Category: Sports News

Saturday was a rough day down on the Atlanta Braves farm system, as the teams in the organization combined to drop all six games played. Making things tougher were a JR Ritchie start that lasted just a third of an inning, plus another less than impressive start from Lucas Braun. There were some positives though, as Manuel Campos filled up the boxscore, Jordan Groshans had a monster game, Luke Sinnard had a positive second start in High-A, and Gensi Angeles had another scoreless start.

Nashville Sounds 8, Gwinnett Stripers 3

• Maverick Handley, C: 2-3
• Ben Gamel, CF/RF: 2-4, 2B, R, RBI, .186/.310/.347
• JR Ritchie, SP: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, 2.70 ERA

Box Score

Statcast

JR Ritchie didn’t have his command in this game and turned in one of the shortest starts of his career, lasting just a third of an inning. Ritchie walked four and allowed a hit, and all five of those guys came in to score – though he did record a strikeout for his lone out. Javy Guerra provided some length out of the bullpen, allowing a run over three innings of work before Daysbel Hernandez and Hayden Harris each went an inning and a third – Harris with a scoreless outing and Hernandez allowing two runs. James Karinchak went two scoreless frames with four strikeouts to finish off this game.

The bottom of the order was the only source of offense for the Stripers in this one, as Maverick Handley, Ben Gamel, and Jose Azocar each had two hit days, with Gamel recording a double. Outside of that trio, who hit 6/7/8 in the lineup, singles by Rowdy Tellez and Brewer Hicklen were the only others to reach base safely.

Biloxi Shuckers 9, Columbus Clingstones 4

• Jordan Groshans, 3B: 3-3, HR, BB, R, 3 RBI, .258/.337/.529
• David McCabe, 1B: 1-3, 2B, BB, R, .254/.362/.522
• Lucas Braun, SP: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 7.04 ERA

Box Score

Lucas Braun made the start in the first game and allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk over five and a third innings. Braun, who has struggled a bit more in his starts with Columbus this year, struck out four and had seven whiffs. Luis Vargas followed Braun and allowed five runs in just two thirds of an inning, before a scoreless inning from Blane Abeyta.

Jordan Groshans went off in the first game, going a perfect three for three with a homer, walk, and three runs batted in. That gives him 10 homers and 27 RBI to go with his .865 OPS for the Clingstones. David McCabe also reached base multiple times, doubling in three at bats, plus a walk and a run scored. Tristin English also added a two-hit game that included a double, while Luke Waddell singled and walked in the loss.

Biloxi Shuckers 5, Columbus Clingstones 0

• Logan Braunschweig, LF: 1-2
• Luke Waddell, SS: 0-2, BB, .242/.363/.377
• Ian Mejia, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 8.82 ERA

Box Score

The second game saw Ian Mejia make the start and allow five runs (four earned) over five innings of work, allowing six hits and two walks with three strikeouts before giving way to Samuel Strickland. Strickland came out of the pen and pitched the final two innings of scoreless baseball and picked up one strikeout.

The second game saw Columbus get dominated by Biloxi starter Jaron DeBerry, who allowed just one hit and two walks in his seven inning shutout. The recently promoted Logan Braunschweig had the lone hit, a fifth inning single. Luke Waddell and Archer Brookman drew the pair of Clingstones walks, as Waddell reached base for the third time on the day between the two games.

Winston-Salem Dash 6, Rome Emperors 2

• Cody Miller, 3B: 1-3, HR, R, RBI, SB, .193/.298/.330
• Dixon Williams, 2B: 1-4, 2B, .235/.352/.429
• Luke Sinnard, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 3.72 ERA

Box Score

Luke Sinnard made his second start with Rome on Saturday, allowing a pair of runs on three hits and a walk over five innings. Sinnard struck out five with eight whiffs on 78 pitches as he continues to build back up after his late start to the season. Jacob Shafer followed and allowed two runs in his inning, while Justin Long and Riley Frey each allowed a run over an inning of work.

