BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 14: Merrill Kelly #29 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 14, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Diamondbacks News
Merrill Kelly Makes Season Debut Merrill Kelly brought the team a vintage Kelly performance when he took the mound to make his 2026 debut against the Orioles in Baltimore.
Bullpen Holds Off Orioles, Giving Kelly Win in Season Debut After blowing a 7-1 lead the previous night, it was understandable that there was some tension when the Diamondbacks needed to protect a two-run lead for 11 outs, the same number of outs as they needed on that dreadful night.
Kelly’s Return Pushes Pfaadt to Bullpen A flurry of moves was made yesterday to accommodate the return of Merrill Kelly. Perhaps the biggest was hte moving of Brandon Pfaadt to the bullpen.
Moreno to IL Gabriel Moreno has been placed on the IL as part of five moves made by the Diamondbacks. Aramis Garcia has been called up to take Moreno’s place for now. Pavin Smith was moved to the 60-day. Merrill Kelly was activated and Taylor Rashi was optioned to AAA-Reno.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to Start Rehab Assignment Gurriel suffered a torn ACL on 1 September of last season. The rehab assignment now puts a ticking clock on Moreno’s return to the 26-man roster.
Blaze Alexander Discusses Facing Former Club The utility man speaks about facing some of his old comrades as the Diamondbacks try to take down his new club, the Baltimore Orioles.
Craig Albernaz has Fractured Face A scary incident occurred on Monday night when a foul ball was rocketed into the Orioles bullpen and struck manager Craig Albernaz in the face. Albernaz returned to duty Tuesday night, despite numerous cheek fractures and a broken jaw. He’s currently unable to blow his nose for six weeks but looks to be able to avoid surgery.
Other Baseball News
Top-100 Prospects Making Promotion Noise The fact that only three names are listed here gives some idea of just how slow some players can get started when it is still chilly out.
What Players Think About ABS Now that we have a few weeks of ABS in the bigs, players have been asked to weigh in on what they think.
The Golden State Warriors, ranked 10th in the Western Conference with a 37-45 record, face the LA Clippers, who are ninth in the West with a 42-40 record. The LA Clippers are favored with a -220 moneyline compared to the Golden State Warriors' +180. The winner will advance to face the Suns in the conclusion of the Play-In Tournament on Friday.
How to watch Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 21: Starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval #43 of the Los Angeles Angels shakes his hand and grimaces in pain after an injury on his throwing arm following a walk to Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the this inning at Dodger Stadium on June 21, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) | Getty Images
“Struggling” out of the gate seems relative now with consecutive poor performances by Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray, but Patrick Sandoval doesn’t quite seem ready to rejoin the Major League roster in a few weeks (due to being a pitcher, he gets a month of rehab time.) He struck out just one through two innings, allowing five runs, and taking 59 pitches to do so with just 30 falling in for strikes. For the second consecutive start, he just generally looked like he couldn’t find the strike zone. Tyler Uberstine, usually a beacon of good stuff, even got knocked around by this Nashville (Brewers AAA) club, even though the staff did keep it in the park.
Offensively, you don’t stand much of a chance when the pitching walks eleven batters, or when the defense commits three errors, but the offensive support wasn’t awesome, either. Catcher Jason Delay hit an early home run, but it was downhill from there, as the WooSox left nine stranded.
Franklin Arias, who’s been hitting to the tune of a .500+ batting average on the young season, hasn’t really showcased his power tool yet. That changed on Tuesday night in Altoona (Pirates AA) as he hit his first home run of the season. The team didn’t particularly look great offensively outside of that home run, though Nate Biaz got himself a couple knocks. But Isaac Coffey, Cooper Adams, Cade Feeney and Patrick Halligan kept it a winnable game despite with thirteen strikeouts and only two runs allowed.
Shea Sprague had a blip, as he allowed two Hot Rod (Rays High-A) home runs in five innings. It’s honestly funny how serviceable the page the 2024 13th round draft pick has been for Greenville so far this April: his ERA is exactly 4. On Tuesday, he gave up four hits and a walk in five innings (for a WHIP of 1) struck five out, but did have those balls leave the park. But, the truth is, Sprague could have been a lot worse… or he could have been a lot better… but it wouldn’t have mattered HOW good he was, because Greenville could not hit the Bowling Green pitching, settling for just one baserunner all night, when Yophery Rodriguez, a return from the Quinn Preiser trade now residing at the bottom of the lineup (he hit first or second for most of the season in 2025), broke up the perfect game with a double in the bottom of the sixth.
