Category: Baseball

Yariel Rodriguez will be with the team for tonight’s game. The team had an open spot on the 40-man roster, but there is no word on how they will free up a spot on the active roster. Rodriguez has thrown 13.2 innings, with 9 walks, 25 strikeouts and 7 hits, with a 2.63 ERA.

I’m guessing that Eric Lauer will either go on the IL (he is throwing a couple of miles per hour lower than last year, the excuse might be to find out if there is a physical reason for that) or they DFA him and put him on waivers. If a team picked him up, they would owe him about $3.1 million, which isn’t all that much for a guy who had a 3.18 ERA last year. Or other teams could wait to see if he elects free agency after the waiver period.

Batters are hitting .264/.335/.542 against him. He’s handed out 16 walks in 36.1 innings, when he had just 26 in 104.2 innings last year. And he leads baseball with 11 home runs allowed.

Of course I’m guessing at stuff. Giving up on a guy, who was very good last year, on just 36 innings is not a great way to do business. But Lauer has had an up and down career. The unfortunate thing for Lauer is that last year he was throwing just hard enough to keep batters honest. When you lose a little from ‘just hard enough’, bad things happened. We saw that a few years ago with Marco Estrada. He never threw upper 90s but when he went from lower 90s to upper 80s, he wasn’t quite the same guy.

But without Lauer, they’d need someone in five days.

Spencer Miles could be used in that spot. He three innings yesterday and likely could go a bit more next time out. And Yariel Rodriguez can do more than one inning, he’s done two or more a couple of times in Buffalo.

Of course it is possible it isn’t Lauer who’s coming off the roster.

I totally reject the idea that Lauer’s problems are because of them bouncing him back and forth between bulk man and starter. He’s not throwing softer because he’s changing roles (or if he is, it is a lousy way of showing he should be a full time starter).

And I’m not buying the ‘he’s sulking because of the opener thing’. He was asked if he likes the opener thing, and he answered honestly. I bet if you asked every starting pitcher in the league….well…..most of them wouldn’t actually answer, because if you answer people will twist it. Fans complain about players give stock answers to questions, but when someone gives a real answer they read more into it than just an answer to a question. No starting pitcher wants to go to the bulk man role. But then, if they want out of that role, PITCH BETTER.

I also dislike reading body language. Players can’t win that game. If a player smiles and is happy, while struggling, we complain (Jerry Howarth ran Jose Reyes for being his usual happy self, even though he wasn’t playing well). If they look serious, they are sulking. The players can’t win.

Addison Barger is off to get an MRI on his right elbow. To me, it is very likely a direct line from this (one amazing throw):

There is this:

Now I don’t know if any of that is true. I don’t know how Addison felt right after the throw. I don’t know if there was immediate pain or anything. I do know that someone twittered that Addison grimaced in the dugout when he was high-fiving after the throw. I don’t know that he had another throw in from right that game.

Hopefully it is just soreness. I think we’ve all thrown a ball a little too hard and then had pain after. But Barger likely knows the difference between a little soreness and something that needs an MRI. They say he woke up with ‘limited range of motion’ in the arm. That doesn’t sound good.

I don’t want him to be out another month.

It would be nice if there was something fun to write about.

2026 MLB Draft: Baseball America has released their latest mock draft — V.3.0 if you’re keeping track at home — and they have the Texas Rangers, at #16, selecting righthanded pitcher Cameron Flukey out of Coastal Carolina.

Flukey is not someone who, coming into the season, would generally have been seen up to this point as being available when the Rangers pick. BA currently has him at #7 on their draft board, while MLB Pipeline slots him at #13. However, Flukey was sidelined earlier this year with a rib issue (BA says rib strain, MLB Pipeline says rib stress fracture), and has struggled in the few outings he has had since his return.

Interestingly, Keith Law has the Rangers taking University of Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron in his latest mock draft, which came out last week, but also mentions Flukey as a possibility for Texas at #16, ultimately mocking Flukey to the Astros at #17 (and marveling that Flukey might drop that far).

Jim Callis, in his mock draft that dropped on Friday, also has the Rangers taking Lebron at #16. Lebron profiles as a toolsy, true shortstop with four potential plus tools, and is currently #5 on the MLB Pipeline board. However, there are real questions about Lebron’s hit tool, and he’s slashing just .266/.386/.516 this seasonl albeit with an impressive 36 stolen bases in 37 attempts.

The Rangers have gotten away from the tool sheds with questionable hit tools in recent years, so Lebron would be a bit of a surprise. College pitchers with injury issues, though, have been the Rangers’ jam of late. Flukey is a guy with a four pitch mix and a quality fastball that he throws for strikes, and could move quickly. If he drops because of the rib injury, he would seem to be a fit with the Rangers at #16.

