Worldwide Sports News
Hey look, Roman Anthony’s back! That’s nice. The Sox are in Canada for the first time this year to take on the Blue Jays tonight at 7 p.m. Here’s who’s playin’ behind Ranger Suarez:
As for the World Series American League Champions, Dylan Cease leads the Blue Jays on what I understand to be Ernie Clement jersey night (not a joke):
And here are some funny dogs. Go Sox!
A Monday night tripleheader of NBA playoff games on NBC and Peacock wraps up with the Denver Nuggets trying to stave off elimination by the injury-depleted Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first-round series.
The odds are stacked against Denver: Teams that lead 3-1 in a best-of-seven series have 95.6% of advancing to the next round (285-13). But the last two rallies from a 3-1 deficit were managed by the Nuggets in the 2020 playoffs — over Utah in the first round and the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Timberwolves have won Game 5 in the previous three playoff series that they took a 3-1 lead. But Minnesota will be without the starting backcourt of Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards after both guards were injured during the 112-96 victory in Game 4.
The end of the game also featured a bench-clearing altercation between Denver center Nikola Jokic and Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels. The NBA fined Jokic and Julius Randle for their actions.
See below for additional information on the Timberwolves-Nuggets game and how to watch the 2026 NBA Playoffs on NBC and Peacock.
Click here to sign up for Peacock!
In the absence of DiVincenzo (ruptured right Achilles suffered less than 2 minutes into the first quarter) and Edwards (bone bruise and hyperxtended left knee), guard Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench to score a career-high 43 points in Game 4.
"With the magnitude of the playoffs, this ranks No. 1," Dosunmu said. "I’m living in the moment, and this sounds clichéd, but I won’t take this for granted."
Minnesota likely will need more solid performances from Dosunmu to close out Denver and to go deep in the playoffs. DiVincenzo (who had been one of four players to start all 82 regular-season games) underwent season-ending surgery Sunday, and Edwards will be out for multiple weeks.
"Losing those two guys was really tough," Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said. "Tough emotionally for the guys. We regrouped well. I thought the key was just hanging in there until we get to halftime and kind of reset things. We really had a team effort, everybody chipped in."
The Nuggets will need improvement from Jokic, who is having the least efficient series of his playoff career (which covers 98 games). The three-time MVP who is a finalist again this season, is shooting 39.1% from the field and 18.5% on 3-pointers. He made only 7 of 26 field goals in Game 3, his career-low (26.9%) for a playoff game (he'd never made fewer than 47% from the field or 22% on 3-pointers).
Jokic has struggled with 3-point shooting since returning from a 16-game absence in January for a left knee injury.
“It’s a little bit of everything," Jokic said after Game 4. "I’m not shooting the ball really well, especially from the 3. (Minnesota center) Rudy (Goebert) is doing a good job with being physical, testing the officials, contesting shots. He’s a really good defender. And not just him, they play very good … they’re big, long, tall, handsy, trippy, they’re bumping you.”
Denver’s offense has plummeted over three consecutive losses, averaging 102 points per game (27 below the average in winning the 13 previous games in a row).
“It’s honest conversations," Denver head coach David Adleman said about the team's response to the slump. "Because that’s all you got. There’s a million narratives out there, people write stories, there’s social media, there’s all the crap. But it’s about us in the room, bottom line.’’
NBC Sports will present up to 23 games in the First Round and 11 games in the Conference Semifinals across either NBC and Peacock, or Peacock and NBCSN. Playoff programming concludes with exclusive coverage of the Western Conference Finals on NBC and Peacock.
RELATED:Ludacris, NBC Sports team up for ‘It’s Time’ spot promoting NBA Playoffs return to NBC
Peacock’s NBA Playoffs coverage spans multiple rounds, including Round 1, the Conference Semifinals, and the Western Conference Finals, with coverage evolving as the postseason progresses.
Yes. During earlier rounds such as Round 1 and the Conference Semifinals, Peacock will carry a mix of Eastern and Western Conference playoff games.
Sign up here to watch all of our LIVE sports, sports shows, documentaries, classic matches, and more. You'll also get tons of hit movies and TV shows, Originals, news, 24/7 channels, and current NBC & Bravo hits—Peacock is here for whatever you’re in the mood for.
You can enjoy Peacock on a variety of devices. View the full list of supported devices here.
Go Rays!
Sign up for a user account and get:
Flyers again can't close out Penguins, come home for massive Game 6 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
PITTSBURGH — So much for the Flyers’ commanding lead.
They have themselves a series.
The Flyers suffered a 3-2 loss Monday night to the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in Game 5 of this best-of-seven first-round playoff matchup.
Rick Tocchet’s club now heads home with its series advantage whittled down to 3-2. The Flyers knew eliminating a team like Pittsburgh was going to be a challenge.
“There’s no way that group’s going to go away,” Tocchet said before the game. “No chance.”
The Flyers showed some resolve, but they couldn’t overcome multiple deficits. They erased a 2-0 hole in the second period on goals from Alex Bump and Travis Sanheim.
Kris Letang, though, responded to regain the Penguins their lead before intermission. Pittsburgh closed the door in the third period.
The Penguins are trying to become just the fifth team in NHL history to win a series when down 3-0.
“They’re an experienced group that has been in this situation before,” Cam York said before the game. “They’re not just going to go away easy. I think we wanted them to go away a little bit easy last game and that obviously wasn’t the case. … We’ve got to bring our A-plus game to take these guys out.”
The Flyers dropped consecutive games for just the second time since Feb. 26.
• Dan Vladar converted 18 saves on 21 shots.
On Letang’s goal, the Flyers’ netminder tried to glove a high shot. The puck ended up ricocheting off the boards and then Vladar’s skate as Pittsburgh took its lead back.
The Penguins struck just 2:45 minutes into the game. Elmer Soderblom scored from the slot after Anthony Mantha had a textbook forecheck on Rasmus Ristolainen.
