The San Diego Padres entered the middle game of their three-game set against the Colorado Rockies with a share of the lead in the National League Western Division. The Padres were looking to win the second game to maintain their position without having to see what the Los Angeles Dodgers did in their game against the San Francisco Giants, but thanks to an ugly outing from Walker Buehler they were unable to do so. San Diego dropped the middle game to Colorado 8-3 and will try to win the series in the final game today at 12:10 p.m.

Buehler has been competing with German Marquez and Matt Waldron, who was recently recalled from Triple-A, to maintain his place in the back of the Padres’ rotation. That competition got a little tighter on Wednesday when San Diego announced the signing of starter Lucas Giolito to a one-year deal with an option for the 2027 season. Buehler needed to produce a strong showing against Colorado, but he did anything but that. The right-hander allowed four runs on eight hits over 2.2 innings with three walks and two strikeouts. His ERA sits at 5.75 on the season. The eight hits allowed by Buehler were part of 15 hits the Rockies had on the night against Padres pitching.

San Diego looked to be getting off to a good start against Colorado starter Tomoyuki Sugano with Jackson Merrill hitting a one-out single to score Ramon Laureano in the top of the first inning. However, the Padres did not score another run until the top of the seventh inning when Luis Campusano hit a solo home run to left field. San Diego tacked on a final run in the top of the ninth inning after Campusano doubled to start the inning and advanced to third on an error. Jake Cronenworth grounded out to bring Campusano home to make the final score, 8-3. Campy was the bright spot on offense for the Padres, finishing his night 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored.

Padres News:

• Jose E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones, are expected to be the majority owners of the Padres once the sale is finalized. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported there will be several minority owners as well and some current owners will remain in place with Feliciano.

• The free-agent signing of Giolito will help to bolster a San Diego pitching rotation that is currently missing Yu Darvish, Joe Mushgrove and Nick Pivetta. Griffin Canning is working his way through minor-league rehab starts as he looks to return to the MLB club and will force the Padres to make some difficult decisions about their rotation once he and Giolito are added to the big-league roster.

• Waldron had a difficult return to the rotation in his first outing of the season for the Padres. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball believes that is largely due to the fact that he is still building up for the season, but the injury to Pivetta forced him to expedite his timeline. She added the organization and fans should not be quick to judge Waldron after just one start and that his metrics show there is success ahead for the right-hander.

Baseball News:

• The New York Mets, with some help from Juan Soto who returned from the IL, finally snapped their 12-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins, but they may have lost their shortstop Francisco Lindor, who left the game with calf tightness. The win for the Mets means they no longer have the longest active losing streak in MLB. That title now sits with the Philadelphia Phillies who dropped their eighth consecutive game with a 7-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

• The New York Yankees missed out on a third consecutive shutout, but Max Fried delivered eight scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox en route to the win.

• Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit a 432-foot three-run home run that banged off the top of the right field foul pole. The home run helped the Pirates beat the Texas Rangers 8-4.

• Jose Soriano allowed seven hits but did not allow a run over five innings, which led the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It also dropped Soriano’s ERA to a league-best 0.24.

• Josh Naylor had the last of three consecutive ninth inning hits that put the Seattle Mariners past the Athletics 5-4 in walk-off fashion in Seattle.

• Shohei Ohtani dropped his ERA to 0.38, but the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped the game to the San Francisco Giants 3-0. Ohtani saw his 53-game on base streak come to an end in the loss.

The carousel of Braves pitchers has been in full effect the last few days.

Reynaldo Lopez’s Tuesday start lasting just one inning depleted the bullpen for Wednesday.

That in turn led to Didier Fuentes being called to start Wednesday’s game, moving the rest of the rotation’s starts back a day. But when Fuentes lasted just three innings and Atlanta was forced to use Martín Pérez, who was scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale in Washington, out of the bullpen, it sent the carousel on another spin.

It landed on another call-up, but this time for a debut. The Braves are promoting 2022 first-round pick JR Ritchie (35th overall pick) to make his first major league appearance as Atlanta looks to win its fifth straight series Thursday afternoon at Nationals Park.

Ritchie, 22, started the season as a top-100 prospect in baseball according to Baseball America (84th), Baseball Prospectus (88th) and MLB Pipeline (90th). He’s also surged up the Braves’ farm system, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 2 prospect in the organization.

The timing is right for a few reasons. Notably, he’s on normal rest after last throwing for Gwinnett last Saturday. But also, he’s been in strong form which makes him a viable candidate for a major league opportunity.

