Category: Baseball

After 41 games, the Rockies are 16-25 (.390). That includes a much-improved road record of 8-14 on the road, but a 4-13 record against teams above .500, which might be expected. What might not be is the Rockies battling the Giants (16-24) last place in the NL West instead of claiming by a mile.

With a quarter of the season in the books, it’s bonkers to think the Rockies have played 18 of their 41 games against the NL East. They have concluded season series against the Mets, Phillies and Astros, while having yet to face their NL West foes, the Diamondbacks or Giants. Just facing the Dodgers and Padres, the Rockies have only played 11 of their games in their own division, posting a 3-8 record.

With three games against the Braves and Marlins, and the complete series season of six against the Phillies and Mets, the Rockies have gone 6-12 against the NL East. That includes being swept by the Miami and Atlanta, and a sweep of the Mets in New York. When it comes to home-and-away splits, the Rockies are 2-7 at Coors Field and 4-5 on the road against NL East opponents, which is pretty surprising.

With so many games against the NL East and much fewer against their own division, what do you think about the geography of the first 41 games of the schedule?

Would you rather delay playing more NL West games until later in the season or spread them out more throughout the season by playing all NL West opponents sooner? Is there a benefit for the Rockies either way?

Let us know what you think.

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Catcher Sean Murphy has had rotten injury luck since joining the Atlanta Braves via trade prior to the 2023 season. He’s only once played in more than 100 games since becoming a Braves and in 2026 he made his season debut on this past road trip after missing the end of the 2025 season and the start this year due to hip surgery.

In today’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers – at 7-2 victory for the second consecutive day – Murphy was called for a catcher’s interference when Hyeseong Kim’s bat nicked Murphy and he was replaced behind the plate by Drake Baldwin, who’d been the designated hitter.

The impact may have injured Murphy’s hand more than originally believed. Although initial reports were positive, late Sunday evening Mark Bowman posted that the Braves won’t have an update on Murphy’s injury until Tuesday.

With former Braves catcher Jonah Heim designated for assignment, and then traded to the West Sacramento Athletics when Murphy returned from the IL, if Murphy misses time, the Braves could bring up Chadwick Tromp or Jair Camargo as both veteran backstops have been stashed at Triple-A since the end of Spring Training. If Murphy’s injury causes him to miss significant time, the Braves may be back in the market for a high-end back-up catcher.

The Braves said they won’t have an update on Sean Murphy’s hand/fingers until Tuesday

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 11, 2026

Outfielder Eli White, who’s wall-crashing catch in right field with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning prevented the Dodgers from scoring, is in the concussion protocol after exiting the game in the eighth inning, according to multiple reports, including from Bowman.

AN INCREDIBLE CATCH BY ELI WHITE!@Delta | #BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/xZzau3UZnZ

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 10, 2026

If White missed a few games, the Braves could opt to activate Ha-Seong Kim ahead of the Chicago Cubs series on Tuesday, since multiple players on Atlanta’s bench can cover the outfield. Kim himself is looking to make his season debut as soon as he is deemed ready after being on a rehab assignment.

Outfielder Ronald Acuńa, Jr., who has been on the IL with a hamstring strain, is eligible to be activated next week, but he may not be ready by the time his 10-day stint is up.

Andy Ibáñez’s time with the Mets hasn’t quite gone as planned. 

Ibáñez was picked up off waivers from the Athletics just over a week ago to help provide a boost for New York’s shorthanded offense against left-handed pitching. 

The 33-year-old went hitless over his first two appearances, and on Sunday afternoon he hurt them with his defense as he received just his third start of the season at the hot corner. 

The infielder committed not one, but two throwing errors in what ended as a 5-1 loss. 

“I stood a little bit wide and it got away from me,” he explained via a translator postgame. “It’s one of those things where you don’t want it to happen, but it’s baseball.”

The first ended up prolonging the fourth inning by just one batter, but the second provided to be much more costly. 

He allowed Ildemaro Vargas to reach leading off the sixth, then the Diamondbacks made him pay a few batters later, as back-to-back two-out run-scoring knocks put this one away for good.

The Mets' offense didn't do themselves any favors either, managing just four walks and four hits, but miscues like that cant not continue to happen. 

“Those are routine plays,” Carlos Mendoza said. “You expect those plays to be made, it’s as simple as that.”

Unfortunately for the Mets, too often this season those plays have not been made. 

They'll need to sharpen things up moving forward as they look to shake off their early-season skid.