It’s out of the frying pan and into the fire for the Atlanta Braves. Despite today being an off-day, they’ll have little time to come down from their big statement series-win in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. They’ll be coming home to welcome in the high-flying Cubs who have also gotten off to a very hot start, themselves.

Following their second high-caliber showdown in as many series, the Braves will enter into a stretch where it’s possible that they won’t be facing a team that’s over .500 until the weekend after Memorial Day. The Braves could have a direct say in that since they’ll be facing the Red Sox twice during that span — the first series of which will be taking place this weekend as the Braves end their brief six-game homestand against Boston. It’ll be a test nonetheless, as the Braves will be looking to keep on rolling with Memorial Day getting closer and closer.

Now it’s time to take a look at what lies ahead for Atlanta as far as the action this week is concerned.

May 12-14: Chicago Cubs

Current Record: 27-14 Projected Record(via FanGraphs): 90-72

Thank goodness for today being an off day, since that means that Chris Sale will be able to pitch in the series finale against the Cubs on regular rest. That’ll be huge for the Braves considering that Grant Holmes, JR Ritchie and the rest of Atlanta’s pitching staff is going to have a serious test on their hands with this Cubs lineup. The good news is that we now know that they can indeed be stopped, as Chicago will be entering this game having dropped a series on the road against the Rangers where they got shut out twice in the final two games.

That only came after the Cubs rattled off their second 10-game winning streak of the season so far. It could just be that the Cubs are monsters at Wrigley Field while being somewhat normal away from home but up until their power outage in Arlington, the Cubs did have one of the best team wRC+ marks on the road. Obviously, we’re all hoping that the Braves can keep the Cubs mired in this current mini-slump that they’re on but it’ll still be a very tough task for this lineup to keep guys like Nico Hoener, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong and old friend Dansby Swanson quiet over the course of this series. Hopefully these guys continue to slumber through their visit to Cobb County.

Meanwhile, Chicago’s pitching staff has done enough to make sure that whatever the offense does doesn’t go up in smoke on any given night. While they’re only just outside of the top 10 of all teams in ERA- and actually pretty low down baseball’s order in terms of FIP-, the Cubs are going to be sending some tough customers to the mound to start for them during this series. Shota Imanaga has mostly been very tough to deal with so far this season and his last outing in particular was a very impressive one where he went six innings with just one run allowed with 10 strikeouts. That was after he pitched seven innings of shutout ball against the Diamondbacks.

With that being said, he has had his occasional blow-ups. The Dodgers got him for five runs (four earned) over 5.1 innings on April 26 and then the Nationals tagged him for four runs over five innings all the way back on March 29. If the Braves can get to Imanaga then maybe that’ll be a good sign for them — even if Ben Brown could be frustratingly effective for the Cubs and Colin Rea could also deliver a solid performance of his own as well.

The Braves are going to have a lot on their plate to pull off another series win but at least this time, they’ll be playing in front of their home fans (though there will surely be plenty of folks clad in Cubbie Blue, like usual) in their own ballpark and maybe that’ll be enough to give the Braves the edge in what’ll surely be a hard-fought series.

Tuesday, May 12 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, TBS (out-of-market only))
Wednesday, May 13 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Thursday, May 14 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

May 15-17: Boston Red Sox

Current Record: 17-23 Projected Record: 79-83

Speaking of plenty of folks being clad in the other team’s colors, we’ll probably see that as well once the Red Sox come to town. They won’t be cheering for a team with a winning record once they do arrive, as Boston is currently stuck at the bottom of the AL East and looking to find some sort of way to get things going in the right direction. The good news for Boston is that they are very close to Toronto and Baltimore in the standings, so they could very well be in third place by the time they make it to Atlanta. The bad news for them is that they’re already way behind both the Yankees and the Rays who are currently duking it out at the top of the AL East, so they’ve got a long road to go before they become relevant in the division again this season.

Pitching-wise, the Red Sox have actually been performing at around the same level as the Cubs have — at least according to ERA- and FIP-. Ranger Suarez has been very solid for them so far and they’ve also gotten encouraging results from Payton Tolle and Connelly Early to start the season so far. Arodlis Chapman has once again continued to defy Father Time with his production out of the ‘pen as well, so the Braves will be doing well to make sure that they don’t have to see him too much during this series. This is a perfectly fine pitching staff that’ll be coming to town this weekend and while the Braves may be avoiding Suarez, whoever Boston puts out there won’t be a pushover.

The main problem for Boston has been their hitting (or lack therof). Heading into this week, the Red Sox have a grand total of four (4) regular contributors who have a wRC+ over 100 — Wilyer Abreu (133), Willson Contreras (134), Cedanne Rafaela (104) and Masataka Yoshida (109). That’s it. For comparison’s sake, the Braves have eight regulars with a wRC+ over 100 and if you count Jonah Heim and his 12 games of work while he was with the Braves, it’s nine. If this series turns into a situation where it comes down who can get the most consistent plate production then this should be a series that goes well for the Braves. If it comes down to pitching then things could be much tougher for Atlanta during this series. We’ll see what happens!