The 2025 season was his breakout as he went all the way from High-A Rome to Triple-A, posting a combined 2.96 ERA over 140 innings. But the right-hander has taken that to an even higher level early this season in Gwinnett. Over five starts with the Stripers, he’s allowed three runs over 27 1/3 innings for a 0.99 ERA. The strikeout numbers (28) are good. The walks (13) are the only real blip on his stat line.

For his debut, Ritchie will be facing a better-than-expected Nationals lineup through 25 games. Washington’s offense is seventh in the majors in home runs (30) and eighth in batting average (.255), scoring 17 combined runs in the last two games against the Braves.

Ritchie’s counterpart on the mound will be Washington’s Cade Cavalli (0-1, 4.12 ERA). A former first-round pick himself by the Nationals in 2020, the right-hander will be making his sixth start of the season and the 17th of his career since debuting in 2022.

Cavalli has yet to allow a homer this season — which could be tested against a Braves lineup which had it third four-homer game of the season Wednesday and is tied for second in the majors with 36 homers — but has allowed a .290 opposing batting average and has battled some control issues with 18 strikeouts to 12 walks in 19 2/3 innings.

It bears mentioning, though, that he had no walks in his last outing, when he needed 92 pitches to get through four innings in Washington’s extra-innings loss to San Francisco Saturday, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts.

This will be Cavalli’s first time facing the Braves, who are the only NL East opponent he hasn’t yet pitched against.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, April 23, 1:05 p.m. ET

Location: Nationals Park, Washington, DC

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: Braves.tv, MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

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Just nine games are on the schedule across the big leagues today, but there are still plenty of solid betting opportunities. 

My MLB player props will highlight Tyler Glasnow, Munetaka Murakami, and Jacob deGrom. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Thursday, April 23.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Tyler Glasnow	Over 6.5 Ks	-110
Munetaka Murakami	Over 0.5 RBI	+170
Jacob deGrom	Over 6.5 Ks	-136

Tyler Glasnow Over 6.5 strikeouts (-110)

Tyler Glasnow has always been a strikeout pitcher, and 2026 has been no different. The hard-throwing righty has racked up 29 Ks in 25 innings of work so far.

Glasnow has cashed the Over in strikeouts in three straight starts. In fact, he’s only hit the Under once this season.

The veteran struck out seven last time out, and he had another seven Ks in the outing before that. Glasnow has 16 strikeouts in 13 road innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers visit the San Francisco Giants tonight. 

San Fran is also striking out 8.33 times per game across their last three, and Glasnow had 11 Ks in 11 2/3 innings against them in 2025. 

• Time: 3:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SNLA, NBCSBA

Munetaka Murakami Over 0.5 RBI (+170)

I rolled with this pick on Wednesday, and Munetaka Murakami came through once again, homering for the fifth straight game and driving in two runs.

He’s now cashed the Over in RBI in five games in a row as well, collecting a whopping 10 RBI during that span. The man cannot be stopped offensively. 

Murakami has 13 of his RBI off right-handed pitchers, and he’ll be up against Mike Soroka today. The righty has allowed six earned runs across his last two starts, and Murakami is also batting .288 off right-handed hurlers with seven of his 10 home runs. 

• Time: 3:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CHSN, DBacks.TV

Jacob deGrom Over 6.5 strikeouts (-136)

Jacob deGrom is still one of the best in the sport when healthy, and he’s showing it this season. The veteran has a 2.29 ERA through four starts, striking out 25 in 19 2/3 innings of work.

He’s hit the over in Ks in two of his outings in ‘26, and there’s reason to believe he’ll rack up the swings-and-misses today. 

The Texas Rangers take on the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are 22nd in team strikeouts with nine per game. deGrom has 28 Ks in 81 at-bats against them. He had six strikeouts in his lone start at home this year.

