Category: Sports News

The Dodgers on Monday beat the Colorado Rockies, completing exactly one third of their season, now 54 games into the 162-game schedule.

As we’ve done for the better part of two decades, we like to take a look at each season in 54-game chunks, seeing how players seasons are put together. For now, we just have the first third of the season to go on, so we’re not necessarily comparing players to themselves. But on a team level, the Dodgers are on pace for 102 wins, and have won at least 32 of their first 54 games for eight years in a row.

The Dodgers allowed only 171 runs so far this season, fewest in MLB at 3.17 per game. It’s the fewest runs allowed by the Dodgers through 54 games since 1989. The plus-108 run differential is the Dodgers’ third-best through 54 games since 2013, the start of their streak of postseason appearances.

Now let’s look at the individual players.

Will Smith’s numbers are down across the board. Dalton Rushing got off to a scorching hot start, with seven home runs in his first 28 plate appearances. Rushing also started three games at designated hitter and two at first base. Those games are counted in his numbers above, as is Smith’s lone start at DH.

The Dodgers offense feels underwhelming, but in reality they lead the majors in wRC+ (119) and on-base percentage (.344), rank third in runs scored (5.17 per game), and are top five in the majors in home runs, slugging percentage, walk rate, and lowest strikeout rate. That’s a testament to the depth, even with injuries and few individual starts standing out.

Andy Pages is the breakout star thus far, providing excellent defense in center field with a 136 wRC+ and leading the majors in RBI. Max Muncy is having one of his best seasons. Kyle Tucker has been above average but not spectacularly so.

Tommy Edman hasn’t yet played this season. Mookie Betts missed 32 games with an oblique injury, and has been quite bad when he’s played so far. Alex Freeland and Hyeseong Kim filled in, combining for 67 starts in the middle infield, and while their defense was quite good, the offense was below average. Same for veteran Miguel Rojas.

Watch out if Kiké Hernández can keep up this blistering pace though.

Shohei Ohtani is at worst the Dodgers’ second-best hitter thus far, and while it feels silly to complain about a 147 wRC+, he’s coming off three years of a collective 177 wRC+ and 153 home runs. So far, Ohtani only has eight home runs a third of the way through this year. His 2026 offensive production is more in line with his 2021-22 with the Angels, his first two seasons fully unleashed as a two-way player when he had a 146 wRC+. Imagine getting that kind of — again, still stellar — offense from someone who’s also on pace for nearly 150 innings of Cy Young Award-caliber pitching.

Ohtani has allowed only six runs in his eight starts, and has not allowed multiple runs in any of his 49 innings to date.

The rotation was incredibly stable for the Dodgers until roughly the last two weeks, after injuries to Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell. Outside of one bullpen game, the Dodgers used only seven starting pitchers in the first third of the season, with six pitchers accounting for 52 starts. Dodgers pitchers have 30 quality starts, most in the majors.

Justin Wrobleski made one bulk relief appearance of four innings on March 30, but the vast majority of his time was as a starter, and his stat line above reflects his full season to date. Similarly, Will Klein was the first pitcher of a bullpen game on May 15 in Anaheim, but that is included with the relief numbers below.

The depth has again shone through, especially with Edwin Díaz getting surgery after only six innings with the Dodgers. Tanner Scott has looked like the dominant reliever the Dodgers signed two offseasons ago, while Will Klein, Kyle Hurt, and Edgardo Henriquez have worked their way up the trust tree.

Dodgers relievers really picked up the slack of late amid heavier usage, going from the eighth inning on May 12 through May 24 without allowing a run. The bullpen’s streak of 38 (but spiritually 40) consecutive scoreless innings is the longest in modern franchise history.

That’s our look at the first third of the Dodgers 2026 season. We’ll be back in two months to see how the middle portion went.

In baseball, there is only one finite resource. We can argue endlessly about which is more exciting, a perfectly executed bunt single or a smash through the hole, a triple or a home run. But none of that matters for winning games as much as managing that one resource as effectively as humanly possible.