The Emperors managed just two runs on three hits. Cody Miller homered and stole a base, while Dixon Williams added a double. Beyond that the only Emperors to reach base were a walk by Colby Jones and a single from Colin Burgess. Isaiah Drake and John Gil were both hitless, though Gil did steal a base.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 2, Augusta GreenJackets 1

• Alex Lodise, SS: 2-4, .251/.338/.399
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 1-4, RBI, .317/.365/.529
• Zach Royse, SP: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 8 K, 4.47 ERA

Box Score

Zach Royse continued to dominate Low-A hitters on Saturday. He went seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks, in addition to eight strikeouts and an impressive 22 whiffs. That takes him to 48 strikeouts over 48.1 innings to start the season, and probably gets him closer to a move up the ladder. Lewis Sifontes pitched a scoreless eighth inning to finish things off on the pitching side.

The Augusta offense faced a tough test in this pitchers duel, as outside of a two for four game from Alex Lodise and a two for three with a walk day from Dallas Macias, they had just three additional singles and two walks on a day off for Tate Southisene. Michael Martinez, Luis Guanipa, and Cooper McMurray had the remaining singles.

FCL Rays 12, FCL Braves 3

• Manuel Campos, SS: 2-3, BB, R, 3 SB, .274/.411/.397
• Owen Carey, DH: 0-3, BB, R, SB
• Gensi Angeles, SP: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 2.01 ERA

Box Score

Statcast

Gensi Angeles started off with four and a third scoreless innings, allowing just a pair of hits and a pair of walks as the Braves led 3-0. Angeles struck out three and picked up four whiffs in another strong performance. Daniel Brooks followed for the next two outs of the inning and came back for the sixth, but the sixth was a very bad inning as the Braves allowed 10 runs to score. Brooks got one more out, but allowed five runs (two earned) before giving way to Melvin Hidalgo, who walked the five batters he faced and allowed five unearned runs. Edward Cedano pitched one and two thirds scoreless innings before Juan Olmos allowed two additional runs in his inning of work.

On the hitting side Manuel Campos had a game of ups and downs. He went two for three with a walk, stole three bags, and scored a run – but he also made three errors in the field. Rehabbing Owen Carey walked in four plate appearances and stole a base, while Caden Merritt walked, scored a run, and batted one in. Both Campos and Carey had exit velocities above 97 MPH. Diego Tornes was hitless in four at bats.

The Yankees offense couldn’t keep the momentum rolling for a fourth straight night. Following efforts of 15, seven, and eight runs, their valiant comeback attempt in the ninth fell just short in the second game against the A’s. They still have a chance to win the three-game series today with Will Warren on the mound. Fortunately for them, the Rays also stumbled, so there is no change atop the standings, though there was plenty of other excitement involving the Yankees’ AL rivals.

Los Angeles Angels (23-36) 14, Tampa Bay Rays (35-20) 3

A day after surrendering seven runs in the seventh to squander a late lead, the Angels rebounded at the Trop to drop two touchdowns against the Rays. He may be the personal kryptonite of the Yankees, but Drew Rasmussen stumbled over his worst start of the season to give up five runs on four hits and two walks in four innings. Angels starter Reid Detmers was marginally better with his five innings of three-run ball, but this game was all about the lead his bats generated for him and never stopped building.

Detmers didn’t have to wait l0ng for that lead, the Angels ambushing Rasmussen for four runs in the top of the first. Mike Trout singled and Vaughn Grissom and Jorge Soler drew a pair of walks to load the bases with one out for Wade Meckler, who demolished an absolute no-doubter to right for a grand slam to give his starter a four run lead before even taking the mound.

Yandy Díaz clawed one back with a home run to lead off the bottom-half, but the Rays would always be in chase mode. Los Angeles extended their lead scoring one in the fourth on a Meckler leadoff single and Donovan Walton RBI double and another an inning later on a booming solo shot from Trout. The Rays responded with a pair in the bottom of the fifth on a Junior Caminero RBI double and Ryan Vilade RBI groundout, and then threatened by loading the bases in the sixth on three straight two-out walks, but their failure to plate any of the three opened the door for Los Angeles to kill the game off in the ninth after a wild pitch in the seventh allowed their seventh run to score — an output they would double in the ninth inning.

