ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - MAY 18: Trevor Rogers #28 of the Baltimore Orioles looks to receive the ball back against the Tampa Bay Rays during a game at Tropicana Field on May 18, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Trevor Rogers will look to get back on track tonight against the Blue Jays. The Orioles received a quality start from Chris Bassitt yesterday, but the offense failed to carry its weight in a 2-1 loss. Baltimore will need to score more than two runs tonight if Rogers’ recent woes continue.
Adley Rutschman (DH) and Samuel Basallo (C) will both be in the lineup this evening against left-handed pitcher Adam Macko. Colton Cowser, Leody Taveras and Taylor Ward will handle the outfield duties. Coby Mayo will play third base, Gunnar Henderson will take short, Jackson Holliday will handle second and Pete Alonso will begin the game at first.
Albert Suárez should be available after rejoining the roster on a major league deal. Yennier Cano was testing his hamstring on the field earlier today. The team optioned Cameron Weston back to Norfolk and transferred Dean Kremer to the 60-day IL before tonight’s contest.
Baltimore carried some significant momentum into the series but suffered a setback last night. Can Rogers and the Orioles rediscover the good vibes this evening at Camden Yards?
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 23: Grant Holmes #66 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Washington Nationals in the first inning at Truist Park on May 23, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves and their offense which is currently second in MLB in runs scored will to Cincinnati to take on the Reds who are 5-5 in their last ten games.
The Reds have the fourth worst team ERA in MLB while sporting an offense that is right at league average being fourteenth in MLB in runs scored. Chris Paddack will have his hands full for the Reds as he takes the mound with his 6.86 ERA and Grant Holmes looks to continue his streak of solid starts.
The Braves only play the Reds six times this season, and after this series won’t see them again until the end of September.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MAY 25: Daylen Lile #4 and Jacob Young #30 of the Washington Nationals celebrate scoring on a single hit by Luis García Jr. during the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on May 25, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When the Nats and Padres get together, things tend to get interesting. That could be especially true this time as the two teams are as evenly matched as they have been in a long time. Both are over .500, but have gotten there in very different ways. The Nats are powered by an explosive offense, while the Padres have a lockdown bullpen.
Blake Butera is making a couple changes to the lineup. Dylan Crews will be back in there in right field, which pushes James Wood to DH. Nasim Nunez will also be at second base and hit 9th. Keibert Ruiz will be behind the dish and hit 8th. Paxton Schultz will be the opener today, but Andrew Alvarez will be coming for bulk relief duty.
The Padres offense has underperformed this year. Fernando Tatis Jr. does not have a home run, while Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado have also taken big steps back. Gavin Sheets, Miguel Andujar and Ty France have the highest OPS numbers in the Padres lineup. We know that the big names in the Padres lineup can get hot at any time though. Lucas Giolito signed with the Padres very late, but he has been solid in his first couple of starts for the team. He will take the mound and face the team that drafted him.
The energy in the stadium this weekend should be great, and that fires me up. This team is giving the fans reason to believe. Hopefully the Nats can continue playing better baseball at home, after an awful start to the year at Nats Park. This will be a fun test for the boys. Follow along in the comments down below, and let’s go Nats!
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 23: Brayan Bello #66 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during the second inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins on May 23, 2026 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Great; another opener in front of Brayan Bello. The Guardians lead the AL Central while the Sox slipped right back into fifth place. Who’s looking for a fun weekend?!
⚾️ First Pitch: 7:10pm EDT — Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
Today’s Pirates starter is rightly Jared Jones, from Whittier, CA. Famous people from Whittier include Tricky Dick, Nomar Garciaparra, Tom Waits, and Bull Durham writer/director Ron Shelton (who knew Derek Shelton’s dad, also a Ron).
Jones is making his 2026 debut for the Pirates. He started 22 games for the team in 2024, doing better in the first half than the second, and missed all last season with UCL surgery/rehab. He throws mad gas, in the upper 90s, with a upper-80s slider plus a change and curve. If you’ll remember from the Liriano days (the happy ones), fast fastball with a fast slider is a nasty combo when the control is good. If the control isn’t so good… you might still throw a no-hitter with six walks, if you’re lucky.
In the Allegheny Mountains city of Altoona, PA, about two hours from Pittsburgh, there’s an unusual pizza you can get. It has tomato sauce, green pepper slices, meat and cheese. That’s not so unusual! Well, here’s what it looks like:
Yes, that’s “American” cheese (AKA slicy Velveeta) on top of salami. Invented at the Altoona Hotel, which burned down in 2013 and I swear I have an alibi for where I was that night.
Some people swear by this pizza. The Altoona Curve (the Pirates’ AA team) changed their name for a few days in 2023 to the Altoona Pizzas, featuring this logo:
Now, to my mind, that isn’t anywhere near as good as the death-metal pizza from the beginning of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. But that decision’s up to you. (Mild cussing in the clip below.)
One thing that struck me as odd in the article about the pizza was how it says that putting the toppings below the cheese makes it “Detroit style.” Huh. I suppose most restaurants put the toppings on the cheese. But we usually make pizza at home, and always put the toppings below the cheese. It helps them stay on! Whatever floats your boat. And I personally think American cheese with salami would be fine on a pizza. I’m not TOO picky about pizzas as long as you keep yer pineapple and fish bits away from me.
