This will be an abbreviated preview as I have a very busy weekend. Hopefully, the Guardians offense will be similarly busy!

The Red Sox are 23-32 and the Guardians are 33-25.

Game One, Friday, 7:10: Bryan Bello, RHP vs. Slade Cecconi, RHP

Game Two, Saturday, 4:10: Sonny Gray, RHP vs. Parker Messick, LHP

Game Three, Sunday, 1:40: Ranger Suarez LHP vs Tanner Bibee, RHP

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

The idiot that said, “Harper is coming” asks: Did you have only five teams at or above .500 in the American League on Memorial Day in your prediction before the season?And were the Rays, White Sox, and A’s three of those teams? We’re in Bizarro World!

It has been a wacky start for the standings for sure, with many would-be contenders a bit underwater at this point and several teams that no one could have predicted in the mix. The Rays were an afterthought in the AL East, a near-unanimous pick for last place that didn’t get higher than a third-place mention or two in our staff predictions, and yet they’ve caused the Yankees plenty of grief already and hold a slight lead on them for the division crown. Chicago had a few more believers that they would at least get out of the cellar, but none that would push them farther than fourth (and certainly no one picked Detroit to be in the basement in their stead), and the A’s had made enough moves to warrant a similar vibe but the AL West as a whole has been abysmal allowing them into the conversation.

The strangest thing about this season’s results thus far is that everyone’s collective struggles have made it hard to outright rule out teams from a playoff push, despite many of them still sitting below .500. That’s not to say I’d have any confidence in those lower Wild Card slots — Toronto at least has the pedigree to deserve respect as the defending AL champs, but the mesh of teams sitting a few games below them all look uninspiring at best. This is the ideal scenario for a team like the Astros, who looked dead and buried under their injuries through the first month but noticed the rest of the league fail to fill in the grave, and now they’ve rattled off seven wins in their last 10 to sit 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card. I’d have more faith in the remainder of that core than I do in teams like the Twins or Orioles giving it a true shot, and despite their early success I still have my doubts about the A’s and ChiSox. The Rangers should be the team that could pull away from the pack, but Corey Seager’s been MIA even when he’s on the field this time around and the rest of that offense isn’t amounting to much. All in all, it’s a murky field that the Yankees are fortunate to stand apart from, but it also means that they’ll have to do some convincing to get any additions from their competitors as the trade deadline starts to come up on the horizon.

NYCKING asks:Over/Under 4.5 Yankees named to All-Star team?

Injury replacements and pitchers that’re unable to play in the game itself could change the calculus, but going off of initial roster sizes I think the Yankees will actually go over on this. Aaron Judge will be a lock as always, and Cam Schlittler has a shot to not only make the All-Star staff but start the game itself if he keeps pitching like he has. Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger also have strong odds to make the roster, but Max Fried’s injury will probably keep him shelved long enough to prevent him joining his teammates at the event.

The X-factor here is Jazz Chisholm Jr., who admittedly did not get off to a good start this season but rebounded well enough in May to get back to above-average offensively. The field at second base has not been strong in the American League, meaning Chisholm’s 1.4 fWAR actually leads the pack despite the slow beginning, and there’s no reason to doubt that he could continue to further the gap should he keep heating up with the temperature. That’s their best chance to do so, however, as they won’t be seeing any representatives from catcher or third base, and while José Caballero has done fine work for them he’ll probably fall short of an All-Star nomination. Perhaps Will Warren or Ryan Weathers could earn a nod near the end of the pitching staff, but that would be a long shot unless either one has a tremendous June to push their case forward.

treatycity asks: Humor me, I’m testing your love for Anthony Volpe. Lombard will likely be pressing for the shortstop job come 2027 spring training. Volpe and Cabby could be potential candidates for second base, if Chisholm Jr. doesn’t return, but they’ll have to earn the job. Much depends if Yankees sign Chisholm long term. What’s the max years/money you’d give to Chisholm?

Our own Jonathan Farrar wrote an excellent piece back in March breaking down the contract demand that Chisholm stated he was looking for during spring training, which was an eight-to-ten year, $300-350 million deal range. The numbers look gaudy on paper, but as Jonathan worked it out, there’s good reasons for the ranges that Jazz threw out back then — a $35 million AAV sits squarely around players like Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman, contemporaries from the previous free agent pool that Chisholm has comparable offensive numbers to, while his younger age would warrant a longer deal than the five-year pacts both signed.

Perhaps his slow start will be weighed against him, perhaps he’ll hit well enough to make everyone forget about it in the second half. As it stands, FanGraphs projects him to get to around 3.2 fWAR which would be a low for his time in New York but still better than any of his outputs from his Miami days. The postseason could determine everything for him, as another cold October might cost him big bucks, but taking that out of the equation and focusing on what he provides throughout the 162 games of the regular season shows that he’s going to be worth a pretty penny. I think he’ll have to compromise in one area of his initial demands more significantly to secure a number closer to the other, meaning if he wants to get a good AAV in the area that Bellinger just got the most he could expect to get is six or seven years maximum. Does a seven-year, $210 million deal entice him enough to stay? That’s about where I’d hit my limit with Jazz as of right now, but that number’s flexible should he turn the burners on.

Major League Baseball suspended Abner Uribe one game for "inappropriate actions" and issued a fine after the Milwaukee Brewers reliever executed a "triple crotch chop" celebration following a tense inning against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Uribe has appealed the suspension, MLB announced Friday, May 29, and will be available for the Brewers game Friday at Houston.