Vladar gave his team a really solid third period, but the Flyers couldn’t rally.
Arturs Silovs, making his second straight start for Pittsburgh, stopped 18 of the Flyers’ 20 shots.
He denied Porter Martone with under a minute to go.
The Flyers’ league-worst power play went 0 for 2 and is just 2 for 15 in the series.
• As expected, Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch. Bump entered the lineup for his first career NHL playoff game.
The 22-year-old said he was “stoked” to play and he looked it. His second-period goal came just 12 seconds after Connor Dewar had the building abuzz. The Penguins’ fourth-line winger took advantage of the Flyers failing to clear the zone and cushioned his team’s lead to 2-0.
But Bump quickly quieted the crowd with an excellent move to the net.
The rookie winger was noticeable from the onset. On his first shift, he fired a shot and had a hit.
Bump did exactly what the Flyers were hoping for in his postseason debut. He’ll definitely always remember PPG Paints Arena. His first goal in both the regular season and playoffs came here.
• Sidney Crosby exited briefly in the second period when a shot from his teammate nailed his left leg.
The future Hall of Fame center returned and assisted Letang’s go-ahead goal.
Crosby has put up back-to-back multi-point efforts after recording just an assist through the first three games.
• The series shifts back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
The Pirates added pitching depth over the weekend to help their bullpen during an extended stretch without an off day.
Pittsburgh recalled right-handed reliever Cam Sanders during the Milwaukee series and remains with the Pirates for the first of four against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Braxton Ashcraft was placed on the bereavement list as a corresponding move. Ben Cherington said the expectation is that Ashcraft will return to the Pirates during the Cardinals series.
Ashcraft is in line to start on Tuesday night at PNC Park.
Sanders joins the team for the second time this season, looking for a longer stay than before.
He pitched two innings on Sunday in a 5-0 loss to the Brewers. Sanders didn’t allow a run on one hit, one walk, and struck out one hitter.
Sanders’ previous outing on April 18 was a struggle. He failed to record three outs and allowed four runs on three hits and a walk against Tampa Bay. Both outs were strikeouts, but promoted Sanders to be sent back down the next day.
The Pirates play their seventh of a 13-game stretch without an off day, concluding on Sunday hosting the Reds.
The team will have the first three Mondays of May off.
The 16-12 Pirates face an important early-season stretch against the Cardinals and Reds in a jam-packed NL Central as all five teams are over .500.
It’s another Monday off day for the San Francisco Giants, and another mega recap of a busy weekend for the Minor League Baseball affiliates. Let’s jump into the action for the four teams that are in-season.
Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
The Giants ended an experiment, by releasing High-A Eugene catcher Diego Cartaya. Cartaya had once been one of the best prospects in all of baseball while with the Dodgers, but fell on very hard times. The Giants signed him to a Minor League deal late last year and had him start this season in High-A, hoping to fix the hole in his swing that had developed in the upper Minors. That sadly didn’t happen, as he hit just 3-28 with 23 strikeouts this year.
Taking his place behind the dish for Eugene is Luke Shliger, who was activated off the 7-Day IL. Most excitingly, Eugene also activated LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL) off the IL.
Some prospects also took home some hardware, as Eugene RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL) and Low-A San Jose RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL) were named the Pitchers of the Week in the Northwest League and Cal League, respectively. Way to go!
Friday: Sacramento River Cats beat the Albuquerque Isotopes 4-3 [box score]
Saturday Game 1: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Albuquerque Isotopes 5-3 (7 innings) [box score]
Saturday Game 2: Sacramento River Cats beat the Albuquerque Isotopes 9-2 (7 innings) [box score]
Sunday: Sacramento River Cats lost to the Albuquerque Isotopes 8-6 [box score]
It feels like Sacramento has really settled into being a standard AAA team, which is to say everyone is playing well enough to feel like quality insurance options should the team need them, but nobody is really making a name for themself as a player to watch as they push for a roster spot.
First baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) is, of course, always a player to watch, and he salvaged a good-not-great showing with his final plate appearance of the 4-game weekend, when he bopped a 2-run home run in the 9th inning on Sunday.
For the weekend, Eldridge hit 5-13 with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts, which raised his OPS to .874 and his wRC+ to 136. Crucially, he entered the off day and the next series with some much-needed momentum, as all his hits came in the final 2 games … after being held hitless on Friday and Saturday’s opener, Eldridge was mired in a 6-game slump where he’d hit just 1-21 … so seeing him go 5-9 to end the weekend was a very welcome sight. As was having just 2 strikeouts in 16 plate appearances over the weekend, which lowered his K rate to 29.5%. Getting closer to moving out of red flag territory on that front.
The other hitter in Sacramento who isn’t far from getting the call to the bigs is catcher/left fielder Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL), and he had another fine weekend, hitting 5-11 with a double, 2 walks, 2 stolen bases, 2 strikeouts, and an error. Rodríguez is up to an .878 OPS and a 136 wRC+, but it’s the way that he’s doing it that surely is exciting the Giants. While he hasn’t been displaying a lot of power (he has 2 homers and 6 total extra-base hits in 93 plate appearances), he’s simply been the contact maven that he was advertised as, posting a .346 batting average and a 9.7% strikeout rate, numbers that rank 6th and 5th, respectively, out of 81 qualified hitters in the Pacific Coast League.
How to find time for Rodríguez in the Majors is certainly a puzzle. If Daniel Susac’s injury lingers, the Giants could have Rodríguez replace Eric Haase, but he won’t be usurping Susac anytime soon. The Giants have been playing him at both second base and left field lately, but Luis Arráez is doing exactly what San Francisco has asked, while Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee have been two of the team’s hottest hitters lately (behind only Casey Schmitt, who is blocking both Rodríguez and Eldridge’s opportunity at DH). So it will probably take an injury for Rodríguez, who turned 24 on Thursday, to make his debut.