Ben Clemens at FanGraphs just posted an article about negotiations over the next CBA, and he analyzes the proposals from both the players’ union and the owners. It’s a very well-written article, check it out if you have any interest in this sort of thing.
What I found intriguing is that both sides are talking about changing the way TV revenue is distributed. The MLBPA wants a large chunk of local TV revenue to be shared; the MLB wants ALL of it to be shared. All the TV money, local and national, would go in a big pile and be split 30 ways.
I never would have expected that to happen. I’d have thought the Dodgers and Yankees would scream bloody murder to keep it from happening. Since this is the one thing both the league and the union basically agree on (they just disagree about percentages), you can expect that some form of it WILL happen. Whether that benefits a midmarket team like the Twins as much as it would a small-market team like Pittsburgh, I dunno. Keep in mind that the Pirates make enough from tickets/concessions alone to cover their whole payroll, and that’s before you count TV money, and they hate spending on players. So how a salary floor might operate is gonna be a big point of contention.
Also sure to be a point of contention: what counts as “revenue” for revenue-sharing purposes. Is it tickets and concessions? Or is it the free gimme gimme land teams routinely demand in new stadium deals, these days? Land they can use to be property developers? Players will want to call that part of “total revenue.” Owners will NOT.
Keep in mind I am never saying that restaurants and bars and condos and such around stadiums are bad things — what would a trip to Target Field be without explaining to your kids what a strip club is? But those things should go to the most enterprising property developers who build businesses, not ALL to one team (and often with massive tax giveaways other businesses wouldn’t get). Worth keeping an eye on this stuff.
Finally, we can’t visit Pittsburgh without remembering the time in 1974 when Dock Ellis went a little bananas on the Reds. Immortalized in this song:
The thing is, he’d let it be known a few days beforehand! Sports writer Donald Hall even asked Ellis about it at a party: “are you really going to hit every Cincinnati ballplayer Wednesday night?” Ellis replied, “how you know that?”
Well, Ellis sure meant it. He told the team in the locker room there was no need to talk about opposing players and their approaches to hitting, because “I’m just going to mow the lineup down.” Which he did, until obviously the manager had to pull him out.
You can read about it in this excerpt from Hall’s book, Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball. Fun stuff.
Appropriately for a guy whose name name sounds like the letters “L-S,” there was also that time Ellis threw a Liriano-style no-no of his own. On L-S-D. With eight walks and a HBP! (This time, the HBP was not on purpose)
Being high as heck on LSD was not on purpose, either. He’d been partying pretty hard, mixing vodka and acid (don’t try this at home), and he lost track of what day it was. But he made it to the ballpark in San Diego on time, and pitched a no-hitter that hopefully nobody will ever attempt to replicate.
And, like the song says, after finishing his baseball career, Ellis eventually became a drug counselor who spoke to young people and prison inmates about the dangers of addiction. And helped some former baseball players struggling with the same problems. From this article on the HOF website by Bruce Markusen.
Oh, and we have another very funny video with some mild cusswords in it:
That’s enough post length for today, I think! For a game probably nobody here is gonna watch because nobody has dang Apple TV!
San Diego, California - May 26: Ramon Laureano #5 of the San Diego Padres walks back to the dugout after striking out during the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Petco Park on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
San Diego Padres (31-24) at Washington Nationals (29-28), May 29, 2026, 3:45 p.m. PST
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BRADENTON, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Jared Jones #17 of the Pittsburgh Pirates poses for a photo during the Pittsburgh Pirates photo day at Pirate City on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Pitching Matchup: Taj Bradley (5-1, 2.77 ERA) vs. Jared Jones (0-0, 0.00 ERA – 2026 debut)
The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home today against the Minnesota Twins looking to grab a win.
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SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 27, 2026: Nate Furman #90 of the San Francisco Giants warms up during the sixth inning of a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Scottsdale Stadium on February 27, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Thursday was an off day for the San Francisco Giants, but not for their Minor League Baseball affiliates. All five of the teams who are in season played on Thursday (the Dominican Summer League doesn’t begin until Monday), and there were some exciting performances to talk about.
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
AAA Sacramento (32-20)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Reno Aces (Diamondbacks) 7-2 Box score
There seems to be a sentiment that Luis Arráez’s days as a Giant are limited. It seems unlikely that San Francisco will re-sign him next year, which means that if the team remains uncompetitive come July, Arráez will be on the trading block, opening up time for Casey Schmitt to be the team’s second baseman.
But what about Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL)?
Furman fits the Arráez mold, with preternatural contact skills, limited power, and bad second base defense, which apparently means he’s only two months with Ron Washington away from being a Gold Glove candidate. The Giants signaled how high they are on the 24-year old lefty, who was part of the Alex Cobb trade, when they gave him an invite to Spring Training and then assigned him to Sacramento despite just 21 career games in AA.
He’s rewarded that confidence, and Thursday was perhaps his best day yet, as the 2022 4th-round pick hit 3-5 with a 2-run home run and a double. That’s a damn good day!
