Zack Wheeler is back, but can he bring the mojo back to the team as they look to avoid an 11th loss in a row? Time will tell! Will anyone be watching this game with the Flyers Game 4 starting at 8:00pm? Time will tell!

Lineups:

Return of the Zack#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/JpLMZcKwhc

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 25, 2026

Braves:

Bryce on the bump! #BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/ybR6qRspps

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 25, 2026

San Diego Padres (17-8) at Arizona Diamondbacks (14-11), April 25, 2026, 03:05 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu – Mexico City, Mexico

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Game 1. pic.twitter.com/rZ2e8FV5Xq

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 25, 2026

Sábado con S de Serpientesss pic.twitter.com/mIYIQBLA68

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 25, 2026

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Saturday notes…

• CUBS IN L.A.: This is the Cubs’ 123rd series at Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Last night’s win was the Cubs’ 56th in the opening game. They have won the second game as well only 13 times, including in 2024. The time before that was 2005, when they swept three games. This is the 20th series since then. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• STREAK NOTES: Last night’s game was the Cubs’ 1,430th since the previous one in which they extended a winning streak to 10 games, on Aug. 11, 2016. They have won 755 and lost 675, for a winning percentage of .528. There had been 40 double-digit streaks by 19 other teams since the last by the Cubs. Only 14 were by National League teams. The Astros had six; the Dodgers, four; the Brewers, Guardians, Red Sox and Yankees; three; and the Athletics, Braves, Mariners, Rays and Twins, two. Eight teams had one: Blue Jays, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Giants, Orioles, Pirates, Rangers and Reds. The teams with none: Angels, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Padres, Phillies, Rockies, Royals, Tigers and White Sox. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DANSBY!: Dansby Swanson, last 13 games since April 11: .279/.421/.674 (12-for-43) with a triple, five home runs, 11 walks, 15 runs scored, 16 RBI and seven multi-hit games.
• THE BUSCH LEAGUE: Michael Busch, last 11 games since April 12: .311/.367/.467 (14-for-45) with a double, two home runs, seven runs scored, eight RBI and six multi-hit games.

Cubs lineup:

Can we get a "Go Cubs Go" in the replies? pic.twitter.com/DXGS8wD5ED

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 25, 2026

Dodgers lineup:

Today’s #Dodgers lineup vs. Cubs: pic.twitter.com/cR8N2geD6G

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 25, 2026

Colin Rea, RHP vs. Roki Sasaki, RHP

Colin Rea has been just what the Cubs needed — a solid starter to replace Cade Horton in the rotation. Rea obviously is no Horton, but he gets the job done. In his last three games (two starts plus one as the “bulk guy”): 2.55 ERA, 0.906 WHIP, only one home run allowed in 17.2 innings. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Rea threw 3.2 innings and 68 pitches against the Dodgers in L.A. last year, April 15, 2025, allowing one run and striking out five. Current Dodgers are batting .291 (16-for-55) against Rea. Shohei Ohtani has homered twice off him, but really, who has Ohtani NOT homered twice against?

Keeping the ball in the yard would be helpful tonight.

Roki Sasaki, as you know, signed with the Dodgers out of Japan before the 2025 season with much fanfare. He threw well against the Cubs in Tokyo and Dodger Stadium (seven total innings, two runs, though seven walks), then got hurt and missed several months. He threw well again in the postseason for the Dodgers, in relief.

This year, he’s had one good start and three that have been mediocre to bad. There are some who think Sasaki might be better off in the Dodgers bullpen.

In any case, here he is starting against the Cubs. Michael Busch has a home run off him.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Dodger Stadium.

Today’s game is on Fox-TV (regional — coverage map). Fox announcers: Joe Davis and John Smoltz. A reminder that if you subscribe to MLB.TV or MLB Extra Innings, you can watch this game via those services even if it’s not on the Fox affiliate in your market.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Dodgers site True Blue LA. If you do go there to interact with Dodgers fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

BALTIMORE – Two poor starts shouldn’t be enough to send Garrett Crochet into a panic.

Crochet, the Boston Red Sox ace, didn’t finish second to Tarik Skubal in the 2025 American League Cy Young Award race without self-confidence, without a brazen belief that he can always challenge elite hitters with his finest stuff.

Yet after the worst two-start sequence of his young career, including an 11-run, nine-hit, three-walk, zero-strikeout debacle against the Minnesota Twins, even a 6-6 lefty with an array of pitches that seemingly disappear can drift into a state of self-doubt.

That valley was a little easier to analyze after his effort Saturday, April 25 at Camden Yards, facing an Orioles lineup that clubbed six homers the night before. On this day, they were rendered impotent by Crochet, who tossed six shutout innings of one-hit ball.

The Red Sox eventually scored 10 ninth-inning runs, four off a position player, to turn a tight game into a 17-1 rout of Baltimore. The offensive uprising was a boon for a club that entered last in the majors in OPS and home runs.

Yet the bigger sigh of relief regarded their ace left-hander, who readily admitted he was breathing easier.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” he said after improving to 3-3 and lowering his ERA from 7.88 to 6.30. “I know I don’t suck. But when you’re not seeing results it’s, man, it’s not fun.