Friday, May 15 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV)
Saturday, May 16 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV)
Sunday, May 17 at 1:35 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV)

Former Nationals southpaw Mackenzie Gore certainly hasn’t gotten off to the greatest start in Texas. The 27-year-old who was long considered the future of the Washington rotation was dealt to the Rangers during the 2026 offseason, and the next step that so many analysts and fans believed he could take simply hasn’t come. He has a 5.18 ERA through 40.0 innings, with a concerningly high walk rate and consistent struggles effectively working deeper into games.

Infielder Gavin Fien, the Rangers 1st-round selection in the 2025 draft, was seen as the central piece in the return for Gore, and he remains firmly in the organization’s Top-5 prospect rankings. However, he might not be the prospect that could yield the greatest results.

20-year-old shortstop Devin Fitz-Gerald, a main part, but not the headliner in the deal, has been a man on a mission through the first part of the 2026 season. Starting the year with the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, he’s been an absolute nightmare for pitchers to face.

The counting numbers fly off the page, with a slash line of .310/.439/.593 through 113 at-bats, including a 15-for-42 stretch with 4 HR and 10 XBH in the last 14 days. What’s even more impressive is how he’s doing it. A shoulder injury prematurely ended his 2025 campaign with the Single-A Hickory Crawdads, and there were legitimate concerns about how his power tool would rebound moving forward. With almost a 30-game sample size under his belt so far in his return to action, those questions have been silenced.

Looking at Fitz-Gerald’s profile, it’s difficult to find even the smallest weakness in his 2026 performance to this point. He’s hitting the ball hard, he’s beginning to elevate with intent, and boasts equally impressive walk and strikeout rates, both sitting at 15.7%. Everything about his start screams sustainability, and his bat-to-ball skills have looked as good as any prospect in the minors.

Fellow shortstop Ronny Cruz’s exponential rise into MLB Pipeline’s Top-100, preceded by a promotion to Wilmington just a few short weeks ago, has infused an impressive amount of talent into Washington’s lower MiLB levels. With 6 prospects now on the list, and no signs of the switch-hitting Fitz-Gerald slowing down any time soon, his insertion onto the national rankings and a swift advancement to Double-A could be on the horizon.

Gore’s slow start and lack of immediate developmental strides have certainly made the trade easier to swallow for Nats fans, albeit Washington’s own pitching woes have made usable arms even more of a commodity than when he was still in the organization.

With that being said, the Nationals have made it abundantly clear that their eyes are pointed to the future. As they continue their focus on finding projectable assets who can evolve into MLB players capable of fueling an eventual playoff push, the high-flying Fitz-Gerald looks like a major win for the new front office’s talent evaluation and player development programs.

When the Kansas City Royals hit the 2025/2026 offseason, they had a few items on their wish list. Generally, they were looking to shore up their outfield, which was a significant weakness for them. Specifically, they were on the hunt for three things: a right-handed bat to play against lefties, a starting left fielder, and a middle-of-the-order type bat to lengthen the lineup.

To fill the right-handed platoon bat, the Royals signed Lane Thomas on a one-year, $5 million deal. Kansas City traded for Isaac Collins to fill the left field spot. And the middle-of-the-order bat never materialized, as the Royals didn’t find a player in free agency or a trading partner that they were comfortable with.

Should the Royals have done more? That was one of the questions us Royals Review staff discussed in the very first roundtable of the year. Fortunately, though, we can take a look at what some of the players with whom the Royals were linked in the offseason and see what they have been up to. And the results are…mostly underwhelming.

This list of players includes a variety of free agents in the Royals’ price range as well as the players the Royals were rumored to be targeting in a trade:

There is one clear winner in this list: Ward, who has been both very good and healthy for the Baltimore Orioles. Two more players are also clear success stories: Garcia, who has been perfectly serviceable on his one-year deal, and Frazier, who is darn near playing at the league minimum but hitting well and generally doing his thing.

Outside those three players, though, there’s a lot to cringe at. Donovan has been good when healthy, but he’s already missed three weeks with an injury this year. Kim hasn’t played at all yet after a freak injury in Korea. Bader and Hays have also been hurt, and they’ve been bad when they’ve played. Yastrzemski and Mullins have simply been bad.

The year isn’t yet done, and it’s only May. There’s plenty of time for this group of players to succeed. Still, you acquire free agents or make trades to impact your club quickly—if teams didn’t need that, they could simply wait until the trade deadline. And the group of players in the Royals’ price range have been largely disappointing.