Rangers 3, Cubs 0

• What if we made the whole team out of Jacobs?
• When I did a write-up for Bleed Cubbie Blue before this series, I said that Jacob deGrom was no longer “best pitcher in baseball” good, but he is still “legitimate #1 starter” good.
• They would be forgiven for assuming I lied to them.
• While it is cool to have a pitcher with a deep repertoire who throws six pitches and mixes things up and keeps batters guessing, it is also cool to have a pitcher who just pumps in a couple of elite pitches, MC Hammer-style.
• (U Can’t Touch This).
• Of Jacob deGrom’s 94 pitches on Sunday, 44 of them were fastballs. The Cubs swung 26 times at them, whiffed 12 times, fouled it off 8 times, and put the ball into play 6 times. None of the 6 fastballs in play went for hits.
• Per Statcast, here are the xBAs of the six deGrom fastballs that the Cubs put into play: .010, .030, .010, .010, .140, .180.
• Also per Statcast, three of the six balls in play off of deGrom fastballs qualified as “hard hit.” The launch angles on those three balls were 69 degrees, 43 degrees, and 64 degrees. So yeah, if the hitter is hitting the ball straight up in the air, as a pitcher, you’re fine with it being hit hard.
• Jacob deGrom threw 39 sliders on Sunday. 22 times the Cubs swung at a slider. 10 times they whiffed, 6 times they fouled it off, 6 times they put the ball into play. They got one hit off of deGrom’s slider, a Nico Hoerner sixth inning single.
• Just to keep things fair, deGrom did threw something other than the fastball/slider combo occasionally. deGrom threw eight change ups. The only changeup the Cubs put into play went for a hit. He also threw two curveballs, both for called strikes. He threw one sinker, which Hoerner hit for a double, then decided there was no need to throw that pitch again.
• The final line for deGrom was 7 innings, 3 hits, 0 walks, 10 Ks. Unlike Saturday, when the Cubs had baserunners all over the basepaths but couldn’t get them home, Sunday’s game saw the Cubs with just three baserunners all game. Chicago was 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position, though three of those were in the fourth, when Hoerner led off the inning with the double.
• 23 swings and misses on 94 pitches for deGrom. The man did some things today.
• After that, Jacob Latz came in and retired all six batters he faced for a two inning save. Jacob Latz, fireman extraordinaire.
• Despite the pitching dominance from the Rangers I was still more antsy than I would have liked due to the lack of offense.
• For most of the game the only run was one the Rangers scored in the fourth, when Josh Jung led off with a single, went to third on a Joc Pederson double, then scored on a fielder’s choice where the Cubs tried to get Jung at home on an Alejandro Osuna grounder. It was close, Jung may have been out, but when the Cubs challenged the play the call stood, giving Texas a 1-0 lead.
• The next play, Danny Jansen hit into a GIDP that the Rangers challenged. Jansen might have been safe, but once again the call stood. Had it been overturned Joc Pederson would have scored.
• It looked like Corey Seager had given the Rangers an insurance run in the eighth, when he smoked a ball deep to center, but it was caught in front of the fence. Seager was 0 for 3 with a walk and a K, and there will no doubt be more fretting about Seager’s bat, but along with the blast to center he had another hard hit line drive that was caught. I am not going to worry about Corey Seager.
• Evan Carter did provide insurance later in the inning, when, after another Jung single, Carter lofted one high in the air to right that found the seats and made it 3-0. Not as well hit as Seager, but better located.
• Josh Jung had a three hit game, as he continues to amaze.
• Brandon Nimmo, on the other hand, has kind of stopped hitting. He took a collar, making him 0 for 10 in the series, though with two walks. His last extra base hit was on April 23.
• Texas is now 2 back of the A’s in the A.L. West, and a half-game ahead of the hated Mariners.
• Jacob deGrom topped out at 98.3 mph with his fastball, averaging 97.2 mph. Jacob Latz touched 94.3 mph with his fastball.
• Joc Pederson had a 110.6 mph double and a 101.8 mph ground out. Corey Seager had a 103.6 mph fly out. Brandon Nimmo had a 101.8 mph line out and a 101.3 mph ground out. Ezequiel Duran had a 101.5 mph ground out. Josh Jung had a 100.4 mph single. Evan Carter’s homer was 98.6 mph.
• That was a nice couple of games of baseball. It would be even nicer if they could play the next few games like that as well.

Another disappointing week, what are your first thoughts?

Spencer: Average teams play like this. The offense is anemic. The pitching had an apocalyptic week last week. This version of the team is what I expected and why my win total projection was so low.

James Attwood: This is the sort of thing that happens when there is little depth. There simply hasn’t been anyone to step up when anyone on the normal roster has had a drop-off in play. The disappointing extra-inning loss to the Mets does not help things. I feel like this current run of poor form has the front office making some early season panic moves.

Justin27: Well, we ran into a hot Cubs team about to go on a win streak, and then Skenes, I don’t want to make excuses but I hope the “true” team starts to show up

Makakilo: The series against the Rangers (a team that lost most games in May, similar to the Diamondbacks) will provide insights. It will show whether the Diamondbacks are on the path to compete this season, or on a different undesirable path. That series is Monday through Wednesday (May 11-13).

Dano_In_Tucson: Well, the Saturday game turned out all right. And given that I’m intensely literate regarding the 2026 Pirates, I maybe didn’t find this week as disappointing than others–their starters are too good, their offense is good enough, I genuinely think they’re going to be a force this year. Their rotation is better than ours, and most other teams’. Ours is not. Their offense rarely gets entirely shut down. Ours does, especially right now. I’m not surprised that we only won one of those games….Pittsburgh is no longer the soft spot in the schedule that they have been in recent years.

Beyond that, though….what the hell has happened to the bats??!?

C. Wesley Baier: See my most recent article, but TLDR: This roster needs some major changes.

One bright spot has been the overall good reception to Lovullo’s closed door meeting with the starting pitchers. Have you seen anything in the recent run of good/decent pitching that suggests its sustainable?

Spencer: I was blacked out of most games this last week. So I have not seen much of anything recently. I certainly hope it’s sustainable. But man I don’t know. Sustainable and pitching aren’t words I think of together with Arizona.

James Atwood: Nothing specific one way or the other. The rotation has responded nicely, though Gallen still is giving up hard contact. If the defense continues to make some sparkling plays, then the odd hard contact can be survived. If the pitch sequencing continues to improve, then the likes of Ryne Nelson should do better as well. But the rotation has got to start trusting the defense more and throw more strikes. I’m not sure that the arms have enough swing and miss in them for them to get aggressive enough in the strike zone to clean up the problem of too many free passes.

Makakilo: In May, the Diamondbacks are on a path for 50% quality starts (sustaining 50% would have a positive impact). In the preseason, I wrote that despite the possibility that the rotation will be average, if they could reach 50% quality starts, the Diamondbacks offense could drive the team to a wild card berth.

Dano_In_Tucson: I remain deeply skeptical of Soroka, though he had a good outing against Skenes. But ERod bounced back, which suggests to me that maybe the ERod we saw in the WBC may actually be the pitcher he can be consistently, rather than the aberration I was starting to think it was. And Kelly tonight (I”m writing this after posting my Saturday recap) looked a whole lot more like his legit self than he’s seemed all season. So yeah, I think those two might actually be sustainable. Also, Ryne Nelson might be coming back around as well. We shall see.

