Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan are on speaking terms again, and Barkley revealed there's a former Major League Baseball All-Star behind the thawing of the relationship.
A turning point came last week when former MLB outfielder Vince Coleman called Barkley at his home, Barkley said on Wednesday, April 23 during his latest appearance on ESPN 1000's "Waddle and Silvy Show," which is also where he made the original comments that upset Jordan in 2012. Coleman informed Barkley over the phone that he was with Jordan at The Grove XXIII, Jordan's golf club in South Florida.
"(Coleman) says, 'Yo, I'm down here at The Grove. I'm sick of you and MJ's BS. He's right here. Y'all need to talk. And we had a conversation," Barkley recounted to the show's hosts. "But Vince Coleman's the person who's responsible. We talked for a couple minutes. He's like, 'Man, let's get together and play golf,' and as soon as I get a break, I'm going to fly down there and we're going to spend a couple days playing golf."
Jordan and Barkley were rivals and superstars in the NBA and Olympic teammates with the original Dream Team in 1992. Jordan's Chicago Bulls beat Barkley's Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals, the same year Barkley won his lone MVP award. Coleman played 13 MLB seasons (1985-97), with the majority of his career spent with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets.
Jordan became the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats in 2006 and Barkley has been an outspoken mainstay on "Inside the NBA," providing commentary on the league since his retirement.
Barkley criticized Jordan in 2012 for not surrounding himself with enough people willing to disagree with his decisions as the owner of Charlotte's NBA franchise, noting that "I love Michael, but he just has not done a good job."
Jordan sold his majority stake in the now-Charlotte Hornets in 2023 and currently owns the 23XI Racing NASCAR Cup Series team along with longtime NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin.
Barkley said Wednesday the feud between he and Jordan isn't as bad as it may have seemed, simply because they hadn't spoken in so long.
"I tell people, it's not like we're like Prince Harry and Prince William who hate each other," Barkley said. "Honestly, I think we both missed each other because we've had this conversation with other friends and we were both too stubborn to pick up the phone."
"One thing we both said," Barkley added, "I got a lot of love for you and you got a lot of love for me. Like Vince said, this thing has been silly and stupid, but both of y'all are too damn stubborn to pick up the phone, and y'all need to get ... together and play golf and bury this thing."
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 23: JR Ritchie #56 of the Atlanta Braves pitches to José Tena #8 (not pictured) of the Washington Nationals during the first inning of his major league debut at Nationals Park on April 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. Ritchie struck out Tena for his first career strike out. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
JR Ritchie’s major league debut couldn’t have started much worse.
He gave up a home run on very his first pitch.
From there, though, he certainly looked like he belonged.
The 2022 first-round pick, called up to close out the Braves’ road trip in Washington Thursday afternoon, didn’t just excel in his debut. He set the tone in Atlanta’s 7-2 win over the Nationals, which clinched the team’s fifth straight series win and completed a 6-1 road trip.
Atlanta’s No. 2 prospect bounced back from the challenging first pitch to get through an efficient seven innings on 89 pitches, allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. His seven strikeouts are tied for the third-most by a starter in his debut in franchise history, behind only David Hale (2013), Bob Dresser (1902) and Kenshin Kawakami (2009).
He’s the first pitcher in franchise history to throw seven-plus innings, allow no more than two runs and strike out seven batters in his major league debut.
JR Ritchie today became the first pitcher in franchise history to complete at least 7.0 innings while allowing no more than two runs and striking out at least seven in his major league debut. pic.twitter.com/4LBrBgX3We
Ritchie’s two walks came in the final innings. His two runs allowed came on solo homers, a middle-middle fastball to Wood and a changeup below the zone which CJ Abrams still managed to power out.
The debutant got an assist from Washington in the second inning, when the Nats put on an ill-advised delayed steal to run their way out of an inning when it had runners on the corners. From there, Ritchie didn’t face much more traffic, never again allowing multiple baserunners at the same time.
It wound up being quite important that Ritchie settled in so well as Atlanta’s offense was largely held down by Washington starter Cade Cavalli.
The majority of their damage against him came in a four-hit fourth which Matt Olson and Austin Riley started with back-to-back doubles. The pair scored on an Ozzie Albies sacrifice fly and a Michael Harris II RBI single, respectively, to stake Atlanta to a 2-1 lead.
Cavalli finished his first start against the Braves allowing two runs on seven hits with no walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts.
Once the starter was out, though, Atlanta got to Washington’s bullpen. After failing to score with two in scoring position and one out in the six, the Braves broke a 2-2 deadlock with a four-run seventh to take control.
After a leadoff strikeout, Drake Baldwin walked, Olson singled and Riley walked to load the bases. Baldwin gave the Braves the lead when he scored on a wild first pitch from Gus Varland. The next pitch was hit to right by Albies for a two-run single to make it 5-2.
Harris capped the big inning with an RBI double to right-center to cap off a 3-for-4 day at the plate. However, he was removed from the game after the inning with what the Braves called left quad tightness in a brutal bit of timing given the torrid run he’s been on at the plate.
For good measure, Albies added a run in the top of the ninth on a solo homer, his fifth of the season. Albies finished the day 3-for-4 as well with four RBIs and two runs.
The Braves bullpen again protected a lead with minimal stress. Dylan Lee struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth and Carlos Carrasco, also called up on Thursday, delivered a 1-2-3 ninth in his season debut.
The Braves return home and kick off their second straight weekend series against the Phillies, this time at home, Friday night.
The New York Mets placed shortstop Francisco Lindor on the 10-day injured list with a calf injury, the team announced.
Lindor was injured during the fourth inning of Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins at Citi Field, when he rounded third base and slid into home safe on Francisco Alvarez's RBI double. He was removed from the game and did not return, as New York broke a 12-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory.
