1962. It was Lee’s first inside-the-parker in the big leagues and the first by a Giant since Patrick Bailey’s memorable walk-off last July. There have been a few at Oracle Park, but Lee became just the ninth San Francisco Giant to hit one on the road. The last Giant to hit one against the Dodgers was Larry Herndon off Fernando Valenzuela at Candlestick Park in 1981.
Officially, Lee’s third homer of the season left the bat at 73.2 mph and traveled 225 feet. He made it around the bases in 15.2 seconds.
Landen in L.A.
Until the single from Call, it was looking like Roupp would escape with one of the grindiest outings of the year. He had just one clean inning and it felt like there was a runner in scoring position for just about every pitch he threw, but he kept getting strikeouts when he needed them. Smith went down with two on in the second and Roupp got Kyle Tucker with a runner on third and two outs in the fifth.
The dangerous living finally caught up to him in the sixth. Roupp left with two runners on, and the single from Call brought them home. He was charged with four earned in 5 1/3, which raised his ERA to 3.49.
The New Kershaw?
Emmet Sheehan has a 3.99 ERA in three big league seasons and has battled inconsistency this year while pitching at the back of a star-studded rotation. But when he sees the Giants, he puts up the kinds of numbers that Clayton Kershaw did over more than a decade of pitching in rivalry games.
Sheehan’s MLB debut came against the Giants in 2023, and he pitched six no-hit innings before getting lifted with a high pitch count. In four subsequent appearances against them, he has allowed five hits in 22 innings. Overall, Sheehan has given up just four earned runs in 28 career innings against the Giants, and half of that total came on Lee’s bloop homer.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 14: Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Athletics during the sixth inning at Sutter Health Park on May 14, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Game Summary
Today’s game featured stingy starting pitching from both the A’s starter Lopez and the Cardinals Michael McGreevy. McGreevy lowers his ERA to 2.10. Jordan Walker and Victor Scott II hit homeruns, leading the Cardinals to a late 3-1 lead. However, the Cardinals bullpen was unable to hold the lead against the powerful A’s line-up. Stanek and Romero combined to give up 4 hits and 2 walks to gift a late 4-3 lead to the A’s.
But the Cardinals’ reputation for relentlessness held up when they mustered an HBP, an RBI single and an RBI double, all with two out in the ninth to regain the lead. O’Brien faces the meat of a powerful A’s line-up and wins the duel, closing out with a K on Rooker. Cardinals win 5-4.
Line-up (and roster) machinations
An early start today, followed by a long flight to St. Louis tonight (and a game tomorrow).
An RH heavy line-up against a soft-tossing LHP today. Fermin at first, Pozo back at DH, Herrera at C. Scott II, JJW and Gorman represent the LH side of the line-up.
Burly gets a day. He has needed one.
The early going
Cardinal pitchers continue to assist Nick Kurtz improve his power numbers as he leads off the game with a solo HR. Michael McGreevy and the Cardinals benefit significantly from the sequencing gods as the A’s fell just a triple short of the cycle in that first inning but left with only a 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals meanwhile came out swinging in their getaway day offensive game plan. I didn’t quite get this considering he is a pitcher who walks more than he strikes out. But a flight home awaits! Throughout four innings, only Pozo manages a dinker of a hit into centerfield. True to form, Lopez walks 3 and K’s but two. Otherwise, eleven outs on weak contact.
In the early going, McGreevy allowed a fair bit of traffic, battling his command. But battle he did, holding the A’s to that one run through the first four innings, working only 53 pitches, so efficiency was good.
The middle innings – 3rd time through the lineup
Scott II violates the 3rd time rule by hitting a HR in his second AB, tying the tame in the fifth. The top of the Cardinal line-up, coming up for that third time, continue to mishit. This pitcher is throwing strikes, so what are you gonna do? Ends up with a 10-pitch inning even with the HR.
In the bottom of the fifth, McGreevy strikes out Kurtz and we look up and realize that McGreevy has now set down nine in a row. I am sure he is going to say after the game that he did not have his best stuff, but boy he pitches.
In the sixth, the third time through rule hit Lopez quickly as Walker hits an oppo HR, then Winn golfs a pitch just off the ground back to the pitcher that turns into a pinball machine triple that ends up ruled a two separate throwing errors. The A’s do not play good D, that is for sure in this series. Gorman gets a little dinker for an RBI single. He seems to have a knack for that. Lopez exits without getting an out in the sixth with the Cardinals up 3-1. After Leiter enters, a warning track flyball and GIDP end the uprising. McGreevy works through the bottom of the sixth on 74 pitches. 3 K. 1 BB. 5 H. 1 R. Ho-hum.