• Time: 8:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SNP, RSN

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Pirates 8, Rangers 4

• Well, that was some unpleasantness.
• Jack Leiter was really good. Until he wasn’t.
• Leiter allowed a first inning run, on a two out Bryan Reynolds double followed by a Marcell Ozuna single, but those were the only two hits he allowed through four innings. He needed just 20 pitches to get through the first nine batters of the game.
• Once the Pirates turned the lineup over, though, the at bats started getting longer and longer. Leiter needed 16 pitches to get the final two outs of the third, including an 11 pitch at bat to end the inning when he struck out Brandon Lowe. In the fourth, he needed 19 pitches, including a nine pitch at bat against Bryan Reynolds and a seven pitch walk to Ryan O’Hearn.
• Still, things seemed to be going fine, and Leiter seemed to be in position to go six, maybe seven innings.
• The Pirates went single-K-walk (on 8 pitches)-K to start the fifth, and retiring Brandon Lowe for the third out would preserve the Rangers’ 2-1 lead.
• But no. Lowe singled home a run. Then Bryan Reynolds singled to right, scoring a run, and Brandon Nimmo made a terrible throw back into the infield that Leiter fell and twisted his ankle trying to back up, allowing Lowe to score all the way from first.
• Leiter looked like he might be seriously injured on the play, which would have made things catastrophic. Somehow, though, he was well enough to finish the inning, retiring Ozuna on a fly out.
• Final line for Leiter was five innings, four runs, three earned, five Ks, 15 whiffs, two walks. He now has a 4.97 ERA on the year.
• The surprisingly effective Tyler Alexander gave the Rangers two innings of scoreless relief, followed by a shutout inning from Gavin Collyer. When the Rangers tied the score in the bottom of the eighth, Skip Schumaker turned to Cole Winn to keep the game tied.
• Things didn’t work out. A weakly hit single and a hard hit single put runners on the corners with no one out. A strikeout was followed by a weak chopper to third base that Josh Jung made a less than great throw home on, and it was now 5-4 with two on and one out. Jalen Beeks was brought in to face Oneil Cruz, and Cruz crushed a middle-middle cutter that bounced off the top of the right field foul pole.
• And that was church.
• Offensively, the Rangers got a two run home run by Josh Jung in the bottom of the second, Joc Pederson having walked to lead off the inning, then did a whole bunch of nothing until the eighth inning, when Andrew McCutchen led off with a pinch hit single, Brandon Nimmo doubled, and then Jake Burger singled them home to tie the game at four.
• That was exciting, at least, though the excitement was short-lived.
• It was a frustrating game. And put the Rangers back at .500, and a half-game back in the A.L. West behind Oakland, even though those shit-ass A’s lost.
• Jack Leiter hit 98.5 mph with his fastball, averaging 96.9 mph. Tyler Alexander hit 92.0 mph with his fastball. Gavin Collyer hit 97.5 mph with his fastball. Cole Winn’s fastball topped out at 96.3 mph. Jalen Beeks reached 94.7 mph with his fastball.
• Brandon Nimmo had a 108.3 mph double and a 102.9 mph ground out. Evan Carter had a 101.9 mph single.
• Texas can still take the series on Thursday. Let’s get that rubber game win.

Through the early part of the season the Pittsburgh Pirates have been enjoying a lot of success, with a lot of credit going to their transformed lineup. At 14-10 the Buccos offseason moves are already paying off as they are in the top ten of the latest MLB Power Rankings.

Brandon Lowe was the headliner in the Pirates’ trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in December, and that move was an immediate upgrade for Pittsburgh’s revolving door of temporary second basemen. With Lowe the Pirates got a top ten second baseman in baseball who is a huge power threat. The 31-year-old has consistently been one of the best hitters in baseball since his first major league season in 2018. Aside from his rookie season and his injury shortened 2022 season, Lowe has never hit less than 10 homers in a year. In 2021 Lowe had a career high 39 homers.

Lowe’s start to 2026 has been very productive. He’s currently slashing .267/.375/.600 and already has seven homers. Lowe has been a bright spot in Pittsburgh’s lineup, and “Bam Bam” looks to keep on knocking in runs.

Jake Mangum was another part of the Tampa Bay trade, and while his Major League career is largely just getting started, he has already proven to be a spark plug when he’s on the field. With the Pirates, the 30-year-old outfielder has played primarily in a platoon role, appearing in 18 games so far. 2025 was his first season in the Majors and he showed to be a player with a knack for contact hitting and speed on the base pads, totaling 27 stolen bases and a .296 batting average with the Rays.

This year with the Pirates, Mangum has appeared primarily in left field and has a perfect fielding percentage. In his 18 games Mangum has performed consistently with a .300 batting average, 15 hits and three steals.

For the first time in a decade, the Pirates signed a free-agent to a multi-year contract when they signed Ryan O’Hearn to a two-year $29 million contract. Coming off of his first All-Star season, O’Hearn provides another veteran bat to a lineup that was in desperate need of a makeover. The Sam Houston State product is off to arguably his best start to a season in his career. He is currently ranked in the top ten in the National League for batting average, on base percentage and on base plus slugging percentage.