Lindor, who is batting .226 with two home runs and 5 RBI, was starting to heat up at the plate, with seven hits in his last 17 at-bats before Wednesday's game.
He was injured in the same game as Juan Soto returned from his own stint on the injured list with a right calf strain. Soto missed 15 games, and the Mets went 3-12 in his absence.
Taking Lindor's place on the roster is infielder Ronny Mauricio, who was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. Mauricio is in tonight's lineup against Minnesota and will bat 8th in the lineup.
Entering tonight's series finale against the Twins, the Mets are 8-16, tied for the worst record in the National League.
During their 12-game losing streak, New York hit .161 with runners in scoring position, and have scored a pitiful 2.67 runs per game since April 3.
Their next six games in the homestand after the Minnesota series are against the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals, who are a combined 21-30 (.412)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: Kyle Tucker #23 of the Los Angeles Dodgers slides to stop a ball hit by Jung Hoo Lee #51 of the San Francisco Giants in the first inning at Oracle Park on April 21, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Dodgers offense has nowhere to go but up in this series.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the Toronto Raptors in their first-round series. The Cavs won the first two games in Cleveland with the series now shifting to Toronto for Games 3 and 4. Cleveland is favored by 2.5 points, and the over/under for the matchup is set at 219.5.
How to watch Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors
Moneyline: Toronto Raptors +125 (42.2%) / Cleveland Cavaliers -155 (57.8%)
Over/Under: 219.5
Series results, schedule
Game 1:Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113 Game 2:Cavaliers 115, Raptors 105 Game 3: Thu., April 23 at Toronto (8 p.m., Prime) Game 4: Sun., April 26 at Toronto (1 p.m., ESPN) Game 5: Wed., April 29 at Cleveland (TBD) Game 6: Fri., May 1 at Toronto (TBD) *Game 7: Sun., May 3 at Cleveland (TBD)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 17: Logan Webb #62 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 17, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants wrap up this three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this afternoon from Oracle Park.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Logan Webb, who enters today’s game with a 5.10 ERA, 3.41 FIP, with 27 strikeouts to 11 walks in 30 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 10-5 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday, in which he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks in six innings.
He’ll be facing off against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who enters today’s game with a 3.24 ERA, 2.58 FIP, with 29 strikeouts to six walks in 25 innings pitched. His last start was in the Dodgers’ 7-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday, in which he allowed one run on two hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in seven innings.
It's been almost three months since Barry Trotz unexpectedly announced he'd be retiring as the general manager of the Nashville Predators, with the search commencing immediately.
Owner Bill Haslam said that the team wants to have a new GM by draft day in late June, but is not hard-set on that deadline.
With the Predators missing the playoffs and officially in the offseason, finding a new GM remains the key focus for this franchise.
NHL insiders Elliotte Friedman and Frank Seravalli threw out a handful of names on Thursday that they believe are being heavily considered for the leading position in Nashville's front office.
Both agreed that Florida Panthers assistant general manager Brett Peterson, Edmonton Oilers assistant general manager Bill Scott and former New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald are candidates that "stand out."
Brett Peterson, Panthers Assistant GM
Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) is handed the Stanley Cup from Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner, after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Peterson has been with the Panthers since 2020, joining the organization with general manager Bill Zito and is the first Black assistant GM in NHL history. Their efforts led Florida to three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances from 2023 to 2025 and back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025.
He also served as the general manager for Team USA at the 2024 IIHF World Championships and returns to the role for the 2026 World Championships.
Peterson served as an assistant GM during the 2025 tournament, where the Americans won their first Gold Medal since 1933.
Bill Scott, Oilers Assistant GM
Scott has been with the Oilers organization since 2010, serving as the general manager of Edmonton's AHL affiliate in some capacity until 2018. From 2014 to 2022, he bounced between Edmonton's assistant GM and director of hockey operations.
He has held the role full-time since 2022. Scott has been part of one of the longest rebuilds in recent memory, seeing the Oilers land four No. 1 overall picks from 2010 to 2015, including Connor McDavid in 2015.
In that stretch, the Oilers have picked up other valuable assets, including Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman and more, that have helped Edmonton to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances in 2024 and 2025.
Tom Fitzgerald, Former Devils GM
NJ Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald. Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Fitzgerald has been involved in NHL operations since 2007, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins as their Director of Player Development and being promoted to Assistant General Manager.
In his second year with the Penguins, he'd win a Stanley Cup in 2009.
In 2015, he was hired as the New Jersey Devils' assistant general manager and AHL affiliate general manager. Fitzgerald was in the Devils front office when they drafted Nico Heischer first overall in 2017 and Jack Hughes first overall in 2019.
During the 2019-20 season, he also served as an assistant coach and Executive VP of Hockey Operations before being promoted to General Manager following Ray Shero's firing.
During his time as GM in New Jersey, the Devils made the playoffs twice in 2023 and 2025, losing to the Hurricanes in the second round and the first round, respectively. He also served as an assistant GM for Team USA in the 4-Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Fitzgerald was fired by the Devils in April. New Jersey finished 13th in the Eastern Conference, 11 points outside of a playoff spot with a 42-37-3 record.
If the name sounds familiar to Predators fans, Fitzgerald was the Predators' first captain and played for the team for four seasons from 1998 to 2002.
Scott White, Stars Assistant GM
According to Friedman, the Dallas Stars gave permission for assistant GM Scott White to speak to Nashville and Toronto.
White has been with the Stars organization since 2005, coming on as the Iowa Stars' Director of Hockey Operations. He has been the AHL affiliate since 2009, and this is the first year White has served as Dallas' assistant GM full-time.
White first moved into the Stars Assistant GM role back in 2016 after serving as the Director of Hockey Operations.