C. Wesley Baier: The starting pitching has looked so much better, as far as that goes, it worked.

At the time of writing, the Diamondbacks are three games below .500. Are Hazen and Lovullo on the hot seat yet? If not, what will be the tipping point?

Spencer: Yes they are. I expect both are gone by the next Opening Day. And I think that’s fair. But it’s also true that Hazen/Lovullo are the best GM and Manager this franchise has had so far. They’ve spent half their tenure (and more) getting zero monetary support from ownership yet putting generally average or better product on the field (with some very large and notable below average ones). This franchise finally uses analytics thanks to Hazen. Their drafting has been far more sustainable than previous options as a result of this. But they need to crack the pitching development question.

I still believe Hazen and Lovullo will win a World Series together as the head pieces. I no longer believe it will be in Arizona. If nothing else, the Hazen/Lovullo Era will be known as the point where MLB stopped looking at Arizona as another Rockies franchise and being the geniuses who nabbed and finished developing Ketel Marte who may end up holding quite a few franchise records. Seems like a good but disappointing legacy to me.

James Attwood: They are not yet on my hot seat, though I understand those that want them there. Frankly, as long as they continue to play right around .500 ball while weathering the slew of injuries they started the season with, I’m content to let them continue to develop their project. If they fall entirely out of contention, then it is time to start talking about changes. I am far more interested in seeing how the team performs in August and September, than how they are performing with Puk, Martinez, Burns, and Lawlar all on the 60-day IL.

Justin27: I think so. I have a heard time believing their replacement would do much better. Sometimes mid season managerial changes work, sometimes they are rearranging chairs on the Titanic

Makakilo: No and none. Hazen and Lovullo have above-average years of experience, and they are well above-average in making an impact on the field. It is unlikely that the Diamondbacks could hire better replacements.

Dano_In_Tucson: Hazen, maybe, at least in my mind, because of his persistent failure/refusal to spend any money to try to build a respectable bullpen. That said, he somehow actually has a reasonably respectable bullpen right now, so I dunno. Go figure. As for Torey, I don’t think so. As has been noted, all he can do is arrange on the daily chessboard the pieces he has available to him, and frankly, given what he’s had to work with coming into this season with the deeply questionable rotation and the deeply strange lack of outfielders, I think he’s doing pretty well. I know a lot of people got very excited when we were however many games over .500 for a brief span of time there, and I was too, but I don’t think there’s any way that anyone with any sense could believe that we would still be on the rise like that but for poor lineup or game management decisions on his part. This roster, as it is currently comprised, is what it is. And in a lot of respects, it ain’t great. I feel like it’s a credit to our manager that we’re still as close to Mount .500 as we are.

C. Wesley Baier: Hazen and Lovullo aren’t on the hot seat unless this team goes on a serious losing streak.

The Ryan Waldschmidt Era has begun. What are your expectations for early results?

Spencer: I have no expectations. I would’ve called upon Kristian Robinson first. He’s less pivotal to the future and seems more prepared for big league pitching. Plus Lawlar returns in 4-6 weeks if reporting is to be believed. But Robinson doesn’t put butts in seats. So Waldy it is. I wish the kid nothing but luck.

Part of me can’t shake the feeling we may be showcasing Waldy for a big July trade…not sure how I’d feel about that honestly.

James Attwood: That he will get mis-used, like so many others. I would have likely brought up Kristian Robinson first, as the team still needs to get a good idea of what he brings as a 4th outfielder. I also am not convinced that Waldschmidt will get the necessary everyday at-bats right now. We shall see.

Justin27: I am happy for him. Maybe the DFA of AT and the call up of Waldschmidt lights a fired underneath the team. I am excited to see what he can do

Makakilo: His batting has a high ceiling (both homers and OPS). In February, I wrote (see AZ Snake Pit article Which Outfielder Will Most Exceed Expectations?) that if his defense in center field is at least average (and he continues to hit well), he will exceed expectations. Also, I wrote that I would be thrilled if he was promoted this season. I am.

Dano_In_Tucson: Expectations? None, really. Hopes? That he’ll suck less at the plate than Alek Thomas, and that fewer of his ABs will end by rolling over to second, often to start a double play. And small sample size, but he hasn’t done that yet. To be fair, he struck out three times tonight, twice looking, but there were no GIDPs, at least. Also, he looked smooth and supremely competent on the seven fly balls he had to contend with on Saturday….he chased them all down for outs, and he made them look easy, even though some of them certainly weren’t.

C. Wesley Baier: He’s probably going to be frustratingly passive at times, but I think he’ll be an improvement over Thomas.

On the flip side, the Alek Thomas Era has (probably) ended. What went wrong?

Spencer: Wrong? Not much. He never learned to hit good MLB pitching. Yet he was good enough to make and stick in the majors for a good while. He’s a reminder that there’s often a floor for “Top Prospects” but they aren’t sure things. For every Corbin Carroll there’s an unknown litany of Alek Thomases.

James Attwood: The expectations were sky-high. He has loads of talent, but is a prime example of how hitting the small round ball with a round bat is the hardest skill in sports. This is not the end of his MLB career, but it is almost certainly the end of his time as an Arizona Diamondback.

Justin27: He just couldn’t get it together offensively. A team with a better offense will scoop him up. Too bad he couldn’t hit .250 or something coupled with SF12 defense

Makakilo: Alek Thomas had injuries that slowed his development (hamstring and oblique injuries in 2024, and sore knee in July of 2025). This season his batting went downhill (OPS .578 in April, OPS .422 in May). This season, Alek Thomas had an OPS+ of 56 (impressively bad but better than Tim Tawa). That makes what Jim McLennan wrote in January prophetic. “If Alek Thomas doesn’t improve on his career 76 OPS+, and if Waldschmidt’s bat represents a clear upturn, then the team could decide to use Ryan in center. That would depend on his defense there being serviceable, and not outweighing the offensive positives.” — Jim McLennan

Dano_In_Tucson: Obviously, the failure of his bat to ever arrive and stick around consistently. Beyond that, he rarely looked consistently competent to me in center field (all those web gems aside), and for a guy with his speed, he never seemed to be able to learn to work competently on the basepaths. He should have been stealing bases at a level comparable to Perdomo at least, if not Carroll. I kinda felt, by the end, like it was a work ethic issue, though I have nothing but gut feeling to back that up.

In any event, I still think he can be a good ballplayer for someone, and I’m convinced that wasn’t going to happen for him in Arizona anymore, so I hope he goes someplace where he can succeed. The need for a change of scenery is a very real thing for some players, and I hope I gets it and I wish him well wherever he winds up. I never hated the guy, and I wanted to like him….it just got really old watching him continue to suck.

C. Wesley Baier: I have no idea. Maybe he just needs a change of scenery?

Well, would you look at that? Following a disappointing series loss in Seattle that brought their lengthy streak without series losses to a close, there was every possibility that things could’ve taken a turn for the worse with a trip to the house of horrors that is Dodger Stadium. While the Dodgers have seemed somewhat human in recent times, this was still a tough task for the Braves considering that the Dodgers were still among baseball’s elite.

The recent history also suggested that this was going to be an extremely tough task for the Braves to bounce back in Los Angeles. Dodger Stadium has been a true snake pit for this team, as they had lost eight straight games at Dodger Stadium and hadn’t won a series there since 2023. Plain-and-simple, this was going to be a very difficult mountain for the Braves to climb to finish off their long road trip out West. So how did things go? Let’s take a look at what ended up resulting in a happy plane ride back to Georgia.

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Friday, May 8

Dodgers 3, Braves 1

The Braves certainly had their opportunities to get to Emmet Sheehan and the rest of LA’s pitching staff in this one but they were unable to capitalize on the vast majority of those opportunities. Atlanta collected nine hits and three walks in this one but they ended up leaving 10 runners on base and went 1-for-10 in situations with runners in scoring position. If you let this Dodgers team off the hook enough times, they’re going to eventually make you pay for it. Kyle Tucker smacked an RBI double off of Chris Sale in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1 early and then an RBI single from Shohei Ohtani in the fifth and a solo dinger from old friend Freddie Freeman in the sixth ended up giving the Dodgers just enough offense to squeak out the win.

It was a shame since this was a Chris Sale outing and you don’t want to waste too many of those. While Sale did give up five hits and three runs (one of which was unearned after Jim Jarvis followed up an incredible diving catch in the fourth inning with a throwing error in the fifth that eventually led to the Ohtani RBI), he struck out seven batters and finished with seven innings under his belt.

This could’ve been a win if Atlanta’s hitting was timelier. Alas, the Braves got what they got. That’s baseball for you!

Saturday, May 9

Braves 7, Dodgers 2

This game was all about Spencer Strider, who delivered what was arguably his best pitching performance post-elbow surgery — you could argue that his 13-strikeout night against the Rockies last June was better but the competition was certainly better this time around. Strider was an absolute nightmare for the Dodgers to deal with out there, as he stayed locked in for the most part and tossed six shutout innings with just one hit and two walks allowed with eight strikeouts to boot. Strider had it all going for him in this one and it was certainly encouraging to see him bounce back in an environment that was more conducive to success than Coors Field.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers decided that Blake Snell was ready for his first start of the season instead of giving him another rehab start to prepare for big league action. That decision ended up not working out for Los Angeles, as the Braves ended up jumping on him for five runs (four earned) through just three innings. The Braves had a 1-0 lead with the bases loaded wand two out in the second before they got a rally going to put some serious breathing room between themselves and the Dodgers.

Ozzie Albies golfed one from close to the ground and into the outfield for an RBI single that plated two runners, then a rare passed ball from Will Smith moved the two remaining runners into scoring position. Matt Olson capitalized on it by looping one into the green space for another two runs to make it a 5-0 game.

Atlanta added on a couple of runs via a fifth-inning RBI double from Michael Harris II and an eighth-inning RBI single from Drake Baldwin to make it a 7-0 lead. The only thing that kept the Dodgers from getting blanked at home for the first time this season was Andy Pages hitting a two-run dinger at Reynaldo López’s expense. Other than that, this was a very comprehensive win for the Braves.

The win came as small comfort for Braves Country, as the organization mourned the loss of another massive figure in the franchise’s history. Just days after former owner Ted Turner passed away, legendary manager Bobby Cox also passed away shortly before the game on Saturday. The sports world as a whole came together to mourn one of the most important figures of the sport during the 1990s and it has to be said that BravesVision did a great job of pulling together a very solid tribute broadcast in honor of the skipper.

Sunday, May 10

Braves 7, Dodgers 2

In the ultimate matchup of “Who’s going to keep on getting away with it,” we got our answer. Bryce Elder came out of this battle against Justin Wrobleski wtih the winning edge, as Elder ended up making it into the sixth inning with just one hit allowed while striking out eight batters. For 5.2 innings, Elder was absolutely dazzling in such a huge spot for Atlanta as the Braves were going for a rare series win at Dodger Stadium.

With that being said, Elder did eventually run into serious trouble with two out in the sixth inning, which is when he suddenly lost all command and walked the bases loaded on 14 pitches across those three walks. Walt Weiss made the astute decision to go with Robert Suarez in this situation but it almost backfired when Max Muncy crushed one out to right field. Eli White proceeded to put it all on the line as he went crashing into the wall to make a catch that helped preserve the shutout instead of dealing with what would’ve surely been at least three runs allowed. White ended up paying the price for it, as he exited the game after he tried to take a plate appearance in the following inning.

While Wrobleski did end up coming one out away from pitching a complete game, he did so while getting lit up by the Braves. Atlanta torched Wrobleski for four runs in the second inning, with the major blow being a bases-clearing double down the left-field line that built upon Eli White’s RBI single earlier on in the second to make it a 4-0 game for the Braves. Wrobleski calmed down after that but ultimately, Dave Roberts’ decision to keep Wrobleski out there came back to bite him.

Drake Baldwin hit a solo shot in the eighth inning to give the Braves a 5-0 lead and then after Max Muncy made up for his near-miss in the sixth with a two-run dinger in the bottom of the eighth, Matt Olson responded with a solo shot of his own to get one of those runs back. They got both of them back after Jorge Mateo eventually brought in another run off of Wyatt Mills. Both of those homers from Baldwin and Olson came in their fourth go-around with Wrobleski, which is why you don’t normally see pitchers go four times through the order. Anyways, Raisel Iglesias got the ball for the ninth and had no problem keeping the Dodgers quiet as the Braves ended up cruising to another 7-2 win — this time for the series.

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This was really and truly a trying week for the Atlanta Braves. On top of this being a load road trip out West against some tricky-to-tough competition, this was also an emotional week due to the passing of both Ted Turner and Bobby Cox. On the field, this was also a really tricky time to lose Ronald Acuña Jr. due to injury. It would’ve been totally understandable if the Braves had ended up faltering in this series in Los Angeles following the disappointing series loss to the Mariners.

Instead, the Braves rose to the challenge and finished the West Coast swing in strong fashion. Any time the Braves can pick up a series in in any ballpark in California, it’s a bonus — doing it at Dodger Stadium is like hitting the jackpot. While the Dodgers offense is currently in the midst of a bit of a slump, it’s a testament to the performance of Atlanta’s pitching staff during this series that they were able to keep the Dodgers mired in that slump. Even Chris Sale’s performance in a losing effort was solid as usual. Seeing Spencer Strider perform like he did on Saturday night was incredibly encouraging and if Bryce Elder is doing this against the Dodgers then it’s probably safe to assume that he can keep up this level of form for the foreseeable future.

Instead, the Braves continue to fire on all cylinders and now they’re heading home after a lovely 6-3 West Coast swing. Personally, I would’ve been happy with 4-5 considering how Atlanta has recently performed out West. Instead, the Braves have shown now that the venue doesn’t matter — they’re going to be a nightmare to deal with on every night. It’s reminiscent of how this team was clicking back in 2022 and 2023 and picking up a series win in Los Angeles is very, very encouraging to see.

They’ll now have another day off before getting set for what’ll be a very interesting homestand. Another showdown is on the immediate horizon with the red-hot Cubs coming to town. If the Braves can make another statement against Chicago then they could have an opportunity to really keep this train going in the right track with a favorable stretch against Boston (twice), the Marlins and the Nationals. This could be another big month for the Braves, which would be huge once they get past the traditional early sign post of Memorial Day and into the Summer. Things are going very well for the Atlanta Braves at the moment and it’s exciting to see just how far this team can go and how high they can keep on flying at the moment.

Robot umpires were supposed to take the power away from the guys in blue. On Sunday, May 10, umpire Carlos Torres showed that he’s still in charge of the game.  

Torres denied the two separate ABS challenge requests, one from the Baltimore Orioles and one from the Athletics. The Orioles won 2-1, but Torres’ decision not to grant the reviews reverberated with fans and probably other managers.  

The first incident came in the first inning, when Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers tapped his helmet after Orioles outfielder Taylor Ward walked. Langeliers seemed surprised to see Ward walking to first and tapped his helmet after a hesitation. Torres did not grant the review.  

The second came in the third inning. Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo was denied a challenge of a ball call because his first move was to throw the ball around the horn, apparently believing it was strike three. By the time he tried to challenge, Torres wouldn’t allow it. Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz came out to argue, went back to the dugout, and Torres ejected infield coach Miguel Cairo for yelling from the bench.  

Under MLB’s ABS rules, a challenge can be denied if the umpire determines it was aided by the dugout or other players, or if it wasn’t requested in a timely manner. Players have roughly two seconds to tap their cap or helmet after a pitch is called. The team keeps its challenge if it is not granted.  

Umpires have discretion to deny requests that don’t meet those standards, as Torres showed during the Orioles-A's game.  

The system is six weeks old and has already generated its share of chaos. Through May 6, there were roughly 2,200 challenges with an overturn rate of 53%.  

Ironically, it was Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman who pointed out the potential of this problem in an interview with ESPN last month. He suggested they might need to add a challenge clock rather than rely on umpire discretion.  

It’s not the first ABS-related blowup this season. On March 29, Twins manager Derek Shelton was ejected after arguing that Orioles pitcher Ryan Helsley hadn’t tapped his cap fast enough on a challenge that was accepted anyway.  

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carlos Torres denies ABS challenges to Orioles and A's in game

Yasiel Puig may be staring down a 15-year prison sentence, but the former major leaguer can still hit. 

Puig is playing in the Canadian Baseball League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and on Sunday, in a game against the Kitchener Panthers, he hit a pair of home runs. 

The former big leaguer hit a two-out, three-run home run into deep left field in the bottom of the second inning to break a 1-1 tie. 

Puig pointed to the sky as he crossed home plate after trotting around the basepaths. 

The 35-year-old slugger followed it up with a solo home run in the fifth inning. 

Puig took a  2-1 pitch into left field, into a park area far from the ballfield, where the semi-pro baseball game he was taking part in was. 

UPDATE: Yasiel Puig has his second homer of the day https://t.co/4CYbMsbOYYpic.twitter.com/UkMlzRczEx

— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) May 10, 2026

Puig signed with the Maple Leafs of the Canadian Baseball League late last month and Sunday was his first game with the semi-pro team. 

All of this occurred 20 days out from a sentencing hearing slated for May 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. 

He was found guilty of obstruction of justice and providing false statements to federal investigators who had been looking into an illegal sports gambling operation. 

The charges stemmed from an interview with investigators that took place on Jan. 27, 2022. 

He is potentially facing 15 years in jail, though he could receive a more lenient sentence for the situation. 

Puig had played seven seasons in Major League Baseball, spending six of those seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and playing for Cincinnati and Cleveland in his final year. 

During his time in the majors, he was named to the MLB All-Star Game in 2014. 