Sebastián Rivero led off that ninth with a walk, Nick Madrigal was hit by a pitch, Trout walked, and Grissom was hit by a pitch to plate the eighth run. Jose Siri drove in the ninth with an RBI groundout, and Adell drove in the remaining pair on the bases with a mammoth 431-foot three-run bomb to center. Oswald Peraza then went back-to-back for lucky run number 13, and a Walton single and Rivero RBI double put a bow on the scoring.

Other Games

Baltimore Orioles (27-32) 6, Toronto Blue Jays (29-30) 5

In a reversal of fortune from Friday’s events at Camden Yards, the Blue Jays were in the driver’s seat for most of this game, and they were the ones who had a 5-1 lead late. They handed it off to closer Jeff Hoffman in the bottom of the ninth, only to see him give it all up as the Orioles scored five to walk it off. It wasted something of a strange outing from Trey Yesavage, who managed to hold Baltimore to a run in five innings despite walking seven batters. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 4-for-5, Kazuma Okamoto hit a two-run double and Jesús Sánchez an RBI double, and Ernie Clement drove in a run with one of his two singles.

However, we’ve seen the way a ninth inning led can evaporate when Hoffman is closing. He plunked Coby Mayo with one out and Leody Taveras drove him home with a triple. Jackson Holliday plated Taveras with a single before advancing to third on a Colton Cowser double. Hoffman and Connor Seabold then combined to walk three straight batters to plate two more runs and bring Pete Alonso to the plate with the score tied, 5-5. Alonso fought off a 2-1 fastball on his hands to the opposite field for the walk-off single.

Boston Red Sox (24-33) 9, Cleveland Guardians (34-26) 1

This game was a closely-contested affair until Guardians reliever Will Dion gave up six runs in the ninth inning. Starters Sonny Gray and Parker Messick both surrendered just one run, Gray over six innings and Messick over five. Cleveland scored their only run on a José Ramírez RBI double in the first. From there the Red Sox scored nine unanswered. In the ninth, Wilyer Abreu drew a leadoff walk, Willson Contreras was plunked, and Marcelo Mayer reached on an error by Ramírez, setting up a Masataka Yoshida walk with the bases loaded. Connor Wong then singled home a pair and Jarren Duran fully cleared the bases with a three-run bomb.

Seattle Mariners (30-29) 5, Arizona Diamondbacks (31-26) 1

Bryan Woo authored another gem, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless for seven innings allowing just two hits and no walks to go along with nine strikeouts. Ryne Nelson wasn’t so lucky, coughing up five runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. Four of those runs came via the solo home run, Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone leaving the yard in the second and Colt Emerson and Julio Rodríguez going deep in the third. Seattle’s fifth and final run came in the sixth, Randy Arozarena leading off with a groundball that resulted in a Jose Fernandez throwing error and Arozarena standing on second, a Raley single to move him to third, and a Cole Young sac fly to bring him home. With the win, the Mariners push their record above .500 for the first time since March 30th.

Team News

D-backs seeking return to winning ways after entering mini-skid
“I said it last night, we knew coming up here it was gonna be a dogfight and we got only one thing to do, and that’s go out and play our best baseball game tomorrow and try and salvage one game here,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve been playing good baseball. I have every reason to believe that will continue tomorrow.”

https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/diamondbacks-lose-2-straight-games-series-vs-mariners

Ryne Nelson gives up 4 homers as Mariners shut down Diamondbackshttps://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/ryne-nelson-mariners

Bryan Woo’s Dominant Start Raises Concerns Over Diamondbacks Offense

Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo and Gabriel Moreno combined to go 0-for-15 with one walk (by Perdomo in the ninth inning) and five strikeouts. Arizona did not record an extra-base hit on the night, with Ryan Waldschmidt providing the other base hit of the night — off the Seattle bullpen. https://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/bryan-woo-dominant-start-concerns-diamondbacks-offense

Diamondbacks Management Seems Confused About Brandon Pfaadthttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/diamondbacks-management-confused-brandon-pfaadt

Diamondbacks’ Corbin Burnes Takes Major Step Forward in Recoveryhttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/diamondbacks-corbin-burnes-major-step-forward-recovery-injury