During his time with the organization, the Stars have risen to become one of the best teams in the NHL, making an appearance in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final. In 2014, the Texas Stars won the Calder Cup and in 2018 finished as runner-up.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 10: Seattle Mariners mascot Mariners Moose waves a flag after the game against the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park on October 10, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Ben VanHouten/Seattle Mariners/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If you are a MLB team, you’ll have fallow stretches. Let’s consider the 2025 season:
The World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers went 10-14 in the month of July, but still secured their division with a 93-69 record en route to MLB’s first repeat title winner in 25 years.
April 10-May 7 saw the Toronto Blue Jays go 8-15, en route to a 94-68 record, the AL East crown, and American League Pennant.
From June 30-August 5, the 94-68 New York Yankees went 12-19, a .387 win percentage.
MLB’s best regular season club, the Milwaukee Brewers, were 97-65 overall but went 8-14 from April 23-May 17th.
Twice, the 96-66 Philadelphia Phillies fell 5.0 games back in the NL West in a year they’d wear its crown by 13 games. The first time came after a five-game losing streak including a sweep at the hands of the Mets, part of a 5-10 stretch from April 10-25th. The second was more dire, a 2-10 run from May 29th thru June 10th which saw them swept by the Brewers and their intrastate competitors in Pittsburgh. They dropped 7.0 games from their original standing in the divisional race in under two weeks.
If that final stretch scratched a particular itch for you, it may be its rhyme with the Seattle Mariners of 2025. Those 90-72 M’s went 4-13 from May 24th-June 11th, crumbling against several subpar clubs after dropping two of three to the Astros and converting a 2.5 game AL West lead into chasing 4.0 games, eventually stretching to 7.0 at early July’s sneaky nadir.
This isn’t inherently predictive. These 2025 clubs all recovered for playoff seasons. The Astros, Orioles, Braves, Mets, and Diamondbacks all entered 2025 with better-than-coinflip odds of making the playoffs according to ZiPS, with Houston, Baltimore, and Atlanta outright favored to win their divisions. Every one had at least one stretch as bad or worse than Seattle’s 10-15 start (blessedly now 11-15) to 2026. Every one missed the playoffs.
It’s easier to point to the reasons why in those instances. Baltimore, Atlanta, and Houston saw major stars and/or their entire pitching staffs evaporate due to injury. Arizona suffered from the loss of Corbin Burnes after 11 brilliant starts as well as a cartoonishly stars and scrubs affair in their order. And of course, the Mets continued their interminable immersive performance, hidden secretly in their founding deed, condemning them to draw new generations closer to the works of Camus.
Seattle’s only endured some moderate injuries in 2026, with Bryce Miller ably spelled by Emerson Hancock. Brendan Donovan’s absences have hurt the lineup, but defensively Seattle was always going to be atrocious on the infield, which is the localization of “Angels In the Outfield” in the Stygian realms. Not a single member of Seattle’s front office expected nor counted on full healthy seasons from Victor Robles nor Miles Mastrobuoni.
But health isn’t the only factor. Those unfortunate clubs also saw a their rivals feast on their corpses, as well as those of others. Atlanta and New York finished more than a dozen games behind Philly, as did Arizona of the Dodgers. Baltimore and Houston had not only their own troubles, but gauntlets to face in the form of their divisional rivals. Houston got elbowed out by these M’s, while the O’s were feasted upon by an AL East that sent three clubs to the playoffs.
As it stands, Seattle is in fine shape. Ryan wrote recently on this subject of good teams sometimes having bad stretches, and vice-versa. He noted in his bullet points the hitting being great, except the most important players who receive the most plate appearances and have previously demonstrated the strongest capabilities and track records. In their series with the Athletics, Seattle’s stars finally flared, with Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, and Josh Naylor all securing 6+ hits and some massive boosts to their season numbers.
But just as vitally, the closing point today is how little the rest of the AL West has done to strike upon Seattle’s exposed early struggles. FanGraphs places Seattle’s playoff odds at 70.1% entering Thursday’s off day, tops in the division comfortably, with Texas now a bit better than a coin flip and the ostensible leaders in Sacramento at a 32.8% clip. PECOTA is bolder, seeing the M’s still as division favorites by majority over plurality, and averaging an 87.9% playoff odds.
Unless you believe Seattle to be fundamentally far worse than they were expected to be a few weeks ago, the rest of this season shouldn’t be scuttled from sitting 1-2.5 games back of three flawed clubs. The way the standings sit at present, the American League West is the only division with just a single >.500 team, with the 13-12 Athletics the worst division-leading club around. Their -15 run differential doesn’t endorse them ringingly, and the rest of the 12-12, 12-14, and 10-16 opponents are between where they were expected to be and worse. If Seattle was off to a scalding start, the way the division looks might have a repeat AL West crown looking like fait accompli. As it is, we can still settle for it looking likelier than not.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: Kevin Durant #7 of the Houston Rockets is double teamed by Rui Hachimura #28 and Marcus Smart #36 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half of Game Two of the NBA Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 21, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In the opening quarter, he was the most aggressive player on the court. He took seven shots and converted on five of them, including a trio of threes. Smart ended the quarter with 14 points, which was part of a 25-point performance.
Defensively, Smart was also at his best.
Smart had a game-high five steals and gave Kevin Durant plenty of trouble as he turned the ball over nine times, a season high for one of the best offensive players to ever play the game.
“I think we understand that kind of stuff and what he does on the floor, it doesn’t really show on the stats,” Hachimura said postgame. “But I think it gets us going as a team, especially the start of the game, he was guarding KD full court, and then he got the ball, and Bron almost got an and-one. Those kind of plays just set the tone. That’s really important for us. He always makes the plays.”
This game featured Durant’s return after missing Game 1, and Smart immediately set the physical tone this contest would take. Just minutes into the opening quarter, Smart was guarding Durant full court. He swiped the ball loose and dove onto the floor to guarantee the Lakers would gain possession.
The first of 2 early steals from Marcus Smart.
He also just drained his second 3-pointer of the game to give the Lakers an early 12-9 lead. pic.twitter.com/xCtbykkqfV
With the Lakers shorthanded, players have to elevate their game to win these playoff matchups. Luke Kennard did this in Game 1, scoring 27 points, and Smart matched that energy for Game 2. Now LA is up 2-0 in this series.
“He set the tone for us, got us going,” Kennard said. “We know with those guys out, it could be anybody any given night right now. Again, we try to elevate each other and push each other and motivate one another to just be who we are and have fun out there and play hard. Marcus definitely got us going there in the first quarter. It’s good to see. We need him to continue to be aggressive for us.”
Smart has emerged as one of LA’s most important leaders. And as a leader, he has to do the walking along with the talking for everyone to buy in. He’s been doing that all season, and Game 2 was a prime example of this.
Every playoff team needs a Smart on its roster. He’s a selfless player, and one who can do the dirty work along with the tough defensive assignments few can handle. This was a bounce-back year for Smart, and he deserves all the adulation coming his way. He’s set the tone for the Lakers and is a big reason why they have yet to lose in the playoffs.
Despite trailing by 12 points entering the fourth quarter, the Hawks mounted a late comeback led by CJ McCollum, who finished with a game-high 32 points. The Knicks had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Mikal Bridges missed a final jumper as time expired.
It’s only the second time in franchise playoff history that the Knicks lost a game they were leading heading into the fourth quarter; they’re now 40-2 all-time.
Knicks vs. Hawks: what to know
What: NBA Playoffs First Round, Game 3
When: April 23, 7 p.m. ET
Where: State Farm Arena (Atlanta, Georgia)
Streaming: Prime Video (try it free)
The Knicks and Hawks will be back in action on Saturday for Game 4 of the series.
Knicks vs. Hawks start time:
Knicks vs. Hawks Game 3 is scheduled to begin tonight, April 23, at 7 p.m. ET.
How to watch Knicks vs. Hawks for free:
Tonight’s Hawks vs. Knicks matchup is one of the NBA Playoffs games streaming exclusively on Prime Video, so you’ll need an Amazon Prime subscription to watch.
If you aren’t a Prime Video subscriber yet, you can get started with a 30-day Amazon Prime free trial, including Prime perks like the Prime Video streaming service, free two-day shipping, exclusive deals, and more. After the free trial, Amazon Prime costs $14.99/month or $139/year.
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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JULY 15: In an aerial view, the downtown skyline is seen during a heat wave on July 15, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. Weather forecasts today are expecting temperatures to reach 115 degrees. The Phoenix area is grappling with record-breaking temperatures as prolonged heat waves continue soaring across the Southwest. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
WHITE SOX
DIAMONDBACKS
Andrew Benintendi – DH
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Munetaka Murakami – 1B
Ketel Marte – 2B
Miguel Vargas – 3B
Corbin Carroll – RF
Colson Montgomery – SS
Adrian Del Castillo – DH
Everson Pereira – RF
Ildemaro Vargas – 1B
Sam Antonacci – LF
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Chase Meidroth – 2B
Jorge Barrosa – LF
Tristan Peters – CF
Alek Thomas – CF
Reese McGuire – C
Aramis Garcia – C
Davis Martin – RHP
Michael Soroka – RHP
A rare three-hour game for the Diamondbacks last night: 3:02, to be precise. Just the third of the season, and the first at Chase Field since the home opener. I guess at least it gave the SnakePitette and her husband their money’s worth: they were at the ballpark for the first time together. She popped in to borrow some items from the extensive collection of D-backs wear possessed by Mrs. SnakePit and myself. I await a report on whether they had… what is it the young people call it? Oh, yes: “fun”. Maybe not a game for baseball purists, but with six home-runs and three triples, no shortage of action.
Despite last night, the D-backs are actually seeing shorter games in general this year, even though we now have ABS challenges. The average game has been 2:41 long, which is three minutes less than last season. However, a factor there may be the lack of extra innings: Arizona has played only three frames over regulation through 24 games. That’s one every eight games, which is below last year’s rate of one extra inning every six games. Across all of baseball, nine-inning games are on average four minutes longer than in 2025. Right now, they average 2:42, which is the longest since the pace of play changes came in for the 2023 season.
We are seeing slightly more plate appearances per game, and also the number of pitches per plate-appearance is higher. The former may be due to an increase in extra-inning games: at 9.5%, the current rate would be the highest since 2013. The latter is at 3.93 pitches/PA, the second highest since records started being kept in 1999 (it was 3.97 in 2020). I wonder if this is a result of ABS? I do note we are seeing more walks per game than any year since 2000. But strikeouts are also up on last year too, so… We are still less than a month in to the new normal though, so let’s see how things work out.
It’s rubber match time in the Battle of the Bats between two teams that have scored 34 runs, walloped 12 homers, and — most amazing — sped to six triples in the first two games of the series.
On the White Sox side, Munetaka Murakami has homered in five games in a row, tying team and MLB rookie record streaks; Colson Montgomery is right behind with a four-game streak; and — bet you didn’t have this on your Bingo card — Miguel Vargas has gone deep three in a row, giving him five for the season, in a tie with Shohei Ohtani.
Trying to ice down the torrid timber will be two pitchers who have had very good seasons so far, Davis Martin for the White Sox and Michael Soroka for the Rattlers. They’ve each only given up two homers in more than 20 innings pitched.