“After Minnesota, I couldn’t even be upset. It just really was not a good time being on the mound. But against a division opponent, a potent lineup through and through, to be able to go shutdown inning multiple times, that felt really good.”

Hard to imagine looking at the final score, but Crochet faced several moments that tested his mettle. Staked to a 3-0 lead in the second, he yielded a double and walk in the bottom of the third to bring the tying run – Gunnar Henderson, with eight home runs on the season – to the plate, prompting a visit from pitching coach Andrew Bailey.

Crochet entered the start determined to throw his four-seam fastball until the Orioles proved they could hit it. But he caught Henderson looking at a sweeper, a pitch catcher Connor Wong encouraged him to dust off.

“That was pretty satisfying. I was like man, my sweeper has been sucking lately,” says Crochet.

Indeed, he increased the sweeper usage from 13% entering the game to 20%, recording three of his six strikeouts on the offering.

The other three punchouts came on the four-seamer – and that was very much by design.

“We’ve been low-key searching for the past three starts now: What is it that I need to do to game plan for teams?” says Crochet. “Connor went into today with, no one’s hit your four all season so we were just going to throw it until they did.

“That worked out pretty well for us.”

To the point that even as Coby Mayo dinged him for a double and a 104.2 mph lineout to center, Crochet decided to bring it with conviction until the opponent proved otherwise.

They never did.

“They’ve got guys who can hit the four, too, but make ‘em prove it,” he says. “In the past, I’d go away from it without anyone proving it.

“Tonight it was just, show me. And if you show me, I might not believe you.”

The outing doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all good for Crochet, who entered the game with several concerning peripherals. The whiff rate on his four-seamer and cutter were both significantly down from 2025 (30.5% and 24.3% respectively) to 2026 (24.2%, 17.6%). His walk rate was also inflated, from 5.7% to 7.8% and he issued two more free passes Saturday.

This time, the whiff rate on his fastball was back up to 29%. Manager Alex Cora said both before and after the game that while Crochet gave up five earned runs – four on two late homers – to the Detroit Tigers, he did not consider that a clunker.

Perhaps he’s correct, and Crochet is rounding into his stuff as April turns to May.

“He’s trending in the right direction,” Cora said afterward. “Minnesota feels like a long time ago.”

The Red Sox, now 10-17, certainly hope so. They won’t go anywhere this year without Crochet, and now their ace looks like he’s back in the driver’s seat after a brush with mediocrity.

“I won’t say it’s not being afraid to fail,” he says of what he took from his two-start dip. “Because I’m terrified to fail. I think most guys in the big leagues are. And that’s what drives you to continue to work and push for success.

“It’s just being OK with it and knowing how to fail and how to bounce back.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet erases sting of two-start debacle

SAN FRANCISCO — Only one player compared to Brandon Belt in Tony Vitello‘s eyes.

Clayton Kershaw.

“The easiest way to put it is he and Kershaw were arguably the best two lefties in the state of Texas and, therefore, at the time, the country, too, really,” the Giants manager recalled from when he recruited the Giants’ beloved first baseman to the University of Missouri.

That’s right: First baseman. And in the conversation with Kershaw.

Belt, 38, put a ribbon on a 13-year big-league career — all but one in San Francisco — with a celebration in his honor before the Giants hosted the Marlins on Saturday. He never officially announced his retirement, but he hasn’t been on a big-league roster since 2023.

“I just want to start out saying this is a very surreal moment for me. I never thought this would happen,” Belt said to the crowd, before showcasing his signature wit. “But when I think about this day and the Giants organization doing this for me, the only thing that pops to mind is: It’s about time.”

Once such a hotly debated player among fans that the “Belt Wars” were coined, Belt became a core piece of two World Series clubs and a 107-win NL West champion squad, eventually logging more games at first base than anybody in the franchise’s long history besides Willie McCovey.

Despite his status in the franchise’s inner circle, Belt ended his career with the Blue Jays. He was not approached about a ceremonial one-day contract to retire with the club he spent most of his career, he said, but hopes to stay involved moving forward as a guest instructor at spring training.

“After Toronto, I kind of knew I was going to be done,” Belt said. “I think I would have played in certain situations, with the Giants or a team in Texas or something like that, but that was about all I was going to do. I was ready to be around my family. … Honestly, I was just looking to fade away.”

Before Belt became a standard-bearer at first base for the Giants in the modern era, Vitello was more interested in his talents on the mound. Vitello was still rising through the collegiate coaching ranks, as an assistant at Missouri, when Belt was coming out of Hudson High in deep east Texas.

At the same time, Kershaw was dominating high school hitters in the Dallas area. The Dodgers selected the future Hall of Famer sixth overall that spring, and the rest is history.

Belt was equally “incredible” on the mound, according to Vitello. However, shoulder issues eventually put him on his path as one of the most beloved players in modern Giants history.

It was only fitting that Kershaw’s name worked its way into the festivities.

Belt stepped into the box against the Dodgers’ legendary left-hander 20 more times than he did against any other pitcher. The first of Belt’s 1,232 career hits came in their first matchup. He would record only three more over 61 regular-season battles that followed, finishing his career batting .065 against him.