If the offense was distributed better across the whole farm, we’d be having a different discussion. This seems obvious at its core, but this game looked close on the surface, but Salem pitching got taken for a ride a little bit, namely Adam Bates closing out the fifth for Leighton Finley and not having a particular awesome sixth. Skylar King hit his second home run in less than a week, but although his bat looks dependable, his key moments are in losing efforts. Where have I heard that before…
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 30: Ben Kindel #81 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG PAINTS Arena on December 30, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Based on preseason expectations there might not be a more improbable first-round matchup in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs than the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. Neither of these teams were expected to be here. Up until about three weeks ago, I am not sure the Flyers were expected to be here. But none of that matters now, and starting this weekend the battle of Pennsylvania gets renewed, with Sidney Crosby having a chance to deliver another punch to the Penguins’ cross-state rivals.
We know who the main players in this series and playoff run are going to be for the Penguins.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson are going to be at the top of the list, and their play will obviously have a major role in what the Penguins do and how far they can go. But no matter how well they play, they can not do it all for the Penguins. The team’s success or failure will also come down to the secondary and support players on the team and a few potential X-factors.
Let’s talk about some of them.
Ben Kindel
Every Penguins team that won the Stanley Cup or reached the Stanley Cup Final in the Sidney Crosby era has done so with a third-line that can carry play and swing games. A lot of times in the playoffs each team’s top players can cancel each other out due to the aggressive line-matching that tends to take place, and it can then come down to which team has the better support players.
In 2008 and 2009 it was the Jordan Staal line.
In 2016 and 2017 it was the HBK line.
Can the Penguins get something similar from the Kindel line?
It is going to be fascinating to see how his first playoff experiences goes. He is, after all, only 18 years old and will be getting his first taste of playoff hockey. He also seems to have hit another rookie wall over the past month with his offense going cold and some of his underlying metrics regressing a bit. From a big picture perspective, it is nothing to be overly concerned about. There is a reason most 18-year-olds do not get a full-season in the NHL. It is a huge adjustment and there are going to be some growing pains.
But everything resets now going into the playoffs, and regardless of who the Penguins put around him on a line they are going to need a big showing from his trio if they are going to advance and go on a potential run.
He has exceeded expectations and rose to the occasion all season. This is going to be his biggest test yet.
Sam Girard
You can include Kris Letang in this category as well, because their defense pairing is going to be significant.
When they were first put together following the trade with Colorado, they looked like an absolute disaster, with Girard especially struggling in his new environment. He seemed to lack confidence, was indecisive and just not playing well.
And then, about 10-12 games ago, something clicked.
It clicked for him.
It clicked for Letang.
It clicked for both of them together.
In their total time together, including the initial rocky games, the Girard-Letang pairing has outscored teams by a 13-9 margin with a 52.5 percent expected goals share during 5-on-5 play. Very solid numbers.
Over their past 10 games, however, those numbers go to an 11-5 goal advantage and a 57.8 percent expected goal share.
They are now carrying play.
Girard especially looks completely different and like a player that is oozing with confidence. Everything is being done with a purpose, there is no hesitation, he is joining the rush smartly and moving the puck well.
You know the Karlsson-Parker Wotherspoon pairing is going to give you a chance.
Having reliable pairings beyond them was always going to be the concern. If Letang and Girard can continue playing the way they have over the past month the Penguins are going to have a second pairing they can lean on. That is a game-changer, both in terms of their chances in this series, and their potential ceiling in the playoffs.
Connor Clifton
Sticking with the defense, the third-pairing is also going to be significant because at some point they are going to have to play. Even if you lean on the top-two pairings for more than 40 minutes, that still leads nearly a full period’s worth of hockey that the third-pairing has to log.
Sometimes playoff success or failure is not necessarily about what you do well or your strengths, but what you don’t do well and your flaws. The things that can be exploited in a best-of-seven series when opposing coaches are doing more in-depth game-planning and can drill down to weaknesses.
Clifton is one of those players that I fear being exploited.
I will say this: I think he’s played a lot better down the stretch, and a lot of his underlying numbers over the past month have, at times, been REALLY good. But over the course of a season his pairing has at times been the one that gets pinned in the defensive zone and has a tendency to lose the territorial and possession battle. That could be a problem. They do not need Clifton and Ryan Shea to be game-changers. They just need them to play to a 0-0 tie.
Stuart Skinner
Then we have the biggest X-factor on the entire team.
It is the goaltending. It is always the goaltending. It can lift a struggling team or sink a good team, and there might not be a more important player for the Penguins this postseason than Skinner.
It is just a matter of which version of him they are going to get.
He has big-game experience and backstopped the Edmonton Oilers to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in each of the past two seasons. He is capable of putting together a good stretch of play, and we have seen signs of it down the stretch. He has clearly taken the No. 1 spot and at least earned the right to go into the playoffs as the Penguins’ starting goalie.
But can he do enough to give the Penguins a chance?
Over the past 20 games he has saved four goals above expected for the Penguins, which is good enough to give them a chance. The Penguins have the potential to score enough goals to win, and in at least the first round the Flyers do not have an overly potent offense. They are probably not going to need Skinner to steal many games. They just need him to not lose any.
If you flip through Jayson Tatum’s Instagram stories, you’ll notice that he routinely reposts photos from the Instagram page @eyeofbri. For most of the season, the Celtics star shared pictures of himself on the sidelines in his outfits, cheering on his teammates.
Now that he is back on the court, his posts highlight his on-court play.
The common denominator? Many of those photos are captured by Bri Robinson, one of dozens of NBA player photographers who work as freelancers to chronicle the lives of NBA players.
She’s one of just a few women in the space. She’s also one of the most elite.
And, serving as Neemias Queta’s personal photographer, Robinson attends every home Celtics game and various off-court events, while also sometimes hitting the road.
While at TD Garden, Robinson also takes photos of other players, from the team’s superstars to its two-way players.
It all started in 2023, when Robinson attended a Celtics game as a fan, with her camera, and snapped photos of the players all night. After she finished editing the pictures, she messaged her favorite ones to each player on the roster on Instagram.
“The only person who got back to me was Oshae Brissett,” Robinson recalls. “I was like, ‘Hey – if you’re looking for a shooter, I’m here.’ And he was like, ‘Okay, bet. Like, let’s get together.’ He loved the images that I sent him.”
So, Robinson became Brissett’s personal photographer during the 2024 championship season. It wasn’t a financially lucrative gig, but it did mean that she was credentialed to attend and photograph every home Celtics game. It also meant she was able to chronicle the Celtics’ 18th championship.
Brissett didn’t get much playing time during that playoff run, so Robinson made sure to arrive early to take photos of his tunnel fits and pregame workouts. And, when game play began, even if Brissett didn’t see the floor, she’d photograph the other players, slowly building her portfolio.
After Brissett left the Celtics in 2024, Robinson had to find another player on the roster who’d be willing to help credential her. So, she became Queta’s personal photographer.
Over the past two years, she’s chronicled the come-up of one of the NBA’s top centers.
Falling in love with photography
Bri Robinson first picked up the camera in college, at age 20. And, she recalls, it immediately felt instinctive.
A few years into her photography obsession, she learned that a prowess for photography was in her bloodline.
“There’s this thing called the Shutter Bug gene,” she said. “My mom’s biological uncle, who actually took her in as a kid, like her dad, was a photographer. He was a portrait photographer, but I had no idea until two years into photographing that he was a professional photographer. And so my mom pulled out images of her when she was younger, of her just being a test dummy for him. And the photos were super dope. They were portraits – her sitting with her cat, just stuff that I would do. And I had no idea.”
That moment affirmed she was on the right path – and that she was destined to be a photographer.
“I was always a creative person, but when she told me that, I was like, No way. Am I living through my family member? Are they living through me?”
Robinson’s photography style is unique.
“My style is more portrait style,” she said. “I love emotionally-invoking images – that’s what I love. I love to see after a dunk — the emotions. I love up close photos. I love raw, emotional photos, and I hope that’s what people are seeing.”
Robinson is one of the only female player photographers in the league. That comes with its own set of challenges; she never wants people to question her relationship with or intentions toward players, and at first, she worried people would think she only got into this space to hang out with NBA players.
“When I first started, I thought a lot about what people thought. Like, is she here for the right reasons?” she admitted. “But as I grew in this space, I just say, like, ‘Fuck it. Like, who cares [what people think?’ My work is good, and if guys hire me because my work is good, then so be it.”
Nowadays, Robinson gets paid per gig. And, over the past few years, the gigs have been piling up. She’s travelled to Paris to photograph Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin’s engagement. She’s photographed Jaylen Brown’s Bridge camp and taken pictures for Derrick White’s family. She’s worked closely with a variety of former Celtics, like Torrey Craig, Jrue Holiday, and Xavier Tillman. She photographed a Pilates event hosted by the wife of Maine Celtics head coach Phil Pressey, Elizabeth. The list goes on and on.
Family photoshoots have become one of her biggest strengths; Derrick White’s wife, Hannah, for example, commissioned her to photograph one of their kid’s birthday parties.
“Hannah reached out to me and was like, ‘Hey, last minute, it’s my son’s birthday. I forgot to hire someone. Can you do it?’” Robinson said. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ That was exciting for me, because I never worked with Derrick White and his family outside of the arena.”
She never intended to become a basketball photographer, but given her love for capturing emotions, it suddenly made perfect sense.
“You get to see the person truly in their element,” Robinson said. “That’s what I love to see. People can shoot, people can pull a trigger on the camera, anyone can do that, but if you can invoke an emotion and get that person’s actual, true feelings, that’s everything I love. I’m so passionate about it. Like, I just love it. I’ll see a face, and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s the image.’”
She gives a lot of the credit to the players who have helped her get her foot in the door — first Brissett, and now Queta. She’s also enormously grateful for the support she’s received from Tatum, who always makes sure to credit her when he uses her pictures.
Tatum, who has 7.3 million followers on Instagram, has ensured Robinson’s photos are seen by more people than she could have ever imagined.
And, in turn, that’s given her other photography opportunities.
“If Jayson Tatum’s gonna repost me, [other NBA players think] why can’t I use Bri?” she said. “It’s a stamp of approval. JT has really pushed my work, and I’m always going to be grateful for that.”
This season, she’s chronicled Neemias Queta’s journey from a fourth-string center to one of the most durable and consistent centers in the league. She’s also captured tunnel shots for players like Ron Harper Jr, Luka Garza, and Baylor Scheierman.
All of it means she is living out a dream she didn’t even know she had.
The biggest beneficiaries? Celtics fans – who get to enjoy photos of the season’s most emotional moments.
The Orlando Magic, ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 45-37 record, face the Philadelphia 76ers, who are seventh in the East with a 45-37 record. Philadelphia is favored with a -125 moneyline compared to Orlando's +105. The game is part of the Play-In Tournament.
How to watch Orlando Magic vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Date: Wednesday, April 15
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In a recent article for The Athletic, Scott Wheeler ranked the top 20 NHL-drafted goalie prospects. A Chicago Blackhawks prospect made the cut, as Drew Commesso was given the No. 18 spot.
Commesso is a goaltender who the Blackhawks are certainly hoping will become a solid part of their future, as he has good upside. The 2020 second-round pick is continuing to work on his development and has shown promise.
Commesso has played in 36 games with the Rockford IceHogs this season, where he has a 13-19-2 record, a .903 save percentage, and a 3.00 goals-against average. This is after he had an 18-15-4 record, a .911 save percentage, a 2.54 goals-against average, and four shutouts for Rockford in 2024-25. With this, he has certainly been solid at the AHL level.
However, more importantly, Commesso played very well when given the chance to play for the Blackhawks this season. In three games for Chicago this campaign, he has a 2-1-0 record, a .918 save percentage, and a 2.31 goals-against average. He also notably had a 36-save shutout against the Nashville Predators on Jan. 10. Furthermore, in his most recent appearance for Chicago on March 9 against the Utah Mammoth, he stopped 23 out of 25 shots.
With this, Commesso certainly has the potential to become a good part of the Blackhawks' roster in the future. He should see more NHL action next season because of it.
Apr 14, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) defends the net against the Anaheim Ducks in the third period at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
Matt Blewett/Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jesper Wallstedt let in a goal on a power play against the Minnesota Wild in the first period, looked up at the scoreboard to quickly analyze the replay, and realized something wasn’t right.
The name on the back of his green jersey was misspelled: W-a-l-l-s-t-e-a-d.
“An April Fool’s joke,” Wallstedt said after beating the Anaheim Ducks, “but a little late.”
So he’s sure this was a classic rookie prank and not an honest manufacturing mistake?
“Yeah, 100%. I don’t know exactly who it is, but obviously I have a feeling of who it could be,” said Wallstedt, suggesting fellow goalie Filip Gustavsson was the culprit.
When Marc-Andre Fleury retired last spring, he left behind quite the legacy as a prankster. Though Fleury turned over the net to Gustavsson and Wallstedt on the ice, the 41-year-old with the second-most wins in NHL history has stayed around the team this season as a practice goalie and with an informal front office role as a player development advisor.
Was it possible Fleury found his way in on the joke too?
“Oh, I didn’t think that Flower could be involved,” Wallstedt said. “Then I definitely think it’s a team job. Well done for them. Yeah, I’d rather take it that way than having my car on cinder blocks or something. I’d rather have my name a little misspelled.”
For the record, Wallstedt had his proper spelling restored for the second period. He had 34 saves in the 3-2 win over the Ducks and finished his rookie season 18-9-6 with the NHL’s second-best save percentage (.915).
“I hope they threw that nameplate away,” Wallstedt said. “I have no idea where it went.”
Since starting his career 8-0-2 with four shutouts, Wallstedt has continued to give the Wild confidence in their tandem of Swedish Olympians — and a decision to make with the playoffs approaching.