Outs.

In 2005, there were 1620 sacrifice bunts. In 2025, there were only 560. Some of that is because pitchers stopped hitting after 2021, but that just goes to emphasize the point more. If you don’t already have an automatic out at the plate, a sacrifice is a bad baseball play. An extra base is almost never worth an out.

Need more evidence? Check out these run expectancy matrices. Runner at first with no outs? That averaged 0.87 runs in 2025. But a runner at second with one out? 0.67 runs. The numbers are similar the entire way across the matrix. Giving up an out for a base always reduces the number of runs you can expect to score every time. This makes sense if you think about it logically, too. A sacrifice bunt means sacrificing an opportunity to add another runner to the bases or to even drive in the run(s) in that plate appearance. There are an infinite number of bases to be gained in a 9-inning baseball game, but only ever 27 outs.

This goes beyond sacrifice bunts, though. The biggest revelation of the Moneyball Athletics teams was that OBP is more valuable than batting average. How can that be when a hit might be more than a single, but a walk only ever gets you to first base? Because a walk still represents not giving up an out. As long as you still have outs, you’ve still got a chance to win a game. Not giving them away is, therefore, the most important thing. But the Royals, even as they seem to be more analytically inclined than in years past, still don’t seem to get this.

Let me post a quote from an answer given by manager Matt Quatraro during a recent post-game press conference (emphasis mine):

[…] Our offense has to be predicated on some of the aggressiveness on the bases and sometimes you’re going to make those outs.

The Royals have used statistical analysis to determine that bringing in the fences would likely help the team play better. They spent the off-season chasing players with good on-base percentages, which has led to a team OBP of .313 – the highest they’ve had since 2015. But their analytic abilities seem to falter when it comes to the value of an extra base compared to an out despite the fact that run expectancy matrices have existed since before the Royals were even a team.

Earlier in that quote, Quatraro pointed out that the Royals don’t hit bunches of home runs. This misses the point badly. Because every time you make an out on the bases, it represents one fewer plate appearance the team can take in that inning and the entire game. The 2015 Royals had an unofficial slogan of “keep the line moving” because they also didn’t hit home runs, but they didn’t make terrible outs on the basepaths and so were able to keep getting on base and eventually force those runners home. But, hey, fewer plate appearances also means fewer opportunities to hit those home runs. So there’s that, too.

The Royals’ front office and coaching staff are not stupid. These people know baseball well. Most of them more than any of us. But that’s just why it is so painful to see them make judgments so lacking in basic logic. You don’t have to be a baseball genius to know that if you’ve got a highly limited resource like outs, you shouldn’t give them away without a darn good reason.

This weekly feature, which normally posts on Mondays, is running today because Monday was a holiday and there was a day game to keep our minds occupied, not that the result of that day game was any good.

This edition of “who’s hot, who’s not” includes the games of the recently-completed homestand and doesn’t include the numbers from Monday’s game.

Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs during the six-game homestand, during which the Cubs went … 0-6.

Three up (and it wasn’t easy to find three!)

Ethan Roberts moves up in the Circle of Trust

At age 28, and after multiple injuries, Roberts appears to have finally figured things out. He did allow a run this past week, the first one he’d given up all year, but that was all over the 4.2 innings he threw against the Brewers and Astros.

For the season, Roberts has an ERA of 0.73 and a WHIP of 0.892. He’s allowed only five hits, four of them singles, in facing 45 hitters.

The Cubs could use some more reliable relievers, so this is a good sign.

Jacob Webb continues his scoreless streak

Webb, who had a rough start to his season, threw a scoreless inning against the Brewers and Astros, one against each, and now has not allowed a run in his last five outings and only one run in his last nine, for a 0.00 ERA and 0.727 WHIP in May, with two walks and 13 strikeouts in 11 innings.

Again, reliable relievers are what this team needs and Webb looks like he could be another one.

Hoby Milner continues to baffle hitters

Look at Milner’s velocity chart:

I mean.. how does a pitcher in 2026 get hitters out throwing like that?