Kansas City’s offseason wasn’t perfect. Giving $8 million to Jonathan India was eyebrow-raising at the time, and his season-ending shoulder injury makes that more frustrating. And was Lane Thomas worth $5 million? He hasn’t been as bad as many others who got more years and dollars, so that’s a win at least.

But the Royals don’t do their offseason in a vacuum; they have to acquire real players with real money or talent, and have to do so with what’s available. And for the second consecutive offseason, it looks like Kansas City’s reluctance to make splurge on a big free agent or trade acquisition has been smart.

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We're going East-to-West with our MLB picks tonight, finding value in a pair of moneylines (plus a total bet) based on prices available at Polymarket.

Read on to see why our MLB experts like a pair of AL West teams to win, while an AL East clash should produce plenty of runs. 

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: TB/TOR o7.5	+102
Jon Metler: SEA ML	-133
Neil Parker: TEX ML	-117

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Rays/Blue Jays Over 7.5

Price: 49¢ (+102) at Polymarket

Let’s put the familiarity angle to the test today. Both starters faced these same lineups in their previous outings, with Drew Rasmussen allowing seven hits and three runs, while Kevin Gausman gave up two runs. Now, we get a controlled environment (inside the dome at the Rogers Centre), the Toronto Blue Jays lineup is getting healthier, and the Tampa Bay Rays can put up runs. Per THE BAT, the fair price on this over is closer to -115.

Jon Metler's expert pick: Mariners moneyline

Price: 57¢ (-133) at Polymarket

George Kirby has been surgical this season, allowing just 2.08 BB/9, which is not a good matchup for the Houston Astros lineup. Kirby isn’t going to hand out free passes and then leave pitches over the heart of the plate for aggressive, mistake-hitting batters like Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker to launch into the seats. Instead, Kirby is going to force Houston to string together multiple hits: A challenge for an Astros offense that lacks depth and has struggled to consistently turn the lineup over. The Seattle Mariners are trading around 57-cent favorites, but I think they should be closer to 62 cents (-163).

Neil Parker's expert pick: Rangers moneyline

Price: 54¢ (-117) at Polymarket

The Diamondbacks have hit the skids at the dish, with a 28th-ranked xwOBA across their past 12 games, while the Texas Rangers check in sixth. Additionally, Texas ranks 11th in wOBA against righties for the year, while Arizona sits 27th — that's a monstrous gap that isn’t priced into these odds enough... and I also give Texas a pitching edge. Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi has outpitched his surface numbers for the year, with his 3.29 xFIP well below his 4.15 ERA, and Diamondbacks starter Mike Soroka has been beat around (to the tune of a .472 wOBA and 1.082 OPS) in his two road starts.

More MLB best bets for today

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The 1989 Yankees were a mostly forgettable squad. Situated squarely within the late-80s decline that came before the dynasty years of the late ‘90s, the ‘89 team combined lengthy winning and losing streaks to reach the All-Star Break with a 43-43 record — good for second in the AL East, 5.5 games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles. A late-July swoon, however, prompted the Bombers to swing some deals at the deadline, bringing today’s birthday boy to the Bronx: 11-year big-league pitcher Walt Terrell, who had a 13-start Yankees career.

Charles Walter Terrell
Born: May 11, 1958 (Jeffersonville, IN)
Yankees Tenure: 1989

Born to a factory worker and seamstress in rural Indiana, Walt Terrell grew up without either indoor plumbing or a telephone for a good chunk of his childhood, receiving the former in 1965 and the latter in 1967. Despite this, the 6-foot-7 Terrell proved to be a remarkable athlete from a young age, playing high school baseball, football, and basketball. Off the back of a strong senior season, in which he threw a no-hitter and posted a batting average above .300, he went on to attend Morehead State University in Kentucky, where he learned a changeup — and how to truly pitch, not simply throw the ball — from coach Steve Hamilton, a 12-year Major Leaguer who spent eight seasons with the Yankees.

Originally drafted in the 15th round of the 1979 draft by the New York Mets, Terrell returned to college for his senior season. In the short term, this cost him draft stock, as he wound up going to the Texas Rangers in the 33rd round the following year. In the long term, however, this turned out to be the right move: when he finally took ta professional mound that summer, he hit the ground running, steadily climbing through the system. When he was traded, along with Ron Darling, to the Mets in April 1982 for Lee Mazzilli, he was immediately added to the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate, and made his debut that September when rosters expanded.

Terrell started the 1983 season back in the minors, but returned to The Show for good that June. For the next year and a half, he was a mainstay in the rotation in Queens. At that point, though, his time with the Mets came to an end, as he was traded to the Detroit Tigers on December 7, 1984. He would go on to spend four seasons there. Across the first three, he was one of Detroit’s most reliable pitchers, averaging 34 starts per season while posting a perfectly league average 4.14 ERA. An ankle injury and underperformance ruined his 1988 campaign, however, prompting the Tigers to trade him to the San Diego Padres a few weeks after the season ended.