Injuries are definitely what it will take for center fielder/right fielder Grant McCray to get back to the Majors anytime soon, as he was already passed over in favor of Jared Oliva on the Opening Day roster, and then Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan when the team had injuries. His season has been quite a struggle, but he did make some noise on Friday when he smashed his 1st home run of the season.
Over the course of the weekend, the lefty hit 2-10 with 4 strikeouts and committed an error. It’s really been a dismal season at the plate for the 2019 3rd-rounder, who has a .636 OPS and an 84 wRC+. But even those numbers make things look rosier than they are, as his success has largely been propped up by an absurd 19.6% walk rate. Simply put, McCray isn’t doing any damage when swinging, Friday’s big fly notwithstanding … of the PCL’s 81 qualified hitters, McCray’s .194 batting average is 75th, while his .083 isolated slugging is 67th. He has cut back on the strikeouts, though, lowering his rate from 27.1% last year to 23.9% this year, and crucially dropping his swinging strike rate from 14.0% to 9.1%. It seems he’s being a bit too passive at the plate.
Second baseman Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL) also went deep, as part of a weekend where he hit 4-16 with a solo blast, a double, a walk, a hit by pitch, a strikeout, and an error.
Furman’s debut pass through AAA has been a smashing success, as he has a .905 OPS and a 150 wRC+, with just a 12.8% strikeout rate. Given his relative inexperience (he has just 44 games at AA and AAA combined) and the fact that he’s not on the 40-man roster, Furman is likely a bit behind Rodríguez should the Giants need a second baseman, but it wouldn’t be tremendously surprising if he’s given a chance to win the job next year, as Arráez is only on a 1-year deal.
Third baseman Buddy Kennedy and shortstop/third baseman/left fielder Thomas Gavello also went deep. Kennedy hit 2-10 with a 3-run blast, a double, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts, moving his OPS to .907 and his wRC+ to 144; Gavello went 1-10 with a solo bomb, a walk, and 4 strikeouts, and now has a .620 OPS and a 54 wRC+.
On the pitching front, Friday saw a much-needed excellent start from RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 12 CPL), who had his best outing in a very long time. The versatile righty was dynamic through 5 shutout innings, offering up just 2 hits (both singles) and 2 walks, while striking out 3 batters and living off of soft contact. It wasn’t the best strike-throwing display for McDonald, who threw 70 pitches with 43 strikes, but he kept hitters off balance all day.
McDonald had a brilliant start to Spring Training and looked close to locking down an Opening Day roster spot before completely falling apart. His last few outings of the Cactus League were disasters, and he opened the AAA season with 4 consecutive rough outings. Hopefully his 5th is the start of the course correcting, because neither RHP Carson Seymour nor LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) has stamped their name on the 6th starter role. Let’s see if McDonald, who now has a 5.40 ERA and a 5.61 FIP on the year, can start to make a run for it.
Saturday’s pair of starters were not nearly as good as McDonald, but they managed to be nearly as effective. LHP Seth Lonsway took the mound for the opener and struggled with command, walking 4 batters in 5 innings and hitting another, while throwing 42 of 76 pitches for strikes. But Lonsway only allowed 3 hits and just 1 run, while striking out 3. The 27-year old 6th-round pick from the 2021 draft has 4.50 ERA and a 5.87 FIP on the year … he’s only allowed 16 hits in 16 innings, which is impressive in the PCL, but he also only has 5 strikeouts.
In Game 2 it was fellow funky LHP John Michael Bertrand, who had a very funny line. Bertrand went 6 innings and gave up 9 hits, but all 9 of those hits were singles. He also walked 2 batters, yet the only run he allowed was unearned, due to a Rodríguez error. Not every day you give up 11 baserunners and 0 earned runs! Bertrand, who struck out 5, has a 4.57 ERA and a 6.35 FIP on the season. Both he and Lonsway are being used as starters in Sacramento, but it feels likely that if they make the Majors it will be as multi-inning relievers.
Not a very good weekend for the relievers on the 40-man roster. LHP Sam Hentges and RHP Joel Peguero (No. 27 CPL) continued their rehab assignments, with mixed results. Hentges gave up 2 earned runs while recording just 2 outs on Friday, but bounced back with a 6-pitch perfect inning on Sunday. Peguero gave up just 1 baserunner in his lone inning of work, but that baserunner was a solo home run.
RHP Spencer Bivens had another tough outing, giving up 3 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in an inning of work, with a strikeout, raising his ERA to 5.40 and his FIP to 6.36. RHP Tristan Beck allowed 3 hits, 1 walk, 4 runs, and 2 earned runs in just 1.1 innings, with 1 strikeout, and now has a 3.48 ERA and a 3.03 FIP. RHP Dylan Smith struck out 2 batters with 1 walk in a scoreless inning on Friday, but ceded 3 hits, 2 walks, and 3 earned runs in 1.1 innings on Sunday, with 1 strikeout, raising his ERA to 3.24 and his FIP to 3.81.
The non-rostered depth options weren’t great, either, as neither RHP Gregory Santos nor LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 41 CPL) were at their sharpest. RHP Trent Harris (No. 29 CPL) however, was, as he retired all 5 batters he faced, with 3 strikeouts.
Friday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Somerset Patriots 7-6 [box score]
Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Somerset Patriots 9-1 (7 innings) [box score]
Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Somerset Patriots 4-3 (10 innings) [box score]
Richmond’s magical season just keeps on going. The Squirrels ran their winning streak to 4 games, and pushed their record to 17-3, and they did it with their usual theatrics: twice they entered the 9th inning with fewer runs than their opponent, only to successfully mount a comeback.
Friday’s walk-off was particularly heroic, as the Squirrels were down to their final strike, and still trailing, and didn’t even have the tying run on base. But third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL), playing in his 1st game of the season after returning from a hamstring injury, and 0-4 with 3 strikeouts on the day, kept the game alive with a double on a 2-2 pitch.