And yet, Milner does. He had scoreless outings against both the Brewers and Astros, and this month he has a 1.08 ERA and 0.960 WHIP in eight appearances covering 8.1 innings.

Here, he strikes out Milwaukee’s Blake Perkins on a ridiculous changeup [VIDEO].

You’ll notice that all three of the “up” players are relievers. That’s because, well, you don’t want to hear about Cubs starting pitching over the week and the offense batted .163/.269/.245 (30-for-184) in the six games with 56 strikeouts. Yikes.

I will give one positive mark to Pete Crow-Armstrong. Even though he had a rough week overall, in the series against the Astros he batted .286/.538/.714 (2-for-7) with a home run and five walks, including his first-ever three-walk game in the major leagues. If PCA can continue to coax walks, his entire offensive game is raised.

Three down

Uh-oh, Shōta Imanaga

After Imanaga had a really good start to 2026, posting a 2.32 ERA over his first nine starts with just five home runs allowed in 54.1 innings, last week made those numbers way, way worse. In two starts this past week against the Brewers and Astros, Imanaga had a 13.08 (!) ERA, 1.935 WHIP and four home runs served up in just 10.1 total innings.

Let’s hope he figures it out before his next start, which should come up Friday in St. Louis.

Alex Bregman’s offense has vanished

Bregman got off to a slow start and some attributed it to — well, maybe “new team,” “cold weather,” other possible reasons.

The weather is getting warmer and now Bregman has two months as a Cub and last week, his offense pretty much disappeared. He batted .174/.269/.174 (4-for-23) with one walk and five strikeouts. As you can see by the SLG equalling the BA, none of the hits were for extra bases. In fact, Bregman has only four XBH in May in 84 at-bats — three doubles and a home run.

He’s still playing quality defense, though. Check out this nice pick and throw he made on Sunday [VIDEO].

Somehow, Bregman is still a 1.0 bWAR player, suggesting he could have a decent WAR season… if he starts hitting. Like, now.

Seiya Suzuki also looks lost at the plate

Suzuki went 2-for-4 in each of the first two games against the Brewers, but then went 0-for-13 in the last four games of the homestand before Craig Counsell gave him a day off on Monday (other than a PH appearance, in which he struck out).

Perhaps the (mostly) off day will help him reset.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Texas Rangers will look to rebound following an ugly blowout loss to the Houston Astros in their series opener. 

My Astros vs. Rangers predictions expect the home team to turn things around quickly and even things up Tuesday night.

Let's break it all down with my MLB picks for May 26. 

Who will win Astros vs Rangers today: Rangers moneyline (-135)

The Houston Astros are riding a four-game winning streak while the Texas Rangers have dropped four in a row. Even so, the underlying data favors the Rangers offense of late.

The Astros own a .290 wOBA, .652 OPS, and 35.1% hard hit rate over their last six games. 

Despite getting no-hit Monday, the Rangers have fared better in each category over the same period. They are sporting a .333 wOBA, .757 OPS, and 39.4% hard hit rate.

Jack Leiter has also out-performed Jason Alexander in ERA, FIP, xFIP, and K%, making the Rangers a buy up to -140.

COVERS INTEL: In this game, four of the Top-5 batters in OBP vs. righties this month play for the Rangers.

Astros vs Rangers Over/Under pick: Under 8 (-110)

Globe Life Field is very pitcher-friendly, and that’s evident looking at the Rangers’ home numbers. They rank 29th in wOBA vs. righties at home compared to third on the road. 

The Rangers are not the kind of team that will blow up a lesser pitcher, which will allow for Jason Alexander to grind out some innings.

Conversely, the Astros are hitting .205 against righties over the past two weeks and now find themselves in a pitcher-friendly park. Leiter’s xERA is a full run lower at home, setting him up for a quality start.

Play the Under to -115.