Uribe's histrionics came after days of stewing beef between the Cardinals and Brewers, with Uribe claiming Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol threatened to intentionally hit Milwaukee batters after the club was allegedly too obvious in relaying stolen signs from the dugout.

The tensions crested when Uribe threw a pitch up and in on Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera in the eighth inning of the Brewers' 6-0 victory on Tuesday, May 26. After Uribe got out of the inning, he turned toward the Cardinals dugout and celebrated, irritating his manager, Pat Murphy.

""It’s just unacceptable," Murphy told reporters following the victory. "I don’t know what got over him. I mean, he’s been an emotional guy. That’s just not how we do things. I was embarrassed by it. Why are we doing it in a 6-0 ballgame?"

Marmol acknowledged a day later that he'd chirped with Brewers players regarding the relayed signs Monday.

"We felt like they were being pretty demonstrative about relaying from the dugout," Marmol said. "I looked over [to the Brewers dugout] and said, 'Don't do it, be smart, you're going to get somebody hurt, what are we trying to do here?' And that was it."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abner Uribe celebration, 'triple crotch chop' earns Brewers pitcher suspension

The Mets are officially making a change to their pitching staff. 

David Peterson will be sliding back to the bullpen as of this weekend, and Sean Manaea will receive an opportunity in his spot in the rotation as the bulk arm the next time around. 

Peterson had been enjoying success during the early part of May, but he was roughed up his last time out, allowing six runs on a season-high 11 hits across five innings of work in a loss to the Reds. 

Manaea, on the other hand, has turned things around nicely after a brutal start to the season. 

The Philadelphia Phillies open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Scheduled starting pitchers are Zack Wheeler for Philadelphia, with a 1.67 ERA, and Justin Wrobleski for Los Angeles, with a 3.07 ERA.

How to watch Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

• Date: Friday, May 29

• Time: 10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT

• Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

• TV Channels: Apple TV

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

Team records

• Philadelphia Phillies: 29-27 (No. 2 in NL East)

• Los Angeles Dodgers: 36-20 (No. 1 in NL West)

Odds

• Spread: Los Angeles Dodgers 1.5

• Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers -119 (52.0%) / Philadelphia Phillies -101 (48.0%)

• Over/Under: 8.0

Starting pitchers

Philadelphia Phillies: Zack Wheeler (4-0, ERA: 1.67, K: 36, WHIP: 0.82)
Los Angeles Dodgers: Justin Wrobleski (6-2, ERA: 3.07, K: 31, WHIP: 1.11)

Weather: 66°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 56,000 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

The New York Yankees, second in the AL East with a 34-22 record, face the Athletics, who are second in the AL West at 27-29. The New York Yankees are favored with a -153 moneyline compared to the Athletics' +127. Starting pitchers are scheduled to be Carlos Rodón for the Yankees, with a 4.15 ERA, and Luis Severino for the Athletics, with a 4.23 ERA.

How to watch New York Yankees vs. Athletics

• Date: Friday, May 29

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET / 6:40 p.m. PT

• Where: Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento, CA

• TV Channels: NBCSCA, YES

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

Team records

• New York Yankees: 34-22 (No. 2 in AL East)

• Athletics: 27-29 (No. 2 in AL West)

Odds

• Spread: Athletics +1.5

• Moneyline: Athletics +127 (42.1%) / New York Yankees -153 (57.9%)

• Over/Under: 10.0

Starting pitchers

New York Yankees: Carlos Rodón (0-2, ERA: 4.15, K: 17, WHIP: 1.46)
Athletics: Luis Severino (2-5, ERA: 4.23, K: 64, WHIP: 1.44)

Weather: 72°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 14,111 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

The Royals’ bullpen took another hit on Friday when the team announced Nick Mears has been placed on the Injured List with right shoulder impingement. The Royals recalled reliever Eric Cerantola from Triple-A Omaha to replace him on the roster.

Mears pitched on Tuesday, giving up two walks and two hits among the six Yankees batters he faced in a 7-0 loss. The Royals already had relievers Carlos Estévez and Matt Strahm on the Injured List, in addition to starters Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic. Mears had appeared in 21 games this year with a 5.12 ERA and 15 strikeouts and 11 walks in 19.1 innings.

Cerantola had been up in a previous stint with the Royals, appearing in two games with five strikeouts, while giving up four walks and three runs in three innings.

Chris Paddack has logged a pair of starts for the Cincinnati Reds since they picked him up as an emergency band-aid for their starting rotation, and he’s been perfectly fine in those outings. He’s thrown exactly 5.0 IP in each, allowed a total of 4 ER in those 10 IP, and has 8 strikeouts against just 4 walks.

That’s about as good as anyone could have hope for from him given how much he’d been shelled as a starter for the Miami Marlins, and the Reds will ask for more from him on Friday evening in Great American Ball Park as the roaring Atlanta Braves come to town.

To date, Atlanta boasts a collective .334 wOBA offensively, and that’s the third best mark of any club in the game (behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees). They also have the most wins in the sport (38) and best win percentage (.667) of any team, and that’s enough to make any pitcher – let alone Paddack – shake in their boots a little bit.

Of course, the Reds offense has become something of a force itself lately, too. In fact, over the last 30 days it’s been Cincinnati’s offense (.322 wOBA) that’s been better than that of Atlanta (.315). So, maybe we’re just in-line for a good old fashioned shootout in GABP tonight.

Grant Holmes will start for the Braves, and first pitch is slated for 6:40 PM ET.

Here’s how the Reds will line up for this one, with Spencer Steer starting at 2B and Matt McLain out of the lineup to begin: