Category: Sports News

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The majority of the sports world has its eyes on Game 3 of the NBA Finals, but we're still hunting for value on the diamond today.

Our expert MLB picks have a pair of side bets to tail tonight, with the Rays underpriced and the Phillies lining up for a multi-run win.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Jon Metler: TB ML	+100
Neil Parker: PHI -1.5	+104

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Jon Metler's expert pick: Rays ML

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

The Tampa Bay Rays may start Ian Seymour as an opener against the Red Sox tonight, but I believe the key to this matchup lies in the middle innings, when Mason Englert takes over. Englert’s sweeping curveball and slider have both been highly effective this season, and they match up well against a Boston lineup that likes to be aggressive and pull the baseball. The east-west movement on those pitches can make it difficult for hitters to get the barrel out front consistently. On the other side, Tampa Bay’s offensive identity is built around patience: The Rays excel at extending at-bats, spoiling quality pitches, and forcing starters to work deep counts. If they can drive up Connelly Early’s pitch count and get into Boston’s middle relief early, I think they gain a meaningful advantage. I make the Rays closer to 56-cent favorites in this spot, which is why I’m willing to back them at this price.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: RAYS, NESN

Neil Parker's expert pick: Phillies -1.5

Price: 49¢ (+104) at Polymarket

Toronto lefty Patrick Corbin sports a 7.46 ERA with 5.4 BB/9, while allowing a monster .442 wOBA and 1.035 OPS across 35 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies since the beginning of the 2022 season. With NL Cy Young favoriteCristopher Sanchez toeing the rubber tonight for the Phils, they have a huge advantage on the mound. Additionally, the Philly bullpen also has the lowest xFIP, and the bats rank sixth in xwOBA over the past two weeks — while Toronto checks in 22nd and 12th.

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET
• How to watch: NBCSP, Rogers Sportsnet

More MLB best bets for today

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The Texas Rangers optioned relief pitcher Luis Curvelo to AAA Round Rock after yesterday’s game, the team announced yesterday. In addition, the team also announced yesterday that utility man Sam Haggerty, who was designated for assignment on Friday to make room for Elias Diaz on the active roster, cleared waivers and was released.

Curvelo came up a week ago, along with Robbie Ahlstrom, when the Rangers optioned Gavin Collyer to AAA Round Rock and placed Chris Martin on the 15 day injured list. He made three appearances while he was up, including facing two batters in Saturday’s blowout loss before leaving the game after taking a comebacker to the leg, and pitching a scoreless inning to finish Sunday’s blowout win. I thought it was odd Curvelo was pitching the day after he left a game due to injury — I thought Jakob Junis, who hasn’t pitched since last Tuesday, might get an inning just to keep him from getting rusty — but the Rangers apparently decided he was heading back to the minors after the game anyway, so might as well get some innings from him.

The Rangers haven’t announced a move to fill Curvelo’s spot on the active roster, but the beats are indicating that Cole Winn, who went on the injured list on May 24, is expected to take his place. Winn threw 16 pitches for Round Rock on Friday on a rehab assignment, and is eligible to be activated from the injured list today, though they will probably wait until tomorrow to officially make the move since the Rangers are off day.

Haggerty, meanwhile, is a free agent now. After a solid 2025 season in a platoon role for the Rangers, he was brought back to again be a righthanded platoon bat, but didn’t hit against righties (.182/.182/.182 in 11 plate appearances) or lefties (.152/.222/.182 in 36 plate appearances) this season. The Rangers currently have Justin Foscue as their short-side platoon DH and Michael Helman filling that role in center, though it remains to be seen whether either of those are viable solutions going forward.

On Saturday night, as the No. 6 Texas Longhorns took on the No. 11 Oregon Ducks in the Austin Super Regional, SEC writer and podcaster Chris Marler had some thoughts on the intensity of sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez in the batter’s box.

Rodriguez doesn’t hide that competitive intensity in the box, shaking his head at the pitcher on balls before kicking rubber pullets out towards the mound.

“Whatever this shit is when taking a ball, is lame as hell,” Marler wrote.

And Rodriguez did strike out on the next pitch, but what Marler may not have noticed is that the fiery Texas shortstop had already given the Longhorns a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run double.

What Marler couldn’t have known was that Rodriguez would go on to finish with five RBI after knocking out a run-scoring single in the fifth and executing with runners on third in the sixth and eighth innings with back-to-back sacrifice flies.