In the bigger picture of Pittsburgh baseball, O’Hearn represents the fact that the Pirates are making a conscious effort to build a winning team. O’Hearn had multiple suitors in free-agency, but him choosing Pittsburgh signifies the belief he has in the team and the culture that the organization is trying to now build. It’s very possible that this signing proves to be very impactful for the future of the franchise.

The last big signing that the Pirates made in the winter was the addition of Marcell Ozuna to serve as the team’s primary designated hitter. The 35-year-old DH is a three-time All-Star, a one-time Gold Glove defender and a two-time Silver Slugger. Despite his age Ozuna brought a pedigree to the Pirates that was more impressive than most of their signings in recent history. With that being said, Ozuna has largely looked past his prime. To start the season, he has mostly looked lost at the plate, and has been more of a liability than a point of strength for the team.

Despite the slow start that Ozuna has had, he is starting to turn things around. Ozuna’s first homer with the Pirates was a three-run blast that tied the contest against the Nationals on April 16. Against the Rays on April 18, “The Big Bear” looked like he had come out of hibernation by hammering a two run dinger to extend the Pirates’ lead. Is Ozuna the player that he used to be? Likely no. Father Time makes no exceptions. Is he heating up? He has certainly looked better at the plate, where even his shortcomings are looking productive. Though he’s not the player he used to be, Ozuna can still provide meaningful offense for this Pirates squad.

The Pirates still have a long season ahead of them, but to this point their offseason spending has really worked out as we are seeing the most exciting version of the Buccos in quite some time.

As our own Jason Paczkowski indicated early Thursday morning, the Brewers’ High-A Wisconsin affiliate had their game called in the eighth inning on Wednesday night after a player reportedly collapsed in the dugout. While no details have been confirmed to this point, the belief is that the collapsed player is Brewer No. 2 prospect and MLB No. 21 prospect Luis Peña.

The incident occurred while athletic training staff members were checking out Timber Rattlers catcher Marco Dinges after a pitch deflected off his knee. In the video below, you’ll see the Fort Wayne TinCaps third base coach signal for medics after something happened in the Timber Rattlers dugout.

While no confirmation has been made about whether it was in fact Peña, unconfirmed reports say he was rushed to the hospital. He was reportedly stable and responsive as of midnight. Regardless of who the player is, we wish them a speedy recovery.

UPDATE: It was reported by Adam McCalvy on Thursday morning that the player was, in fact, Luis Peña. McCalvy added that Brewer GM Matt Arnold indicated it was an overheating issue, and Peña was transferred to the hospital for IV fluids. He’s reportedly doing better. Seems like a best-case scenario, all things considered.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the rival San Francisco Giants in Thursday’s matinee series finale. 

It’s a pitcher’s delight with Tyler Glasnow taking the ball for the visitors and Logan Webb getting the call for the home team. 

My Dodgers vs. Giants predictions and MLB picks see the Boys in Blue avoiding the sweep this afternoon.

Who will win Dodgers vs Giants today: Dodgers (-154)

We’re getting value on the Los Angeles Dodgers for two reasons: they dropped the first two games of the series and will be facing ace Logan Webb.

The San Francisco Giants have plated a total of six runs in their last three games, however, so it's not like this recent success is very repeatable. Their 76 wRC+ against right-handed pitching is a concern, while L.A. leads the league in that category (130). 

Webb (5.40 ERA, 4.42 xERA) is allowing too much hard contact (eighth percentile hard-hit rate) again. Tyler Glasnow, meanwhile, has been deadly (2.62 xERA, 2.58 FIP).

COVERS INTEL: Logan Webb has struggled against the Dodgers, posting a 4.47 ERA and 1.33 WHIP across 108+ innings against his rivals. He's surrendered an .855 OPS to their projected lineup.

Dodgers vs Giants Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-139)

The first two games of this series cruised to the Under with a total of seven runs crossing the plate in 18 innings. With two quality starting pitchers on the bump, here’s betting on another low-scoring contest. 

Glasnow ranks in the 80th percentile or above in xERA, strikeout rate, and walk rate. His elite 24.2 K-BB% will play at Oracle Park, a venue where Webb has a career 2.90 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. 

The Dodgers have cashed the Under in six of their last eight road games and are playing in a pitcher-friendly park with temperatures in the low-60s.

Dodgers vs Giants odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -160 | Giants +135
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 (+115) | Giants +1.5 (-135)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 | Under 7.5

Dodgers vs Giants trend

The Dodgers are 4-0 in Tyler Glasnow's four starts this season. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Giants.