Under-the-radar prospect becomes first to 20-HR plateau in Minors
https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/diamondbacks-manuel-pena-first-20-homers-milb-2026?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

Nolan Arenado’s Arizona Bounce-Back

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/05/nolan-arenados-arizona-bounce-back.html

Other Baseball

Lee Mazzilli, Bobby Valentine enshrined in Mets Hall of Famehttps://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48922356/lee-mazzilli-bobby-valentine-enshrined-mets-hall-fame

White Sox slugger Murakami out 4-6 weeks with hamstring strain

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48920460/white-sox-slugger-murakami-4-6-weeks-hamstring-strain

Jake McCarthy hits 2-run homer, drives in 4 runs in the Rockies’ 8-3 win over the Giantshttps://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jake-mccarthy-hits-2-run-040154042.html

Overrated? PCA responds with 4-hit night — and souvenir to Tarps Off crewhttps://www.mlb.com/news/pete-crow-armstrong-has-4-hit-night-homer-in-cubs-win

Erceg, Royals stunned in walk-off fashion after Jensen’s electrifying catch
https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/carter-jensen-royals-rally-before-walk-off-loss-to-rangers

7 burning questions as June approaches

https://www.mlb.com/news/storylines-to-watch-in-june

Anything Goes

This day in history:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-31

This day in baseball:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/May_31

Oreo has made enough cookies to go to the moon and back 5 times.

Since Oreo was introduced to the market in 1912, over 450 billion Oreo cookies have been sold worldwide. 

According to Greek traditions, tossing children’s loose teeth to a roof brings good luck.

The Greeks have always been known for their own way of doing things. In some cultures, children keep their loose teeth under pillows to swap for cash from the tooth fairy. However, the Greeks had their children throwing loose teeth onto roofs. Yeet! 

The Hawaiian alphabet contains only 13 letters.

The Hawaiian alphabet contains a total of five vowels that are both long and short. It also contains a total of eight consonants. Hawaii’s alphabet represents all the basic sounds and phonemes in their language. 

Good morning! The Mariners are looking for a series sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks after another dominant win last night. Bryan Woo’s seven innings of two-hit ball with nine strikeouts were complimented by four home runs to secure a 5-1 win. As Connor mentioned in his recap last night, the Mariners are finally back at .500 (for the first time since March 30th) and won consecutive series for just the second time all season.

Bryce Miller gets the start today against RHP Merrill Kelly at 1:10 PM in trial #3 of the piggyback plan.

In Mariners news…

• Following Bryce Miller’s start today, the Mariners will reportedly move to a six-man rotation and slot Miller in after Luis Castillo.
• Top pitching prospect Ryan Sloan continues to dominate for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers as he was pulled from his start yesterday after throwing six perfect innings and 11 strikeouts.
• Ryan Divish at The Seattle Times highlights four questions facing the Mariners as they take over first place in the AL West.
• The latest Mariners injury updates include key progressions for Carlos Vargas, Miles Mastrobuoni, and infielder Will Wilson.

Around the league…

• Athletics RHP Luis Severino has officially been placed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder strain.
• Chicago White Sox star first baseman Munetaka Murakami headed to the IL with a right hamstring strain and will miss 4-6 weeks.
• Precise swing changes have had an impressive impact on Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado this season.
• Travis Sawchik at MLB.com details the focus of the recent bargaining discussions between MLB and the MLB Players Association as they work towards the next labor agreement.
• Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony has been shut down again after experiencing soreness while recovering from a sprained right wrist.

The Red Sox aren’t actually worse in the first month of the Chad Tracy era…but they feel worse.

With this early milestone just passed, it’s fair to ask what has changed. If things had actually changed, this would be a really fun exercise. But, as I look around, a fair answer is…not much? There have been some cosmetic differences, sure, like Mickey Gasper and Nick Sogard being called up from Triple A. Trevor Story’s hernia forced a decision at shortstop, with Marcelo Mayer eventually slotting into the starter role. If not for Story’s IL stint, that’s a change which I suspect would not otherwise have been made right now. (For the record, I’m in favor of it.)