Puig hit .277 in 3,376 plate appearances, while recording 132 home runs and 415 RBIs.

The New York Mets came into their season finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks with the hopes of winning their third straight series, but errors and a struggling lineup led to a 5-1 loss Sunday in Arizona. The Mets were no-hit through five 1/3 innings by left-handed Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez while registering a season-high three errors.

Rodriguez stymied New York’s lineup for the second time this season, giving up one run across eight 1/3 innings pitched, an even better outing than he had at Citi Field on April 9 when he allowed one run over six innings. Rodriguez came out for the ninth inning but was pulled after giving up a bloop single to Mark Vientos. The Mets were unable to rally after the Vientos single against reliever Juan Morillo.

New York managed just four hits while Andy Ibanez committed two errors after getting the start at third base, with both errors being on throws to first. His first errant throw came in the fourth inning with two outs on a play that should have helped Mets pitcher David Peterson escape the inning. Peterson was still able to get out of the fourth without giving up a run after Ryan Waldschmidt hit into a fielder’s choice.

Ibanez’s second error came in the sixth inning, where the Diamondbacks put the game on ice. Illdemaro Vargas reached on the error, then three straight two-out hits by Jorge Barrosa, Waldschmidt, and Ketel Marte added three runs and put Arizona up 5-1. Peterson had a throwing error of his own in the fifth inning to contribute to a sloppy day for New York.

Whether the defense was firing on all cylinders or not, the lineup couldn’t get any traction against Rodriguez, who perhaps wishes he could pitch against the Mets every time out. Bo Bichette came into the game with a .400 average and two home runs in 17 plate appearances against Rodriguez, but went 0 for 3 with a walk. Juan Soto had the same stat line as Bichette as six Mets starters went hitless.

With the offense no-showing once again for the last-place Mets, the game was essentially lost in the second inning when Arizona scored two runs. Huascar Brazobán got the start out of the bullpen and immediately struggled with command in his brief appearance. He gave up a leadoff walk to Marte, which was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Corbin Carroll. A groundout from Geraldo Perdomo and a pop-out from Adrian Del Castillo help Brazobán escape. Back out for the second, he walked Vargas and Nolan Arenado before being replaced by Tobias Myers. With two runners on and nobody out, Myers immediately gave up a two-run double to Waldschmidt. Myers was able to limit any further damage in the second inning, but the Mets’ lineup was in a hole they never escaped from.

Peterson replaced Myers in the third inning, pitching five innings with zero earned runs thanks to the Ibanez errors. This is the fourth game the Mets have elected to bring Peterson in mid-game rather than start, and all four times seemed to have helped Peterson’s consistency. He’s given up three earned runs across 16 innings pitched in those situations.

Unable to get anything going against Rodriguez, Carson Benge finally broke through with a soft single to left field in the sixth inning. Luis Torrens followed it up with a double to the right corner that scored the speedy Benge. Soto flied out to advance Torrens before Bichette drew a walk. Austin Slater hit a groundout to first base to end the inning and strand Torrens. Semien drew a walk in the seventh inning and Torrens singled in the eighth, but New York couldn’t get either runner home.

The Mets are off Monday, before beginning a six-game homestand against the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Luis Torrens, +15% WPA
Big Mets loser: Austin Slater -16% WPA
Mets pitchers: -20% WPA
Mets hitters: -30% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Torrens RBI double in the sixth, +14.5% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ryan Waldschmidt RBI double in the second, +17.5 WPA

It’s hard to believe that the season is through its first quarter already. And the Cardinals are good! We all love the Cardinals of course, but it’s far more enjoyable when they are winning baseball games and we don’t just have to rely on the development of young players to satiate our baseball sweet tooth.

We convened the Redbird Rundown crew and dished out first quarter grades with Joe Roderick from STL Sports Central. It was a good way to take stock of the team from a broad overview.

We covered Walker’s ascendancy, Wetherholt metronomic performance, praised runners going from first to third, and mostly buried the pitching staff — with some exceptions!

Give it a listen if audio is your thing. And, you know how the internet works, it would be great if you’d subscribe. It helps others find our show!

Thanks for listening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL72a1rLSq8

To Dave Roberts, the roster crunch facing the Dodgers might be a good problem to have.

But the situation still presents a problem.

The good news for the club: Mookie Betts is set to be activated from the injured list Monday, making his awaited return from an oblique strain that has sidelined him for more than a month.

What that means, however, is that someone will have to be squeezed off the active roster in a corresponding move.

And on the eve of that decision Sunday, no easy answer had yet emerged.

“It’s a potential tough conversation,” Roberts acknowledged, saying the club had yet to finalize its choice. “I could make a case for all the guys we’re considering.”

The three candidates for the chopping block have been obvious for a while: infielders Alex Freeland, Hyeseong Kim and Santiago Espinal.

Each of them, though, still offers value to the club.

A big caveat to start with: Espinal has easily been the worst performer of the three, batting .188 in extremely limited playing time (his 32 at-bats are the fewest among members of the Opening Day roster). But, the former All-Star utilityman is also the only one of the three without any minor-league options, meaning that he would have to be designated for assignment and exposed to waivers if he were demoted from the active roster.

Kim and Freeland, on the other hand, could simply be optioned to Triple-A, which would allow the Dodgers to preserve more organizational depth.

Another factor: When Betts returns, playing time will be limited for whoever stays with the club.

The Dodgers will still have a platoon opening at second base — at least until Tommy Edman makes his own IL return after missing the start of the year recovering from ankle surgery (he is still at least several weeks away and was transferred to the 60-day IL this week).

But where Kim and Freeland have started regularly over the last month, getting valuable at-bats as young players continuing to develop offensively, one or both of them could see their at-bats severely cut.

Thus, the Dodgers could opt to keep Espinal — a veteran who wouldn’t be as impacted by minimal opportunities — and send one of Kim or Freeland back to Triple-A to continue to play every day.