How to watch Dodgers vs Giants and game info

Dodgers vs Giants latest injuries

Dodgers vs Giants weather

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The Phillies are a mess right now. You know it. I know it. They know it. To paraphrase the great Yogi Berra, it’s getting late early. You cannot win a division or a pennant in April, but you can certainly lose one. And you can do that by doing things like winning two of your last 15 games and losing seven games in a row like the Phillies have done entering play yesterday.

When things are going this poorly, especially early on in the season, the discussion is usually dominated by what needs to be done to try and find a spark. Naturally, the first thing that comes up is a managerial change. Rob Thomson is not at fault for all of the Phillies’ failings, but everything comes into question with a putrid start such as this one. Firing a manager this early into the season rarely if ever works out, but it’s the first lever to pull that gets considered. We of course have the example of Joe Girardi’s firing in recent Phillies history, but that didn’t happen until June 3rd. The 2022 Phillies were 22-29 when Girardi was given the boot. Forty to fifty or so games are usually how long a team waits until making such a move. Firing a manger in April is usually viewed as a panic move and in this case would be a black mark against a front office that just extended their manager four months ago, but all options are on the table. 

The other coaching change option that could be considered is hitting coach Kevin Long. Long has been with the team since 2022 and has frequently come under fire from the fanbase due to the offense’s tendency to underperform or fall into a malaise. He’s considered one of the better hitting coaches in the sport and is well respected around the game. He has a definitive track record of helping players, with Kyle Schwarber being his star pupil, but he has helped players such as Brandon Marsh improve their game. However, Long has also overseen an offense that has disappeared in the postseason multiple times and is off to a historically bad start to 2026. It is rarely, if ever, the hitting coach’s fault, as he simply cannot change what a player is at his core, even if he can help with adjustments and tweaks. But the hitting coach is usually the favorite scapegoat for a team whose offense is nonexistent. 

There’s much less to be done about the actual players on the roster at this juncture. Rosters across baseball are very inflexible at this point in the season, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t options. The team could release Taijuan Walker to show some sense of urgency, but he is hardly the only problem with the pitching staff. Releasing him now would be easier than in the past as it is the last year of his contract and maybe it would send some kind of message. On the offense side, there’s really not a whole lot that can be done besides benching. Theoretically, maybe a surprise demotion could be on the table for someone like Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott, but they have earned the right to refuse an assignment to the minor leagues thanks to five years of MLB service time, so it’s extremely unlikely. Otherwise, we’ve already seen multiple lineup changes and even a surprise promotion with Felix Reyes, and nothing has worked. 

So, is it time for the Phillies to do something drastic? If so, what lever would you pull?

The Cubs have found many different ways to win during their current eight-game winning streak.

Blowouts (three straight games with 10+ runs). Extra-inning thrillers (over the Mets on Sunday). Winning despite leaving 17 on base (Tuesday).

And Wednesday, a home run by a player who’s been struggling at the plate helped galvanize the offense. Michael Busch’s homer gave the Cubs a two-run lead in the third. Seiya Suzuki also homered and the Cubs got solid pitching and defense again and won for the eighth consecutive time, 7-2 over the Phillies, who, not coincidentally, lost their eighth in a row.

Matthew Boyd breezed through the first and then the Cubs got on the board right away in the bottom of the inning. Nico Hoerner led off the game with a single and went to third on a single by Alex Bregman.

Ian Happ hit into a force play, with Nico scoring [VIDEO].

Boyd got in trouble in the second. Three Phillies hits gave the visitors a 2-1 lead.

The Cubs got that run right back in the bottom of the inning — and here again, we see the value of defense, or lack thereof. With two out, Miguel Amaya lifted a fly ball to short center. Three Phillies converged on the ball, and it wasn’t real windy so they can’t blame the weather. Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford just dropped it, the ball glancing off his glove. Amaya, hustling, made it to second.

A double by Pete Crow-Armstrong tied tie game [VIDEO].

Boyd had an easier third, allowing a baserunner on a rare throwing error by Dansby Swanson. The Cubs then took the lead for good. Alex Bregman hit a ball off the front of the basket in left-center and got to third. A review confirmed that the ball was in play, missing a home run by inches [VIDEO].

Bregman scored on this single by Happ [VIDEO].

Suzuki then hit into a double play, but Busch smacked a ball out of the yard to make it 4-2 [VIDEO].