Gustavsson has more experience and enjoyed plenty of strong stretches this season, but he’s only 2-4 in his last six starts with 25 goals allowed. Wallstedt might have forced his way into some type of rotation in the first-round series against the Dallas Stars.
“I like the way I’ve been playing lately, especially after the Olympics. I thought I was in a good spot going into the Olympics, too,” Wallstedt said. “Obviously I was a little bit bummed that I didn’t get to play anything there, and maybe that gave some extra motivation for the games after. And ever since, I’ve felt like I’ve been in a good spot and given our team a good chance to win.”
The Chicago Cubs (8-9) take on the Philadelphia Phillies (8-9) in the final matchup of a three-game series. The Cubs won yesterday, 10-4 after the Phillies won the opening game, 13-7.
Chicago evened up the series with a 10-4 win yesterday in a series that has featured 34 total runs! The Cubs are now 4-4 on the road this season and scored 43 total runs (10th-most) with the seventh-best batting average (.247). Chicago is back at home versus the Mets this weekend with three day games on tap.
Philadelphia is now 2-2 in the last four games and 2-5 in the last seven games. The Phillies are 5-6 at home and own and the third-worst ERA (5.25) and allow the third-highest opponent batting average (.274). Offensively, the Phillies are tied for the third-most home runs hit at home (14), but are 18th in batting average (.241). Philadelphia hosts Atlanta this weekend for a three-game set before going to Chicago to face the Cubs again.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Cubs at Phillies
Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2026
Time: 6:40 PM EST
Site: Citizens Bank Park
City: Philadelphia, PA
Network/Streaming: ESPN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Cubs at the Phillies
The latest odds as of Wednesday:
Moneyline: Chicago Cubs (+119), Philadelphia Phillies (-143)
Spread: Cubs +1.5 (-175), Phillies -1.5 (+144)
Total: 8.5
Probable starting pitchers for Cubs at Phillies
Wednesday's pitching matchup (April 15): Jesus Luzardo vs. Shota Imanaga
The Phillies’ Bryce Harper is hitting .258 with 16 hits and 30 total bases over 62 at-bats
The Phillies’ Alec Bohm is hitting .153 with nine hits and 12 strikeouts over 59 at-bats
The Cubs’ Nico Hoerner is hitting .303 with 20 hits and 30 total bases over 66 at-bats
The Cubs’ Michael Busch is hitting .161 with nine hits, 13 strikeouts, and nine walks over 56 at-bats
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Cubs at Phillies
The Cubs are 6-11 ATS this season
The Phillies are an MLB-worst 4-13 ATS this season
The Cubs are 10-6-1 to the Over this season
The Phillies are 9-7-1 to the Over this season
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Cubs and the Phillies
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Wednesday's game between the Cubs and the Phillies.
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Cubs on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Cubs at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Under on the Game Total of 8.5
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Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to be on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they attempt to sweep a three-game series from the New York Mets. The Dogers won Tuesday’s game 2-1, handing the Mets their seventh straight loss. Clay Holmes is scheduled to start for the Mets.
How to Watch New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Texas reliever Luis Curvelo appeared to injure his throwing arm while delivering a wild pitch in the seventh inning of a game against the Athletics.
Curvelo’s pitch to right-handed batter Jacob Wilson sailed well left of the left-handed batter’s box and to the backstop.
As the 25-year-old, Venezuelan righty released the ball, he skipped off the mound in apparent pain, pulled his left hand immediately out of his glove and waved at the dugout in an apparent signal for a trainer while letting his glove drop to the ground.
Curvelo did not throw another pitch and was replaced by Tyler Alexander.
The Rangers did not immediately provide an injury update.
When a trainer arrived at the mound, Curvelo briefly touched his upper right arm with his left hand before walking to the dugout with a pained expression on his face.
Curvelo, who was called up from Triple-A Round Rock on April 5, faced only Wilson while appearing in his fourth game this season.
In his previous three appearances for the Rangers this season, Curvelo had allowed six hits and three earned runs in five innings while also striking out three batters.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 19, 2026: Joseph Sullivan #19 of the Houston Astros bats during the second inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Miami Marlins at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 19, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below.
AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (10-6) lost 8-3 (BOX SCORE)
Sugar Land got on the board in the first inning on a Biggio bases loaded walk. Mancini started for Sugar Land but struggled with command as he walked four and allowed three runs over 2.1 innings, despite not allowing a hit. In the 3rd inning, Alexander connected on a 2 run home run. The bullpen allowed 5 runs with the Bees extending their lead and the offense was unable to come back as they fell 8-3.