Terrell was an effective middle-of-the-rotation starter in San Diego, going 5-13 with a 4.01 ERA (88 ERA+) in 19 starts as a member of the Padres. With the Padres in fourth place and 9.5 games behind the first place Giants in the NL West, San Diego opted to flip the impending free agent at the deadline for struggling Yankees third baseman Mike Pagliarulo and pitcher Don Schulze.

The Yankees undoubtedly hoped Terrell would provide a jolt to the middle of their rotation as they tried to battle back in the division. That, unfortunately, did not happen. He allowed four runs or more in six of his first seven starts, getting tagged with the loss in four of them. Below is one such blow-up, when the “Why Not” Orioles—stunning contenders in ’89 after record-setting misery in ’88—got to him for five runs on eleven hits in six innings of work on August 26th:

In truth, Terrell only had one major highlight with the Yankees, a five-hit complete-game shutout at Fenway Park against Wade Boggs and the Boston Red Sox. That ended his season on a high note at the very least.

That offseason, Terrell was interested in a return to the Bronx, but ultimately signed a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates for $3.6 million. That contract lasted all of 16 starts, as the Pirates released him in the middle of July after he started his Pirates career with a 2-7 record and a 5.88 ERA. The Tigers picked him up, and he spent the last two and a half years of his career with them. He signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays ahead of the 1993 season, but failed to make the team out of spring training and, when it was clear that the team had no interest in bringing him up, retired in July.

After his career, Terrell moved to Kentucky and, according to SABR, worked for Pepsi and coached high school and travel baseball. In 2005, he was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

The San Francisco Giants, ranked fourth in the NL West with a 16-24 record, face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are tied for first in the NL West with a 24-16 record. The Los Angeles Dodgers are favored with a -185 moneyline compared to the San Francisco Giants' +150. Starting pitchers are Trevor McDonald for San Francisco, with a 1.29 ERA, and Roki Sasaki for Los Angeles, with a 5.97 ERA.

How to watch San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

• Date: Monday, May 11

• Time: 10:10 p.m. ET / 7:10 p.m. PT

• Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

• TV Channels: SportsNet LA, NBCS BA

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• San Francisco Giants: 16-24 (fourth in NL West)

• Los Angeles Dodgers: 24-16 (tied for first in NL West)

Odds

• Spread: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5

• Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers -185 / San Francisco Giants +150

• Over/Under: 9.5

Starting pitchers

San Francisco Giants: Trevor McDonald (1-0, ERA: 1.29, K: 8, WHIP: 0.29)

Los Angeles Dodgers: Roki Sasaki (1-3, ERA: 5.97, K: 26, WHIP: 1.67)

Weather: 74°F at first pitch

The New York Yankees, ranked second in the AL East with a 26-15 record, face the Baltimore Orioles, who are fourth in the AL East with an 18-23 record. The New York Yankees are favored with a -160 moneyline compared to the Baltimore Orioles' +135. Starting pitchers are Ryan Weathers for New York, with a 3.03 ERA, and Brandon Young for Baltimore, with a 4.35 ERA.

How to watch New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles

• Date: Monday, May 11

• Time: 6:35 p.m. ET / 3:35 p.m. PT

• Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD

• TV Channels: MASN, YES

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• New York Yankees: 26-15 (second in AL East)

• Baltimore Orioles: 18-23 (fourth in AL East)

Odds

• Spread: New York Yankees -1.5

• Moneyline: Baltimore Orioles +135 / New York Yankees -160

• Over/Under: 9.0

Starting pitchers

New York Yankees: Ryan Weathers (2-2, ERA: 3.03, K: 45, WHIP: 1.19)

Baltimore Orioles: Brandon Young (3-1, ERA: 4.35, K: 14, WHIP: 1.45)

Weather: 61°F at first pitch

The good news is that, unlike last week the Dodgers did hit a home run this week, eight of them in fact. But outside of two solid hitting games in Houston, the offense was mostly shut down in the other four games, leading to a split of six games against the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves.

Though the Dodgers scratched together a win against Chris Sale on Friday night, the Dodgers only scored seven runs in three games against Atlanta, owners of the best record in baseball, none against starters Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder on Saturday and Sunday. The Dodgers in their three losses this week didn’t score until the eighth, ninth, and eighth innings. Two hits in Sunday’s loss was a season low.

Scoring has been an issue for a while now for the Dodgers, with three or fewer runs eight times in their last 11 games, and 12 times in their last 21 games. That’s the recipe for going from a 15-4 start to the season to just 9-12 since.

“We really haven’t been able to put together innings,” manager Dave Roberts said of the offense on Sunday. “As a unit, I don’t think we’re one piece right now.”