Furman’s numbers are more good than great, as he has a .772 OPS and a 112 wRC+ with 6 stolen bases, but it’s been an exciting AAA debut, especially when you account for his inexperience entering the level (not only did he have just 21 games in AA before this year, but he had fewer than 200 total games played in his career due to injuries). He’s walking more than he’s striking out, and his K rate (12.8%) ranks 11th out of 71 qualified hitters in the Pacific Coast League. His Statcast page is hilariously Arráezean … massively blue bars when it comes to exit velocities, paired with extremely red bars for contact categories.
If Arráez is traded in July, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Furman get a chance at second base, so the Giants can see if the youngster can replicate Arráez’s success and be the second baseman in 2027 (assuming there’s a season). He’s obviously not going to push Schmitt off the position, but the Giants aren’t tied to Schmitt being the everyday second baseman so much as just an everyday hitter somewhere. If I had to make a list of potential second base starters come next Opening Day, Schmitt would be at the top by a mile … but Furman would be the only other name on the list.
First baseman Jake Holton also had a standout day, as the Minor League veteran went 2-5 with both a homer and a double, while also striking out twice.
After a slowish start, the 28-year old righty is starting to find his AAA rhythm, and is up to a .783 OPS and a 111 wRC+. He’s more emergency depth in the Trenton Brooks mold than anything else, but it’s nice to see him getting a shot at the highest Minor League level, after playing more than 300 games in AA for the Tigers (and hitting quite nicely, I might add). He’s playing well in AAA, which means he’s only ever one move or one injury away from getting a taste of the bigs.
Another strong day for designated hitter Drew Cavanaugh (No. 19 CPL), who went 2-4 with a walk and a strikeout. The 24-year old catcher continues to dominate following a recent promotion, and is now 20-46 with 11 extra-base hits, 5 walks, just 8 strikeouts, and 3 stolen bases with Sacramento. They might have traded away their homegrown Gold Glover, but the Giants sure continue to have some intriguing and exciting options behind the dish!
And speaking of recently-promoted prospects, nice to see a bounce-back day for left fielder Scott Bandura, who responded to Wednesday’s 0-5, 5-strikeout performance by hitting 2-5 with a double and a stolen base on Thursday, albeit with 2 strikeouts. He’s still finding his footing at the level — the 2023 7th-rounder is 8-35 with 12 strikeouts — but he’s certainly shown some flashes.
A decent start on the mound for RHP Carson Seymour, who threw 53 of 78 pitches for strikes while giving up just 1 run in 5 innings. Seymour, who allowed 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4, hasn’t been sharp with the walks lately, but he has been doing a much better job suppressing runs. Following a 5-game stretch in which he allowed 19 earned runs in just 22.1 innings, Seymour has only ceded 3 runs in 16 innings over his last 3 starts, albeit with 7 walks against just 15 strikeouts. It hasn’t been the best season for him — he has a 4.04 ERA and a 4.62 FIP, with just 7.7 strikeouts per 9 innings — but hopefully he can keep this good streak running and get back to the Majors.
A good bullpen showing, which featured a scoreless inning by RHP Ryan Walker, who allowed 1 hit. Walker has made 4 appearances for Sacramento since getting optioned, and has kept runs off the board in 3 of them. LHP Reiver Sanmartin made his 4th rehab appearance and struggled a bit, giving up 2 hits (including a double) and a run in an inning of work, with 1 strikeout. Sanmartin is on the 60-Day IL, so the Giants will need to make a roster move when he finishes his rehab … but that roster move doesn’t need to be at the Major League level (where they currently have 4 lefty relievers), as Sanmartin does have options remaining.
RHP Wilkin Ramos also allowed 2 hits in an inning of work, but didn’t give up any runs and struck out 2, lowering his ERA to 2.00 (his FIP is lagging behind, at 4.02). Ramos gave up runs in each of his 1st 3 games this year, but since then has given up just 2 earned runs in 14 outings.
Yet another strong game for right fielder Jonah Cox, who has officially graduated from “hot start” to “leveled up.” It’s been nearly 50 games and 200 plate appearances for the new-look Cox, whose swing has undergone changes that have resulted in dramatic improvements in both the stat sheet and the underlying metrics.
He was back to his old tricks on Thursday, though, as he hit 3-5 with a pair of infield singles and a stolen base, while also knocking a double.
Cox has, stunningly, hit safely in 40 out of 43 games this season, which includes 16 multi-hit games. A year after posting a .731 OPS, a 103 wRC+, a 22.4% strikeout rate, and a 12.0% swinging strike rate in High-A, he has a 1.130 OPS, a 196 wRC+, a 16.9% strikeout rate, and a 10.3% swinging strike rate in AA. He’s even stealing more bases, with 27 in 43 games, after an organization-leading 58 in 126 games a year ago (easier to steal bases when you’re getting on base seemingly every at-bat!).
Just a phenomenal year, and the A’s 2023 6th-rounder is quickly becoming one of the top prospects in the system.
Third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL) hit 2-5 with a double, while second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) went 2-3 with a sacrifice fly. Harber is up to a .948 OPS and a 148 wRC+ in his injury-shortened season, with 18 extra-base hits in 28 games, while the 22-year old Velasquez has a .758 OPS and a 107 wRC+ in his 3rd pass through Richmond.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 29, 2026
A fairly nondescript game on the mound. 24-year old LHP Cesar Perdomo had a so-so game, with 6 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs allowed in 4 innings. Those numbers aren’t great, though Perdomo did strike out 5 batters.