Richmond then pinch-hit with catcher Drew Cavanaugh (No. 19 CPL), who fell behind in the count 0-2, then fouled off a pitch, then blasted a 2-run home run to end the game. What excitement!
Cavanaugh didn’t play on Saturday, but followed up the heroics on Sunday by hitting 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base as his magnificent season continues, following his 2025 breakout. Cavanaugh isn’t playing full time, as he’s splitting catching duties with Adrián Sugastey, but in 53 plate appearances is posting a blistering 1.137 OPS with a 196 wRC+. Perhaps most impressively, after posting a 27.4% strikeout rate across all 4 A-ball affiliates last year, Cavanaugh has dropped that number to 19.7% this season.
As for Harber, he wasn’t done with the theatrics, as he played the hero in Sunday’s walk-off, when he singled home the winning run in the 10th inning.
Harber’s numbers weren’t great over the weekend, as he hit 5-14 with 7 strikeouts, but that’s to be expected from someone making both his season and AA and season debut, against pitchers who are fully up to speed. It’s just great seeing him back on the field and making an impact.
Also playing a heroic role was shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 23 CPL), who was responsible for sending Sunday’s game to extra innings. Richmond trailed by a run in the 9th inning, with 2 outs and the bases empty. But Ahuna rapped a double, stole 3rd, and scored on a wild pitch, sending the game to the 10th where Harber would walk it off. Ahuna hit 3-8 with a double, 2 stolen bases, and 1 strikeout over the weekend, and now has an .826 OPS and a 116 wRC+ in his debut AA season. There’s still a ton of swing and miss in his game (30.3% K rate, 18.1% swinging strike rate), but it’s been a very successful season for him.
Speaking of successful seasons, Richmond’s corner outfielders, Jonah Cox and Scott Bandura, continued their excellent seasons. Cox hit 4-10 with a home run, a double, a walk, a stolen base, and 2 strikeouts, which saw his OPS climb to 1.167 and his wRC+ to 205, to make no mention of the organization-leading 12 stolen bases in just 18 games. It’s been a stunning start to the year for the A’s 6th-round pick in 2023, after he was decidedly average offensively in High-A a year ago. The numbers will surely regress, but still … we’re seeing a lot of encouraging signs with the bat for someone whose calling cards are his glove and his cleats.
As for Bandura, he went just 1-9 with 5 strikeouts on the weekend, but smashed a 2-run home run, drew 5 walks, and stole a base. He now has a .971 OPS and a 152 wRC+ on the season and, after posting a 30.6% strikeout rate during his 45-game stint with Richmond last year, is all the way down to 17.5% this season, despite the weekend swing-throughs. We’re seeing some really big improvements in contact on the farm.
Bandura and Cox have starred this year, but get a little overlooked by the star prospect they flank, center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL). Davidson returned to the lineup after missing a few games with a forearm issue, but he really struggled, hitting just 1-8 with a sacrifice fly and 5 strikeouts. Between the injury and parental leave, Davidson hasn’t been able to really get into a rhythm yet this year, and has just a .688 OPS and a 69 wRC+.
There were a pair of dynamic pitching performances from under-the-radar prospects. On Saturday it was RHP Darien Smith, who started the game and tossed 6 brilliant innings, allowing just 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run on a solo home run. Smith, who needed just 72 pitches to get through his 6 innings (though just 45 of them were strikes), also struck out 5 Somerset hitters.
The 26-year old undrafted free agent, who is in his 2nd season, has made 4 starts this year and has allowed 0 or 1 run in each of them, and has just a 1.35 ERA and a 3.86 FIP. He doesn’t have the most dynamic stuff — he averaged 8.7 strikeouts per 9 innings between Low-A and High-A last year, and is at 8.6 this season — but he simply doesn’t allow many batters to reach base. In 20 innings this year, Smith has ceded just 10 hits and issued 5 walks.
But the biggest pitching performance came from Sunday’s piggybacking starter, LHP Cesar Perdomo. The 24-year old took over to start the 5th inning, and pitched all the way through the 10th. He gave up just 1 hit (a single) in his 6 innings, while walking 2 and striking out 4. Most importantly, Perdomo didn’t allow any runs to cross the plate … not even the Manfred Man in extra innings. Perdomo has been excellent in 3 of his 4 outings this year, resulting in a 2.16 ERA and a 3.53 FIP … numbers that are better than his High-A stats were last year. Like Smith, Perdomo doesn’t strike out a lot of batters (he has just 8.1 Ks per 9 innings this season), but he just doesn’t allow a lot of damage. It wouldn’t be too surprising if he finds his way to AAA late in the season.
Friday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops 9-4 [box score]
Saturday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops 5-2 [box score]
Sunday: Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops 3-1 [box score]
Just as the big news in Richmond was the return of Parks Harber, the big news in Eugene was the return of LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL). Bresnahan, who was the 4th pitcher listed on our community prospect list, but is the top pitcher on a lot of national Giants prospect lists, started the season in extended spring training due to a minor injury. But on Sunday he made his season debut, and his High-A debut.
It wasn’t great from a statistical standpoint, but it certainly wasn’t awful, either. The soon-to-turn 21-year old, who was taken in the 13th round in 2023 by the Guardians and traded to the Giants in the Alex Cobb deal, went 3.2 innings in his season debut, and gave up just 2 hits (both singles) and 2 walks, but got tagged for 2 runs. Not surprisingly given the rust, he struggled with the strike zone, throwing just 32 of 56 pitches for strikes.
But it was a very encouraging outing for the reigning Cal League Pitcher of the Year, who struck out 4 batters. Bresnahan retired the 1st 10 batters that he faced, before allowing all of his baserunners in a 4th inning that he wouldn’t make it out of (he also left with just 1 run in, but the bases loaded and 2 outs, before RHP Ryan Vanderhei hit a batter to let a run score).
All things considered, a very nice start to the year for Bresnahan, and it will be fun watching him settle into this level.
Speaking of settling in, LHP Luis De La Torre (No. 14 CPL) is still searching for a way to do exactly that. He had a nearly identical outing to Bresnahan on Saturday, at least on paper: 3.2 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs, 5 strikeouts, with 47 of 78 pitches for strikes. Just like Bresnahan, De La Torre was on fire to open up the game, cruising through 3 scoreless innings and retiring the 1st 8 batters that he faced. Trouble struck in the 4th, though, when he issued both of his walks and then a 2-run double, which ended his night. Still, a big step in the right direction for LDLT, who has just a 7.50 ERA and a 5.86 FIP this young season.
RHP Hunter Dryden had his worst outing of the year on Friday, though it was still solid (and similar to Bresnahan and De La Torre’s): 4.1 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 earned runs, and 4 strikeouts. Dryden entered the year having allowed just 1 run in 3 starts, so this was definitely not a good game when judged against the high bar he set, but the 2024 17th-round pick has a delightful 1.88 ERA on the year (though just a 4.27 FIP). Dryden is walking a ton of batters, but hitters are generally useless against him when they do swing: in 14.1 innings this year, the soon-to-turn 24-year old has struck out 18, while allowing just 5 hits.
Eugene only played 3 games this weekend, but they used 4 starters, as RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL) was the piggybacking starter on Saturday. And he shined the brightest of the 4, tossing 5 shutout innings while allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks, and striking out 6 batters. Marte threw 41 of 65 pitches for strikes as he mowed down the Hops batters, and lowered his ERA to 1.89 and his FIP to 3.41. The strikeout and walk numbers aren’t gaudy — 17 and 8, respectively, in 19 innings — but, like Dryden, he’s just not allowing any damage when people swing (he’s given up just 8 hits and 0 home runs).
On offense, the biggest day belonged to left fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL), who hit 2-5 with a pair of home runs on Friday, knocking in 3 runs. What a gorgeous swing he has.
Diaz — who sat on Saturday, and went 1-4 with a strikeout and a caught stealing on Sunday — isn’t having a great year, as he has just a .675 OPS and a 77 wRC+, and is still in search of his 1st walk. But there are some nice signs, certainly: despite not being the biggest player, and just being 20, he’s shown off some good power this year, with a .236 isolated slugging rate that ranks 6th out of 57 Northwest League hitters (minimum: 50 plate appearances). He’s also struck out just 10.0% of the time this year, a fabulous mark even for a player who has always limited strikeouts. If he can get his batting average up — it’s just .218 — he could end up having a nice year.
Center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) also went deep (breaking a tie in the 9th inning!) for the Emeralds during a so-so weekend in which he hit 2-10 with a solo blast, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, an outfield assist, and a caught stealing. The 2024 4th-round pick has been Eugene’s best performer this year, as he has a .940 OPS and a 158 wRC+, but the 30.0% strikeout rate and 16.1% swinging strike rate paint a picture of a power hitter who still has a lot to work on.
Speaking of players with a lot to work on, it was a tough weekend for third baseman Walker Martin, who hit just 2-12 with 6 strikeouts, while committing 3 errors. The team’s 2nd-round pick in 2023 has shown a power improvement this year, and has a .794 OPS and a 125 wRC+, but his 28.6% strikeout rate and 9 errors in 16 games is fairly concerning.
Shout out to catcher/first baseman Ty Hanchey who had a nice end to the series, hitting 3-11 with a home run, a double, and 3 strikeouts, raising his OPS to .784 and wRC+ to 112. Hanchey is a little bit more organizational depth than prospect — he’s a 26-year old UDFA in his 4th pro season (though he missed all of last year due to injury) — but catchers always have a chance to prove themselves, and Hanchey should get a little more run now with Diego Cartaya released.
Friday: San Jose Giants lost to the Ontario Tower Buzzers 7-3 [box score]
Saturday: San Jose Giants lost to the Ontario Tower Buzzers 7-4 [box score]
Sunday: San Jose Giants lost to the Ontario Tower Buzzers 18-9 [box score]
It’s been a great season for the Baby Giants, but it certainly wasn’t a great weekend, as they lost all 3 games. Their starters got absolutely rocked, and the offense was more mediocre than great, and was held without a single home run.
Shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) has cooled down following his utterly absurd start to the season, but he’s still hitting quite well, and the weekend was an example of his no-longer-Barry-Bonds-but-still-damn-good current state. The just-turned 19-year old switch hitter went 5-12 over the weekend with a triple, a walk, a hit by pitch, a stolen base, 3 strikeouts, and 2 caught stealings. It’s now a 1.066 OPS and a 163 wRC+ for Level, who has probably been the MVP of the farm system so far this season, and certainly looks like he’ll have vacated his post in San Jose by the time Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) and/or Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) are ready to inherit it.
First baseman Hayden Jatczak also continued his obliteration of the Cal League, with a pair of games that were excellent in very different ways. After sitting on Friday, Jatczak had 5 plate appearances on Saturday … and 0 official at bats, as he drew 4 walks and hit a sacrifice fly. He followed that up by emphatically putting the ball in play on Sunday, hitting 3-5 with a double and a strikeout. Jatczak has a 1.013 OPS and a 163 wRC+ in this, his debut season, with an elite walk rate (23.6%) and a very good strikeout rate (18.0%). I’m curious how long he’ll stay in San Jose, and when the Giants will start trying to see what is a more appropriate level for the 24-year old UDFA.