“We have some guys that aren’t in the spot they want to be in right now, and they’re trying to figure it out. It’s kind of tough to compete when you’re trying to figure things out,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “We’ve preached in the past that you have to forget what you’re doing off the field and when you get into the batter’s box you have to compete. That’s probably something we need to harp on again right now, because there are a lot of guys trying to find some mechanics. And it’s hard to hit when you’re doing it.”

In addition, the stability of the starting rotation, which did some real heavy lifting over the first month and a half this season, finally took a hit with Tyler Glasnow sidelined with back spasms. The Dodgers got Blake Snell back, but earlier than originally planned which led to lots of rust on Saturday.

Only three games into another span of 13 game days in a row, the Dodgers already added three pitchers to the active roster, with the fresh arm express revving up for heavy use, making up for lost time after being mostly out of service for the previous 13-day stretch this year.

Batter of the week

Andy Pages was the standout thanks in part to his three-homer game (see below), but even if you remove that game he still would have led the team in hits for the week.

Honorable mention goes to Kyle Tucker, who doubled twice, homered, and led the team with five walks.

Pitcher of the week

Shohei Ohtani struck out eight in a season-high seven innings on Tuesday in Houston. He allowed only two runs, on the first two home runs he has allowed this season, but suffered the tough-luck loss thanks to the aforementioned offensive struggles.

We are seven weeks into the season, and Ohtani has won pitcher of the week more times (twice) than he has batter of the week (once).

Week 7 results

3-3 record
28 runs scored (4.67 per game)
22 runs allowed (3.67 per game)
.609 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

24-16 record
203 runs scored (5.08 per game)
134 runs allowed (3.35 per game)
.681 pythagorean win percentage (27-13)

Miscellany

Triple double: Center fielder Andy Pages hit three home runs in Wednesday’s series finale in Houston, his first career three-homer game. Pages joined Max Muncy, who hit three home runs on April 10 as Dodgers to reach the trifecta this season, after not having any three-homer games in 2025. The franchise record for most games with at least three home runs is four, in 1950. That year, Gil Hodges hit four home runs for Brooklyn on August 31, along with three-homer games by Duke Snider (May 30), Roy Campanella (August 26), and left fielder Tommy Brown (September 18).

Century mark: First baseman Freddie Freeman started using a slightly different stance at the plate, turning his front foot inward to help his stance stay closed and keep his right hip from flying open during his swing. It paid off this week with three extra-base hits, including on Friday the first home run by a left-handed batter off Chris Sale since last May 23. That home run on Friday — “I would have taken a broken-bat bloop against Chris,” Freeman quipped — was Freeman’s first since April 6, snapping a 114-plate-appearance drought that’s the fourth-longest of his career. That Friday home run was also Freeman’s 100th with the Dodgers, the 37th player in franchise history to hit triple-digit homers. Freeman also ended the week with 299 extra-base hits for the team — 190 doubles, 100 home runs, nine triples — just one shy of joining the group of 32 others with 300 extra-base hits for the Dodgers.

Throwback outing: Justin Wrobleski’s errant throw prevented a sure inning-ending double play in what became a four-run second inning that decided Sunday’s game. But after that, Wrobleski retired 16 in a row to get through seven innings on only 80 pitches. After heavy bullpen usage over the previous three days, Wrobleski’s role at this point shifted to soaking up as many outs as he could, so he remained in while trailing. He allowed home runs in the eighth and ninth innings and three more runs, but still only needed 100 pitches to record 26 outs, finally removed after hitting Mike Yastrzemski in the head with a pitch. Wrobleski’s final line of 8 2/3 innings and seven runs allowed was a combination only seen one other time by a Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher — Rick Sutcliffe allowed eight runs in 8 2/3 innings in a winon July 25, 1979. Wrobleski now leads the Dodgers with 44 2/3 innings this season

Welcome back: After Wrobleski departed, Wyatt Mills got the final out in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday, after allowing two hits of his own. It was the first major league outing since 2022 with the Kansas City Royals for Mills, who was called up earlier in the day.

Transactions

Wednesday: After missing the first 36 games of the season, Brock Stewart was activated off the injured list, with left-hander Jake Eder optioned to Triple-A.

Friday: Starter Tyler Glasnow was placed on the injured list with back spasms two days after leaving his start in Houston before the second inning. Taller right-hander Paul Gervase was recalled from Oklahoma City.

Saturday: Left-hander Charlie Barnes was claimed off waivers from the Chicago Cubs, and sent to Oklahoma City. Tommy Edman was moved to the 60-day injured list.

Saturday: Southpaw Blake Snell was activated off the injured list to make his season debut, but Stewart landed back on the IL with a bone spur in his left foot. Stewart is expected to miss at least three weeks this time around.