“Looking up on the scoreboard and seeing that first off of Kershaw,” Buster Posey turned and teased Belt from behind the podium. “Was that the only one of your career?”

On a more serious note, Posey said, “The World Series championships in 2012 and 2014 don’t happen without Brandon Belt.”

It took some time for Belt to get his due among the Giants’ fan base, but there was no mistaking their feelings during a ceremony that featured speeches from Posey, Belt and Bruce Bochy and was emceed by broadcasters Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow.

Belt’s wife, their two sons, his mom and his two high school coaches were seated on the infield grass. But there was one person missing: Belt’s dad, Darrell, who died last July.

“Growing up, all I cared about was making my dad proud. And I know if he could be here today, he would be extremely proud,” Belt said. “That’s all I can think about right now. He taught me about toughness, doing things right, and he made it his life’s purpose to make sure he got the best out of me and my brother.”

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Back on the recruiting trail, Vitello remembered Belt being “incredibly cordial” even though his Tigers “probably had no chance of actually landing him.” He eventually picked the University of Texas.

In one conversation, Vitello remembered Belt telling him of a home run he hit.

“I joked with him … I said maybe if you come to Missouri, we’ll let you hit, too,” Vitello chuckled. “Because we were recruiting him as a pitcher. That didn’t age very, very well. He can definitely hit.”

Belt appeared in 16 games on the mound for the Longhorns with a 4.19 ERA but earned his stripes at the plate, where he batted .321 with 37 doubles and 14 home runs in 124 games across two seasons.

“He just was a doubles machine, nonstop,” Vitello said. “His at-bats were always aggravating. … He was a guy you were always annoyed with. He was a threat but also you were annoyed with him.”

Maybe Belt didn’t pan out as a pitcher, but that scouting report held up fine. Belt’s 267 career doubles rank sixth in Giants history, and few at-bats in major league history will be remembered as more aggravating than his 21-pitch battle with Angels right-hander Jaime Barria in 2018.

“He was one of the ones who thought I could hit a little bit,” Belt said of Vitello, “even when I didn’t.”

This weekend, the San Diego Padres will partake in their fifth regular-season series in Mexico. It will be a two-game set against their National League West division rival, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Padres have fond memories from their past trips. 

After Sunday’s contest, the Friars will have played the most regular-season games in Mexico (11). Monterrey hosted seven games, while Mexico City hosted four games. There is no denying that the ballpark crowds provide an electric environment for both clubs. Who can forget the chanting that takes place throughout the contest?

Caminiti homers twice in Snickers game

It is hard to believe this memorable feat took place 30 years ago. 

For those unfamiliar, let’s set the scene. The Padres were meeting the New York Mets in the final game of the 1996 Monterrey Series. Friars third baseman Ken Caminiti walked into the clubhouse with a bad case of food poisoning and dehydration. 

The training staff administered IV fluids to treat him. Padres manager Bruce Bochy was resigned to the fact that his star cleanup hitter would be unavailable for the contest. Somehow, some way, Caminiti played in the rubber game of the series. 

His afternoon began with a solo home run to put the Friars on the scoreboard. Caminiti proceeded to hit a massive three-run shot that extended the lead to 8-0 and secure a series victory over the Mets.

What is remarkable about his legendary performance is that Snickers candy bars were the lone food source Caminiti could keep down. This memorable Sunday afternoon propelled him to win the NL Most Valuable Player Award. 

Valenzuela’s historic first MLB start on home soil

You need no explanation on what an honor it was for Fernando Valenzuela to start the first major league regular-season game in Mexico. Despite playing away from his hometown, Valenzuela remained a celebrated national hero. Viewers could see how the honor was a personal accomplishment for him. 

A raucous crowd of over 23,000 fans chanted “El Toro” at Valenzuela every time he touched the baseball. The left-hander threw six innings and allowed three runs on six hits to secure the win in a 15-10 victory. 

The offensive attack featured a grand slam by Greg Vaughn and a solo shot by Steve Finley. It was another memorable moment in Valenzuela’s distinguished 17-year major league career.

Mexico City’s debut game turns into home run derby

The San Francisco Giants faced the Padres in the 2023 Inaugural Mexico City Series, where extreme altitude (7,350 feet) triggered a home run outburst in the opening game.

In a contest that felt like a home run derby, the Friars outslugged the Giants 16–11 as the two teams combined for a staggering 11 home runs in the thin air. The Padres and Giants tied a major league record of having 10 different players homer on the day. The Friars had four players who hit home runs that traveled more than 400 feet, including Xander Bogaerts’ drive that went 455 feet.

Manny Machado led the charge with two home runs, the second of which clinched the victory. Meanwhile, Nelson Cruz, who had been struggling at the plate, delivered one last memorable performance in the majors. The veteran designated hitter racked up five hits and became the oldest player in Padres history (42) to hit a home run.

Hopefully, the Friars and D-Backs can add more fond memories this weekend in Mexico. Regardless, the sold-out crowds will show their love for the greatest sport ever created.