Isaiah Barkett showed off a little bit of everything over the weekend, starting with his defensive versatility: he played Friday at second base, Saturday in right field, and Sunday at third. He hit 3-9 over the trio of games with 2 doubles, 3 walks, a sacrifice bunt, and a strikeout. Last year’s 10th-round pick is quietly having an awesome debut season, as the 22-year old righty is sporting a .999 OPS and a 157 wRC+, with a brilliant 11.1% strikeout rate.
The pitching was mostly bad, as evidenced by the 32 runs that San Jose allowed in 3 games. But there were a few standout performances nonetheless. The biggest such day belonged to RHP Ubert Mejias, who had a sensational showing on Saturday. Mejias entered with 2 outs and a runner on 2nd base in the 2nd inning, and proceeded to retire 14 consecutive batters. 14! That streak finally ended when he gave up a solo home run, before getting 2 more outs and calling it a day.
In all, it was 5.1 brilliant innings for Mejias, with that home run being the only baserunner he allowed, all while striking out 9 hitters. Talk about dominant! Home runs have been the only issue for the 25-year old Cuban this year … in 15.1 innings across 5 outings, he’s struck out 19 batters, while giving up just 9 hits and 4 walks. But 3 of the 9 hits he’s allowed have cleared the fence, which has resulted in a 2.93 ERA and a 5.81 FIP. This is Mejias’ 3rd pass through San Jose — he was in the rotation in 2024, before switching to long relief a year ago — so it’s probably a make-or-break season for him.
RHP Mauricio Estrella had a nice game on Friday, allowing just a single in 3 shutout innings, while striking out 3. The just-turned 22-year old is also at the level for the 3rd time, though he pitched there very sparingly in 2024 and 2025, amassing just 26.1 total innings. He’s been awesome so far this year, with a 2.45 ERA, a 2.04 FIP, and, most impressively, 15 strikeouts and 0 walks in 11 innings. What a beautiful thing!
Friday and Sunday’s starters — RHPs Braydon Risley and Cody Delvecchio, respectively — had so-so outings but showed off their strikeout stuff. Risley, July’s 19th-round pick, struck out 7 batters in 4 innings, while giving up 3 hits (including 2 doubles), 1 walk, and 1 hit batter, with 2 earned runs. The just-turned 21-year old community college draftee has a 3.38 ERA and a 4.84 FIP through 4 games, with a delightful 20 strikeouts against 4 walks in 13.1 innings. Delvecchio, a 12th-round pick a year ago, K’d 6 batters in just 3.1 innings, but also allowed 6 hits (including a home run), 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts. The UCLA product’s numbers are similar to Risley’s: a 3.60 ERA, a 4.96 FIP, and 19 strikeouts against 4 walks in 15 innings.
But pour one out for the ERAs of RHP Melvin Pineda (5 baserunners and 4 earned runs in 0.2 innings on Friday; 7 baserunners and 7 earned runs in 1 inning on Sunday, raising his ERA to 15.12), LHP Ricardo Estrada (7 baserunners and 3 earned runs in 1.2 innings, raising his ERA to 11.70), RHP Alix Hernandez (6 baserunners and 3 earned runs in 1.2 innings, though his ERA is a still-delightful 2.70), RHP Jose T. Perez (6 baserunners and 5 earned runs in 1 inning, raising his ERA to 10.80), and RHP Fernando Vasquez (7 baserunners and 3 earned runs in 1.2 innings, raising his ERA to 11.74). Here’s to bounce-back games for all of them!
4 — Dakota Jordan — [High-A]
4 — Lisbel Diaz x2 — [High-A]
3 — Bryce Eldridge — [AAA]
3 — Thomas Gavello — [AAA]
3 — Jonah Cox — [AA]
2 — Nate Furman — [AAA]
2 — Drew Cavanaugh — [AA]
2 — Scott Bandura — [AA]
2 — Ty Hanchey — [High-A]
1 — Grant McCray — [AAA]
1 — Buddy Kennedy — [AAA]
Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet-PIT
Pitching Matchup: Dustin May (3-2, 5.84 ERA) vs. Mason Montgomery (1-0, 3.97 ERA)
The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home hosting the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon at beautiful PNC Park.
Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.
BD community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!
Good evening, folks! There’s no game tonight as the Braves are getting a rare off day in the middle of a homestand. There’s still some stuff to talk about and this is your chance to chat about anything you want (that makes sense for a baseball blog site, haha).
Game of the night for me is Angels at White Sox and it’s solely because of Munetaka Murakami. I’ve been a fan of his since his time with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of NPB and it’s been a joy to see him make a splash in the big leagues with Chicago. Hopefully it’ll continue!
Brandon Gaudin mentioned this during Brian Snitker’s Hall of Fame ceremony and the Braves shared the stat out today. It’s absolutely mind-boggling but it also makes sense considering how long Snit has been with the franchise.
In honor of Brian Snitker’s longevity, I invite y’all to join me in Remembering Some Guys in the comments section. I’ll start: Willie Harris.
The floor is now yours!
The Mets are adding to the depth in the organization, claiming infielder Eric Wagaman off waivers from the Twins.
Wagaman has been optioned to Triple-A.
The 28-year-old was shipped off to Minnesota this offseason in a deal with the Marlins, but he was sent to the minors after failing to make the team out of camp.
His struggles continued to begin the year, hitting just .159 with six RBI over 18 Triple-A games, and he ended up being DFA’d to clear a roster spot late last week.
Wagaman did enjoy some success in his lone consistent big-league opportunity, putting together 40 XBH’s in 140 games with Miami two years ago.
He’s also a career .267 hitter with a .731 OPS against left-handed pitching.
The majority of his experience is at first, but he’s also spent some time in the outfield.
If Wagaman can find his groove down with Syracuse, perhaps he’ll work his way into the Mets' first base mix.
Brett Baty and Mark Vientos have struggled while taking over the bulk of the playing time with Jorge Polanco on the IL.
