Category: Sports News

Don’t lose the series, Braves! Also, Michael Harris II in left field!

Cal Raleigh is back.

Raleigh returns to the Mariners lineup at designated hitter on Tuesday. He’s missed the last three games with “general soreness” in his core, or side, or something. The team hasn’t been too forthcoming with specifics on the injury, and it doesn’t really matter now, because Raleigh is back. He is still limited to DH, at least for now, meaning the Mariners have to start Mitch Garver behind the plate against a righty, while Dominic Canzone rides the bench. But having Raleigh back at all is an encouraging sign, and hopefully he’ll be back behind the plate again soon.

On the mound for the Mariners tonight is George Kirby, who’s had an odd start to the 2026 season. He’s walking more batters than ever, striking out fewer batters than ever, but also 56.5% ground ball rate — the fifth best in baseball. His 2.84 xERA is top 10 in baseball, so it seems to be working for him. But I’m interested to see how that approach matches up with one of the most potent lineups in baseball.

Bryce Elder gets the start for the Braves. For more on Elder, Jake Mailhot has you covered in our series preview.

For further pregame reading, Eric Sanford responds to your takes on the most impressive early season performances.

Lineups:

Tonight’s game information:

Game time: 6:40 PT

TV: Mariners TV, with Aaron Goldsmith and Dave Valle, with Angie Mentink as the field analyst

Radio: Seattle Sports 710 AM, with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith

After a rough road-trip, the D-backs return to Chase Field to take on the Pirates. They’re in fourth-place in the NL Central, while Arizona sits third in the NL West. So we’re better than them, right? RIGHT? Of course, it’s not quite that simple. The Central currently has every team two games or more above .500, and possesses five of the best eight records in the National League. The third-place Diamondbacks would be clear last with that record in the Central – as would the Marlins, currently second in the NL East. And don’t even get me started on the AL Central, where the division leading Tigers and Guardians are only at .500.

The harsh reality is, the D-backs haven’t won a series so far against a team currently in possession of a winning record. Their record there is just 4-11: the Diamondbacks split series against the Braves and Padres, lost to the Brewers, and were swept by the Dodgers and Cubs. The closest was the sweep of the Tigers who, as mentioned above, are 18-18. It’s interesting that, after the first month, what was supposed to be a brutal schedule has ended up being perfectly balanced. They have played 15 games against winning teams, 15 games against losing teams (9-6 there for Arizona) and three against the .500 Tigers.

Tonight, start for the D-backs is Eduardo Rodriguez, the only member of the Arizona rotation with an ERA+ better than a hundred. On the other hand, the only current member of the Arizona bullpen with an ERA+ below a hundred is.. former starter, Brandon Pfaadt. Of course, there are few former relievers who haven’t covered themselves in glory. Every ex-member of the bullpen has an ERA of 7.71 or greater, along with James McCann. Hopefully E-Rod can deliver a W on Cinco de Mayo. Over the last thirteen games, D-backs’ starters have a 1-7 record, Eduardo getting the only win, on April 22 against the White Sox

The Athletics have been one of the biggest surprises of this young MLB season.

The A's, a young team themselves, were assumed to be a decent to good team, possibly flirting with the wild card. Nobody saw a division-leading team in the fold.

It's still early so there's nothing to get overly excited about. But give credit where credit is due. The A's might not be in Oakland anymore, but they have ballers with them.

Shea Langeliers, 28, one of the team's many young bright stars, was placed on the paternity list, the team announced Monday, May 4. Langeliers is tied for eighth in home runs with 10, currently more than Shohei Ohtani (6), Cal Raleigh (7), Bryce Harper (8) and Pete Alonso (6).

Last year's AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz has hit five home runs. Carlos Cortes and Tyler Soderstrom are tied with four, while Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler have three apiece. Max Muncy and Jacob Wilson have two homers each.

As a team, the A's entered play on Tuesday, May 5 ranking within the top 15 of nearly every offensive category including batting average, hits, runs and walks.

There were early questions about their pitching, which would be the tale of the A's season, and early on its been sufficient as is the A's record out there in West Sacramento. ESPN gave the A's a "B" through the first month of baseball.