That would be easier to do, of course, if both players weren’t contributing in the way they have been lately.

Kim, who was sent to Triple-A the last time the Dodgers had to make a similar decision at the end of spring training, entered Sunday hitting over .300 since being called back up when Betts first got hurt. He has also accomplished the primary goal the Dodgers had for him after his up-and-down rookie season in 2025, cutting his strikeout rate from 30.6% last year to 18.3% this year. 

“I think that he’s done a much better job of controlling the strike zone,” Roberts said. “He’s got the ability to put the bat on the ball, get hits, steal bases, play good defense. And I think he’s done all that.”

Freeland, however, has flashed a similar skill set while heating up at the plate in recent weeks.

After hitting .190 over his first 14 games this year, the switch-hitting former third-round draft pick entered Sunday with a .288 average over his last 18 games, improving his plate discipline and quality of contact.

Also of note: When the Dodgers picked Freeland over Kim for their final Opening Day roster spot, Roberts said there was “nothing left for [Freeland] to prove” at the Triple-A level, where he had spent much of the previous two campaigns.

Before Sunday’s game — in which Kim and Freeland once again offered little separation, going a combined 0-for-7 with five strikeouts on a day the whole offense struggled — Roberts said there could be enough playing time to go around to warrant keeping both upon Betts’ return. Read between the lines of his comments, though, and it certainly didn’t seem like the organization views that scenario as ideal.

Then again, none of the three players in question has exactly deserved to be cut from the roster.

One of them will have to be, anyway.

“Obviously, we’ve got a tough decision,” Roberts said. “All of the options, potentially for the corresponding move, these guys have done a great job and served a very good purpose for our club.”

Eduard Bazardo yielded the two runs the Chicago White Sox needed to beat the Seattle Mariners today. His 1-2 breaking ball to veteran OF Randal Grichuk floated over the heart of the plate like a miscategorized deluxe roll of conveyer belt sushi on the cheapest designated plate. Grichuk’s solo shot tied things at 1-1 in the 8th inning, and a sinker doubled to the right field wall by Drew Romo set Chicago in go-ahead position with nobody out.

It did not have to be this way.

The Mariners are in a challenging position. Their lineup is now ostensibly full health, missing only Victor Robles from their Opening Day roster to health issues. The group as constructed is an imposing one, with five above-average hitters at the top and four more (against righties) looming in the back half. On the bench, Connor Joe has delivered well, including two hits this afternoon that placed him in scoring position twice in late innings with less than two outs.

And yet, this good lineup got nearly blanked today. White Sox righty Davis Martin is no slouch, grazing on innings a season ago in his first serious run as a big leaguer for a 4.10/4.64 ERA/FIP in 142.2 frames. He’s been even better this year, albeit seeming to outpitch his stuff in a way that’s not immediately obvious. But after the first inning, where Julio Rodríguez blistered a 110.5 mph double and Randy Arozarena knocked him in with another sharp single, Seattle settled into a familiar malaise to the previous evening.

Brendan Donovan and Cal Raleigh, both recently returned from injuries, struck a few balls sharply, but for Donovan it was on the ground at a defender, and Raleigh it was yanked foul. Timing still off, injury-impacted, the outcome unmistakable. Seattle’s roster is a well-stacked series of hitters in theory, which has inconsistently been in alignment in their heat. It’s meant running out Raleigh in his worst slump as a big leaguer in the top of the order, and Donovan now in similar stead by happenstance for his first few games back.

This is the conundrum. To run out their top bats consistently while mired in these doldrums is to replicate the difficulties of the season’s earliest days, where Raleigh, Rodríguez, and Josh Naylor couldn’t find a store with hits still in stock, much less afford to purchase one. The alternative is trickier, however. To shunt Raleigh, Donovan, or whichever player is at issue in a given stretch is to say it’s likelier a less-talented player will outperform them, or even to say the player is not as talented as believed at the season’s outset. The latter option is most daunting, because it would cast more serious doubt on the club’s ultimate capacity to rebound from this mediocre first month and a half.

Today, however, they cast themselves into these questions. Without an offense that can muster more than a run on consecutive nights, they’ll lose outings like Saturday, where Luis Castillo continued to struggle, but they’ll also lose gems like today, which could have easily been a celebration of the best Logan Gilbert start in 2026. Not merely excellent, Gilbert was almost flawless, yielding just a single hit in 6.0 shutout frames, punching out nine, and excitingly showcasing the best slider he’s mustered since at least 2025. Seven whiffs and a couple called strikes on the pitch is a great thing to see, but so too was seeing Gilbert ride the bottom third and shadow of the plate with the pitch. Pulled with 87 pitches after six, it was in many ways a highly-efficient appearance by Gilbert to boot. Would that it’d been enough.

Seattle lost this game in the first inning, not getting to Martin after Julio and Randy cracked the seal, as Cal and Luke Raley each punched out. They did it again in the seventh, spoiling Joe’s leadoff double with a flaccid trio of plate appearances. Buoyed in a shaky bottom of the seventh by a stellar bit of glovework by Cole Young, whose shining play was also matched by a great dashing play from Julio Rodríguez earlier in the afternoon. The defensive moment of memory, however, came in that 8th. A softly hit blooper was well-tracked by Randy Arozarena in left field, but a full sprint catch gave way to an airmailed throw that, on target, seemed near-certain to nab Romo at the plate.

You won’t be receiving a video embed here. It would be illustrative, but if you’ve not seen the throw then it won’t add anything to your experience. I promise. Think about a tie game, a poor throw, and a one-run loss. If you can envision it, nod and clear it from your mind. The best hope is that the Mariners can do the same. They’ll try to reset with another four-game set against the Houston Astros, which balanced their ship for a time back in April.

The St. Louis Cardinals got a positive if not spectacular start from Kyle Leahy on Sunday, but it was Jordan Walker’s Mother’s Day moonshot that helped the Cardinals nearly beat the San Diego Padres. Almost.