The Milwaukee Brewers have been a model of success for the past decade, and it’s quite clear the rest of the league has taken notice. From the Mets’ long-known courtship of David Stearns, to Craig Counsell leaving for the Cubs, to Walker McKinven going to the White Sox, and so many others, teams have been trying to hire away some of the top brains in the Brewers organization.
The Brewers have still retained some of their most crucial coaches and execs, most notably Matt Arnold, Pat Murphy, and Chris Hook. However, some teams are already getting an early jump on the next hiring cycle for coaches. The Red Sox fired a large chunk of their major league coaching staff recently, which has gotten the industry talking.
The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner put together a list of notable names to watch when this next hiring cycle gets into full gear. One current Brewers assistant coach was listed among the names, but it’s probably not who you would have expected.
First base coach Spencer Allen.
The 48-year-old Allen is in his first season as the Brewers’ first base coach. He has been in the organization since 2022, starting as a field coordinator and then most recently serving as the team’s Director of Player Development before being moved to the on-field staff for 2026.
Prior to joining the Brewers, Allen was the head coach for Northwestern’s baseball team.
The Brewers moved Allen to the on-field staff to replace Julio Borbón because they wanted more aggression on the basepaths again. It’s worked so far as the Brewers have the most stolen bases in baseball with 36.
Allen clearly is highly regarded around the league. He’s been a head coach before at the college level, has experience in player development on the pro side, and now has on-field MLB coaching experience. That checks just about every box you could look for in terms of experience, and he’s still fairly young.
Still, Allen probably would not have been most people’s first guess for a Brewers assistant coach to be on the radar for managerial jobs, since this is his first year with the on-field staff, and his previous work in the organization has been more behind the scenes in player development.
It wouldn’t surprise me if third base coach Matt Erickson, offense and strategy coordinator Jason Lane, or field coordinator Nestor Corredor also get some looks at managerial jobs in the future. They weren’t listed by The Athletic for this cycle, however.
Also on the list of candidates was McKinven, the former Brewers strategy coordinator who became the White Sox bench coach prior to last season.
The Guardians will now play the AL East version of themselves, the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Rays are 16-11, 10th in wRC+ at 103, 8th in baserunning runs above average at 1.7, sixth in starting pitcher ERA at 3.67 (3.88) and 26th in bullpen ERA at 5.27.
The Guardians are 15-14, 16th in wRC+ at 98, 29th in baserunning runs above average at -2.4, ninth in starting pitcher ERA at 3.78 (4.25 FIP) and 21st in bullpen ERA at 4.55.
As you can see, the key to beating the Rays SHOULD be to get their starting pitchers out of the game as quickly as possible and then beat up on their bullpen. Of course, having just seen the Guardians fail to beat up on a pretty bad Blue Jays’ pen, I am a bit skeptical at the moment. Hopefully, they surprise us.
Matchups:
Game One: Parker Messick, LHP 1.76 ERA (2.54 FIP) vs. Steven Matz, LHP 4.81 ERA (3.06 FIP)
Game Two: Tanner Bibee, RHP 4.45 ERA (4.64 FIP) vs. Nick Martinez, RHP 2.10 ERA (3.89 FIP)
Game Three: Gavin Williams, RHP 3.28 ERA (4.44 FIP) vs. Drew Rasmussen, RHP 2.45 ERA (4.10 FIP)
The Guardians’ offense is led by Daniel Schneemann at 167 wRC+, Angel Martinez 137 wRC+, Jose Ramirez 124 wRC+, Chase DeLauter 122 wRC+, Brayan Rocchio 122 wRC+, David Fry 110 wRC+, and Rhys Hoskins 103 wRC+. Is this the series that Kyle Manzardo, Bo Naylor, George Valera and/or Steven Kwan emerge from April hibernations? One can only hope.
The Rays’ offense is led by familiar frenemies Yandy Diaz 157 wRC+, Junior Caminero 131 wRC+, and Richie Palacios 126 wRC+. But, watch out also for Johnny DeLuca 120 wRC+, Jonathan Aranda 120 wRC+ and Jake Fraley 113 wRC+. This is a great series for those who enjoy franchise angst as we are likely to see big hits from Diaz and Caminero, but a Palacios key moment would be a cherry on top.
The Guardians are home. Time to find a way to win a series against a good team and get things back on track.
Glossary:
wRC+ – Weighted Runs Created Plus – A measure of determining a player’s run production value while controlling for park effects. 100 is league average.
Baserunning Runs Above Average – A metric including stolen base value, double-play avoidance, and taking extra bases to determine how many runs above average a team is on the basepaths
Defense – This stat gives you how many runs above average a team’s defenders save their team, adjusted for positional value (i.e. a catcher has far more defensive value for a team than a first baseman).
FIP – Fielding Independent Pitching. Essentially, ERA weighted by factors a pitcher can control (strikeouts, walks and homers) while eliminating as much as possible the effects of a good or bad defense.
SIERA – A metric to determine a pitcher’s true ERA based on strikeout rate, walk rate, and quality of batted-balls given up. This number is similar to ERA (3 and under is excellent) in determining player performance.
First-half goals from Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko took United to the cusp of Champions League qualification
It seems like Benjamin Sesko is now installed as United’s first-choice centre-forward – though full confirmation will come next weekend, when Liverpool visit Old Trafford, as in previous big games, Carrick has deployed Mbeumo through the middle.
Ultimately, though, the club spent all that money on Sesko because the plan is for him to be a regular, so really, they need to build around him, which means better delivery from wide areas; I wonder if we’ll see whoever plays on the left whip balls for him to the front post, though I also think there’s hay to be made with Mbeumo coming inside to swing those in to the back stick.
Continue reading...NBA Draft lottery reform is coming, Adam Silver wants it and what the NBA Commissioner wants, he gets. The only question is what it will look like.
There is a growing momentum behind a formula that would expand the lottery to 18 teams and flatten the odds, reports Sam Amick at The Athletic.