Martin is 3-1 with a tremendous 2.16 ERA and 1.00 WHIP and held the A’s to three hits and one run over seven innings his last time out. Soroka is 4-1 with a 2.78 ERA and 1.06 WHIP and held Toronto to five hits and two runs in seven innings during his last start.
Righty Soroka will face a White Sox lineup that earlier in the month went seven games scoring no more than three runs, usually fewer, and now has gone five games scoring no fewer than six runs, usually more. The only Sox he’s ever faced are Andrew Benintendi and Reese McGuire, and for what it’s worth, they’re 3-for-3 against him.
Martin has almost as little experience against Arizona players, with Geraldo Perdomo the only one with a hit among the five at-bats.
First pitch is scheduled for 2:40 CST on what is bound to be a pleasant afternoon under the dome. Usual broadcast suspects.
The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks meet in Game 3 of their NBA first-round playoff series. The Hawks rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Knicks 107-106 on Monday and even the series. The next two games will be played in Atlanta.
Moneyline: Atlanta Hawks -102 (48.3%) / New York Knicks -118 (51.7%)
Over/Under: 216.5
Series results, schedule
Game 1:Knicks 113, Hawks 102 Game 2:Hawks 107, Knicks 106 Game 3: Thu., April 23, at Atlanta (7 p.m., Prime) Game 4: Sat., April 25, at Atlanta (6 p.m., NBC) *Game 5: Tue., April 28,at New York (TBD) *Game 6: Thu., April 30, at Atlanta (TBD) *Game 7: Sat., May 2, at New York (TBD)
After a remarkable freshman season at BYU, 19-year-old forward AJ Dybantsa officially announced that he will declare for the 2026 NBA Draft.
Dybantsa will turn pro as an early entry candidate after a successful and impressive one-and-done collegiate campaign. The former McDonald's All-American forward averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is currently projected at No. 1 overall to the Washington Wizards in USA TODAY's latest mock draft.
Dybantsa led the NCAA in scoring and was named a consensus first-team collegiate All-American, also earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year and the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.
During his sole appearance in March Madness, he scored 35 points with 10 rebounds. It was one of eight games in which he had at least 30 points, highlighted by a 43-point performance against in-rival Utah. Dybantsa also notched a 30-point triple double against Eastern Washington in December.
Dybantsa led the nation in unassisted points scored, per CBB Analytics, and is able to inject instant life in whichever NBA team selects him. While he is listed at 6-foot-9, the playmaking forward finished more of his possessions as the ball handler in pick and roll sets than any other play type.
He also scored efficiently as the ball handler in transition and one-on-one against his defender in isolation. All teams will have interest in such a talented offensive creator who also brings a solid frame.
No matter which team gets the pole position, it will highly consider Dybantsa when it is on the clock. Other candidates for No. 1 in this class include Duke forward Cameron Boozer and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson.
The NBA's draft lottery in Chicago is scheduled for May 10 with the Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and Utah Jazz as the most likely teams to get the No. 1 overall pick. The 2026 NBA Draft is scheduled for June 23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
SURPRISE, AZ - NOVEMBER 05: Walker Martin #12 of the Scottsdale Scorpions bats during the game between the Scottsdale Scorpions and the Surprise Saguaros at Surprise Stadium on Wednesday, November 5, 2025 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The excitement for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday came from the Major League team, which shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers in a thrilling 3-0 affair. But there was excitement on the farm as well, with all four of their Minor League Baseball A-ball affiliates in action. So let’s dive into it.
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
News
Just a little bit of injury news. RHP Reid Worley (No. 36 CPL) was placed on the full-season injured list. This is more of a formality than news, since Worley — who was taken in the 9th round out of high school last year — had already announced that he recently underwent Tommy John surgery.
Unfortunately, AA RHP R.J. Dabovich was moved from the 7-Day IL to the 60-Day. Dabovich has a ton of talent, but injuries have limited him to just 18.1 innings over the last 4 seasons.
AAA Sacramento (11-9)
Sacramento River Cats lost to the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies) 6-0 Box score
The River Cats finally got on the field on Wednesday, after having yet another rain out on Tuesday, the latest of oh-so-many postponed games for them this year. Wednesday’s game was postponed as well, as it was a scheduled 12:05 start time but got pushed to the evening to avoid the storm.
Unfortunately, Sacramento probably wishes the game had been canceled altogether, as it did not go well for them at all. The hitting was very poor and the starting pitching was very poor. The only saving grace came from the bullpen, which was fantastic … and featured a lot of players that the Giants are likely to count on throughout the year.
Most notably, Sacramento had a pair of rehab appearances, as both LHP Sam Hentges and RHP Joel Peguero (No. 27 CPL) took the mound. Hentges wasn’t at his sharpest — he gave up a walk in an otherwise clean 6th inning, and threw just 5 of 13 pitches for strikes — but he was still quite effective. Notably, the walk is the only baserunner he’s allowed so far through 4 rehab appearances. I’d say everyone is excited for Hentges to make his way to San Francisco’s bullpen. Well, everyone except Ryan Borucki, most likely.
Peguero was even better, pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout, though he also threw just 7 of 15 pitches for strikes. The triple digit-throwing righty has an ugly ERA (7.20) due to a blowup outing, but if you remove that game, he’s been unhittable: in his other 4 rehab appearances, Peguero has allowed 0 hits and 1 walk in 4.1 innings, with 5 strikeouts.
RHP Tristan Beck, who is also on the 40-man roster, had a nice performance as well, giving up a walk but nothing else in a scoreless 8th inning. Add in showings from RHP Michael Fulmer and LHP Nick Zwack, and the River Cats’ bullpen gave up just 1 hit and 3 total baserunners in 4.2 shutout innings.