But the anemic offense hasn’t changed. Neither has the winning percentage, at least not by much. Nor the Sox place in the standings, either.

The one place I see a clear difference is in the fan support. The Sox have lost us in 2026. I say this as a lifer, and with genuine regret.

At the end of April, surprising as the timing was, the firing of Cora & Co. seemed to hold out some hope for a big change. A morale boost, a turnaround, a shift in mechanics/procedure/process/whatever that might have cracked open a new version of this team. There was also the hope that all of the individual players who are “just not performing to their career norms,” as Craig Breslow put it, would either get on track due to the coaching change, or naturally emerge from their respective slumps if given enough time. While Duran and Mayer may be showing more signs of life recently, this hasn’t happened across the board.

Allowing ourselves to believe that shaking things up with the coaching staff might right the ship was a dream that might have been semi-believable in April. I wasn’t sure that was what needed to happen, but I was willing to let the theory play out. I would’ve been thrilled if it had worked.

But it’s not April anymore; it’s the cusp of June. Shit has gotten real over the past month. No matter the state of the AL East and the possibility that the Sox still have a ridiculously reasonable chance at making the third Wild Card spot, everyone agrees that the team is just terrible. I see it in comments, message boards, casual conversations. On air, in print, online, among friends. The team is painful to watch and this whole thing [gestures wildly] is painful to watch.

I have no trouble critiquing a play, a bad performance, an approach…but I sure don’t like to criticize the entire enterprise. It goes too far against the grain to feel like everything is wrong. I want to feel like there’s a possibility for redemption or joy somewhere in this season, but I can’t find it right now. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I stay away from the televised games whenever I can. I’m not sure I can be bothered to travel the seven miles downtown to see them when they come to Seattle in June. My entire life, this has been unthinkable. I’ve gone to outlandish, crazy lengths to see the Red Sox whenever, wherever, and however I can.

I’m usually a pretty positive person and many people who know me might say that I live for the Red Sox. It takes a lot to turn a diehard fan into a stone. Blame Fatse…blame Cora…no, blame Breslow. Sell the team. I haven’t advocated for any of those things. And yet…

In grad school, it was common to talk about “filling up the vessel.” Forgive this fine arts-speak, which is a shorthand way to talk about replenishing creative energy. The vessel is you. The vessel gets emptied as you naturally go about your day, expending energy. Doing something restorative, or even better—inspiring—fills up the vessel. This could be as simple as avoiding burnout by going home to get some rest. I think it was Picasso who said he invited people to his studio every morning (filling up the vessel), so that he had something to paint every afternoon.

Our damn Red Sox vessel is dry and we’re parched and we’re in a drought, okay? And we still have 105 games left on this slog through treacherous terrain (see: Guardians, Orioles, Yankees, Rays next on the schedule). There’s nothing new being poured into our collective vessel.

If it weren’t for Payton Tolle’s big heart and Connelly Early’s grin as he leans on the dugout rail and talks with the other pitchers, I’d have nothing at all in the tank for this team.

Yes, of course, if Roman Anthony returns rested and healthy, and once again takes up the mantle of superstar-in-the-making, that would add something to the vessel. If Garrett Crochet gets back to being a lights-out pig, that’s more for the vessel.

It’s summer now. They’re still my team but…the Red Sox have to give us something. Fans have become pretty depleted over the last month.

I was in Cincinnati and Great American Ballpark. I have to say, regardless of the outcome, that I really liked it. Yes, it’s small. Not just the outfield dimensions, though. It’s cute, as the wife remarked. I feel that the rows are closer together in the lower bowl. I didn’t realize how pitched the right outfield seats and the left field upper deck were. The left field seats don’t quite bring you into the left fielder’s lap like the Crawford boxes in Houston do. But it draws you in closer. The entrance pulls you into queues separated by statues of Reds gone by. Built in 2003, it just missed the trend of opening up the seating so that you can see the action from the concourse. But overall, really nice.