In all, it’s been an encouraging year for Perdomo, who has bumped his strikeouts from 8.3 per 9 innings last year (in High-A), to 10.2 this season. Not surprisingly, the increase of strikeouts has come hand in hand with a decrease in hits … last year with Eugene, Perdomo pitched 127.1 innings, and allowed 120 hits, including 13 home runs. This year, in 40.2 innings, Perdomo has only given up 33 hits, and just 1 home run. All of that has led to a 3.02 FIP, which ranks 4th among the 47 Eastern League pitchers with at least 30 innings thrown this year … though, in a testament to Richmond’s excellent season, ranking 4th in the league still results in ranking just 3rd on his own team, as the top of the list is anchored by LHPs Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) and Matt Wilkinson.
The one stain on Perdomo’s resume this year has been the walks, which have bumped up a little, from 2.7 per 9 last season to 3.5 this year. That, plus some unfortunate sequencing, has given him a 4.43 ERA despite all the good stuff.
Richmond’s rotation his been awesome this year, but their bullpen has struggled, so nice to see shutout performances from RHPs Manuel Mercedes and Brad Deppermann, and LHP Dale Stanavich, all who have ERAs that were happy to see scoreless games. Unfortunately the same could not be said for RHP Mitch White, who allowed 4 baserunners and 2 runs in an inning of work as his difficult season continues.
High-A Eugene (36-12)
Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 5-2 Box score
The highly-touted top of Eugene’s lineup has struggled lately, but that wasn’t the case on Thursday, as the trio all had strong games. Hitting in their usual lineup construction, the threesome was led off by right fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL), who hit 2-5 but was caught stealing. Then it was center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL), who went 2-4 with a walk and a strikeout, followed by shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL), who hit 2-4 with a double and a walk. And just like that, the trio combined for 6 of the team’s 10 hits, 2 of their 3 walks, and 3 of their 5 runs batted in. The future is bright!
Trevor Cohen, Dakota Jordan and Gavin Kilen each had two hits to lead the Emeralds offense past Vancouver on Thursday to improve their record to 36-12 (.750 winning percentage), the best record of all full-season minor league teams.
All 3 of those players have shown good things this year, but also with some question marks and red flags. Cohen, last year’s 3rd-round pick, has a .732 OPS and a 108 wRC+, though he hasn’t shown much power (.098 ISO) and his vaunted contact skills have done a better job suppressing strikeouts than accumulating hits (.264 average). Jordan, the team’s overslot 4th-round signing in 2024, has a .789 OPS and a 115 wRC+, but his 30.6% strikeout rate and 16.9% swinging strike rate are 13th and 8th-highest, respectively, out of the 58 Northwest League hitters with at least 100 plate appearances this season. Kilen has had the best line, with an .811 OPS and a 121 wRC+, but he’s had a fair share of slumps and hasn’t lit the league on fire quite as dramatically as some might have hoped given that he was the 13th overall pick out of the SEC.
Those were the offensive stars, though third baseman Walker Martin also had a multi-hit game, as he went 2-4. Martin has really been struggling lately, and this was his 1st multi-hit game since May 12, so good to see him tally a few knocks.
One of the team’s top prospects took the mound, as LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL) made his 6th start of the year, following a delayed season due to injury. It wasn’t the sharpest we’ve seen Bresnahan who, along with Furman, constituted the delightful haul the Giants got for trading Alex Cobb to Cleveland a few years back. But it certainly wasn’t a bad game, as he limited the Canadians to 5 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run in 5 innings. Bresnahan did an excellent job finding the strike zone, as he threw 52 of 77 pitches for strikes, and ended the day with 5 punchouts.
There’s a lot of work to be done in order for Bresnahan to take home Pitcher of the Year honors for the 3rd consecutive season. Right now he has a 3.47 ERA and a 4.83 FIP, and is walking 5.0 batters per 9 innings (though he’s also striking out 10.4). The biggest change year over year, though, has just been that he’s been more hittable: with Low-A San Jose in 2025, Bresnahan allowed just 67 hits and 2 home runs in 93 innings. This year he’s ceded 20 hits and 3 home runs in 23.1 frames.
Still, he’s a month away from being able to legally drink, and some rust is expected for anyone who has a delayed start to the season. It hasn’t been a breakout year, but it certainly isn’t a disappointing season, either.
RHP Liam Simon wasn’t at his best, but had another scoreless showing, as he threw 2 shutout innings with 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts, while throwing 18 of 27 pitches for strikes. It seems that Simon’s dramatic struggles with finding the strike zone post-Tommy John are finally behind him, and now we’re starting to see just how talented the 2022 5th-rounder is. Over an 11-game stretch spanning the end of last year and the start of this year, Simon threw 9.1 innings and walked 22 batters. In 9 games since? Just 6 walks in 14 innings, and he has a 10-game scoreless streak going.
Low-A San Jose (26-22)
San Jose Giants beat the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 1-0 Box score
The pitching in this game was quite a mixed bag. That’s not something you expect to say with a shutout, but I don’t know what else to call it. The performances were great, but concerning, as RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 13 CPL) exited the game with the trainers in the middle of an at-bat. According to Roger Munter, it appeared that Cayama was gesturing to his back or oblique, rather than his elbow or shoulder, and that’s obviously a good thing. Relatively speaking, of course … one of the team’s top prospects leaving in the middle of an at-bat is, it goes without saying, not a good thing at all.