What Marler couldn’t have known was that Rodriguez would go on to cement his place in Texas super regional lore with a go-ahead, two-out, bases-loaded double in the eighth inning on Sunday to send the Longhorns through to the College World Series with a 6-5 win over Oregon.

That Rodriguez ultimately went 2-for-5 on Sunday to bat 4-for-8 (.500) with two doubles and seven RBI in the Austin Super Regional after a sensational Austin Regional that saw the Flower Mound product go 7-for-11 (.636) with three doubles, two RBI, and five runs scored.

Over those five games, Rodriguez has bolstered his average from .277 to .306 by going 11-for-19 (.579) with five doubles, six runs scored, and nine RBI.

What Marler probably doesn’t know is anything about Rodriguez — what he’s been through since he was hit by pitch against Missouri 14 months ago, the pain he’s felt ever since on his swings, and how much he’s had to grow through that adversity. How hard he’s worked with Troy Tulowitzki to prove himself defensively at shortstop.

What Marler doesn’t have is any of the perspective to understand why Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle is so proud of Rodriguez and why the standout sophomore has earned praise instead of criticism.

Understanding where Rodriguez is right now requires understanding the hamate fracture in his left hand from March of last year that caused him to miss seven games and forced him to bat left-handed while playing through pain, an injury that sapped Rodriguez of the power that allowed him to hit five home runs before the injury.

Rodriguez ultimately had surgery to insert a staple into that hand last fall, but the pain continued into this season, caused by an allergic reaction to the metal in the staple that forced him to undergo another procedure at the beginning of April to remove the staple that left Schlossnagle hoping Rodriguez could recover enough to be impactful late.

“Ideally, before the season ends, before May, it’d be awesome to have him,” Schlossnagle said at the time. “But we may not get that this year. That may have to be next year. I just know he’s capable of helping our team. He’s the energy of our team.”

That’s high praise from Schlossnagle given all the big personalities on this team.

It’s an energy apparent in the batter’s box, and in his shoulder shaking after a big hit, a recent innovation that grew out of a song that team listens to on the road, and celebrating with his teammates even if it wasn’t his big hit.

While the energy has remained consistent from Rodriguez, his approach has changed, from going back to hitting exclusively from the left side because those swings don’t hurt as much to simplifying his swing mechanically to help keep his head still to recognizing that his power still hasn’t returned with his hand remaining at less than 100 percent as Rodriguez has learned how to settle for shooting the ball into gaps or down the lines, like the inside-out swing that won Sunday’s game over Oregon.

A rare combination of natural hitting ability and relentless work ethic caught Schlossnagle’s attention a long time ago, and the trust was mutual enough for Rodriguez to commit to Texas A&M before following Schlossnagle to Austin and flipping to Texas two years ago. But the hand injury caused that work ethic to work against Rodriguez, forcing some pragmatic changes to his formerly intense routines.

“I think it’s definitely made me more mature on how I’m going about things in the facility, how many swings I’m taking before the game — I’ve limited that down quite a bit because of the situation I’m in right now,” Rodriguez said on Saturday.

In turn, that’s helped Rodriguez gain a more healthy perspective on what effective preparation looks like.

“I think for Adrian, this would be something that really helps his career long term. He’s learning that he’s a special, special player that doesn’t have to take 1,000 swings to be ready to go. He can wake up and hit,” Schlossnagle said.

“He will get fully healthy one day. He likes baseball, so I don’t ever want to coach that out of him, I don’t want him to change that, but he’s learning that he can limit his work and still be super effective. And then really learning to use the whole field to hit, he hadn’t done that a lot in the past, but being really left on left, he’s just come so far, and super proud of him.”

The dedication shown by Rodriguez has extended past his efforts to get his hand healthy and not cause any setbacks by taking too many extra swings.

When shortstop Jalin Flores signed with the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2025 MLB Draft, Rodriguez opted against playing summer baseball to get lean enough to move to short after splitting time between second base, third base, and left field as a freshman, dropping 10 pounds to improve his range.

Rodriguez looks like a Tulowitzki-coached shortstop now — there’s an artfulness to his defense, how he approaches the ball, the smoothness of his transfer, and the ability to get throws off quickly and accurately. Despite the increased challenge of playing shortstop, Rodriguez has only committed five errors this season, three fewer than last year, and improved his fielding percentage from .929 to .968, the same fielding percentage that Trey Faltine posted at shortstop for the Longhorns as a sophomore in 2021.

Now healthy and well-adjusted enough to make an impact at the plate, Rodriguez has grown into an all-around player who serves as a linchpin for a defense that entered the super regionals ranked 22nd nationally with a .979 fielding percentage, solidifying the bond between assistant and player.

During a rare offensive timeout called by Texas before Rodriguez went to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning on Sunday, Tulowitzki leaned on the rapport he’s built with Rodriguez through all the hard work they’ve put in together.

“He was just slowing my brain down — he knows I can get kind of amped up during those kind of situations — and he told me this is why you come to the SEC, this is why you’re a Texas Longhorn, and he told me that he wouldn’t have it any other way than with me in the box at that moment,” Rodriguez recounted after the game.

And then one shortstop came through for the other.

“Tulo is my guy, I’m with him every single day, working on stuff, talking to him, he’s one of my biggest mentors in my whole baseball career and helped me get better,” Rodriguez said.

So Marler can create whatever standard he wants for Rodriguez. Does he need to be so demonstrative in the batter’s box? Probably not.

But it’s a sign of his competitiveness, and the standard that Rodriguez actually has to live up to on the Forty Acres is simple — “The pride and winning tradition of The University of Texas will not be entrusted to the weak or the timid.”

Neither weak nor timid, Rodriguez has emerged from the adversity of his hand injury tougher, more mature, and playing the best baseball of his college career.

And that’s worthy of respect, no matter what any ignorant haters think.

“What a great player,” Schlossnagle said. “What a player that rises to the occasion when needed, and certainly glad he’s a Longhorn.”

Amen.

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It's a new week, and a slate filled with opportunities to back hitters in strong spots against vulnerable arms on Monday, June 8. 

This evening, our MLB player props are rolling with Yordan Alvarez, Yandy Diaz, and Willson Contreras, all in matchups that set up well for production.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Yordan Alvarez	Over 1.5 total bases	-112
Yandy Diaz	Over 1.5 total bases	+102
Willson Contreras	Over 1.5 total bases	+112

Yordan Alvarez Over 1.5 total bases (-112)

Well, well, well, look who we're all over this evening. None other than Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez to go over 1.5 total bases.

The big fella enters with an elite rating on Batters-Box and draws a matchup against Los Angeles Angels right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who has been getting lit up by left-handed hitters this season. Overall, Rodriguez owns an 8.90 xER, while lefties have posted a .458 xwOBA against him. Over the last 60 left-handed batters he's faced, they've produced a 61.1% elevation rate, 47.2% hard-hit rate, and a ridiculous .826 xSLG.

Alvarez has been on a tear all season, but he's been especially dominant against right-handed pitching lately. Over his last 30 plate appearances versus righties, the big fella is batting .417 with a .750 SLG and a 1.283 OPS. He's also generating 55% hard contact and a 15% barrel rate.

Did I mention that Alvarez has gone over this prop in four of his last five elite ratings? Or his 100% arsenal coverage against Rodriguez's entire pitch mix? No? Well, I'm glad I did now. 

Paying a little juice for one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball feels well worth it, especially in a matchup against Rodriguez. I'd be willing to play this all the way up to -120 if I have to.

• Time: 9:38 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ABTV, SCHN

Yandy Diaz Over 1.5 total bases (+102)

Getting Tampa Bay Rays star Yandy Díaz at plus money to go over 1.5 total bases feels like a steal in this spot.

The Rays veteran draws Boston Red Sox left-hander Connelly Early, who does carry an elite pitcher rating today over on Batters-Box, but so does Diaz on the hitter's side.

He records a hit 72.46% of the time, 2+ hits 34.78% of the time, and has gone over this prop nearly 50% of the time in elite ratings. That is a 69-game sample size. He has also cleared this line in six of his last 10 elite-rated spots.

Early has also been getting hit hard by right-handed bats this season. Over his last 50 batters faced, they have produced nearly a 70% elevation rate, 53.5% hard contact, and an 11.6% barrel rate, while also carrying a sub-.700 xSLG.

Diaz has been rolling against left-handed pitching. In his last 30 at-bats, he is making nearly 90% contact, with 63.6% hard contact and a .938 OPS. On top of that, he owns an 85% arsenal coverage rating against Early’s mix.

Backing a hitter who is making consistent contact and hard contact against a pitcher who has been getting tagged by right-handed bats makes this a strong look. Getting it at plus money only adds to the appeal.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: RAYS, NESN

Willson Contreras Over 1.5 total bases (+112) 

Sticking with this Red Sox vs. Rays matchup, we're backing Willson Contreras to go over his bases as well. The Red Sox veteran owns an elite rating on Batters-Box, where he is backed by some spicy trends.

In 29 elite ratings on the road:

• 1+ Hit: 72.41%
• 2+ Hits: 34.48%
• Double: 27.59%
• Home Run: 27.59%
• 2+ Bases: 51.72%

Contreras has cleared this prop in seven of his last ten elite ratings on the road.

The Rays send out right-hander Mason Englert, who has been getting torched by right-handed hitters this season. At home, it has been especially rough for the 26-year-old. Right-handed hitters are hitting .409 with a .727 SLG and a .507 wOBA, while posting a 72.2% elevation rate. Overall, Englert is allowing 43.2% hard contact and a 16.2% barrel rate to right-handed bats.

Given the matchup and underlying numbers, I would not go much higher than even money on Contreras and would look to grab the best number available.

I'm not shying away from sprinkling on all three of these guys to leave the yard today, and I am taking them straight up in their spots.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: RAYS, NESN

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

There are little bits of Jays news today.

Tanner Andrews has cleared waivers and is on his way back to Buffalo. Not really a surprise, but it’s good to keep some pitching depth.

And it sounds like we will have Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer back this week. They have a couple of open spots coming up (and an off-day Thursday). I’d love to see us get out of the ‘two bullpen days out of five’ cycle they have been in. As much as I’d love bullpen usage to return to the days of the 1990s, but that’s not happening. The game has changed.

Of course, I’m not sure that Scherzer will pitch much deeper into game than your average reliever. But having Spencer Miles in the pen to be a long man, as well as Simeon Woods Richardson, who we might see on the mound one day. Getting Yimi Garcia back will help with the pen too. And Tommy Nance should be back soon too. That will make the back end of the pen much better (back end? front end?). Add in that Alejandro Kirk should be back sometime around the end of the week, the team will look a fair bit different soon. Hopefully better.

The big story of yesterday’s game, from the Orioles side, was the lack of a call on Ernie Clements avoiding a potential tag.

I don’t think this explanation is going to help:

The gentlemanly thing to do line doesn’t help.

This is the sort of thing that Orioles fans will think he should be out and Jays fans will think they got the call right. Or at least, we’ll be happy that we got the benefit of a bad call.

It didn’t help that they called Jackson Holliday out for leaving the base path, when they should have called him out for the tag, in the ninth inning.

Who figured Brandon Valenzuela would be one of our best players. They are going to have to find a way to keep him in the lineup when Kirk comes back.

This won’t make the Orioles fanbase any happier. Hunter didn’t have a great day calling balls and strikes.

Phillies fans can be complicated. As we saw this past offseason, “running it back” with players who have failed in previous seasons – particularly the playoffs – is not a popular strategy. On the other hand, there was a lot of angst about the team allowing Jeff Hoffman to leave as a free agent after 2024.

Hoffman was a very good reliever for the Phillies, but many people seem to have memory holed his performance in the 2024 NLDS when he may have been as responsible as any player for the series loss.

Despite that, I would have wanted him back at the right price, but not for the contract the Blue Jays offered him. They gave him three years and an opportunity to be the closer, despite several red flags about his health.

In the early part of the 2025 season, there was a lot of complaining when Hoffman was racking up a ton of saves, while the player the Phillies seemed to peg as his replacement – Jordan Romano – was dreadful. Hoffman was generally good in 2025, but in the biggest save opportunity he’ll ever have, he couldn’t get it done.

In 2026, on the surface he has been awful, and was removed from the closer role. But looking at most of the numbers, you wouldn’t think he’s been all that bad. He’s walking fewer batters, striking out more, and giving up less hard contact than last season, giving him a FIP of 2.99.

The biggest problem for Hoffman may simply be bad luck. He’s got an amazing .492 BABIP against him, resulting in a 6.26 ERA. Of course, after a guy blows a World Series, many fans aren’t all that interested in hearing that the poor on-field results are due to bad luck.

Hating on the Blue Jays

Obviously, the 1993 World Series is a good place to start if you want to work up some animosity against the Jays. The Phillies had one playoff appearance between 1983 and 2007, and Paul Molitor and Joe Carter had to ruin it. It’s perhaps even more galling that they missed the playoffs for the next 21 seasons after that. It’s like they said, “We ruined childhood for a bunch of Phillies fans. We’re good for a while!”

Aside from that, there’s not much to dislike. The Toronto fans are great, and the fact that they have only one non-Jackie Robinson number retired (Halladay) sits well for an elitist like me. (Some franchises would have retired Dave Steib’s number about ten times over.)

But if you do want to hate on these guys, you can bring up the fact that they had a chance to put a stop to the Dodgers’ reign of terror, and they blew it. They had a 3-2 lead in the series and then lost two straight at home. And in game seven, they were two outs away from victory! (Oh, I’m sorry, Blue Jays fans. It must really suck to have your closer blow a save in a decisive World Series game, huh?)

Random guy who played for both teams

The pennant year song battle has run its course. Now, I’m going to start highlighting a former Phillie who you might not have realized also played for the opponent as well.

When thinking of players who suited up for both the Phillies and Blue Jays, Roy Halladay is probably the first name that comes to mind. And if that square comes up in Immaculate Grid, Scott Rolen or Jose Bautista probably get used quite a bit. But did you realize that Mickey Morandini played for the Jays as well?

It’s hard to think of Morandini as anything but a Phillie. A “Harry Kalas special,” Morandini was a member of the 1993 Phillies team that fell to the Jays in the World Series, and after a two-year stint with the Cubs (TIL that Mickey Morandini received an MVP vote as a member of the Cubs in 1998), returned to the Phillies in 2000.

At midseason, with the Phillies comfortably in last place, and Morandini not doing much at all, the Phillies traded him to Toronto so they could give more playing time to younger players like Marlon Anderson and Kevin Jordan.

Morandini didn’t do much in Toronto, being worth -0.2 wins above replacement in 35 games. Meanwhile, the player sent to the Phillies was Rob Ducey who had been traded by the Phillies to the Blue Jays two weeks earlier.

Additional thought about the series

The Phillies’ starting pitching was bad against the White Sox, but with Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler scheduled for this series, that figures to improve. The bigger question is whether or not the recent offensive surge can continue.

The first starter they’ll face this series is familiar: Patrick “Flags Fly Forever” Corbin. Formerly the unofficial holder of the “Worst Contract in Baseball” title (unfortunately, the Phillies have a pitcher who might be the current title holder), he’s surprisingly having a decent season for the Jays, with a 3.98 ERA in eleven starts.

The Jays have yet to announce starters for Tuesday and Wednesday. There’s a chance that Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer will return from the Injured List to make those starts., but the Phillies could also get to go against a bullpen game. (At this point of his career, a game against Scherzer is likely more enticing than facing the bullpen.)

The Phillies should have an opportunity to keep scoring runs as long as players like Adolis Garcia and Alec Bohm (great career numbers against Corbin) don’t fall off a cliff after their recent hot spells.

It was another slightly disappointing week, with the Twins splitting a four-game series with the White Sox, and then losing a series to the Royals. The team will now face Detroit and St. Louis this week. Royce Lewis returned to the team on Saturday after lighting up St. Paul with homer after homer, and he started at second base on Saturday and first base on Sunday, going a combined 1-for-8 over the two games. The Twins also said goodbye to Simeon Woods-Richardson, who was traded back to the Blue Jays. Oh, and Byron Buxton left Friday’s game after crashing into the wall and has not come back to the team yet. The team is now 30-37, still somehow only 3.0 games out of the last wild-card spot, but that’s maybe the only silver lining here.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
• Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
• Aidan O’Brien updates the Twins Top-40 Prospects for the month of June.
• Zach Koenig looks back fondly at a pitcher who gave fans a little bit of hope in the dark 2016 season.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Dan Hayes at The Athletic checks in on the status of a bunch of injured Twins pitchers.
• Matthew Leach at MLB.com looks at the Twins’ roster construction and how it’s full of player versatility.
• Tom Schreier at Zone Coverage evaluates whether shortstop Ryan Kreidler can be the newest former cast-off turned key utility player for the Twins.
• Austin Martin has found a new home in center field and Betsy Helfand at the Pioneer Press checks in on how he’s been adjusting to the new position.

In the World of Baseball:

• The Rays and Yankees are now neck-and-neck in the AL pennant race, although the Yankees suffered a big loss last week with Aaron Judge going on the IL with a stress fracture. The Guardians and White Sox sit third and fourth in the race, and the Mariners and Rangers are fifth and sixth.
• Nothing has really changed in the National League. It’s Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Milwaukee in the top three spots. The Phillies, after going on a historic losing streak, have managed to climb their way back to fifth in the NL standings.
• Tarik Skubal rumors have been flying around, and Kiley McDaniel at ESPN evaluated a bunch of mock trades.
• Jeff Passan at ESPN previews the early 2026 MLB trade deadline.
• Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs looks at whether Yordan Alvarez of the Astros could potentially win the Triple Crown this year.