Astros vs Rangers odds

• Moneyline: Astros +110 | Rangers -130
• Run line: Astros +1.5 (-175) | Rangers -1.5 (+150)
• Over/Under: Over 8 (-110) | Under 8 (-110)

Astros vs Rangers trend

The Rangers have hit the game total Under in 20 of their last 25 home games (+15.7 units, 57% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Astros vs. Rangers.

How to watch Astros vs Rangers and game info

Astros vs Rangers latest injuries

Astros vs Rangers weather

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.

Wander Franco is guilty of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in 2023, a judge in the Dominican Republic made clear Monday.

Yet in his next breath, the same judge ruled that the former Tampa Bay Rays star shortstop will not be sentenced to prison because he was a victim of blackmail and extortion by the girl’s mother.

Celebrity justice in the D.R. can be perplexing, and Judge José Antonio Núñez admitted as much. But he also contended that the judicial pardon he granted Franco was the result of “logical and legal reasoning.”

“It seems contradictory to declare criminal responsibility and, at the same time, exempt him from punishment,” Núñez said. “The court has granted Wander Franco a judicial pardon due to the particular circumstances that made him a material victim, but not a legal one.”

The court found that the girl’s mother extorted thousands of dollars from Franco. The woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of commercial sexual exploitation of a minor and money laundering.

Read more:Rays' Wander Franco found guilty in sex abuse case, receives two-year suspended sentence

The odds are long that Franco will return to Major League Baseball any time soon. The fact that the court found him guilty of repeatedly having sex with a minor puts him squarely in violation of MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

The league is in the midst of an investigation into Franco’s conduct.

“We respect the legal process and the decision issued by the court,” the Rays said in a statement. “This is a serious matter, and our thoughts remain with those affected by the case.

“The Rays will continue to cooperate fully with Major League Baseball as it completes its review under the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. Out of respect for the legal process and all parties involved, we will have no further comment at this time.”

Franco’s situation serves as a cautionary tale for MLB teams that hand out long-term contracts years before players become free agents. The Rays signed a 20-year-old Franco to an 11-year, $182 million deal in November 2021 after he batted .288 with 30 extra-base hits in 70 games as a rookie.

Franco appeared on his way to stardom during a stellar 2023 season, but according to court filings he carried on a relationship with the 14-year-old victim for several months.

Read more:A star pitcher at USC, he was cut after six years in the minors. Then Banana Ball came calling

An investigation was launched in August of 2023. Franco was arrested Jan. 1, 2024, after failing to appear before Dominican authorities who sought to interview him.

Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list early in the 2024 season, voiding his contract.

Franco was found guilty in a June 2025 trial. Although prosecutors sought a five-year prison sentence, he was given only a two-year suspended sentence by Justice Jakayra Veras.

“Look at us, Wander,” Veras said in open court. “Do not approach minors for sexual purposes. If you don’t like people very close to your age, you have to wait your time.”

An appeals court in December ordered a new trial, which took place Monday and resulted in his pardon.

“Thank God for everything,” Franco said as he embraced his mother, Nancy Aybar, after Judge Nuñez announced the pardon.

As he departed the courthouse, Franco was asked by a reporter how he felt.

“I feel calm,” he said.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The New York Yankees will look to extend a lengthy streak tonight when they face the Kansas City Royals in the second of a three-game set.

The Bronx Bombers have simply owned the Royals. Yesterday's comeback win gave New York its 12th straight win over Kansas City, and I like them to make it 13 straight tonight in impressive fashion.

Read all about it in my Yankees vs. Royals predictions and MLB picks for Tuesday, May 26.

Who will win Yankees vs Royals today: Yankees -1.5 (-120)

As has become the case in Cam Schlittler starts, I’m not overthinking this. The New York Yankeesare my runline play, and I’d take them to -144.

Schlittler owns a 2.60 expected ERA, top 9% of MLB, and he forces hitters into mistakes with a 95th percentile chase rate.

The path against him is discipline plus loud contact, but the Kansas City Royalsdon’t profile that way. They are average in barrel rate at 8.5% and chase rate at 30.2%.

Against a starter with few obvious holes, average is not enough. The Yankees roll. 