Cayama put up some zeros before the discomfort, but he wasn’t at his sharpest, as he didn’t strike out any batters in his 3 scoreless frames, while allowing 3 hits and a walk. Even with that unconventional 0-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (something you rarely ever see from a starter), Cayama’s numbers on that front remain exceptional: the 19-year old has 45 strikeouts against just 8 walks in only 36 innings this season. 32 hits and 4 home runs, however, have given him an ERA (4.50) and FIP (4.40) that don’t really reflect the quality of his pitches.
The star on the mound was the piggybacker, who jumped in to save the day, as RHP Ben Bybee pitched 4 utterly dominant innings, giving up just 1 baserunner (a double) while striking out 5. It hasn’t been the smoothest transition to the pros for last year’s 8th-round pick, but games like this one (which featured 39 of 51 pitches going for strikes) show how much potential the 22-year old Arkansas product has. He only has a 3.63 ERA and a 4.04 FIP, but he does have 19 strikeouts to just 5 walks in 17.1 innings.
Capping off the pitching performance was RHP Mauricio Estrella, who struck out 4 batters in 2 scoreless innings, with 1 hit allowed. In keeping with the theme, Estrella’s strikeout and walk numbers stand out more than his actual run suppression … his ERA is a fine 3.00 and his FIP a mediocre 4.03, but he has 33 strikeouts and just 6 walks in 27 innings … including 11 strikeouts against 2 walks in 8 shutout innings over his last 4 appearances.
The offense did only just enough to secure a win for the great pitching, with the Baby Giants mustering just 4 hits, 0 extra-base hits, and 4 walks on the day. A pair of hitters reached base twice: center fielder Damian Bravo, who hit 1-3 with a walk, and third baseman Dario Reynoso, who went 0-2 with a strikeout, but drew 2 walks and stole his 6th base of the year. Bravo, a right-handed hitting 22-year old taken in the 15th round last year out of Texas Tech, has an .817 OPS and a 100 wRC+; Reynoso, a right-handed hitting 21-year old from the Dominican Republic, has a .961 OPS and a 143 wRC+, and also made a tremendous defensive play to end the game.
First things first: let’s cover some logistical stuff. During yesterday’s roundup, I noted that the transaction page had High-A Eugene outfielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) reassigned to the Complex League, which made no sense to me. Thankfully, Roger Munter, per the usual, has the information: it appears that the Cuban Diaz was, as is sadly not uncommon, unable to cross the border to Canadian soil with Eugene, so he’s staying fresh in Arizona instead, where he played in center field in this game, and hit 0-3 with a walk.
Now to the more exciting stuff: another superstar showing from shortstop Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL). The 17-year old sensation did it again on Thursday, hitting 2-5 with both a home run and a double.
Through 19 games, Hernández is hitting 25-75 with 5 home runs, 2 triples, 8 doubles, 8 walks, and just 13 strikeouts. All while playing a fluid shortstop (and third base), and stealing 3 bases in as many attempts. Have I mentioned that he’ll be wrapping Christmas presents when he celebrates his 18th birthday? And not because he plans many months in advance?
Hernández is 1 of just 6 17-year olds who has at least 50 plate appearances in the Complex Leagues this year, and 3 of those other 5 are getting their butts kicked. The only 2 who are performing well spent last year in the Dominican Summer League, which Hernández, who signed in January, did not. Although, funnily enough, 1 of those 2 is Miguel Caraballo, the former Giants prospect who was traded to the Twins in December to facilitate the Giants getting Daniel Susac … he’s rocking an .871 OPS and a 122 wRC+ in his stateside debut.
Back to Hernández, though. Despite his age and position, he is putting up staggering numbers. There are 166 Complex League hitters with at least 50 plate appearances, and he ranks 24th in average (.333), 66th in on-base percentage (.400), 5th in slugging percentage (.693), 4th in ISO (.360), 10th in OPS (1.093), and 19th in wRC+ (193). Truly an absurd season.
Unfortunately, the same can only partially be said for his running mate, as Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) has not played since May 23 after suffering what we all hope is a minor injury. González, like Hernández, has been lighting the ACL on fire when he’s on the field … we just need to get him back on the field!
Right fielder Evan Estevez only hit 1-4 with a strikeout, but he smashed a solo home run. The 18-year old right-handed hitter is in his debut stateside season after 2 years in the DSL, and right now the power and walks are the only things that are really playing. He has just a .204 average and a 33.8% strikeout rate (which has led to a .713 OPS and an 82 wRC+), but he has 3 home runs in just 77 plate appearances, and a 15.6% walk rate.
It was a struggle on the mound for the ACL Giants, namely for their most notable pitching prospect, LHP Carlos De La Rosa (No. 30 CPL). De La Rosa, an 18-year old who came to the Giants in last year’s Camilo Doval trade, faced 7 batters and retired just 1 of them (by strikes, though). The other 6? 2 doubles, 2 singles, and 2 walks, planting 5 runs in just 0.1 innings on De La Rosa’s ledger.