The starting pitching was not so good, however, as LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) once again labored through a not very encouraging start. Entering the game, Whisenhunt had been very bad at 2 things this year, and very good at 2 other things. The bad things: regularly throwing strikes and, when throwing strikes, making them not easily hittable. The good things: striking out batters, and limiting runs, even when in trouble.
Unfortunately, in this game, he did the 2 bad things, but didn’t do the 2 good things.
It wasn’t Whisenhunt’s worst strike-throwing performance, as he finished with 53 strikes in 88 pitches, a subpar but not horrible number. But he had issues throwing strikes when he needed to, as he walked 3 batters and hit another in just 4.2 innings of action. And those free passes hurt him in part because he was, again, getting punished for throwing hittable pitches, as Whiz gave up 5 hits, which included a home run and a double (although, in his defense, they were ceded to a pair of top-10 picks, Zac Veen and Charlie Condon, respectively).
As for the good things that Whisenhunt has been doing, they were absent in this game. He was unable to sequence his baserunners to avoid an ERA-buster of an outing, as he got tagged with 6 earned runs. And he struggled to miss bats all night, finishing with just 2 strikeouts, only 1 of which was swinging.
With the outing, Whisenhunt’s ERA fell to 5.85 and his FIP to 4.54, and the stuff under the hood isn’t all that encouraging. His strikeouts per 9 (9.9) is good but not great, while his walks per 9 (6.3) is awful. He has a very low ground ball rate (36.2%) and is just 24th percentile in expected batting average against. Despite Veen’s dinger, though, Whisenhunt has actually been doing a good job suppressing home runs (that’s the only one he’s allowed in 20 innings this year) and hard contact (his average exit velocity of 86.7 mph is 70th percentile).
But I would assume the Giants will have some hesitation turning to Whisenhunt if they need a spot in the rotation plugged. The walks are fairly antithetical to what the Giants are looking for, and they drive up his pitch count. Take a look at his starts, and you’ll see something the Giants are desperately hoping to avoid in San Francisco:
4 innings, 71 pitches
4.2 innings, 84 pitches
3 innings, 87 pitches
3.2 innings, 83 pitches
4.2 innings, 88 pitches
But Whisenhunt can at least take solace in the fact that his offense was no better than he was. Sacramento mustered just 6 hits on the day, and all of them were singles. A pair of hitters had multi-knock games, though, as right fielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL) and third baseman Buddy Kennedy both went 2-4. Bericoto, who struck out once, has had a fairly quiet start to the season after a spectacular spring, but he’s been holding his own in his 1st extended stint in AAA, posting a .780 OPS and a 106 wRC+ with a 24.0% strikeout rate. He’s not forcing the issue (yet), but he looks comfortable. Kennedy is remaining a reliable veteran emergency depth option, as the 27-year old is posting a .333 average and an 18.3% strikeout rate, en route to an .829 OPS and a 128 wRC+.
Sacramento’s top hitting prospects struggled, as first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) went 0-4 with a strikeout, while catcher Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) hit 1-4 with a strikeout.
AA Richmond (13-3)
Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Somerset Patriots (Yankees) 9-8 Box score
The shoe was on the other foot for the Squirrels in this game. They’ve been full of magic all year long, but in this game, they were on the receiving end, as they held an 8-3 lead going into the 7th inning … and an 8-6 lead entering the 9th … and watched the Patriots come storming back for a victory.
That 9th inning rally was ceded by someone new to the organization, RHP Brad Deppermann, a 29-year old Minor League free agent appearing in his 2nd game with Richmond. Deppermann gave up 3 hits and 3 runs (with 3 strikeouts) in 1.2 innings, including a pair of home runs in the 9th.
And that pair of home runs? Well, Deppermann may be new to the organization, but one of the batters he was facing certainly was not, as Somerset second baseman Marco Luciano went deep in the 9th inning as part of a 2-3, 2-walk day.
It’s been a rough past year for the former top prospect in the Giants organization. He ended the 2025 season — and his Giants tenure — in the slump of all slumps, and then proceeded to be designated for assignment by 4 different teams over the offseason. He finally cleared waivers, was outrighted by the Yankees, and proceeded to hit 1-25 with 10 strikeouts in Spring Training, which resulted in what was surely a highly disappointing opening assignment in AA.
But he’s been making the most of it. His solo shot off of Deppermann, which pulled the Patriots to within a run, was his 4th of the year, and gave him a 1.119 OPS and a 181 wRC+ on the season. He’s also back to the infield, as he’s played exclusively at second base so far for Somerset. That said, it hasn’t all been good: despite the gaudy numbers, Luciano has a 26.2% strikeout rate, and on Wednesday committed his 5th error of the season as he takes his 2nd stab at learning the position.
One thing’s for sure: I’ll be rooting for him.
Anyway, talking about a hitter on another team is really a way of distracting from talking about the pitchers on Richmond, because they weren’t good. Deppermann was the worst, but the starter, LHP Greg Farone, wasn’t a ton better, as he threw just 41 of 70 pitches for strikes, walked 3 batters in just 3.1 innings, and got tagged for 3 runs. Farone did strike out 5 batters, which is nice, and he only allowed 2 hits, but those hits were a double and a home run, so it’s not like he was fooling everyone.
The 2024 7th-round pick doesn’t have very good numbers this year — he has a 5.40 ERA and a 4.16 FIP — but it is nice to see the strikeout stuff coming back. In his debut season last year, the soon-to-turn 24-year old southpaw had 13.0 strikeouts per 9 innings with Low-A San Jose, but just 7.9 with High-A Eugene. Through 4 starts with the Squirrels, the Alabama alum has bounced back to 12.0 Ks per 9.
RHP Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL) is getting reacquainted with Richmond after he was sent down a level to open up a spot on the AAA roster for the rehabbing Sam Hentges. Throwing strikes and limiting walks is what Bednar needs to work on, and Wednesday was a step in the right direction, as he tossed 19 of 28 pitches for strikes and didn’t walk any batters in 1.2 scoreless frames. He did allow 2 hits, but also struck out a pair of Somerset hitters.
The offense, on the other hand, was much better. And it was once again led by the red-hot duo of third baseman Sabin Ceballos (No. 43 CPL) and left fielder Scott Bandura, who combined for 3 of the team’s 4 extra-base hits.
For Ceballos, it was another big fly, as the 23-year old righty went 1-4 with a solo shot, while also drawing a walk, stealing a base, and striking out once.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 23, 2026
He’s up to a .939 OPS and a 138 wRC+ as he looks to put his mediocre 2025 behind him, and most notable is the re-infusion of power. After getting traded to the Giants in 2024 in the Jorge Soler deal, the 2023 3rd-rounder smacked 7 home runs in just 32 games with High-A Eugene. But last year, in his AA debut, the former Oregon star hit just 6 home runs in 108 games.
This year? He’s only played 14 games, and he already has 4 big flies. Keep ‘em coming! His 4th home run last year came on August 13, so he is way, way, way ahead of schedule!
As for Bandura, he went 2-5 and bopped both a triple and a double. The sweet-swinging lefty is having an absolutely majestic start to the season, after struggling with Richmond following a late-season promotion a year ago. During that 45-game stint, Bandura hit just .199, struck out 30.6% of the time, and had a subpar .626 OPS and 88 wRC+.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 23, 2026
This year? He’s hitting .333, he’s dropped his strikeout rate all the way to 15.2%, and he’s rocking a .940 OPS and a 141 wRC+. Just a tremendous start for the 2023 7th-rounder, who will turn 25 in August. Let’s hope he can keep it up!
Center fielder Jonah Cox continued his nice start to the season, hitting 1-2, drawing 2 walks, and stealing a base (though he was also caught stealing). The 24-year old is having an absolutely blistering year, with a 1.074 OPS, a 186 wRC+, and 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts. Those are pretty remarkable numbers, especially considering he hit basically league average last year in High-A.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 23, 2026
On a less happy note, center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) sat for the 2nd straight game. Per Roger Munter, Davidson was a late scratch from Tuesday’s lineup after experiencing wrist or forearm discomfort during batting practice. Hopefully that’s a minor ailment.
High-A Eugene (13-4)
Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks) 6-3 Box score
Hello Walker Martin, how do you do!
One of the most fun things about Minor League Baseball is that every system has a few breakout players in it each year, and they come from the least expected places. For the Giants last year, for instance, it came largely from previously unheralded players … guys like 17th-round pick Drew Cavanaugh, and undrafted free agent Bo Davidson, and lower-budget international signings such as Argenis Cayama, Keyner Martinez, and Luis De La Torre.
Those are such feel-good stories, but an underrated feel-good story is the former top prospect who fell off and then reinvents themself. And so far, if we had to assign far-too-early labels and narratives to the season, one of the best stories of the year would be Martin fitting into that category.
It’s been a strong High-A debut for the third baseman, and Wednesday was his strongest game yet, as he was absolutely electric in every phase of the game. He hit a perfect 2-2, with both a towering solo home run and a double. He drew a pair of walks. He stole a base.
When the Giants used a 2nd-round pick on Martin in 2023, they thought they were getting an excellent athlete who had a rare blend of power and speed for an infielder. What they got instead, at least at the beginning, was someone who didn’t look so exceptional athletically, and also couldn’t make contact with the baseball.
The contact issues, if the start to the season is any indication, are getting resolved. In 2024, between the Complex League and Low-A, Martin hit .218 with a 41.0% strikeout rate. Last year, spent entirely in Low-A, he hit .234 with a 28.4% strikeout rate.
And so far this year? He’s boasting a .280 average and just a 24.1% strikeout rate. And along the way he’s started to show off some of those dynamic athletic traits. His 6 extra-base hits in just 58 plate appearances give him an isolated slugging of .240, which ranks 7th out of 45 Northwest League hitters with at least 50 plate appearances this year. And a year after stealing just 13 bases in 17 attempts, Martin has already swiped 6 bags, and hasn’t yet been caught.
He still has work to do to regain his prospect status, which once sat comfortably in the top 10 of the organization. His swinging strike rate of 18.1% is only a hair better than in his disastrous 2024, suggesting that there’s still a huge hole in his swing. And while his prospect status was propped up in part by the belief that he could play a strong shortstop, he was moved to third base last year and, after committing 23 errors in 2025 split between third and short, already has 6 errors this season.
But still. He’s been a good story this year (he has an .899 OPS and a 146 wRC+ after barely hitting league average in San Jose last season), and he’s a reminder that development takes many different paths (he also only recently turned 22). If he can keep this up, he’ll return to being a prospect that we all should pay close attention to.
Also homering was first baseman Zander Darby, who hit 1-4 with a strikeout and a 2-run shot in the 8th inning that provided the Emeralds with some insurance en route to their 13th victory.
Darby is also looking to bounce back from 2025. Unlike Martin, he was excellent in San Jose last year, but the 2024 12th-rounder had a miserable debut experience with Eugene over the course of a month. Not so this year, as he has a dynamic .918 OPS and a 147 wRC+, while regularly playing every infield position except shortstop. He does have a 31.0% strikeout rate, though.
Designated hitter Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) had a solid game, hitting 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base, while striking out once. The strikeouts remain an issue with Jordan — he has a 30.1% K rate and a 16.3% swinging strike rate — but the things he does well have been on display this year. His center field defense has been strong, he’s averaging an extra-base hit every other game, and he now has 5 stolen bases without getting caught. Add in the .930 OPS and the 149 wRC+, and it’s been a strong season for him, even though there are very clear things he needs to work on.
Unfortunately, shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) continued to erase his brilliant start to the year, as the 2025 1st-rounder went 0-5 with a pair of strikeouts in this contest. Kilen began the year with a 5-game hitting streak during which time he went 10-20 with 2 home runs, 3 doubles, 3 walks, and just 2 strikeouts. Since then, the lefty has hit just 8-50 with 0 home runs, 3 doubles, 2 walks, and 13 strikeouts. Over the last 6 games, he’s 3-27 with no extra-base hits and 7 strikeouts, and that’s brought his OPS and wRC+ down to .736 and 100, respectively. It’s a game of adjustments, so let’s hope they’re around the corner!
On the mound, LHP Tyler Switalski gave the farm their longest start of the year, as he went 6 innings deep in this game. As he so often does, Switalski positively lived in the zone, needing just 67 pitches to get through his 6 innings, while throwing 50 of them for strikes. He didn’t walk or hit a single batter, and gave up just 4 hits (though that included a home run and a double). In all, he got tagged for just 2 runs while striking out 3, though that raised his excellent ERA to 1.00 and his FIP to 2.90.
You wouldn’t know it from this start, but Switalski, who was a 16th-round pick in 2024 and will turn 23 soon, has really pumped up his strikeout stuff in his 2nd season. Last year he had just 7.9 strikeouts per 9 innings in Low-A, and a mere 6.7 upon his promotion to High-A. But even with the low output on Wednesday, the funky southpaw has punched out 12.5 batters per 9 innings through 4 appearances this year. Despite that, he’s also lowered his walk rate, from 3.7 per 9 last year between the 2 levels, to just 2.5 this season.
There are some funny small sample size elements — opposing batters have just a .200 BABIP against him, and his left on base rate of 95.2% is both hilariously and delightfully unsustainable — but there’s no way to paint this season as anything other than a fantastic success thus far. Let’s hope it keeps up!
RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 41 CPL) continued his development as a closer, giving up 1 walk in a no-hit, no-run inning, with 1 strikeout. Maldonado needed 21 pitches to get through the inning — and threw just 11 strikes — but still, a very nice game. He will fly through the system if he can get the walks under control … he’s issued 7 of them in 5 innings, but has 11 strikeouts.
Low-A San Jose (13-4)
San Jose Giants beat the Ontario Tower Buzzers (Dodgers) 4-2 Box score
Just as Giants fans were probably happy to see a former Giant in Marco Luciano perform well, everyone is happy to see a different former Giant have a few struggles: LHP Blake Snell. Yes, the Dodgers ace made a rehab appearance for Ontario, and the Baby Giants did the correct thing by handing him the loss, as Snell gave up 4 baserunners, 2 runs, and 1 earned run in an inning of work (Snell is only credited with pitching an inning since he got 3 outs, but he did come out for the 2nd inning and faced 4 batters but, thanks to 2 hits and 2 errors, didn’t get any outs).
Hehe.
Shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) introduced Snell to the Cal League by bopping a leadoff single against him. Level has slowly started to return from his truly scorched earth start to the season, but everything is still going delightfully well for him. He hit 1-4 with a walk and a stolen base in this game, while also striking out once and committing an error. On the year he has an 1.147 OPS, a 180 wRC+, and 5 stolen bases in as many attempts, as he appears intent on accomplishing the rare back-to-back breakout seasons.
Jhonny Level lines one up the middle against a rehabbing Blake Snell to get things started for the Giants! pic.twitter.com/no2MgiYecq
Left fielder Damian Bravo had the big hit to give Snell the L, as he knocked an RBI double in the 2nd inning. That was part of a 2-4 day for Bravo, which also featured his 1st stolen base of the year, though he had a strikeout and an error as well. The 2025 15th-round pick started the season very slow, but has caught fire lately, and currently has not just a 6-game hitting streak, but a 6-game extra-base hitting streak. During that time the 22-year old right-hander from Texas Tech has hit 10-26 with 2 home runs, 5 doubles, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts, which has boosted his OPS to .808 and his wRC+ to 94, and almost put the tough start to the year fully in the rear-view mirror.
It was a dynamic pitching game, with all 3 arms performing quite well. RHP Jordan Gottesman got(tesman) the start and controlled Ontario admirably, allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk in 4.2 shutout innings, while striking out 5 batters.
The reigning 6th-round selection only threw 46 of 74 pitches for strikes, so it wasn’t a dominant outing, but it was one in which he was in total control. Most importantly, after back-to-back 3-run games, Gottesman had the best performance of his young career, and lowered his ERA to 3.52, albeit with a 6.52 FIP.
If dominant is what you’re looking for, however, then RHP Sam Bower provided it by throwing 2.1 no-hit innings with just a walk allowed, while recording 5 of his 7 outs by way of strikes. Yep, that will get the job done!
Bower is a feel-good story, as he’s finally healthy after a career set back numerous times by injuries. The 24-year old St. Mary’s alum was an 11th-round pick by the Giants back in 2022, but didn’t make his professional debut until this season. Now he’s finally able to pitch, and in games like this he’s certainly making up for lost time. If he gets into a rhythm, he probably won’t stay in San Jose for long.
Rounding out the star pitching was RHP Alix Hernandez, who continued his excellent season with 2 strikeouts in 2 no-hit innings. Hernandez did issue a walk, and had 2 runs scored while he was on the mound, thanks to some not-so-good defense, but they were unearned runs, which kept his ERA at 0.00. The 21-year old now has 11 strikeouts against just 2 walks in 8.1 innings this year, as his electricity is on full display.