COVERS INTEL: Cam Schlittler has managed a 1.50 ERA despite having a breaking ball run value in the bottom 32 percentile of the sport which tells you just how impressive the rest of his arsenal has been.

Yankees vs Royals Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (-115)

For the second straight game in this series, I’m nearly identical to the market with a projection of 8.8 runs, but I still lean Over 8.5 and would play it to -122.

Bailey Falter serving as an opener creates a spot where the Yankees can attack early. The only top-10 barrel rate team Falter has faced this season was the Atlanta Braves who hit him hard with two earned runs in three innings.

The Royals’ rested bullpen arms do not scare me either, with hard-hit issues across the group. Yankees do the heavy lifting, Royals find two.

Yankees vs Royals odds

• Moneyline: New York -210 | Kansas City +170
• Run line: New York -1.5 | Kansas City +1.5
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5

Yankees vs Royals trend

The New York Yankees have covered the Run Line in 28 of their last 50 away games (+10.85 Units / 20% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Royals.

How to watch Yankees vs Royals and game info

Yankees vs Royals latest injuries

Yankees vs Royals weather

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.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Milwaukee Brewers have struck gold with Kyle Harrison, and he's in a prime spot against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight.

My Cardinals vs. Brewers predictions expect the southpaw to stifle St. Louis' offense to cover the spread while also hitting the Under with our MLB picks for Tuesday, May 26.

Who will win Cardinals vs Brewers today: Brewers -1.5 (+123)

The Milwaukee Brewers will win this game, but I do not like the moneyline juice at -178 or worse. 

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy is playing with fire, and his 2.40 ERA is fool's gold. He boasts an expected ERA of 5.86 (ninth percentile) and relies on opponents hitting the ball directly at the defenders behind him.

So far, that's been successful... but it isn't sustainable. Not when he's getting barreled in the 18th percentile with a 41.1% hard-hit rate (37th percentile). Eventually, that hard contact will translate into some crooked numbers.

What the Brewers lack in power, they make up for with contact and speed. 

Even if McGreevy continues to outpitch his peripherals, the St. Louis bullpen owns a 4.41 ERA (22nd in MLB) and a 20.2% strikeout rate (25th). Ideally, this line doesn't go any shorter, but I'd play it to +115.

COVERS INTEL:Kyle Harrison’s Milwaukee glow-up features 95th-percentile strikeout and hard-hit rates. Trust his elite swing-and-miss profile to lock in both the Brewers -1.5 and Under 7.5.

Cardinals vs Brewers Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (+105)

Harrison was always a pitcher with promise. The lefty raced through the San Francisco Giants system, showed flashes of success after reaching the majors in 2023, but never lived up to his potential. He was one of the key pieces sent to Boston in the Rafael Devers trade, but was unceremoniously dumped to Milwaukee for Caleb Durbin this offseason.

Well, as has become custom, the Brewers have unlocked the version of Harrison that Giants fans caught glimpses of. Unlike the aforementioned McGreevy, everything looks good under the hood, as well.

Harrison's 1.77 ERA isn't sustainable, but an xERA of 2.96 tells us that he's not suddenly going to transform into a pumpkin. The southpaw is inducing chase and whiff at strong levels, and the Cardinals' offense has been woefully wobbly of late after punching above its weight class to start the season.

Jordan Walker, Ivan Herrera, and Masyn Winn have all handled lefties well this season, but Walker also has a near-30% K-rate against southpaws. Given Harrison's leveling up and the Brewers' solid bullpen behind him, I like the Under to -105.

Cardinals vs Brewers odds

• Moneyline: Cardinals +170 | Brewers -178
• Run line: Cardinals +1.5 (-133) | Brewers -1.5 (+127)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-117) | Under 7.5 (+113)

Cardinals vs Brewers trend

The Milwaukee Brewers have covered the run line in 30 of their last 50 games (+14.10 Units / 23% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Brewers.

How to watch Cardinals vs Brewers and game info

Cardinals vs Brewers latest injuries

Cardinals vs Brewers weather

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.