Category: Sports News

Alex Cora, who was fired Saturday by the Boston Red Sox, was officially offered the Philadelphia Phillies managerial job on Monday afternoon but rejected it, two persons with direct knowledge of the decision told USA TODAY Sports, instead deciding to instead spend time with his family.

They spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Cora’s decision led the Phillies to promote bench Don Mattingly to be their manager Tuesday after firing Rob Thomson.

Cora, who’s in the second year of a three-year, $21.75 million contract, is expected to sit out now for the rest of the season. When asked if he plans to stay home the rest of the summer, Cora said in a text message to USA TODAY Sports: “Full-time dad."

About the only good thing to come from last night’s 11-4 drubbing at the hands of the Minnesota Twins was the big-league debut of hard-throwing Alex Hoppe. You know we love a debut around here, and it was extra special that it was such a quiet stinker of a game that Brad Adam could easily track down Hoppe’s wife Sasha, able to be present for his big-league debut, for a fully wholesome in-game interview.

We’ve been interested in Hoppe since the Mariners traded minor-league catcher Luke Heyman for him this winter, and that interest ratcheted up during spring training, where he was hard to miss, with his cornstalk shock of white-blonde hair and loud stuff. I was able to sit down with Hoppe this spring and ask him some questions about his experience leaving the club that drafted him, and what he’s excited about in becoming a Seattle Mariner.

Hoppe reported to Mariners camp this spring in mid-January, eager to acquaint himself with his new club and a whole new part of the country. Born in Clinton, Iowa (home of the former Mariners Low-A affiliate the LumberKings) and spending his college years at UNC-Greensboro before being drafted by the Red Sox, the 27-year old, deeply polite Midwesterner had never been west of Kansas City, Missouri before coming to the Mariners organization, and was eager to get comfortable with both a new club and a new environment.

“I said, I’d like to come down early, is that allowed?”

In Arizona, Hoppe took part in “Shove Camp,” the strength-and-conditioning intensive the Mariners put their pitching prospects through prior to spring training. He spent time getting to know the coaching staff and his fellow players, as well as learning how the Mariners do things, which he felt gave him a leg up coming into the spring.

Hoppe admitted he was startled to be traded from the organization that had drafted and developed him, and concerned about moving to an unfamiliar part of the country, but the more he thought about it, the more excited he was about the idea of being a Seattle Mariner.

“I think a lot of [the shock] was location-wise. Is it going to be different? But then I started thinking. I’ve heard the Mariners are one of the best organizations in baseball at developing pitching, so this is a great step for my career, going forward.”

He prepared for his new organization by connecting with friends and acquaintances who had firsthand experience with the Mariners, who all told him the same thing:

“They said, hey, they’re going to take what you do best and try and get you to do that as much as you can, and stay true to what your strengths are and amplify those strengths. So that was what I knew before I even became a Mariners and so far, that’s held true.”

It’s easy to see what Hoppe’s strengths are in watching him pitch: his slider—the pitch that got him his first two big-league strikeouts in last night’s game—is a swing-and-miss pitch that tunnels nicely with his four-seam fastball. The four-seamer, which he describes as his favorite pitch, comes in violently, with hard downward action thanks to his higher arm angle as he aims to backspin the pitch through the zone. Hoppe says the Mariners have emphasized to him that they see him as a “north-south” pitcher who will attack the top and bottom of the zone.

“The first part that probably stands out is the velo. That’s a big part of who I am, I throw hard.”

But that big velocity – his four-seamer is between 96-99, which he rounds out with a hard slider (87-88), a two-seamer the Mariners encouraged him to add, a cutter (91-92), and an occasional changeup – hasn’t always been part of Hoppe as a pitcher.