That was a long time coming for Busch, who led the Cubs with 34 homers last year (and eight more in eight postseason games). It happened in his 95th plate appearance of the season. Last year Busch hit five home runs in his first 95 PA. Sometimes good hitters go through slumps like this. I think Busch will be just fine; hitting that first long ball often helps hitters break out.

Boyd was removed with two out in the fifth after inducing a double-play ball. He threw 84 pitches (56 strikes), didn’t walk anyone and struck out five. It wasn’t a great outing, but wasn’t a bad one either, considering he was coming off an injury. Same feeling about Boyd as about Busch: He’ll be just fine.

The Cubs then broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth. Bregman singled, his third hit of the game, another guy starting to heat up (last 11 games: .340/.407/.426 with two doubles, a triple and six walks). Bregman was forced at second by Happ, but Suzuki followed with this home run, his second in as many days [VIDEO].

It’s useful to remember that Suzuki missed much of the WBC and Spring Training with the knee injury suffered in a WBC game. He had only 17 PA in his rehab assignment and now has 52 PA in MLB games this year. So up to now, he was still getting the reps he missed in Mesa. This is another really good hitter who’ll be just fine.

It’s now 6-2 Cubs and Ben Brown, who relieved Boyd, threw 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out five. Seems to me Brown has found his role on this team — multi-inning reliever. He now has 20 strikeouts in 19 innings, with just one home run allowed this year. Good stuff from Ben. Corbin Martin threw a 1-2-3 eighth.

The Cubs added one more run in the bottom of the eighth. Moisés Ballesteros led off with a double (and FWIW, this was just the fifth time this year that Ballesteros played the entire game). He went to third on a ground out and scored on this PCA single [VIDEO].

PCA is also heating up. Last eight games: .345/.424/.483 (10-for-29) with two doubles and a triple. This is just in time for the Cubs to go to Dodger Stadium, where PCA is a lifetime .333/.320/.708 hitter (8-for-24 with a double, a triple and two home runs). All together now: “He’ll be just fine.”

Hoby Milner entered the game to finish things off. He allowed a leadoff single but then got the next two hitters. He ran a 1-2 count on Rafael Marchán and then a Milner pitch was called ball two.

Amaya immediately challenged that call [VIDEO].

And so, we witnessed a first Wednesday at Wrigley — the Cubs’ first-ever ABS walk-off!

The Cubs have outscored their opponents 58-20 during the eight-game winning streak (and conversely, the Phillies have been outscored 56-16 during their eight-game loss streak) and this time, they did get RISP hitting — 3-for-9 — and left just seven on base. The Reds lost Wednesday so the Cubs are alone in second place in the NL Central, half a game out of the top spot. More on the Cubs’ streak from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs have won seven straight home games, beginning with their 7-6 walk-off against the Pirates on April 12. They had not won seven in a row at home since July 26-Aug. 13, 2020. They also had two seven-game streaks in 2018. Their last eight-game streak at home was Sept. 12-30, 2017. Shortly before that, Aug. 18-Sept. 2, they had won nine in a row.
…
The Cubs have won their last five games vs. the Phillies, their longest such streak since they won six July 22-Sept. 29, 2022. They also won six in 1995 and 1985. They also won five in 1986, 1982 and 1973. Their last streak of more than six was seven, May 1-July 16, 1971.

Lastly on streaks: This is the Cubs’ longest April winning streak since they reeled off 11 in a row from April 14-27, 1970.

The Cubs could move into a first-place tie with a ninth consecutive win Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field. It will not be easy, as the Phillies’ best starter (and one of the league’s best, too) Cristopher Sánchez will start for the visitors. Edward Cabrera, who’s also been very good this year, goes for the Cubs. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Question is pretty much in the title. How dare they make JR Ritchie’s debut a mid-week day game? Oh, their hand was forced by the Nationals’ nigh-inexorable offense? Well, okay then.

It’s a bit of a double-whammy for me today. You probably don’t know this, but today is St. George’s Day, and I’m personally a big fan of the Catalan version. For the last few years, I’ve been sneaking out to grab books and roses for my wife and kids every April 23. It was easier in past years due to various circumstances, but today there’s a standard slate of work and Ritchie’s debut. Thank St. George for modern technology, where I can just have it on MLB.tv on my phone if I do manage to sneak out, I guess!

(The funny thing is, I’ve doing this for a few years now, and no one seems to remember that it’s every April 23. It’s always a surprise, and I have to explain it each time. Maybe it’s more whimsical that way?)

Anyway, are you celebrating Ritchie’s debut with being less productive? Or is it the grindstone and highlights for you given the awkward timing of today’s 1:05 pm ET start?