After a convincing shutout win behind Davis Martin to open up the series in Los Angeles, the White Sox have a chance to bring their record to .500 with another W tonight. The overall vibe with this team, who is playing like they have nothing to lose and everything to gain, has been contagious across the organization and fan base. It’s been a while since the South Siders have reminded us how much fun the game of baseball can be, and the energy that has been injected into the dugout is a perfect encapsulation of that.

Making his fifth start of the season (seventh appearance), Erick Fedde will make his second consecutive start against the Angels following a strong seven-inning performance last week. There is something about the South Side of Chicago that brings out a different side of Fedde, because he’s been excellent this year and has outperformed expectations to be just an “innings eater” for the second time now with the Sox. In 33 1/3 frames, the righty has posted a 3.24 ERA alongside an efficient 1.050 WHIP. FanGraphs also has him at a 3.32 xERA, suggesting he’s not simply benefiting from “good luck,” and that his elevated 4.94 FIP may be misleading, as Fedde has managed contact better than expected. In 2025, his hard-hit percentage against opponents was in the 31st percentile (AKA blue on Statcast), and he has improved that by 100% thus far in 2026, into the 62nd percentile and further into the red. Does he have Cy Young-type stuff? No. Is he helpful while we develop these younger arms in the minors? Yes, yes, he is.

While Fedde won’t have the benefit of Munetaka Murakami on offense today, as he takes a rest day, he’ll depend on the youth core to score some runs. Chase Meidroth has shifted back into the leadoff spot with Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery following him up as the power punch in Tuesday’s lineup. Joining the starting nine for the first time since being signed to a one-year deal on Monday to help fill in some of the outfield holes, Randall Grichuk is making his debut start with the White Sox, playing right field and batting fourth. Grichuk is deeper into his career, but is an experienced outfielder with above-average power potential. He hasn’t put up the best numbers this year (.194/.212/.323 in 33 plate appearances with the Yankees), but has a career .761 OPS and has so far had a successful 12-year career in MLB.

Chicago White Sox Lineup:

Likely wishing not to be terrorized on the mound as his teammate José Soriano was, lefthander Sam Aldegheri is making his first start of the season for the Angels. He’s bounced up and down from the minors this year, and so far, he’s tossed just 1 2/3 innings this season. Aldegheri allowed two hits, including a home run, and struck out two and walked one in his first game. In 28⅓ career innings, he’s posted a 6.35 ERA and an unsightly 2.047 WHIP. Aldegheri’s career 14.2% walk rate certainly hasn’t helped his case, which makes this an even more unfortunate day for Murakami to be taking a day off, but as a team, the South Siders hold a 10.3 BB%, so maybe they’ll still be able to take advantage.

The Los Angeles offense was quiet last night, but there are still a few batters that pose a threat, including Mike Trout, Jorge Soler, and Vaughn Grissom. Both Trout and Grissom have previously homered off Fedde and have the highest OPS on the team.

Los Angeles Angels Lineup:

Tonight’s game is another late one, with first pitch taking place at 8:38 p.m. CT, which is very specific. Tune in to CHSN tonight or listen to the radio broadcast on ESPN Chicago AM 1000. If nothing else, perhaps a Mune pinch-hit bomb? The journey to .500 is back on.

José Caballero cares about many parts of his game.

Lighting up the underlying metrics is not exactly one of them.

Caballero’s all-around strong performance in recent weeks was enough to change the organization’s plans and unseat Anthony Volpe (once he was healthy) for the starting shortstop job, at least for now.

And yet, that offensive surge has not lined up with the under-the-hood metrics the Yankees often look at — average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, chase rate and expected numbers — when trying to predict results over the course of a long season.

“I’m trying to win a battle, man,” Caballero said Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. “It doesn’t matter how I win it, I want to win the battle. Every at-bat for me is a battle. … I’m just trying to be on base, make some damage and help my team.”

Caballero has certainly fulfilled that goal.

Entering Tuesday’s series opener against the Rangers, he was batting .316 with an .896 OPS, four home runs and eight steals over his past 22 games — after starting the year batting .150 with a .384 OPS, no homers and five steals over his first 12 games.

While Caballero’s defensive and baserunning metrics are strong, his underlying offensive numbers — which the Yankees often use to paint a picture that a struggling hitter has been better than his surface numbers would suggest — are not as rosy.

His average exit velocity of 83.7 mph was in the third percentile among major leaguers; his 29.3 percent hard-hit rate was in the 11th percentile; his 33.2 percent chase rate was in the 28th percentile; his xwOBA (expected weighted on-base average) of .266 was in the seventh percentile.

All of it suggests there could be some regression to come. But is it possible to outperform that?

“Maybe,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Look, I think he’s a player. He’s a gamer. You like him up there when the chips are on the table. He’s a hustler, in a good way. He likes the action. He likes, ‘Give me the ball.’

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“Honestly, he’s one of the most confident guys on the field, and that’s a powerful thing to have. In this game of failure, you better have some confidence walking out there every day. He walks out there with a lot of confidence.”

That, of course, is part of Caballero’s game. He takes pride in being a pest at the plate and on the bases, the kind of player you love to have on your team but hate to play against.

For the first few weeks of the season, as he got the chance to start every day at shortstop with Volpe’s return looming, Caballero felt like he was missing that edge.

Then right around the series against his former team, the Rays, at Tropicana Field from April 10-12 — during which GM Brian Cashman revealed that it had “always been the plan” for Volpe to regain his starting job once he was healthy — Caballero rediscovered that edge. He insists that it was not because he was facing the Rays, or because he had been trying to do too much to prove anything to the Yankees.

“Whenever you get caught up in the everyday at-bats and missing a lot of them, you get caught in your head and thinking about the struggle you are in,” he said.

“I reached 40 at-bats [during that Rays series]. So it’s kind of like an even number. So after that day, I went, ‘You know what? Whatever happened before these 40 at-bats, I don’t really care.’ I’m just going to move forward and think about from now on. That was kind of the mentality.

“I just feel more free, more clear, more calm. It’s really helpful.”

And it helped him retain his starting job, at least for the time being.

Caballero said the team did not have a conversation with him Sunday about keeping the job and Volpe going to Triple-A, but that he just kept his head down and kept playing.

“I’m just really happy to have the opportunity to go out there and play baseball,” said Caballero, who for the first time in his big league career is staying at one position for an extended, everyday stretch, which he said has helped his defense.

“I’m trying to be present, trying to be in the moment and take advantage of the opportunity.”

San Diego Padres (20-14) at San Francisco Giants (14-21), May 5, 2026, 6:45 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Oracle Park – San Francisco, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan at

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Before the second game of the series against the San Francisco Giants, the Padres made a series of roster changes. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth went to the seven-day injured list with concussion symptoms and infielder Sung-Mun Song was recalled from Triple-A El Paso.

Cronenworth was hit on the jaw by a pitch in the series against the Angels on April 18, but has not sustained any other head blows, so it is unclear when this injury occurred. Song has been in El Paso since the start of the season after sustaining an oblique injury at his home in Korea before Spring Training began. He aggravated the injury during the spring and was optioned to El Paso when his rehab window expired.

Song has hit well in El Paso with a .293/.364/.354 line but has struggled to slug and has a zero-barrel rate in his at-bats. He just hit his first home run on Sunday with an exit velocity of 94.6 mph. He has three doubles and 15 RBI as well. He was briefly on the roster as the 27th man during the Padres’ trip to Mexico City and debuted as a pinch-runner in that series.

Song worked as a shortstop, second baseman, and third baseman during his time with the Chihuahuas.

The Padres also activated lefty reliever Yuki Matsui from the injured list and optioned lefty reliever Kyle Hart to Triple-A El Paso. Matsui has reached the end of his rehab window after going down with a left groin strain in Spring Training.

Pittsburgh Pirates, vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, May 5, 2026, 9:40 p.m. ET

Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ

Broadcast: 93.7 KDKA The Fan, Sportsnet

Pitching Matchup: Bubba Chandler (1-3, 4.97 ERA) vs. Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.03 ERA)

The Pirates continue their road trip, traveling out west to face the Diamondbacks in a three-game series at Chase Field in Phoenix.

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BD community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!