The run to the barn (or the airport)
Ryne Stanek relieves McGreevy in the bottom of the seventh. A strikeout, homerun and walk define his day. Romero relieves him and they ding him for three singles in a row plus a later walk and regain a 4-3 lead before the uprising is quelled.
In the eighth, the Cardinals strand a one-out double, bookending it with three popouts, the final one on a pinch-hit appearance by Alec Burleson. Svanson gets the bottom of the eighth. He works a mostly uneventful inning, collecting 2 K’s.
In the ninth, a Pozo single and a Wetherholt HBP with two out lead to a key 2-out RBI single by Herrera to save the day for the moment. This tied the game 4-4. Walker drops a double down the right field line for another RBI. Seen here. A new pitcher hits Winn to load the bases but Gorman flies out to douse the heroics.
Taking a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth, Manager Oli Marmol called on Riley O’Brien to preserve the game, win a series and bring home a winning west coast road trip. A tall order against this team, in this park, with this bullpen. He gets to face Kurtz, Langeliers, Soderstrom and Rooker if anyone gets on. No big deal, right?
An HBP on Kurtz was an auspicious lead-off moment. A strikeout on yet another ABS challenge dispatches Langeliers, bringing up Soderstrom. Ole’ Abner did it again, huh? Soderstrom flies out. Rooker misses on three straight sweepers to close the deal. Good win. Relentless. Cards win 5-4. Svanson collects a win, O’Brien the save. Ho-hum.
Post-Game Notes
Will have to check, but it seems like the home plate ump got overturned by ABS an unusually high number of times. I think it was into double digits, and even then limited because the A’s ran out of challenges.
Can’t tell you how many times I had to change the title and the summary…
Check out The Feed for this Post ”Today on the Farm – Wednesday 5/14” for updates on MiLB action.
Home to St. Louis for an inter-league series against the Kansas City Royals.
Is it my imagination or does the Cardinal offense struggle on getaway day games? It must not be my imagination, because this sentence is part of the Game Recap template and I rarely erase it.
BOSTON – A cold rain fell all afternoon and into the early evening in this city Thursday. There was a lot of chatter that the final game of the series between the Phillies and Boston Red Sox would be postponed and made up at a later date.
Kyle Schwarber is glad the skies cleared and the game was able to be played after just a 22-minute delay. He loves hitting in Fenway Park.
And, of course, he loves winning.
Who doesn’t?
Schwarber belted a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning to break a scoreless tie and help spur the Phillies to a 3-1 win over the Red Sox.
The homer was Schwarber’s seventh in seven games. He led the NL with 56 last year and is leading the league again this season with 18.
Despite scoring just six runs in three games, the Phillies ended up winning the series. They have played five since Don Mattingly took over as manager and won them all to pull within two games of .500. They were 10 games under .500 when Mattingly took over on April 28.
“I think the biggest thing the whole series was the pitching,” Schwarber said. “It was lights out the whole series. Our pitchers were in the zone, keeping guys off balance, giving us opportunities. Even though we weren’t putting up many runs, they kept us in games and when we did get the lead they were able to keep it.
“The defense was big for us, too, in this series. We got a lot of big double plays and a play tonight with the infield in. It was a really good series with us not scoring many runs. That’s the way baseball is sometimes. You just have to find a way to win a game and we did a good job grinding and finding a way to win.”
Phillies pitching gave up just five runs in the three games. Starting pitchers Zack Wheeler, Andrew Painter and Jesus Luzardo allowed just two in 18 1/3 innings. Luzardo swapped zeroes with former teammate Ranger Suarez on Thursday night.
Schwarber helped the Phils win the first game of the series, 2-1, with a first-inning homer Tuesday night.
His two-run homer Thursday night, a blast to right, came on a 3-1 cutter from lefty reliever Tyler Samaniego with no outs. Trea Turner, who in the sixth inning made a run-saving play at shortstop, had led off the eighth inning with a single.
“I thought Trea just getting on base there to start that inning was huge to put a little pressure on them because he’s a guy they know will run,” Mattingly said. “It puts the pitcher in a little bit of a bind from the standpoint of trying to hold the runner and make pitches. It divides their attention just a little bit. So, him getting on was big, but obviously Schwarber’s still got to hit it. Lefty, righty, it doesn’t seem to matter. If they make mistakes, he’s such a good game-planner he knows what they’re trying to do.”
Lifetime at Fenway Park, Schwarber is hitting .333 (33 for 99) with eight homers and 18 RBIs in 29 games.
The starting pitching matchup was a good one, Luzardo against Suarez, the current Phillies lefty against the former Phillies lefty.
Neither pitcher allowed a run.
“It was definitely fun going against Ranger,” Luzardo said. “He’s like a brother to me. He made it tough on us.”
Luzardo bounced back from a poor start (six runs in three innings) against Colorado and delivered six shutout innings. He scattered four hits, walked one and struck out four.
Suarez did what he usually does – he mixed pitches, changed speeds, hit spots and limited hard contact over 5 1/3 shutout innings. He gave up four hits, all singles, walked one and struck out eight.
Suarez, who had not pitched since May 3 because of a tight right hamstring, was perfect through three innings and did not allow a hit until Alec Bohm led off the fifth with a single. The Phillies ended up loading the bases with two more singles in that inning, but Suarez deftly pitched out of trouble by striking out Edmundo Sosa swinging at a changeup and Turner looking at a cutter.
In a scoreless game, the Red Sox threatened in the bottom of the sixth. Luzardo allowed a leadoff double. A ground out pushed the runner to third with one out. The game remained scoreless thanks to Turner, who, while playing up with a man on third, made an excellent diving play in the hole to save a run.
Luzardo was sure to compliment Turner for the run-saving play after the inning.
“Big play,” Luzardo said. “I told him he was my hero. It was huge. It saved me. I put myself in a bad spot and the defense saved me.”
Two innings later, Turner sparked the offense with a leadoff single and Schwarber crushed his game-changing homer. Jose Alvarado and Jhoan Duran closed things out to complete the series win.
After the game, the Phillies headed to Pittsburgh, where they’ll go for another one this weekend.
May 14, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Kyle Harrison (52) has a mound visit with catcher Gary Sanchez (99) in the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Milwaukee jumped all over San Diego starter Griffin Canning early, scoring three runs in each of the first two innings, and Kyle Harrison turned in another gem to deliver a 7-1 victory. After taking two of three from the Padres, the Brewers have now won six of their last seven games.
Canning started the bottom of the first inning with a strikeout of Jackson Chourio, then completely fell apart, walking the next four batters to bring home the Brewers’ first run. With just one out, the Padres had already sent Ron Marinaccio to warm up in the bullpen. Luis Rengifo came to the plate with the bases still loaded, worked the count to 3-2, and grounded a two-run single into right field to give the Brewers an early 3-0 lead.
Canning stayed in the game and managed to retire Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick without allowing another run. He came back out for the second inning and allowed a single to David Hamilton on his second pitch, then threw the ball away on a pick-off attempt. The speedy Hamilton ended up on third, and after Chourio flew out Turang doubled into the gap in left-center to knock him in.
At this point, Marinaccio was ready, but Padres manager Craig Stammen left Canning in to face William Contreras, who hit an infield pop-up, and Gary Sánchez, who smoked another double into the same gap to bring Hamilton home. Andrew Vaughn singled to score Sánchez, and that would be all for Canning.
We have six runs and we're still in the second inning…
After Canning exited, each team was only able to manage a single run, so the game ended with a score of Brewers 7, Padres 1. Milwaukee scored again in the fourth on a Vaughn double and Rengifo single, while San Diego got their lone run in the ninth inning.
The Brewers’ pitching staff — led by Harrison — didn’t allow a single earned run all game. Harrison delivered a beauty, allowing just five hits and no walks over five shutout innings while striking out seven. He got into a couple jams, but rebounded each time to escape without allowing a run.
Milwaukee is now 6-2 when Harrison starts, and he still hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any outing this season. His off-speed stuff looked great, his fastball touched 98 mph, and he now has a 2.09 ERA on the season. For a Brewers team built around young pitching, Harrison has quickly become a dependable presence in the rotation and continues to put up elite numbers.
Also, for all the (justified) talk about the Brewers needing more production out of the left side of the infield, Luis Rengifo has been playing better and better. Rengifo was great this series — he now has seven hits in his last three games and has made a couple nice plays at third base. David Hamilton isn’t ever going to hit twenty home runs, but he’s gotten his on-base percentage up to .327 and leads the league in bunt base hits. When those two guys are contributing, the Brewers’ offense looks even better.
First pitch for tomorrow’s series opener against the Twins is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. Joe Ryan will go for Minnesota, while the Brewers have yet to announce a starter.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - MAY 14: JJ Bleday #22 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrates after hitting a 2RBI home run in the 7th inning against the Washington Nationals at Great American Ball Park on May 14, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds offense needed a blowout in the worst of ways, and boy, did it ever get one on Thursday in Great American Ball Park.
After having dropped a pair of regrettable games to the rebuilding Washington Nationals to already clinch losing yet another home series, the Reds exploded against Nats starter Foster Griffin – a lefty, at that – in a 15-1 thumping that felt like a lot of pent up aggression being unloaded on the baseballs.
JJ Bleday led the charge with a breakout game that Reds fans won’t soon forget. He slugged a pair of homers, including a huge 3-run one off the lefty Griffin, and later added an RBI single that left him with a 3 for 5 day with 2 dingers, 2 runs scored, and a blistering 6 RBI. Scooping him up off the non-tender heap and watching him develop immediately into an offensive force is the kind of thing that makes you think of one Scooter Gennett, though I do certainly hope a) I’m not getting too far ahead of myself and b) Bleday isn’t going to completely obliviate after just two good years.
Anyway, that was more than enough offense on the day given that ace Chase Burns was on the bump for the Reds. He delivered once again, firing another 6.0 IP of scoreless ball, this time with 7 K against just a pair of scattered hits and pair of walks. He needed 95 pitches to clear that, did so with ease, and turned the ball over to his bullpen with the game in-hand and a tidy 1.87 ERA on the season next to his name.
He’s a bona-fide ace, and he just made the 17th start of his big league career.
The Reds played add-on late after Joey Wiemer was summoned from the outfield to pitch, but that should only slightly diminish the contributions of Dane Myers (3-run dinger off Wiemer), Ke’Bryan Hayes (his second of an actual 2-hit game!), et al. It was a textbook get-right game, one that the Reds can hopefully channel as they take their talents up north to Cleveland for a weekend series against the Guardians.
DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 7: Jake McCarthy #31 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates after his eighth inning grand slam home run against the New York Mets at Coors Field on May 7, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
“We have to be better than this.”
I don’t know if Torey said this phrase the past week. Probably not.
Difference with previous seasons, in my opinion, is that this team was never bound for play-offs. The starting pitching has become worse over the years, with several big signings not living up to the money they signed for and an ace that never became one and does not seem to bounce back. Apart from the one in shackles.
The last time we had a decent bullpen is almost a decade ago. Ever since it is a patchwork, but an ugly one. Yes, many big money signings do not pan out, but there are also other big money signings that do pan out.
The batting lineup was terrific over the past seasons, and the Diamondbacks did not seize the opportunity to bank on it. With several sluggers gone, there is not much left.
The Diamondbacks cannot do better than this. Lovullo said “we will be fine” after the series against Texas. What is fine? A .500 team? Probably. I had them pegged below .500 at the beginning of the season, so .500 would be fine, I guess. A disappointment none the less. A lost season once again.
Whenever you feel down, at least you always have the Colorado Rockies to cheer yourself up.
No news in Colorado.
Maybe you don’t remember, but the Colorado Rockies made a change in their front office the past off-season. The son of owner Dick Monfort became team president, former Diamondback general manager Josh Byrnes came over from the Dodgers and was made general manager, though he will report to new president of baseball operations Paul Podesta, who came over from the NFL Cleveland Browns with a big thank you from Deshaun Watson.
They didn’t do much, as expected. They let starting pitcher Germán Márquez go, he signed with the Padres. Instead they signed a trio of starting pitchers to a one year contract: Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano. The batting lineup saw Thairo Estrada and Orlando Arcia leave, instead Willi Castro was signed to two-year contract, while the Rockies also traded for our Jake McCarthy, infielder Edouard Julien from the Twins and first baseman TJ Rumfield from the Yankees. On paper, you could say the Rockies became better, though it is hard to believe they could be anything worse than the 43-win team from 2025.
Manager Warren Schaeffer is allowed to continue to let the Rockies do whatever they want to do on the field.
It is easy to laugh about the Rockies, but they are not that far behind the Diamondbacks, at the moment: 3.5 games. Since May 4 the Diamondbacks have a batting line of .184/.281/.290, which is just 1 WRC better than the last placed batters of the San Diego Padres over the same time period. The Rockies are not that much better, by the way, with a .235/.291/.394 batting line.
Since May 1, the Rockies are 3-8, but have been able to get some runs in. At the moment of writing they are wrapping up a series against the Pirates, and scored 6 off Mitch Keller in 5.2 innings, who got the win in his matchup before that against the Diamondbacks, when we couldn’t muster more than 2 runs off him over 6 innings.
So, yeah, you could say that the doctor’s prescription is to take a trip to Denver, get some fresh air and get better, though given the state of the Diamondbacks, you might wonder if the Rockies are able to take advantage and make things look even worse for Arizona.
One to gladly do so will be Jake McCarthy, who obviously is enjoying a fine season so far in Denver. His .288/.356/.500 batting line and 129 OPS+ is one of the best on his team. Especially the past two weeks McCarthy has been on fire with a 217 WRC+. Jake is taking more walks and hitting the ball a lot harder than he did in Arizona. His BABIP is similar to that of two seasons ago, so it isn’t that surprising that McCarthy is enjoying success in Colorado. It is a bounce-back season like he did two years ago. Painful though that it is happening in Colorado, especially with the hindsight of having Alek Thomas designated for assignment recently.
Matchups.
Game #1 Fri 05/15 6:40 PM MST, Merrill Kelly (ARI) vs Kyle Freeland (COL).
The strike-percentage is still bollocks and BABIP said Merrill Kelly was lucky against what is probably the worst team in the MLB right now. But, we will take those 7 innings and 1 run against to have ourselves think that Kelly will become the mainstay once again. He really needs to improve his command though.
Thankfully, Merrill will go up against Kyle Freeland. Freeland had a great start of the season, but injured his shoulder before a start against the Padres on April 12. He hasn’t been himself since returning from a stint on the injury list and got knocked around against Reds, Braves and Phillies (16 earned runs in 14.1 innings).
Freeland has faced the Diamondbacks 22 times in his career, with a lifetime 5.94 ERA and 4-9 win-loss record, though his stats at Coors Field are better against the Diamondbacks than at Chase Field. Last time he pitched against the Diamondbacks was in 2024, at Coors, and Freeland got a no-decision, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings.
Kelly saw the Rockies twice last season, and got a win in both of his matchups, one at Chase (7 shutout innings) and one at Coors (6 innings of 3 run ball). In total, he has faced the Rockies 17 times, taking 9 wins and 3 losses. With a 4.12 ERA in 9 games, with 5 wins, you could say he performs well in Colorado’s thin air environment.
Game #2 Sat 05/16 7:10 PM MST, Eduardo Rodríguez (ARI) vs Tomoyuki Sugano (COL).
Last time I wrote about Eduardo Rodríguez, I was a bit bullish on his recent performances back then. He continued to deliver two gems after that, against the Pirates and Mets. With just 1 earned run over his past two games, 15.1 innings, there isn’t much to criticise, although it is obvious he won’t be able to deliver such a performance game after game unless he becomes Eduardei Rohtani.
Sugano is an unfamiliar face for the Snakes, as he has never faced the Diamondbacks before in his career. That makes sense as this is only the second season for the 36-year old Japanese pitcher in the MLB. Last season he was a back-end starter for the Baltimore Orioles.
Sugano was performing very well until recently, but lost his latest two matchups, giving up 9 runs in 10.1 innings against Phillies and Mets. According to statcast he has the staggering amount of 7 different pitches: 4-seamer, split finger, cutter, sinker, slider, sweeper and curveball. All that off-speed and breaking ball arsenal is to hide a weak fastball collection (his 4-FB averages below 93 mph). Sugano has good command and hardly walks a batter.
Game #3 Sun 05/17 1:10 PM MST, Michael Soroka (ARI) vs Michael Lorenzen (COL).
After the stinker against Milwaukee, Soroka pitched well against Pittsburgh and Texas and you could fairly say that he is de facto our top of the rotation, together with Eduardo Rodriguez. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season? Soroka has faced the Rockies just once in his career and that was last season. At Coors Field he pitched 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. Despite striking out 9, he had to settle with a loss.
Michael Lorenzen has huge arms and therefore deserves to be on the Expendables. Ever since leaving Cincinatti, he has been mildly successful as a starting pitcher for several teams, last season in Kansas. With the Royals he pitched against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field and delivered 7 painful shutout innings, mowing 7 snakes down and snatching a win.
This season he has struggled, though seems to have been somewhat unlucky, although how unlucky can you really be when the lineup of two of the worst teams (Astros and Mets) scored 14 runs off you in less than 8 innings? Lorenzen has good control, but his command is off this season. He averages 94 mph on his fastball and also handles a changeup (normally his best pitch), sinker, curve, cutter, sweeper and slider.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 03: Starting pitcher Ranger Suarez #55 of the Boston Red Sox throws against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Fenway Park on May 03, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
TV: NESN
First Pitch: 6:45 p.m. ET
The Red Sox send their main pitching acquisition to the mound in search of a series win (weather permitting) Thursday night. Ranger Suarez faces the Philadelphia Phillies for the first time. He also makes his first start since leaving his last outing with hamstring tightness on May 3 against the Houston Astros.
Here’s who the Red Sox will send to the plate Thursday night.
The Phillies counter with Jesus Luzardo. Philadelphia’s current lefty has had a remarkably unlucky start to 2026 with a 5.77 ERA despite just a 2.95 FIP.