Sunday: The fresh arm express started revving up, with Wyatt Millscalled up to replace Gervase, who took down three innings in relief the night before. Edwin Díaz was moved to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Game results

• Monday: Dodgers 8, Astros 3
• Tuesday: Astros 2, Dodgers 1
• Wednesday: Dodgers 12, Astros 2
• Friday: Dodgers 3, Braves 1
• Saturday: Braves 7, Dodgers 2
• Sunday: Braves 7, Dodgers 2

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6

Up next

The Dodgers have a full week running the Greg Minton gauntlet, finishing off the homestand with four games against the San Francisco Giants, before traversing down Interstate 5 to play the Angels in Anaheim. The Angels broadcasts of the weekend games in Anaheim will also be simulcast to over-the-air television, with Friday’s game on KTTV channel 11, then Saturday and Sunday each on KCOP channel 13.

After an an eventful and emotional week for Braves Country, we’ve arrived at a well-deserved off day.

The Braves will be back in action tomorrow night, kicking off the homestand with a series versus the Chicago Cubs. Tuesday’s shaping up to be an eventful opener.

Ha-Seong Kim set to return to the majors, updates to come on Sean Murphy as Eli White hits IL

Per reports from Korean outlet SBS News and Lindsay Crosby, Ha-Seong Kim has completed his rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett and is set to be activated for his season debut tomorrow night.

Kim ends his Triple-A rehab stint slashing .263/.333 /.316 with a .649 OPS in five games with the Stripers. Factoring in his four games with the Double-A Columbus Clingstones, that line is .286/.412/.321 with a .733 OPS.

In additon to the corresponding move for Kim, the Braves are expected to report an update on Sean Murphy’s hand tomorrow.

UPDATE: The Braves make it official and have reinstated Kim. The corresponding move for now is Eli White to the 7-day concussion IL. Feel better soon, Eli!

Honoring Ted Turner and Bobby Cox

It was also announced on the Braves Q1 earnings call that they will honor Ted Turner and Bobby Cox during tomorrow night’s game. More details to come.

Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma squandered a series split with an extra-innings loss in Sunday’s contest, dropping the six game set by a score of 4-2. Despite the loss, the series still managed to provide plenty of outstanding performances offensively, perhaps providing a glimpse at a few bats that could be up with the Mariners awfully soon.

Colt Emerson had a great week at the plate and looks to be making strides in adjusting to Triple-A pitching. The young shortstop collected ten hits this week, one of which was a massive homer he launched out to dead center. Though he’s still striking out more than you’d like to see, at just 20 years old, it’s tough to knock Emerson too much for any early season shortcomings. He’s clearly making progress, and that’s ultimately what matters most for his future as a Seattle Mariner.

Brennen Davis was a monster at the plate this series, taking full advantage of the hitter-friendly stadium in El Paso. Logging 12 hits on the week, Davis’ six doubles and two homers raised his season OPS up to .965 and make him an incredibly attractive candidate to serve as the right-handed platoon mate to Luke Raley or Dom Canzone. He’s a guy I’d expect to get some run with the major league team this year.

Arkansas Travelers

The Travs pulled off yet another series win this week, taking this one by a score of 4-2 over an excellent Tulsa team. This team is playing great baseball right now, and now with both a reliable rotation and complete lineup, they’re looking more and more like the favorite for a first-half crown. There’s still a long way to go, but their turnaround in such a short timeframe has been remarkable.

Kade Anderson continued his bid for top pitching prospect in baseball this week, working another 5.2 innings of one run ball that featured just three baserunners allowed and nine strikeouts. It’s unbelievable how good he’s been across his first 30 innings of professional baseball, seemingly requiring zero time to adjust to the increased difficulty. Whether it’s Tacoma with the Rainiers or the M’s in the big leagues, don’t be surprised if he’s pitching in the PNW sooner than later.

Ryan Sloan posted one of his better starts in Double-A this week, allowing just one earned run across five frames. Striking out six and walking none, Sloan’s needed some time to get acclimated with Double-A, but this was a great bounceback for him after a bit of a stinker last week. He remains right up there with Anderson in terms of overall potential despite his surface numbers not looking nearly as shiny.

Everett AquaSox

Everett had a dominant week in Hillsboro this week, taking all but one game from the Hops in the weekly slate. This offense has been truly relentless.

There is no other place to start than with Felnin Celesten and his scorching hot bat. Collecting another ten hits this week, Celesten has been on an absolute tear for the better part of three weeks and looks like the superstar player many have thought he’s capable of being. Maintaining a gaudy .484/.553/.839 slash on the month, Celesten has seemingly flipped a switch and ascended to new heights. He’ll head to Arkansas sometime this summer to try his hand against the Texas League.