The staff at the park were very friendly. No one questioned me as I entered the lower bowl. I’ve never had that experience in Atlanta. The ushers in the last three Braves ballparks made it a point to check your ticket and make sure everyone is seated exactly where they should be. The concessions that we visited were grab and go cafeteria style ones. Their postgame fireworks went for 20 plus minutes, and without a lot of fluff either. I don’t what they would do for the Fourth, maybe declare war on Kentucky?

So where do you rate Great American Ballpark? It’s not home, but I liked it. Are there away parks that you like more?

The months long wait is over. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a 451-foot solo home run in the top of the fifth inning that gave the San Diego Padres a 3-1 lead over the Washington Nationals. Padres starter Michael King was cruising through the first six innings of the game, and it appeared the Friar Faithful were going to see their superstar end his homerless drought and their team get a second consecutive win. That changed when the Nationals scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and cruised to a 9-4 win at Nationals Park on Saturday.

The home run by Tatis followed solo home runs by Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado. Of course, all three home runs followed what proved to be the game-winning two-run home run by Jackson Merrill the night before. The Padres offense looked to be coming to life a bit with home runs from all four of their superstars, three of which have been mired in season long slumps.

King was performing like the ace he has shown himself to be. He allowed one run on a solo home run in bottom of the third inning and appeared to be in complete control. In the bottom of the seventh he allowed back-to-back singles before loading the bases with a walk. He then hit a batter and that made the score, 3-2. King was taken out of the game and was replaced by Bradgley Rodriguez who could not get out of the inning. before the Nationals had a 7-3 lead. It was a difficult inning to watch, even for San Diego manager Craig Stammen who was ejected arguing a force play at second base.

Machado hit an RBI-double in the top of the eighth inning to make the score, 7-4 but Wandy Peralta allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and the 9-4 deficit proved to be too much for the Padres to overcome. San Diego will have a chance to win the series against Washington today 10:35 a.m.

Padres News:

• Any time your team goes 3-6 on a homestand it’s going to be a long and difficult week. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball recaps the week that was and highlights some of the struggles that led the Padres to a losing week at Petco Park.

• Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster and for Padre John Kruk thinks Jackson Merrill will break out of his slump and be fine according to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Baseball News:

• Chicago Cubs outfielder Pere Crow-Armstrong responded to chants of “overrated” by homering in Chicago’s 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

• The Los Angeles Angels beat the Tampa Bay Rays 14-3, but it was three pregame ejections that made the headlines.

• Ronald Acuna Jr. had a multi-homer day, and the Atlanta Braves got their 40th win of the season.

• Pete Alonso gets walk-off hit to lead Baltimore Orioles to comeback win.

• Munetaka Murakami has significant hamstring injury and will miss four to six weeks for Chicago White Sox.

• Bryan Woo pitches the Seattle Mariners past the Arizona Diamondbacks and extends their win streak to five games.

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The Chicago White Sox are favorites this afternoon as they look to complete their fourth series sweep on the season against the Detroit Tigers.

Detroit is labouring, with just two wins in its last 12, as they dwell in the AL Central basement. They’ve already been swept five times this season.

My Tigers vs White Sox predictions and MLB picks have this as Chicago’s sixth sweep, with their hot bats lighting up Detroit’s Keider Montero.

Who will win Tigers vs White Sox today: White Sox -1.5 (+166)

Keider Montero's four-game losing streak isn't a coincidence. He's failed to reach the sixth inning in three straight starts, and the underlying issue is a growing reliance on fastballs and sinkers after losing trust in his slider, which he's throwing just 16% of the time.

That has made him far more predictable, and hitters are responding with a 90.7 mph average exit velocity.

That's a bad recipe against a Chicago White Sox lineup that ranks sixth in slugging and has already piled up 19 hits and four homers in this series.

I expect Chicago's power edge to show again and would play the run line up to -2.5.

COVERS INTEL:The White Sox are fourth in the majors in home runs, and that’s due to a vast improvement in batted balls that are pulled in the air (19.2%). Pulled air balls are the most valuable type, and Chicago is currently eighth in the league in that category.

Tigers vs White Sox Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (-120)

The White Sox have cashed eight the Over eight times in their last 10 games, as their pitching staff has been bailed out by a good hitting lineup.

Sean Burke's last four starts have all ended in losses, and all four games produced at least eight total runs.

Detroit's offense hasn't been reliable, but the Tigers don't need to do all the heavy lifting, as its pitching staff has allowed 5+ runs in five of the last eight games, repeatedly forcing totals upward regardless of opponent.

I expect another game that threatens double-digit runs and would play the Over up to 9.5 runs.

Tigers vs White Sox odds

• Moneyline: Tigers +117 | White Sox -122
• Run line: Tigers +1.5 (-178) | White Sox -1.5 (+170)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-113) | Under 7.5 (+108)

Tigers vs White Sox trend

Coming off a win, the White Sox have won nine straight day games against AL opponents. Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. White Sox.

How to watch Tigers vs White Sox and game info

Tigers vs White Sox latest injuries

Tigers vs White Sox weather

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Over the past week, the St. Louis Cardinals have been a shell of the team we had seen for the first 50 games. After surpassing all expectations and changing fan tune from necessary rebuild to playoff hopefuls, the stretch of NL Central games has exploited some holes on the St. Louis roster. While we knew there were spots on the roster in need of an upgrade, the great start to the year may have unfairly put some players under the microscope when their performances may have been ignored if the team were 10 games under .500.

What this season has given us so far has been some clarity at certain positions. Possibly with different levels of certainty, we can say that the Cardinals have major league capable hitters at first base, second base, right field, and depending on the day, catcher. Alec Burleson has put together another consistently solid campaign while JJ Wetherholt has surged to the top of the NL Rookie of the Year favorites despite going through a mini slump or two. Coming into the year, most fans would be surprised to see right field be locked down by MVP candidate Jordan Walker who, with each passing day is making us believe what we are seeing is real. And then catcher. The commonly debated position without a clear answer should have at least one future long-time big leaguer somewhere in the organization.

The Cardinals have obvious needs but a not-so-obvious timeline

I keep saying it, but the point of the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals season was to get some answers at key positions. After a couple years of promising runway and opportunity, those missions never came to fruition and the Cardinals were stuck in neutral rather than choosing a direction. Now that Chaim Bloom is in charge, the direction has been agreed upon, but the team has shown that they may be better than we anticipated. Whenever we hear rebuild, we assume that means 100 losses, as many among Cardinal social media predicted, but the Yungry Redbirds missed that memo. As the series against the Cubs concludes today (apologies, writing this Friday since I will be at Blogger Day Saturday and traveling home all day Sunday), the Cardinals are still in the postseason picture but the overall goal remains to figure out needs for the future.

In order to see the true holes in the Cardinals roster, I set FanGraphs leaderboards to the 2024 season through the season to this point in order to determine how long each position has been performing below league average. I sorted through fWAR but also used wRC+ as my measures because I personally do not care how good you are at catching the ball if you cannot provide any use with the bat. Since 2024, the Cardinals have been 15th or worse in each measure at third base (15th in both), right field (15th wRC+, 18th fWAR), center field (30th wRC+, 29th fWAR), and left field (21st in both). On the mound, the starters are 24th in fWAR and 25th in xERA while the bullpen sits 12th and 19th, respectively.

I assume like you, I was surprised at the catching set up not being listed above, but digging further, the four-man split from the past two seasons has Ivan Herrera accumulating a 6.0 fWAR to Pedro Pages’ 2.8 number, with Herrera’s offense doing the heavy lifting for the position to sit in fifth and sixth place in wRC+ and fWAR. Based on the numbers, the Cardinals have five position groups in the bottom half of the league, but for now, I will take away right field because Jordan Walker’s previous two seasons tanked that ranking. This year, right field ranks top three in both measures so we will cross that off for today.

Moving to the hot corner, Nolan Arenado and Nolan Gorman have combined to be basically league-average third basemen. With Arenado out in the desert, count me as one of the excited fans who was going to see Gorman get a true daily role, despite having 1500 inconsistent plate appearances coming into the year. Of the guys on the roster, Gorman may have the most to lose this year and has yet to take full control of his opportunity. The signing of Ramon Urias provided some insurance, but his injury has kept Gorm in the lineup most everyday, be it at third or as the DH. On the positive side, the slugger’s defense has improved massively, but the bat has been pretty much what we have seen for the past few seasons. While he has trimmed the strikeouts, the power has been lost along with the new approach and I would personally rather see a 30% K-rate if that meant 30 or more homers. For now, he has an 83 wRC+ and is on pace for around 15 homers. As much as it pains me personally, this offseason could be the time to find a long-term replacement for Gorman.

They may not need to wait until the winter to make a small move, however, One of my personal favorites Blaze Jordan has been teeing off in the minors while playing a decent third base and could get a call later in the year to replace Urias. Jordan may not be the long-term solution at third, but his bat bounced back after last year’s trade to St. Louis and he could provide the spark in the bottom-third of the St. Louis lineup. Outside of Blaze, third base is thin in the organization unless they decide to try JJ Wetherholt there next year. I would be against that seeing he is performing like a Gold Glover or better at the keystone.

While I am fine with giving Gorman another 100 games to truly come to a conclusion, center field is where I am more than ready for a change. As I mentioned earlier, catching the ball is great but it is impossible to win a game 0-0. I apologize to Victor Scott II again as I believe I end up calling him out every week, but I am officially marking the offseason swing changes down as hearsay. While he has hit a “scalding” .214 in May to raise his average to .194, there has been little inspiring about his offense. Out of his 156 plate appearances (through May 28), 16 of them have ended in a bunt attempt. Two of them have gone for hits and NINE have gone for sacrifices. To no surprise, that number leads all of baseball and VSII has bunted as much as 20 teams have all year. Beyond the poor plate appearances, he has struggled stealing bases and his defense has been just fine.

We saw Nathan Church cut into the playing time after his stellar play, but his injury put an end to that setup and I was hoping that Scott would use this next week to swing as hard as he can every at-bat to try and win back the job. Shoulder injuries are tough and I am sure Church is itching to come back, but returning too quickly could do more damage than if he were to wait. He also has never been viewed as a long-term option in outfield outside of a bench guy, so even if he does supplant VSII for the season, it may not mean much for the future. So in a preview to next week’s article (assuming no crazy changes), I would like to see Joshua Baez patrolling center at the major league level in the second half of the season.

In left field, I am waiting to plug the hole for the time being because I do believe that Lars Nootbaar coming back will be a slight boost to the team. While Church, along with Bryan Torres, did some to increase the left field performance this year, the team still sits in the lower half of the league in terms of production. Noot coming back as a league-average or slightly better player could help extend this lineup, bump guys like Masyn Winn and Gorman down a notch in the order, and potentially spark the offense. I do not think Noot will be here beyond the offseason, assuming return to health, so Baez is also an option to fill in here full-time in 2027 if there is a season.

The outfield prospect pool is a little light in the upper minors as well, so with the question marks surrounding next year, I would wait to enhance that position group until the Trade Deadline or in the draft if the Cardinals shift their focus from pitching.

The way the Cardinals have performed this season is what makes these conversations a little different than most teams in the first year of a rebuild. Normally, most fans would tell ownership to stay the course, maybe promote a top prospect or two, and deal away anyone over the age of 27. However, with the Cardinals hanging around the postseason picture, staying the course could mean a completely different thing in St. Louis before the season ends.

What do you think the Cardinals should do with their position players? Is it Baez time or just let Nootbaar and VSII have the rest of the year? Do you believe they should target offense on the trade market and in the draft? Sound off!

Thanks as always!

It’s been well documented already that the team does not have a large cadre of capable right handed hitting right now. Adolis Garcia is mired in the worst stretch by a Phillies outfielder it seems since 2001 Pat Burrell, J.T. Realmuto is truly starting to show his age and Alec Bohm continues digging himself out of his deep early season hole.

The biggest issue is that there isn’t much help coming from anywhere in the organization that would make a huge impact on the roster as it stands. Free agents are around the market of course, but they’re free agents for a reason right now. The only recourse would be to trade for someone, but it would be an overpay at this point in the season. So, do you see anything available to help with the right handed woes right now? Are they just kind of stuck with what they’ve got at the moment.