The starter struggled as well, as RHP Hunter Mensik allowed 6 hits (including a home run and a double), 2 walks, and 4 runs in 4 innings, though he did strike out 5 batters. Mensik was the team’s 17th-round pick last year, but was picked out of high school so he’s only 18. He’s shown his stuff can play at this level — he has 17 strikeouts in as many innings — but has struggled with hits, walks, and runs.
Sacramento: 6:35 p.m. PT at Reno (SP: TBD) Richmond: 4:17 p.m. PT at Akron (SP: Greg Farone) Eugene: 1:05 p.m. PT at Vancouver (SP: Charlie McDaniel) San Jose: 7:05 p.m. PT at Fresno (SP: TBD)
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DENVER, CO - May 19: Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung (6) prepares to bat in the first inning during a game between the Texas Rangers and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on May 19, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Texas Rangers lineup for May 29, 2026 against the Kansas City Royals: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore and Stephen Kolek.
The floundering Texas Rangers will try to flounder less tonight against the Royals of Kansas City. Offensive dynamo Nicky Lopez is hitting ninth, which I assume is for that “two leadoff man” synergy.
The lineup:
Pederson — DH
Jung — 3B
Nimmo — RF
Burger — 1B
Duran — SS
Carter — CF
Osuna — LF
Jansen — C
Lopez — 2B
7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -131 favorites.
PHOENIX, AZ - MAY 23: Brandon Pfaadt #32 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Saturday, May 23, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Zach Gardner/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Introduction
Undoubtedly, it has been a fun couple of weeks for the Diamondbacks. They’re tied for the second-best record in the majors over their last 20 games at 14-6, they’ve batted to a .248/.323/.382 slash line, and pitched to a 2.59 ERA. Those results find the team seven games over .500 and have watched their Baseball Reference playoff odds spike by nearly 30% over the last month and their Fangraph’s odds increasing by almost 18%. One part of that stretch that shouldn’t be lost in the exciting shuffle: just how good the starting rotation has been this month as they’ve pitched to a 3.03 ERA and 1.074 WHIP while averaging over six innings pitched per game. That kind of length has limited the bullpen’s exposure to just 63.1 IP for the month compared to 116.1 IP in the first month of the season. That lack of usage has particularly hurt Brandon Pfaadt who hasn’t appeared in nearly a week and has struggled to be as impactful as he was last year when he was second on the team in innings pitched while making 33 starts. As part of that dynamic, there has been plenty of musing on and off the air on what kind of role Pfaadt will play in the pitching staff moving forward, especially as several players slowly but surely make their way back from injury including AJ Puk and Justin Martinez. What can the team do and what kind of role will he have moving forward?
Roster Crunch
This was always likely to be a problem for Pfaadt with the offseason signing of Michael Soroka and the re-signings of both Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen gave the team six viable starting pitchers before including the eventual return of Corbin Burnes sometime around the All-Star Break. The team did give Pfaadt a brief opportunity in the rotation while Kelly was working his way back from injury at the beginning of the season, but the results were not very encouraging, prompting the team to move Pfaadt into the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever instead. There’s certainly some successful precedent to the move as players like Tommy Henry and even Ryne Nelson have thrived (to different extents) while bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen. On principle, the move makes sense as Pfaadt’s wide pitch arsenal can keep batters guessing even as his cut fastball and four-seamer play well against his offspeed offerings. Unfortunately, Pfaadt has continued to struggle as he posted a 5.94 ERA and 1.380 WHIP in three starts while posting remarkably similar results as a reliever with a 5.30 ERA and 1.393 WHIP over eight appearances. There’s been quite a bit of inconsistency to his performances too as he’s had a few blowups mixed in with a few good appearances while also struggling to be the innings-eater the team might have hoped he would be. So far, he’s had almost as many appearances where he’s gone more than an inning (5) as he’s gone an inning or less (3) with three straight appearances of essentially an inning or less. Interestingly, he has changed his offerings somewhat as a reliever compared to starting with his four-seamer (27%), curveball (20%), and sinker (19%) leading his usage while as a starter he leaned on his sinker (32%) and cutter (18%) much more. Obviously those changes have not led to improved results and even worse, some of the underlying numbers have deteriorated with his walk rate increasing slightly from 8 to 11% and his hard hit rate elevating from 36 to 44%. Those numbers would be more acceptable for a starter who can more easily navigate traffic, but are a death knell for a reliever.
Bullpen versus Rotation
The obvious question then becomes whether it’s more effective for Pfaadt and the team to have him up in the majors as a long reliever or to keep him stretched out in Reno to potentially replace or support an injured starter elsewhere? Unfortunately, we likely will never get a definitive answer, but if I had to hazard a guess, I suspect that the team will option him back to Reno so he can stay stretched out while also working on the mechanics and mentality of coming into a game from the bullpen rather than as a starter – especially since there was functionally no transition time for him between the moves. It would also have the added benefit of giving him some time to psychologically reset and possibly refine his offerings without the extra pressure of needing to perform every night for a team that has played themselves back into the playoff hunt. Of course, there’s always the possibility that the move could backfire by hurting Pfaadt’s confidence, but I can’t imagine he’s feeling particularly confident at this point and if he can reimagine himself as a long reliever (at least for this season), he could be a great weapon for the team in the stretch run.