Luke Stevenson didn’t have his best week offensively, but his plate discipline and power give him such a high floor that even his down stretches are productive. Rocketing two more homers this week, Stevenson seems like a lock to follow the aforementioned Celesten up to Arkansas this summer, a level that will be a massive test to see if his bat-to-ball shortcomings rear their head against the improved stuff. Still just 21 years old, Stevenson will be rocketing up prospect boards come time for midseason reranks.

Inland Empire 66ers

The 66ers caught a series win this week, taking four of six against a very solid Lake Elsinore team. Hopefully they are able to take this win and build on it, as up to this point, it’s been tough going for this 66ers squad.

Mason Peters continues to log essentially the same start every week, and fortunately for the 66ers, that start has been consistently excellent. After another four innings with six punchouts and one walk, Peters held his season ERA at 2.25 and owns a 37:6 K/BB ratio through his first 24 innings. The M’s seem to have something really exciting here.

Grant Jay had a really nice week at the plate. An uber-physical catcher with a massive throwing arm, Jay has tremendous power to pair with an uppercut swing that’s catered for launching the baseball as far as humanly possible. This does lead to quite a bit of swing-and-miss, but he’s been able to make it work thus far and has posted excellent numbers this month. Slashing .350/.458/.750 over his last seven games, watch for Jay as a late round sleeper that could pop.

ACL Mariners

The Baby M’s had their first full slate this week, netting an even 3-3 record across their first six. This team has some super exciting names on it, and though it’s going to be several years before they end up contributing at the big league level, many of these players will be leading the next wave of great Mariner prospects.

Yorger Bautista has been dialed in at the plate to kick off his 2026 season. Already with a walkoff bomb under his belt, Bautista has led the way for the M’s offensively and seems to be well adjusted right now. Though the strikeouts are still a touch high, he’s slashing .286/.375/.571, good for a .946 OPS. He’s a tantalizing talent that should absolutely be on people’s radar as a breakout candidate.

Worcester: L, 2-3 (BOX SCORE)

Alec Gamboa went from making his Major League debut earlier in the weekend to pitching five innings of one-run baseball for the WooSox in the finale against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees AAA). Unfortunately, Jack Anderson would come in and let up what would become the game-losing home run, but let’s not pin that all on him. The WooSox looked listless with runners on at the plate, stranding eleven and having just one run until the ninth inning. At least a lot of guys got their knocks, though, with everyone but Kristian Campbell having at least a hit, and even he reached on a walk. It just wasn’t enough to capitalize overall, and the WooSox lost a close one.

Portland: W, 11-4 (BOX SCORE)

For those excited for last year’s third round draft pick Anthony Eyanson to skyrocket through the system , you have reason to be: he looked good in his AA debut, and despite going just four innings he struck out four Fisher Cats (Blue Jays AA) and allowed just a run on three hits and a walk. Eyanson, a product of LSU (Geaux Tigers!), was pretty much untouchable in his time in Greenville to start the year and was given a well-deserved promotion following a combination of his results and his fastball being nasty, topping out at 98. The 21-year-old wasn’t quite as dominant in his first time facing Double-A bats but was also backed up by a great offense, including a white-hot Brooks Brannon having an incredible game: 4 for 4 with a home run, two doubles, a walk and five total RBIs. While the catcher was a big reason for the Sea Dogs’ success, Franklin Arias also had a great day with four hits as his average creeps back up over .350.

It is worth wondering how quickly Eyanson climbs the organization with him already achieving success in college, being seasoned through that success, and being awesome so far in his professional career. This is the same organization that saw Payton Tolle go from Greenville to the Majors in the same season just 12 months ago, so, really, the sky may be the limit.

Greenville: L, 11-14 (BOX SCORE)

The Drive are having a disastrous season defensively thus far, and that nightmare continued in Greensboro (Pirates High-A) as the team has still won just one game in May. They’ve now allowed at least ten runs four times this week, and have scored at least nine runs and still lost in three of those. A big part of this game starting off on the wrong foot was due to the Drive finding themselves down 10-0 at some point due to the Grasshoppers treating Luis Cohen’s start like it was batting practice, and it didn’t get better from there, as Joey Gartrell eventually had to just wear some of it while eating some mop-up innings before tempering the lineup down for the remainder of his appearance. Greenville made it appear close by hitting two home runs in the ninth, but this game was never even within striking distance.

Salem: : W, 3-13 (BOX SCORE)

Another game that wasn’t within striking distance due to a towering righty from Georgia, Leighton Finley, making light work (Orioles A) of Delmarva for his five innings. Finley actually may have been able to go longer in this one if he wasn’t already at 73 pitches through 5; he has never pitched into the sixth in his professional career as of yet. He departed with a 13-2 lead thanks to the RidgeYaks’ six hits with runners in scoring position, and while you, the reader, or I could have at least generated some outs with that lead, it’s good that these professional pitchers were also able to do so without the game even coming close.

Have a mysterious Monday.