Yet according to league and team sources, a heavy front-runner has emerged among the three proposed solutions... 18 teams would be part of the draft lottery (rather than the current 14) and the bottom 10 teams would all have an 8% chance of landing the No. 1 pick. The remaining odds — 20 percent in all — would be divided among the remaining eight teams.
There's a lot to unpack, and a lot of questions about this:
• Nothing can become official until the Board of Governors meets and votes on it next month. Meaning nothing is set in stone.
• Expanding to 18 teams means that not only are the four teams that lose in the play-in going to be in the lottery, but so are the four teams with the worst record that make the playoffs but lose in the first round. If it were in place this season, teams such as Toronto and maybe Phoenix would be in the lottery.
• While the odds are small, wait for the outcry the first year one of the playoff teams wins the lottery and gets the No. 1 pick, something Amick gets into at The Athletic:
As several general managers pointed out, there is a fear that implementing Option No. 1 might simply create new problems that will eventually need to be addressed. What might the league-wide reaction be, for example, when one of those two lottery teams that actually took part in the playoffs gets lucky by landing the No. 1 pick?
• If Adam Silver and the owners vote to do nothing, just leave the system as is, there will be far less tanking next season because it is seen as a much weaker draft class. That said, you can be sure a year from now Silver and the NBA league office will take a victory lap about how great their tanking solution worked.
• Giving all 10 teams that miss the playoffs entirely an equal 8% chance to win the No. 1 pick does reduce the incentive to race all the way to the bottom and have the worst record in the league. It could mean that at the end of the season, struggling teams will play their young players and develop them a little more... so long as it doesn't get them into the play-in and hurt those lottery odds. And in the years there is a Victor Wembanyama or Cooper Flagg in the draft — or another crazy deep draft like this year — teams will tank to get into the bottom 10 if needed.
• This new system gets further away from the reason to have a draft in the first place. Teams tank — or are just bad and end up in the lottery — because they lack the high-level talent, they don't have a Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic or Victor Wembanyama, and the best way to get a franchise-changing player like that is through the draft. (For middle and small market teams, it can be the only way.) The more the odds are flattened, the harder it becomes for the worst teams to get those players, forcing them to be bad for longer and making the fan base suffer more.
The entire point of the draft is to help the worst teams get the best players — the Las Vegas Raiders are the worst team in the NFL, they get to draft Fernando Mendoza. Simple. Clean. The NBA continues to move away from that: Last season, 11 teams had worse records than the Dallas Mavericks, but the basketball gods smiled on them and their 1.8% chances, and they got the No. 1 pick and Cooper Flagg. How does that help struggling teams?
This swashbuckling victory moved Manchester United to within two points of Champions League qualification and is prima facie evidence of the job Michael Carrick has executed since his appointment as interim manager.
The performance is also a fair calling card for the permanent role as United bettered a doughty Brentford by simply being better.
Continue reading...
Who: Phoenix Suns vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
When: 6:30 pm Arizona Time
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center — Phoenix, Arizona
Watch: NBCSN/Peacock
Listen: KMVP 98.7
This very well could be the final game of the 2025-26 NBA season for the Phoenix Suns. If it is, what a ride it’s been.
No team in league history has ever come back from down 3-0. Phoenix is also the only team without a playoff win this year after the Rockets finally got one against the Lakers last night.
Phoenix made things slightly more interesting last game, but Shai had a performance for the ages, and the Suns just couldn’t hang despite an early 9-point lead in the first quarter. But, as we’ve seen all series long… the Thunder are just simply too good. They are the defending champs and won 64 games for a reason, after all.
The adjustments have been minimal from first-year head coach Jordan Ott. Will we see more of the same? If this team is who they’ve said they are all season long, they should go down swinging.
Jalen Williams is out again, and that means plenty more Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, and Aaron Wiggins minutes. This team is deep. Shai’s firepower led the way in Game 3, with eight players contributing 6+ points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been nearly unstoppable. He is hitting tough contested shots, he is getting downhill with ease, and drawing fouls when he needs to. Or kicking it to his open teammate if the Suns overcommit. Slowing him down has been virtually impossible. If they want any chance at an upset tonight, the defense on him has to improve. Easier said than done.
One person who could certainly help with that would be Jordan Goodwin. Goody’s status is in question again, as he has been sidelined since the first game of the series with a calf injury. There’s been a lot of chatter about how much the Suns have missed Mark Williams, and rightfully so due to the size disadvantage. But to me, Jordan Goodwin’s absence has been the most negatively impactful for this Suns squad. His presence changes everything defensively.
Outside of Dillon Brooks, he is the culture setter. The big momentum-shifting plays and the “little things” he does over the course of the game add up.
It’s simple, really. Take care of the ball. Rebound.
If they do those two things while playing their brand of hard-nosed basketball, they have a chance against anyone. If they continue to carelessly turn it over or allow second-chance points, they are toast. The margin for error against this Thunder team is microscopic.
The possessions where the Suns had an excellent defensive stand for 20-to-23 seconds that led to a miss, only for the Thunder to grab the offensive board and hit a triple are the backbreakers. Those momentum shifts are the difference between a transition opportunity for your offense and your defense getting overworked for another 10-13 seconds and a potential 5-point swing on a single possession.
Shooters need to shoot. We’re going to need Collin Gillespie and Grayson Allen to knock their shots down. Royce O’Neale as well. The “Big 3” of Booker, Brooks, and Green will draw the most defensive attention, so it sets up the role players for quality looks. They surprisingly had plenty of good looks from deep in the last game; the shots just weren’t falling at the rate they needed to.
The list of things that have to go right to win is pretty long. Do we have one last fight in us?
This thing is over. I expect the Thunder to aim to put one final bow on this thing and wrap it up so they can enter their next series well rested against the Lakers or Rockets. Prove me wrong one last time, Suns.
Suns 101, Thunder 119