The Brewers finished off a satisfying sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, then got a deserved day off on Thursday. Tonight, they’re in Houston, where they face the Astros in the first game of a three-game jaunt on the road before getting back to Milwaukee on Monday. The Astros started the season poorly, but they’ve won six of their last seven, all on the road: they swept the Cubs at Wrigley last weekend, then won three of four against the Rangers in Arlington. The Astros looked dead in the AL West for a while, but that division is now led by the 28-29 Seattle Mariners, and Houston is just 2.5 games back.
Tonight’s pitching matchup features two relatively inexperienced starting pitchers. The Brewers are rolling with Coleman Crow, the rookie who will be making his third career start. He’s made two solid spot starts for the big-league Brewers this season: he threw 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball against the Marlins on April 17, then gave up one run in five innings against the Twins on May 15. Milwaukee won both games. His numbers haven’t been as good at Triple-A Nashville, but a lot of that is attributable to one outing when he gave up eight runs in late April (right after his first career major league start). He’s allowed only four combined runs in his last three starts with Nashville.
Houston will go with the right-handed Taiwanese pitcher Kai-Wei Teng, who debuted for Houston in 2024 but has made only 29 appearances, 11 of them starts, in his major league career. Teng is 27 and having a nice year for Houston: he started the season in the bullpen but has started in his last three appearances. The last two of those have gone quite well: in his last two games, Teng has 11 shutout innings and while he’s been wild (seven walks), he’s allowed only four hits in those 11 innings. Houston won both games, a 4-1 win over the Rangers and a 3-0 shutout of the Cubs.
A couple pitching notes today: Abner Uribe has been fined and suspended by the league, but he is appealing that decision. My suspicion is that Uribe will probably pitch a couple times and then drop the appeal before a game in which he wouldn’t have been used anyway, but that’s a littlehard to control. In any case, he’ll be available tonight.
Uribe's one-game suspension was scheduled to be served Friday night, when the Brewers open a series here in Houston. But he has appealed, so the discipline will be held in abeyance until that process is complete.
Second, Jared Koenig has been sent to Nashville to begin a rehab assignment. Given how Quinn Priester’s rehab is going, I’m a bit pessimistic about rehabbing pitchers at the moment, but hopefully Koenig will be fine and back with the Brewers soon.
Christian Yelich is back in the leadoff spot, where he went 4-for-9 in the last two games of the St. Louis series. The Brewers are going with the left-handed side of a couple of platoons, as David Hamilton starts in place of Joey Ortiz and Jake Bauers is in for Andrew Vaughn. Both Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell are in the lineup, as well. Houston’s lineup doesn’t feature a whole lot of firepower, but they’ve got one enormous weapon in Yordan Alvarez, who has been arguably the league’s best hitter this season. He’s hitting .307/.419/.654, leads the AL with 20 homers, and leads the majors with a 199 OPS+ and 134 total bases.
First pitch is a little later than usual: 7:10 p.m. Find the game on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.
Alvarez continues to make incredible timing coming from knee surgery.
Mendoza said that the backstop has already done just about everything in his recovery -- catching bullpens, blocking, running, and throwing.
He also looked back to normal taking swings at Citi Field pregame Friday.
“Just two weeks removed from surgery, it’s pretty amazing to see,” the skipper said.
As long as things continue to progress as planned, Mendoza wouldn’t be surprised to see Alvarez starting a minor league rehab assignment as early as next week.
Stearns said that the veteran infielder will play in games each of the next two days, then get a day off Sunday, and they will take it day-by-day from there.
If all goes as planned, there’s a possibility he could be back in the lineup during the next road trip.
He went 1-for-2 with a single and strikeout as the Rumble Ponies' DH his first time out.
Polanco, of course, has been recovering from a wrist issue and Achilles bursitis which slowed him down mightily during the early part of the season.
He's expected to be limited to DH duties upon his return.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) reacts during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Lindor is making good progress in his recovery from a left calf strain, as well.
The star shortstop has been at Citi Field as he's resumed baseball activities this week, but Stearns says that there's still no potential timeline for a return.
Lindor has been sidelined since leaving with the injury vs. the Twins on April 22.
The Mets have only had him, Bo Bichette, and Juan Soto in the lineup at the same time nine times this season.
"That's been one of the most frustrating parts of the season," Stearns said. "We believed the top of our order would match any order in baseball and we haven't had them together -- so that's been a challenge for us.
"We still believe those are good players, and when we get them back, we'll have a really good top of the lineup."
Robert, meanwhile, still hasn't resumed baseball activities.
Stearns said that he's gone through a series of injections to try and help his herniated disc, and he is currently progressing through rehab activities, but hasn't been deemed ready to take that next step yet.
"He needs to continue to work through strengthening exercises and mobility exercises without any pain for our training staff to feel comfortable progressing him even further," he said.
Robert was transferred to the 60-day IL to make room on the roster earlier this week.
Top prospect A.J. Ewing has slid in nicely as the everyday center fielder while he's been sidelined.
As for Senga, he's continuing to make progress in his rehab, as well.
The right-hander was knocked around a bit as he allowed three runs on four hits and two walks over 3.2 innings in his first appearance with Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday night.
For right now, though, Mendoza and the Mets aren't too worried about the numbers.
"He look good," the skipper said. "Right now it's just about the physical part and making sure that he's feeling good, but at some point down the line the results will matter."