If you just look strictly at the numbers, Kyle Leahy really did have a solid start on Sunday. While his bottom of the 1st inning was a bit nerve-racking, he was able to escape without allowing a run and ended up pitching the Cardinals into the 5th inning. His overall stat line was 5 full innings allowing no runs, on just 2 hits with 5 strikeouts and 4 walks. It was the walks that made a few innings uncomfortable, but job well done, Kyle. He made a crucial play in the bottom of the 5th inning when he nabbed a ball up the middle as it ended up in his glove after traveling between his legs before tossing it to Alec Burleson for the final out of the inning.

The big highlight of the game was Jordan Walker as he worked a 2-1 count in his favor against Walker Buehler before he launched a ball off of the upper deck railing of the Western Metal Supply Company building. Suffice it to say that none of those fans at that level expected to get that close to a baseball today, but Jordan gave it a high launch angle 425 foot ride. The look on Walker Buehler’s face when he saw where the ball landed is priceless.

Manager Oli Marmol turned to his bullpen in the 6th inning as Ryne Stanek was the first man up. He got off to a great start thanks in part to the fact that San Diego wasted all of their ABS challenges in the 2nd inning. Stanek shut down the Padres 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 6th inning.

JoJo Romero was given the bottom of the 7th inning task and he kept the Padres bats silent. He stayed in the game to start the bottom of the 8th inning, but was relieved by George Soriano with 1 out. He unfortunately brought up the tying run to the plate when he promptly walked Fernando Tatis Jr. on 4 straight pitches before facing the dangerous Manny Machado. Soriano fortunately struck out Machado and got Sheets out on a soft groundout to second to end the bottom of the 8th.

Riley O’Brien was brought in to shut down San Diego in the bottom of the 9th inning. A save would have given him his 12th of the season which is appropriate as that would tie San Diego Padres Mason Miller for the Major League lead. That unfortunately did not happen. It began with an innocent-looking bloop single to center by Xander Boegaerts. O’Brien was able to get Andujar and France to strike out, but Nick Castellanos connected on a 2-out, 2 strike pitch and send it over the left field wall to tie the game 2-2. Riley got Laureano to strike out to send the game into extras.

The Cardinals could accomplish nothing in the top of the 10th inning stranding the extra innings runner Burleson as Walker and Gorman struck out. Masyn Winn walked, but Fermin popped out to end the Cardinals 10th leaving the game tied 2-2.

Gordon Graceffo was brought in to keep the Padres off the board. After intentionally walking Merrill to put runners on 1st and 2nd to set up a double play, Gordon nearly hit Tatis Jr., but the ball glanced off of his bat for a strike. Tatis Jr. would eventually walk to load the bases bringing up Manny Machado. He unfortunately hit a sacrifice fly just deep enough to right center where Jordan Walker was unable to throw out the runner at the plate giving San Diego a 3-2 victory.

The Cardinals will have a quiet travel day Monday to cruise up the California coast to Sacramento before their late Tuesday night game against the city-less Athletics who are currently in first place in their division. Andre Pallante is scheduled to get the start for St. Louis. First pitch scheduled for 8:40pm central time Tuesday night.

Detroit Tigers (18-22) vs. Kansas City Royals (19-21)

Time/Place: 7:20 p.m., Kauffman Stadium
SB Nation Site: Royals Review
Media: NBC Sports Network/Peacock, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Brenan Hanifee (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Noah Cameron (2-2, 5.40 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Hanifee	4	6.2	16.0	4.0	61.0	2.38	0.1
Cameron	6	31.2	19.4	7.6	29.5	4.46	0.4

In the “he can’t keep getting away with this” starter battle, it was Bryce Elder who came out on top as the winning pitcher. 

With some drama, I must say upfront. But even though Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski outlasted Elder, you’d take Elder’s final line every day.

This was a fascinating pitching duel: both Elder and Wrobleski had streaks of setting down 10+ batters in efficient and dominant ways. But the Braves managed to get to Wrobleski in a big second inning. 

Matt Olson made the first out in the second, but an Austin Riley single and Michael Harris II bunt (!) put runners on for Eli White’s RBI single to make it 1-0, Braves. Sean Murphy’s forceout put runners at the corners, followed by Jorge Mateo working a walk. That set the table for the Mauricio Dubón special: a bases clearing double to make it 4-0. 

Unfortunately, Wrobleski settled down after that and earned a shot to pitch a complete game. He and Elder would trade off throwing up zeroes for the next several innings. 

Bryce was cruising. The vibes were good. Cy Young jokes were being made. He got two outs in the bottom of the sixth and then just… couldn’t find the zone suddenly, issuing three straight walks to load the bases. Walt Weiss prompted Murphy to chat with him on the mound a little to stall and give the bullpen more time to get ready. Things we love to see: Weiss going to Robert Suarez here in the sixth. Max Muncy worked a tense full count. Eli White, absolutely disregarding his body and physical safety, went full speed into the wall. He careened off of it. Robert Suarez held both arms up in cautious celebration. But we shouldn’t have doubted – you can’t spell elite without Eli. The inning was over. 

Eli would take his next at bat but come out of the game – we await more news on his status.

The next few scoring plays would feature the long ball. Drake Baldwin’s homer in the top of the eighth was the first allowed by Wrobleski this year and made it 5-0. Tyler Kinley came in to pitch the eighth and allowed a two-run homer to Muncy to make it 5-2. Matt Olson was not about to get a Golden Sombrero here on Mother’s Day. His 14th homer of the year and Mateo’s RBI single to drive in Yaz (who wore one on the earhole, yikes) got those two runs back. Wrobleski was lifted one out shy of a complete game after hitting Yaz with pitch #100. 

Bryce Elder lowered his ERA to 1.81, and Wrobleski’s went from 1.25 to 2.42. 

Despite the five run cushion, Raisel Iglesias came in to finish this one out and exorcise some Mother’s Day demons. He worked a perfect ninth to secure the series win and close the book on a 6-3 West Coast road trip. Have a happy flight home, boys.