“It’s been a progression for me. When I went into college I topped out at 88. But I’ve always been a late bloomer physically, and going into college, I was like a buck-sixty and five foot ten and I’d never been in a weight room, really. So it’s been a steady progression. As my body physically developed, I got more accustomed to throwing programs at the collegiate level, and so throughout college I was able to increase my velocity. It wasn’t until my last year in college when I was hitting upper-9s, and then it wasn’t until my first year in pro ball where I had touched 100 for the first time. It’s just always been a steady progression as I’ve matured physically. Just, I’ve always been a little bit behind on that compared to some other guys, which is perfectly fine. It’s just been a challenge to go, like, from throwing upper 80s to all of a sudden touching triple digits, learning how to harness that.”

Harnessing that big stuff has been Hoppe’s challenge as he’s worked his way up the minor-league ladder, and while he was with Boston he worked on strategies to help him do that.

“It’s about staying within yourself, not trying to do too much. A big thing I’ve been working on in my career is like, I don’t need to be at 110% to throw 100 if I stay controlled, stay within my mechanics, and don’t get rushed or anything like that. I’ll still have the velo that I want, I’ll be over the plate more. Because that’s that biggest thing for me. Yes, I can throw the hard fastball and the hard secondaries and such, but the challenge for me is like, can we consistently be over the plate? Because when I do that, I have great success.”

When Hoppe joined the Mariners, those conversations continued. Hoppe said he was impressed with how many forms communication can take in the Mariners organization.

“If you’re a visual learner, they may put up a PowerPoint. If you’re a talker, multiple conversations where we just talk. Some guys are just active, so you’ve gotta see it live. Some guys really like to dig into the data, and some guys just want to be told exactly what to do.”

“I value data. I love using it in practice. When it comes to game time, go out and compete; for me, personally, I can’t be thinking about all the data points and all the numbers and statistics and stuff when I’m out there, because at the end of the day, I’m trying to win my 0-0s and my 1-1s.”

One of the biggest things that’s helped Hoppe adjust to his new environment is the amount of positive feedback he’s received from Mariners pitching development, who he says 100% believed in him as a big-leaguer maybe even before he believed in himself as one.

“I know I have my faults and stuff, but they told me, do this and you’re gonna help us. You’ve got all the hard stuff done, just make these fine little tweaks and you’ll be right here with us competing your ass off and winning us ballgames…They’ve been very vocal about it. The staff has been like, hey, we see you as this type of player, doing this for us, helping us get to and win a World Series. That’s what we see for you. We believe in you, even if you may not believe it yet. They’ve been great at vocalizing that and making sure I know that as a player too.”

The first part of the prediction is checked off: Alex Hoppe is, as of last night, officially a big-leaguer. Now the next, and harder part: making those tweaks to stay one, and in doing so, helping the big-league club win games and get closer to the ultimate vision board entry, the World Series.

Just three weeks ago, the Giants hosted the Philadelphia Phillies in a series I figured was over before it started. As you’ll recall, the Giants sent the Phillies away from Oracle Park in grand style: back to back shutouts. It didn’t exactly send Philadelphia into a tailspin, but after entering the series in San Francisco 6-4, they’ve gone 3-15. The two teams have effectively swapped positions.

Are these 9-19 Phillies firmly in “also ran” territory with five months of the season remaining? Well, they fired their manager, Rob Thomson, this morning. He was the guy who took over after Gabe Kapler. Replacing Thomson is… haha — wait, seriously? Don Mattingly!

I had forgotten he managed the Marlins for seven seasons (2016-2022) and only in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season did he have a winning record (2020).

Anyway, a manager is usually only as good as their roster, and in this Phillies roster ol’ Donnie Two Times might have found himself firmly between those Marlins teams and his Dodgers teams. There are certainly good players on this roster, but as we saw in San Francisco and as we can see by their record, the bloom is off the rose for this particular group.

You know, unless Don Mattingly energizes them for this series.

But the 10-game losing streak they’ve already suffered this season is their longest since 1999. They’ve also lost 11 of 12 heading into this series. Their 9-19 start is their worst since 2002. The vibes are nonexistent at this point.

On the other hand, there’s a chance the Giants might have actually lost some of their momentum with the travel day. Going 4-2 on a homestand that included the Dodgers was such a good time and their comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the finale against the Marlins so heartening that getting on a plane and heading east seems like it could’ve cooled off a team that was warming up.

Can the confusion and consternation of the Phillies situation make it easier for the bats to stay in a groove? We’ll find out, I suppose. The Giants faced two of the pitchers in this series back in San Francisco and got 11 hits and 4 runs against the Phillies’ ace Cristopher Sanchez. In three starts since, he’s given up 26 hits in 17.12 IP while striking out 20. He has a 4.11 FIP in that span as well.

You’ll recall that the Giants shutout the Phillies in the final two games of the series and since then, Philadelphia has mustered just 3.75 runs per game (60 runs in 16 games) and a team line of .218/.284/.370 with a 7.2 BB% and 21.7 K%. It was actually lower on the 9-game homestand they had following the Giants series (3.66).

That Phillies series really does feel like the first key turning point of this Giants season and having a rematch so soon could be tricky. The Phillies have enough dangerous talent that the Giants are better off seeing them in a state of transition than at full strength and you just hope they can get through this series before they coalesce around their new manager.

Who is Don Mattingly.

A famously not great manager.

Still, it’s Baseball, so, you never know. Maybe this is the situation that works for manager and team. But, you know, they should put it together after the Giants leave town.

Series overview

Who: San Francisco Giants (13-15) at Philadelphia Phillies (9-19)
Where: Citizens Bank Park | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
When: Tuesday & Wednesday at 3:40pm PT, Thursday at 10:05am PT
National broadcasts: MLB Network simulcast (Wednesday)

Projected starters
Tuesday: Tyler Mahle (RHP 1-3, 5.26 ERA) vs. Jesus Luzardo (LHP 1-3, 6.91 ERA)
Wednesday: Logan Webb (RHP 2-3, 4.86 ERA) vs. Cristopher Sanchez (LHP 2-2, 2.94 ERA)
Thursday: Adrian Houser (RHP 0-3, 7.36 ERA) vs. Andrew Painter (RHP 1-2, 5.25 ERA)

Players to watch

Phillies

Kyle Schwarber: Again, always keep an eye on this guy. He’s been the second-best hitter on the Phillies in the 16 games since the Giants series (135 wRC+) but with 6 homers and an 11% walk rate. On the negative side, just a .197 average and 29.6 K%.

Bryce Harper: He has been the best hitter on the Phillies over the same span (150 wRC+) and has mixed in 4 homers, 2 doubles, a triple, and a home run to go with a 10.4 BB% and 20.9 K%.

Jesus Luzardo: It’s going to be tough to get to Cristopher Sanchez twice in a month, I’d think, so the series might come down to how they handle the other Phillies lefty. He’s had just one great start this season (11 strikeouts and 1 run in 6.2 innings at Coors Field), but his only other decent start was last week against the Cubs in Chicago where he allowed just 1 run in 4.2 IP to go with 4 walks and only 3 strikeouts. He’s made 6 career starts against the Giants and sports a 5.37 ERA in 31 IP. Last year, though he was 1-0 in 2 starts with a 2.19 ERA.

Giants

Adrian Houser: It’s probably not going to go well for the Giants’ well-paid pitching machine, but he’s pitched okay at Citizens Bank Park for his career. In 4 games and 2 career starts, he’s 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA and — gasp — just 1 home run allowed. Now, that count could go up right away, but on the other hand, the Giants might need him to spin a gem for them to pull out a series win.

Heliot Ramos: He appears to be sneaking back to his lefty-mashing ways (career .849 OPS vs. LHP) with a triple slash of .292/.346/.500 (.846 OPS) in 26 PA against them this season. He’s been on a roll of late, with a .932 OPS over his past 15 games (55 PA).

Matt Gage/Ryan Borucki: It’s going to come down to getting some key outs against lefties and, well, these are the non-Erik Millers available to the Giants.

Tony Vitello watch

You know what? It could be worse for Giants fans, right? The Giants could’ve dropped $10 million on the manager’s position and be in a Phillies or Mets situation right now and we’d all have to sit there and let things play out while the front office hoped like hell that things would turn around. Vitello looks less deer in the headlights just a month into the job and, well, that’s a very good thing. But if Don Mattingly is able to exact some revenge against the Giants by catching Tony Vitello doing something “first time manager”-ish, I’m gonna lose it.

The Giants were lucky that Don Mattingly was the Dodgers’ manager for all those years. Sorry, Phillies fans.

Prediction time

The Giants will figure out a way to win a game in this series… right? Don Mattingly isn’t going to turn this whole Phillies mess around in a single series… right??

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The San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies begin a three-game set tonight at Citizens Bank Park, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET. 

My Giants vs. Phillies predictions are eyeing San Fran to keep up their winning ways behind Tyler Mahle. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Tuesday, April 28. 

Who will win Giants vs Phillies today: Giants moneyline (+145)

The San Francisco Giants are still two games below .500, but they’ve started to play better lately. The visitors have won four of their last six contests, and they just took two out of three from the Marlins. 

Tyler Mahle takes the bump in the opener, and he was brilliant last time out, tossing seven scoreless against the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers. The righty is also very familiar with the Philadelphia Phillies lineup, holding them to a .235 average across 68 at-bats.

On the other side, Jesus Luzardo has been awful. He sports a 6.91 ERA, and that balloons to 10.69 across three home starts. He’s given up nine earned runs across his previous two outings.

While the Giants are hitting only .222 against him, they’re starting to find a rhythm offensively lately, and opponents are batting .333 against Luzardo at Citizens Bank Park.

COVERS INTEL: Luzardo has allowed 19 earned runs in only 16 innings at home, and the Giants have scored 12 runs across their last two contests.

Giants vs Phillies Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-130)

The Under has cashed in four of the last six meetings between these two teams. Philadelphia’s offense is non-existent, ranking 28th in the big leagues in runs. While the Giants are producing lately, they’re 29th in runs scored as well. 

Luzardo’s struggles are a clear opportunity for San Fran to tag him for some runs, but Mahle is coming in confident after dominating the Dodgers, and the Phillies are truly a lost cause offensively at the moment. They’re hitting just .219 overall, and .223 at home.

I believe you’ll see the Giants generate offense against Luzardo. However, Mahle will toss another gem, and add to the Phillies’ misery. Expect a relatively low-scoring contest in the City of Brotherly Love. 

Giants vs Phillies odds

• Moneyline: Giants +142 | Phillies -168
• Run line: Giants +1.5 | Phillies -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5

Giants vs Phillies trend

The Giants have hit the Moneyline in seven of their last 10 games (+4.80 Units / 42% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Giants vs. Phillies.

How to watch Giants vs Phillies and game info

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Monday night against the Miami Marlins came awfully close to a series-opening loss for the Dodgers, trailing by two runs since the fifth inning before three walks, a ground-rule double and Kyle Tucker’s walk-off two-run single delivered the 5-4 win in the ninth.

Instead of losing their 10th game of the season, the Dodgers won their 20th. They are tied with the Atlanta Braves for the best record in baseball at 20-9. The Dodgers have outscored their opponents by 68 runs thus far, the best run differential in baseball, three ahead of Atlanta. It’s the seventh-best run differential through 29 games in franchise history.

During the Dodgers’ streak of 13 consecutive playoff appearances and counting, only twice did they get to 20 wins this quickly. In 2020 they started 21-8 en route to a 43-17 (.717) record in the shortened season and their first championship in 32 years. In 2022, the Dodgers were 20-9 on their way to 111-51 (.685), the most wins in the National League in 116 years. That year did not lead to postseason success, however.

In all, 18 Dodgers teams have won at least 20 of their first 29 games. Here’s how they did in those seasons:

• 25-4 — 1955 Brooklyn (98-55, won World Series)
• 23-6 — 1977 Los Angeles (98-64, lost World Series)
• 22-7 — 1941 Brooklyn, 22-7 (100-54, lost World Series)
• 22-7 — 1952 Brooklyn (96-57, lost World Series)
• 21-8 — 1940 Brooklyn (88-65, 2nd in NL)
• 21-8 — 1942 Brooklyn (104-50, 2nd in NL)
• 21-8 — 1983 Los Angeles (91-71, 2nd in NL West)
• 21-8 — 2009 Los Angeles (95-67, lost NLCS)
• 21-8 — 2020 Los Angeles (43-17, won World Series)
• 20-9 — 1888 Brooklyn (88-52, 2nd in American Association)
• 20-9 — 1892 Brooklyn (95-59, 3rd in NL)
• 20-9 — 1899 Brooklyn (101-47, 1st in NL)
• 20-9 — 1943 Brooklyn (81-72, 3rd in NL)
• 20-9 — 1965 Los Angeles (97-65, won World Series)
• 20-9 — 1974 Los Angeles (102-60, lost World Series)
• 20-9 — 1981 Los Angeles (63-47, won World Series)
• 20-9 — 2022 Los Angeles (111-51, lost NLDS)
• 20-9 — 2026 Los Angeles (TBD)

Of those first 17 starts this good, eight Dodgers teams reached the World Series, plus the 1899 Brooklyn Bridegrooms who had the best record in the National League but had no postseason in which to participate.

The cumulative winning percentage of those teams on the season was .619, which translates to 100 wins in 162 games. The worst winning percentage among those 17 teams was by Brooklyn in 1943 at .529, which translates to 86-76 over 162 games. The median wins per 162 games of this group was 102 (really 101.6) wins, by the 1952 Brooklyn team that went to the World Series.

Way back in February, we asked you to predict how many games the Dodgers would win in 2026, Now a little over a month into the season, we’re asking again: How many regular season games will the Dodgers win this year?

Some highly-touted draft prospects struggle when they hit professional baseball. That…was not true about Jac Caglianone, the Kansas City Royals’ sixth overall selection in the 2024 MLB draft. Jac handled his brief High-A cameo well enough considering he started there less than a month after cashing his signing bonus, but his skill was on full display in 2025. Across 304 plate appearances in Double-A and Triple-A, Caglianone hit .337 and smacked 20 home runs, striking out less than 20% of the time.

Royals fans hoped for Caglianone to save last year’s squad, a team that struggled mightily to score runs. Unfortunately for Caglianone, he became part of the problem, hitting .157 and showing a tiny fraction of his power. And that’s to say nothing of his right field defense, where he looked every bit the stereotype of a lumbering first baseman stuck in the grass because he’s got to play somewhere and first base was taken.

So when the Royals entered this season, some temperance for Caglianone was warranted. At the same time, it was clear that Cags was uniquely talented. His exit velocities in Spring Training and the minors rivaled other gigantic sluggers like Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge. And in the World Baseball Classic, Cags played well for Team Italy in big moments. Considering the lack of offensive talent on the roster and the Royals’ difficulties with scoring runs last year, surely you’d he’d be in the lineup above, like, Lane Thomas, Starling Marte, and Isaac Collins, right? Let alone all three?

To be fair, Opening Day’s lineup was specifically constructed to counter lefty Chris Sale, and Cags did pinch hit for Marte later in the game. But it was the start of a trend, a trend that involved Caglianone riding the bench way more than you’d think would happen for a core player.

The Royals have played 28 games, but Caglianone has only started and finished a game 17 times. On four occasions, Caglianone never entered the game. Five times, Caglianone was lifted from the game, either on defense or on the basepaths. He has also entered the game twice as pinch hitter.

Look, I get that Caglianone struggled last year. I get that platoons are an advantage. And I get that he’s a prime candidate for a defensive replacement or pinch runner in close games. But I just think the Royals are playing it too cute with Caglianone: he is a core player on this team, and one of only a precious handful of hitters with All-Star potential. To only use him fully in 60% of your games—putting other less talented and less impactful players in his place otherwise—is just a waste.

Perhaps the most annoying thing to me is the Royals going out of their way to keep Caglianone away from left-handed pitching. In part, that’s because Cags has actually been better against lefties as a pro than righties. In the big leagues so far, Caglianone had a .653 OPS against left-handed pitchers and a .576 against right-handed pitchers. In his 2025 Minor League Destruction tour, Cags posted an .841 OPS against lefties and a .795 OPS against righties. While we can assume that Caglianone will likely be worse against lefties in the long run, his professional career does not support the claim that he’s useless in the platoon disadvantage.

The other reason why this process irks me is because I think the confidence that the Royals show in a player like Caglianone after such a frustrating season is very important. Cags has been an amazing baseball player all throughout high school, college, and in the minors. His 2025 was probably the only time in his whole athletic life he was bad at something. I turn to the wisdom savant Ned Yost, actually, in part of his famed 2014 “dome” rant about showing confidence in Alcides Escobar:

“Guys are allowed to have off years,” [Ned Yost] said. “It doesn’t mean that they’re going to be terrible for the rest of their career.” Yost added, “We’re hoping that [Alcides Escobar] bounces back this year, and you don’t start jacking with them mentally. It’s hard for people to understand that, fans to understand it. But that plays a big part in it, them having confidence in knowing that the manager has confidence in them in those situations.”

Notably, under Yost, both Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas fully played in 88% of possible games that season. And notably for Caglianone, he’s been legitimately good this year—both at the plate and on the field. He’s in the top 2% of average exit velo and max exit velo among all MLB players. Who else is going to eclipse that talent on this roster? Let him play everyday. Let him play against lefties. Let him hit tanks to tie it up with two outs in the ninth inning.

If the Royals make the playoffs, it will be in part because of Caglianone and not in spite of him. They should use him as such.

The New York Mets (9-19) welcome the Washington Nationals (13-16) to Citi Field for their first meeting of the season, as well as the first in-division series of the year for the Mets.

There isn’t too much to say about the Mets’ season at this point that hasn’t been said already here, on WFAN, in every sports column in the tri-state area, every bar that shows baseball games, as well as shouted by passersby who see me still wearing a Mets cap. This is a terrible, terrible season thus far by just about every available metric.

The Mets have played the bulk of their games without one of their two biggest stars, the bats have been as silent as Marcel Marceau, the pitching performances from the folks who need to be good have been disappointing, and almost every player has underperformed in some capacity. I won’t quite say that everything that could’ve gone wrong has, because there is always something worse that could come around the corner. But looking at even the measured, modest expectations some put on this team versus where they are now, it’s stark.

After their twelve game losing streak, the Mets won two against the Twins and things looked like they might get back on some sort of track. But then, the Mets were swept by the Rockies, scoring just four runs across three games and looking like a warmed over Double-A offense against a last place club.

Without Francisco Lindor, without stronger performances from Kodai Senga and David Peterson, without some sort of solution to the black hole that is the bottom of the Mets’ lineup, there doesn’t appear to be many options for getting this team back on track. A healthy Jorge Polanco in the lineup would help, but last we heard, he was ‘week to week’ with his dual achilles and wrist injuries. If Polanco returns, it seems unlikely that he will immediately slot into the first base slot, rather taking a bulk of the DH at bats. Both Brett Baty and Mark Vientos have struggled at first, so that is a position that needs to be sorted. Bo Bichette needs to have better at-bats. Juan Soto and Francisco Alvarez need to heat up.

Some of those things—namely Soto, Alvy and Bichette—seem likely to happen, just based on talent and track record. It also seems likely that the Mets’ starting pitching situation will begin to sort itself out after another turn or two in the rotation. If Senga continues to struggle, it seems likely that he’ll be demoted to the bullpen and, perhaps, David Peterson will get his rotation spot back. With Christian Scott unable to return for another week or so, the only other option in Triple-A that looks like more than a one-start fill in would be Jonah Tong. But Tong could really use some more time on the farm to develop, so Wednesday’s “TBD” may see any number of possibilities taking the ball.

If there’s good news for the Mets, it is that, aside from the Braves, the rest of the NL East isn’t looking so hot either. The Nationals are three games under .500, which the Mets can only dream of at this point in the season, but the Mets aren’t exactly facing a powerhouse this week. The Mets are also lucking out in that they are missing both Foster Griffin and Jake Irvin, and so this seems like a perfect opportunity for the bats to get some work in against two pitchers with atrocious ERA-s (186 and 209, respectively).

The Nats are arriving in Queens after taking two of three from the White Sox, another team that isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire. The last Mets/Nats series at the end of 2025 saw Washington take two of three, a result that directly led to the Mets missing the playoffs, so there is some residual animosity here, in addition to the usual divisional heat. However, so much of the Mets’ team has turned over since then, who knows if there’s any juice left there.

If we are being optimistic – an if the size of an ocean – this is the perfect team for the Mets to buck up against and attempt to right the shit-ship before May begins. If we’re being pessimistic, if the Mets can’t beat the Nats, this might be an early sign that things won’t get any better any time soon.

Tuesday, April 28: Clay Holmes vs. Zack Littell, 7:10pm on SNY

Holmes (2026): 30.0 IP, 19 K, 10 BB, 3 HR, 2.10 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 53 ERA-

Clay Holmes is not an exciting starting pitcher to watch most of the time, but it is hard to argue with the results he’s been getting since converting to starting. In five starts this season, he hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a start and has lasted at least five innings. That’s a solid early season performance, and a good person to have opening this series.

Littell (2026): 25.0 IP, 15 K, 8 BB, 11 HR, 7.56 ERA, 8.61 FIP, 186 ERA-

You’re not reading that wrong, Littell has given up 11 home runs in five starts. That’s a 4.00 HR/9. Again, if the Mets’ bats are going to wake up, this would be a very convenient game for that to happen.

Wednesday, April 29: TBD vs Cade Cavalli, 7:10pm on SNY

Cade Cavalli (2026): 24.2 IP, 28 K, 12 BB, 0 HR, 4.01 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 99 ERA-

Cavalli is having a decent start to his season, striking out 10.2/9 and limiting dingers. However, he’s only had one start where he recorded an out in the sixth inning and that was his first start of the year. A disastrous one and a third innings performance against the Pirates sullied his line heavily in this young season, but overall he’s been a perfectly cromulent start for the Nats.

Thursday, April 30: Freddy Peralta vs Miles Mikolas, 1:10pm on SNY

Peralta (2026): 32.1 IP, 36 K,  13 BB, 4 HR, 3.90 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 99 ERA-

Peralta being second only to Nolan McLean in terms of innings pitched is one of the few positive surprises of 2026 so far. While not quite looking like the ace the Mets hoped he would be, Peralta has been solid, if unspectacular thus far. If Carlos Mendoza was a little quicker with the trigger in terms of pulling him from games, his ERA would benefit, but you can’t really blame Mendy for wanting him to go more than five innings. However, if he keeps struggling in the sixth and beyond, that may just be a pill we need to swallow.

Mikolas (2026): 23.1 IP, 16 K, 10 BB, 7 HR, 8.49 ERA, 6.94 FIP, 209 ERA-

A 209 ERA-. That’s really all you need to know.

In a bit of surprising news, the Yankees will be calling up one of their top pitching prospects, Elmer Rodríguez, to make a spot start this week. Aaron Boone confirmed today that Rodríguez would start tomorrow afternoon’s series finale with the Rangers. Will Warren was originally scheduled to start, but will instead see his outing pushed back beyond Thursday’s off-day, lining the Yankee rotation up as Warren, Ryan Weathers, and Max Fried for this weekend’s series against the Orioles.

It’s an exciting development, Rodríguez slated to become the youngest player to pitch for the Yankees since Deivi Garcia in 2021:

Rodríguez may not be around for long this time around, but it’ll still be fascinating to see one of the Yankees’ best prospects take his first shot at major league hitters. The right-hander broke out last year after coming to the Yankees via trade from the Red Sox, posting a 2.58 ERA across 150 innings in the high minors. In 2026, he’s picked up right where he left off, flashing impressive stuff in spring training, pitching three scoreless innings for Puerto Rico in the WBC, and maintaining a 1.27 ERA over his first 21.2 innings in Triple-A, with 20 strikeouts against seven walks.

The Rodríguez call-up comes as part of a broader roster shuffle, with the Yankees reportedly set to send Giancarlo Stanton to the IL and call up Max Schuemann today. The infielder spent parts of the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Athletics and joined the Yankees over the winter as a Triple-A depth option.

It’s unclear as of now exactly how this puzzle will sort out. Stanton hitting the injured list will clear only one active roster spot, meaning either Schuemann is ticketed to head right back to Scranton when Rodríguez comes up tomorrow, or that the Yankees will option another player—perhaps reliever Jake Bird—to make room for Rodríguez, with Schuemann sticking around until Anthony Volpe’s return.

Whichever way the Yankees piece this together, Wednesday’s matinee in Texas suddenly becomes must-see TV (coming on the heels of tonight’s Cam Schlittler vs. Jacob deGrom showdown, no less). It’s been a fun time to be a Yankee fan the last couple of weeks, and this week looks to be no different.

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Fresh off a Kyle Tucker walk-off in the series opener, the Los Angeles Dodgers come in ready for Game 2 with the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.

Shohei Ohtani is on the bump, so I’m backing the Boys in Blue with my Marlins vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks for Tuesday, April 28.

Who will win Marlins vs Dodgers today: Dodgers (-285)

Shohei Ohtani has been one of the best pitchers in the league through four starts, sporting a sterling 0.38 ERA.

While it won’t be possible to maintain a number that low, his underlying metrics (2.01 xERA, 1.92 FIP) are tremendous. He notches strikeouts (27.2% K rate) and ground balls (55%) while limiting walks (6.5% BB rate) and hard contact (87th percentile barrel rate).

He’ll give the Los Angeles Dodgers a leg up against a Miami Marlins team that has a 3-10 record on the road, including three consecutive losses.

COVERS INTEL: Miami starter Janson Junk’s 3.51 xERA looks solid, but his weak 9.1% K-BB% raises sustainability concerns. A low .265 BABIP is helping, and with a sixth-percentile hard-hit rate last year, that contact profile may not hold.

Marlins vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (+105)

Ohtani has been dominant on the mound, allowing a single earned run in 24 innings while striking out 25 and allowing 12 hits. L.A. has played to the Under in three of his four starts.

Both squads rank within the top eight in bullpen FIP, so a low-scoring game could be in store for a game with temperatures in the low 60s at Chavez Ravine.

Ohtani won’t feature in today’s lineup. The Dodgers are still potent, but will be without their best hitter, and both starting middle infielders, Mookie Betts & Tommy Edman, who are still on the IL.

Marlins vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Miami +238 | Los Angeles -265
• Run line: Miami +1.5 (+105) | Los Angeles -1.5 (-132)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-111) | Under 7.5 (-108)

Marlins vs Dodgers trend

The Dodgers are 9-0 in their last nine home games against the Marlins. Find more MLB betting trends for Marlins vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Marlins vs Dodgers and game info

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