Senga will throw a bullpen session on Sunday, then make another rehab appearance.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 26: Sean Manaea #59 of the New York Mets reacts after pitching during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field on May 26, 2026 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Mets will be swapping the roles of two of their left-handed pitchers, Carlos Mendoza announced before Friday night’s series opener against the Marlins. David Peterson, who has made seven starts this season and entered in the fourth inning or earlier in all 12 of his appearances, will be available out of the bullpen beginning on Sunday. Meanwhile, Sean Manaea, who has yet to make a start in 12 appearances while only entering the game in the fourth inning or earlier twice, will return to the rotation (either as a starter or bulk man after an opener).
Manaea has been more effective over the past few weeks, with a 3.09 ERA in 11.2 IP since May 10 representing a marked improvement from his 6.85 ERA in 22.1 IP before then. He has also seen a steady rise in fastball velocity, averaging 91.7 mph on his four-seamer on May 22 in Miami compared with as low as 88.6 mph in an outing earlier this season.
Peterson put together four consecutive solid outings to begin the month, pitching to a 2.50 ERA in 18 IP with 20 K and 16 BB. That positive stretch came to a close on Tuesday, when the Reds pounced on Peterson for six runs and 11 hits in five innings.
Peterson’s splits as a starter and reliever this season are stark, with a 7.56 ERA and .331 opponents batting average as a starter compared with a 2.25 ERA and .247 opponents’ batting average as a reliever. Those numbers are also consistent with his career norms. Across seven seasons, Peterson has a 4.36 ERA as a starter and a 2.51 ERA as a reliever, and that’s not counting his six scintillating appearances out of the bullpen during the 2024 postseason. As much as this move might be a show of faith in Manaea’s abilities, it’s also just as reasonably an acceptance of how best to utilize Peterson in his final year of team control.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - DECEMBER 28: Jacoby Brissett #7 of the Arizona Cardinals warms up prior to a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For the Arizona Cardinals the odd holdout from their starter who finished with a 1-11 record has created a lot of conversation around the idea of bumping up his pay.
While everyone looks at it from the perspective of if he is the starter once again heading into the season, he deserves to be paid more than his current amount, but there is always this weird caveat.
The caveat showed up in NFL.com’s piece on the quarterback battles in the NFL, where the Cardinals quarterback battle was highlighted, and they came to the same conclusion almost everyone has as well:
PREDICTED OUTCOME: Brissett gets a raise and starts in Week 1; Beck eventually starts several games.
There was a lot of good analysis in there as well, so I highly recommend checking out the full article, but I wanted to just focus on the predicted outcome, which seems nearly universal from most fans/pundits.
If the outcome that let’s just say 98% of people are expecting is that Beck starts games this year, which is almost going to assuredly happen because the team is bad, then what exactly are the Cardinals paying Brissett for?
If the expectation is that Brissett won’t play the whole season, then I guess the question for the Cardinals becomes… what is the point?
You unfortunately made it obvious this offseason that you hade other people in mind at the position, making overtures with both Malik Willis and Jimmy Garoppolo.
You drafted Carson Beck.
If Jacoby wasn’t the plan A or B then what is the difference in plan C or D? Especially if the overall expectation is he won’t be the starter for 15+ games.
This whole offseason has been a class on how not to handle things from a team who seemingly has no rudder or plan.
BEATING THE GOOD TEAMS: The Cubs are 17-16 this season in games against opponents that had a winning record going into a game. Fourteen of their last 15 wins have come against teams that were above .500, including the last four. The lone win against an underachiever was the last of their 10 straight wins, at Texas on May 8. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
BETTER UNDER THE LIGHTS: The Cubs’ wins the last two nights improved their record to 11-5 in the second of back-to-back night games. They are 18-11 in all games at night, just 13-15 in daylight. Tonight’s game will be Cubs’ fourth of nine in a row under the lights, their longest such stretch of the season. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
ABOUT GIVING UP RUNS: The Pirates’ two runs last night both came in the sixth inning. The Cubs had allowed exactly one run in at least one inning of each of their previous 11 games, since they had shut out the Braves at Atlanta, 2-0, on May 14. Before that, they had allowed a single run in one inning of nine straight games, since May 3, when they gave up two runs twice in an 8-4 win at home over the Diamondbacks. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: The Cubs hire Buck O’Neil as a coach. He becomes the first Black coach in MLB history. More on O’Neil’s long baseball career here. It happened 64 years ago today, Tuesday, May 29, 1962.
Shōta Imanaga was having a pretty good year until his last two starts, which were both awful. I’ll just note that half of all the runs he’s allowed this year (15 of 30) were in those two starts.
But here’s a team he does well against! Career vs. Cardinals: Four starts, 2.84 ERA, 0.789 WHIP, just three home runs in 25.1 innings, only one walk and 25 strikeouts.
Do more of that, Shōta.
This is Andre Pallante’s second full year in the Cardinals rotation. Last year wasn’t so good, with a 5.31 ERA in 31 starts, and he led MLB in wild pitches with 12.
This year has been somewhat better, and he has allowed three or fewer runs in eight of his 10 starts.
Career vs. Cubs: 12 games (five starts), 4.40 ERA, 1.674 WHIP, a low K rate (15 of 130 batters, or 11.5 percent).
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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