Hudson Leach, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
Logan VanWey, RHP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Tom Cosgrove, LHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (5-5) won 8-4 (BOX SCORE)
Nezuh started for the Hooks but struggled a bit allowing 2 runs over 2.2 innings. the offense got on the board in the 3rd inning scoring 4 runs on an Encarnacion RBI single, Sullivan RBI single and Janek 2 run single. They got another in the 5th on a Janek RBI double. In the 8th, the offense got 3 more on an Austin 2 run home run and Sullivan RBI triple. The pen was solid allowing 2 runs over 6.1 innings as they closed out the 8-4 win.
Railin Perez, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Bennett Sousa, LHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Wilmy Sanchez, RHP: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Ramsey David, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
A+: Asheville Tourists (3-7) lost 16-6 (BOX SCORE)
Rodriguez started for Asheville but struggled allowing 6 runs over 2.1 innings. He was relieved by Cruz who allowed 5 runs over 1.2 innings. The Asheville offense got on the board in 4th inning scoring 4 runs on Brutcher and Holy RBI singles and a Rosario 2 run HR. They got another in the 5th on another Brutcher RBI single and then one more in the 6th on a Schiavone bases loaded walk. The pen allowed another 5 runs and the offense was unable to complete the comeback as they fell 16-6.
Eurys Martich, RHP: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (2-8) lost 4-2 (BOX SCORE)
Beck got the start but struggled out of the gate allowing 4 runs over 3 innings of work. The Woodpeckers got a run in the 4th on a Monistere solo HR. Verdugo was solid in relief tossing 4 scoreless innings. In the 9th, Sierra connected on a solo HR but that was it from the offense as the Woodpeckers fell 4-2.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 12: Dominic Smith #8 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a two run home run during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Truist Park on April 12, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We spend all season covering the Phillies, their strengths, weaknesses, and storylines that will make up their season.
What isn’t always discussed is how other teams are doing, especially the teams around them, that can dictate how their season could play out.
The general theory for this series is that if you want to cover the 2026 Phillies properly, you have to cover what is around them as well.
The National League East is in a weird and fun state. The Braves are betting that 2025 was a fluke, the Nationals have begun a full-scale rebuild, the Marlins surprised people last year and might be ahead of schedule, and the New York Mets had as crazy an off-season as anyone can remember.
Atlanta Braves are full of surprises
The Braves are looking to prove their disastrous 2025 season was because of injuries and bad luck, not anything to worry about long-term. They carry themselves like a World Series contender but haven’t won the division the or a single playoff game in the last two seasons.
The off-season Spring training injuries also seemed like a death sentence for them. Ha-Seong Kim broke a finger tendon ice skating, Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep needed elbow surgery, Joey Wentz tore his ACL, and Spencer Strider strained his oblique. This is on top of Sean Murphy and Joe Jiménez missing the beginning of 2026 because of injuries from last season.
So if you mention all of that, then add on that the first 17 games have seen Ronald Acuña Jr. looking mostly mediocre and Austin Riley ice cold, it would make for an ugly start to the Braves season right?
Not so fast, they’re 10-7 with one of the best offenses in baseball, ranking third in wRC+, second in batting average, and second in slugging. The starting pitching has been ok outside of Bryce Elder, but the offense has slugged their way to first place early on.
Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin are leading the way as expected but they’ve gotten several role players to play key roles early on. Dominic Smith, someone who wasn’t supposed to make the team until Jurickson Profar got suspended, is hitting .353 with a 1.025 OPS.
Mauricio Dubon, acquired from the Houston Astros for Nick Allen, is hitting .339 with a .923 OPS. Jorge Mateo has generated offense when he’s gotten chances off the bench and so has Kyle Farmer.
So, as some of the stars have struggled, Acuña with a 104 OPS+ and Riley at 72, they’ve seen almost every other role player carry the weight.
While this is not going to last for them over 162 games, Dubon and Smith aren’t going to win batting titles or MVP trophies, there are still reasons to believe they can maintain the hot start at the plate.
While the results haven’t been there for Michael Harris II, there is a good process going on. It’s a small sample size but his barrel rate has increased by 7.2% and he is hitting the ball a lot harder. He was considered the Braves big lineup X-factor coming into the season and there are good signs for a rebound 2026.
The pitching staff is a different question mark. The leverage arms in Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez have looked good but the starting pitching staff looks depleted because of the injuries. Adding Strider back should help but Bryce Elder probably won’t hold up a 1.03 ERA the entire year.
The Marlins can hit?
Going into the season, it seemed like the Marlins profiled as a pesky offense at best with a strong pitching staff. However, baseball can get weird.
Jakob Marsee hasn’t broken out yet like Marlins fans have hoped for but there have been others. Owen Caissie looks like a strong get from the Cubs early on with a .822 OPS, Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards have looked great up the middle, and Connor Norby is off to a hot start.
The pitching staff has been weird. Sandy Alcantara looks like a front-line starter again with more than a full year removed from elbow surgery but the rest hasn’t been great. Eury Pérez is walking too many hitters, Janson Junk and Max Meyer have looked fine in the middle of their rotation and Chris Paddack is bad.
The bullpen has been weird, too. Pete Fairbanks and Anthony Bender haven’t looked great as leverage guys but John King has looked great in five scoreless innings. Again, it’s still mid-April.
Given some of the unsustainable nature of their offensive results and how the pitching staff has looked, it might look more like a fun early season story than something bigger.
Nationals Rebuild
Griff McGarry did not make the Nationals but Joey Wiemer did and he’s hitting .364 with a 1.068 OPS. Their pitching staff is a mess but James Wood looks like a star.
As the season goes on, it will be more important for the Nationals to figure out who can be flipped to help the future or who can be building blocks for the next run.
CJ Abrams looks more like a piece that gets moved at the deadline. He’s only 25 but has already spent over three seasons in the big leagues. If he can sort of keep up his 191 OPS+ start, he could look like a nice player on a better team.
It’s early and I think the Mets are going to be good… however…
Francisco Lindor needed hamate surgery and has a .541 OPS to begin the year. Bo Bichette is playing a new position and it’s probably part of why he has a .569 OPS. Polanco has been battling an Achilles injury and can only DH. He’s at a .571 OPS. Juan Soto is hurt.
The Mets offense is going through it right now. Carson Benge cannot hit velocity now, Brett Baty is cold, Marcus Semien is cold.
Here is a better way to phrase it, if you’re not Francisco Alvarez and Luis Robert Jr, you’re either hurt or not hitting.
The pitching side hasn’t been amazing either in their 7-10 start. Freddy Peralta has given up some homers, David Peterson has looked bad, and Kodai Senga had a disaster start against the Cardinals. Luke Weaver has looked bad out of the bullpen and they called up Craig Kimbrel a few days ago. It’s not looking great.
This could be the low point of the Mets season. If it came in mid-June after a good two months, is anyone seriously talking about it? Who knows.
However, they play the Dodgers two more times and then the Cubs for three games. This start could get a bit uglier if things don’t pick up.
Given some of the stakes for them after missing the playoffs last season and having a demanding owner, they might want things to get better sooner rather than later.
Reminder: I’m on vacation all this week and will be a little briefer than usual this week. Thanks for your patience.
The Cubs can’t quite get momentum going. But they are also staying away from a prolonged skid. They’re treading water in the early going while they try to get as much of the team pointed in the right direction as possible. It’s pretty unheard of for any team to get everyone producing in any sustained way across the whole roster. You just try to keep enough guys grooved in to continually win six or seven out of 10 games. The Cubs haven’t had a stretch like that yet. I’d be stunned though if they don’t get onto that kind of run.
Right at the very second I’m typing this, more than half the league is within two games one side or the other of .500. Only eight are three or more games away from .500. Half of those eight reside in the NL West where there are two teams off to very good starts, including the two-time defending champions who own the best record in the league. The West also contains two teams off to terrible starts.
Things are so bizarre right now that the Astros entered play Tuesday with the most runs scored but occupying last place in the AL West. One of the biggest problems of April baseball is that the bad teams often don’t just accept at face value that they are locked in to being bad. Most of the teams think if they catch a few breaks, that they have a chance to hang in the race. These teams will sort themselves out. But it’s going to take some time.
Increasingly, I think the early goal is to just not play yourself out of the race. The Cubs are a whopping two games out of first place behind the Reds and Pirates. If you believe that is in any way insurmountable, you are kidding yourself. This hasn’t been a glamorous start, but the Cubs could potentially take control of the division with one good stretch of baseball.
The Cubs have scored 42 runs over their last seven games. If we drop the top and bottom scores from that data set, it’s 32 runs over five games. The offense is warming up. I’m sure that has nothing at all to do with Alex Bregman starting to find some gaps with what has been pretty consistent solid contact this year. Unsurprisingly, I think this team can still be elite. Their going to need to sort out and probably add some pitching both internally and externally. But this team has pretty consistently been able to do that in season, so I’m optimistic.
Three Positives:
Alex Bregman, three hits and three runs driven in.
Michael Busch, two hits and two walks. Need that bat to get going.
Nico Hoerner, two hits and three runs driven in. He’s been the most used leadoff hitter and also leads the team in RBI.
Honorable mentions to so many guys, but hat tip to Colin Rea for a “quality start.” He was the bulk guy and allowed three runs over six innings.
Game 17, April 14: Cubs 10, Phillies 4 (8-9)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
Superhero: Alex Bregman (.210). 3-5, 3 RBI
Hero: Nico Hoerner (.157). 2-6, 3 RBI
Sidekick: Dansby Swanson (.118). 0-3, 2 BB, 2 R
THREE GOATS:
Billy Goat: Seiya Suzuki (-.180). 1-5, R
Goat: Jacob Webb (-.049). 0.1 IP, 3 BF, 2 H, 0 BB, ER, 0 K
WPA Play of the Game: Edmundo Sosa’s three-run homer with two outs in the second for the first three runs of the game. (.238)
*Cubs Play of the Game: Nico Hoerner’s two-run single with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth gave the Cubs a two run lead. (.191)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 16 Winner: Dansby Swanson received 74 of 104 votes.
Up Next: The Cubs close out the series in Philly before getting an off day. Shōta Imanaga (0-1, 2.81, 16 IP) starts for the Cubs. Jesús Luzardo (1-2, 6.23, 17.1 IP) starts for the Phillies. The Cubs have fared worse against lefty starters the last year plus. But Luzardo has already had starts where he’s allowed five and six runs in the early going. The one good start (1 ER) was at Colorado. The two bad ones were in Philly.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 14: Coby White #3 of the Charlotte Hornets shoots the ball over Pelle Larsson #9 of the Miami Heat late in the second half during their game at Spectrum Center on April 14, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Charlotte Hornets swinging a trade-deadline deal with the Chicago Bulls to bring Coby White back to his home state was immediately both an obviously great basketball move and a feel-good story, doubly so for those of us who are UNC fans. White, who of course spent one memorable year at UNC in 2019, added the kind of backup ballhandler that the Hornets had desperately needed throughout the first half of the season while seamlessly fitting with the team’s bombs-away approach from three-point range. He took a few games to get going after recovering from a minor injury, but by the end of the season, he was clearly an upgrade to the roster, averaging 18 points on 48/38/90 splits, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in 21 minutes per game over the Hornets’ last 10 games. As both a microwave scorer and secondary point guard, he looked like exactly what they needed as they won 7 of their last 10 and made the postseason for the first time in four years. And who better to have on your team for the Play-In Tournament than the guy who, two years ago, put up 42 in a Play-In game?
I’m still not sure anybody saw coming what he would do next. The Hornets and Miami Heat were in a back-and-forth affair all Tuesday night, and White had been stifled for the first half and most of the third quarter. With 2 minutes left in the quarter, the Heat were up 1 after the Hornets had chipped away at a five-point lead. White took the ball up the key, went around a Ryan Kalkbrenner screen, and banked in a left-wing pull-up three. It wasn’t pretty, but it seemed to give him the mojo he needed. Two possessions later, the Heat’s Pelle Larson tripped over himself in the backcourt and lost the ball into White’s hands. He might have had a pass inside, but he decided to pull up from the top of the key instead: splash. The next possession, he beat Simone Fontecchio off the dribble and finished at the rim, and then finished his flurry with a buzzer-beating catch-and-shoot three that ended the quarter. In two minutes, he’d gone on an 11-4 run against Miami that put his team up 6. I wish I had a video of all four plays, but here’s the last two:
For a lot of players, in a lot of games, that stretch would be the most noteworthy highlight they had. Not Coby White, not on this night. The Heat clawed back that deficit pretty early in the 4th and took as much as a 4-point lead with under 30 seconds to go. Charlotte’s Brandon Miller hit a 3, which made it possible for the Hornets to tie it after the Heat converted two free throws with 14 seconds left. And then Coby White did this:
It was a fantastic bit of awareness by both him and the Charlotte coaching staff that a shot would have to go up immediately so that Miami couldn’t foul to both waste time and eventually force the Hornets into shooting 2 when they needed 3, and it’s also an obviously incredibly high degree-of-difficulty shot. But that kind of gamer is who Coby White has always been. The Hornets got the last stop they needed in regulation and ended up winning an exciting overtime, and White finished with a line of 19 points including 5/8 shooting from three, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, recording a team-high plus-minus of +21 in a one-point game.
It is undeniably awesome to see Coby White back in the state where he set high school basketball records and led his college team to one of its most exciting regular seasons in recent memory, and still making incredible plays like he always has. The Hornets have been one of the NBA’s biggest success stories this year, turning around from multiple years of absolute futility, and on Tuesday night, he gave them exactly what they needed to not have that story cut short. He and Charlotte will be back in action on Friday as they try to put North Carolina’s professional team in the actual playoffs for the first time in a decade. Even if you’re not a Hornets or even an NBA fan, I assure you that Coby White remains just as fun to watch as you remember.
