Category: Sports News

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

The Los Angeles Dodgers hope to break out of a funk as Shohei Ohtani takes the mound for Game 2 of their series against the San Francisco Giants. 

Tony Vitello’s built some much-needed momentum with a series-opening victory, however, and his squad is laser-focused on this rivalry series as a turning point in the young season.

My Dodgers vs. Giants predictions and MLB picks are backing the underdog on Wednesday, April 22.

Who will win Dodgers vs Giants today: Giants (+186)

The odds indicate that this is supposed to be a squash match for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani’s pristine 0.50 ERA stands in stark contrast to Tyler Mahle’s (7.23), so the market expects a bounce-back from L.A. after Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat. 

Mahle’s due for positive regression, however, as he pitched to a 2.18 ERA across 16 starts a year ago and will benefit from the confines of pitcher-friendly Oracle Park. 

Ohtani’s control (94 Location+) hasn’t come back to bite him yet, but that and his unsustainable .158 BABIP indicate his pretty ERA will creep up eventually.

COVERS INTEL: Tyler Mahle has found success against some of L.A.’s best hitters in the past. He’s held Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, and Max Muncy to six hits in 29 at-bats (.207 AVG) with 10 strikeouts.

Dodgers vs Giants Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (+108)

The first game of this series flew Under the total in a low-scoring 3-1 San Francisco Giants win, and a similar result could be in store during a chilly Wednesday night in San Francisco. 

Temperatures in the high-50s for most of this contest will benefit both starting pitchers as well as the two Top-10 bullpens behind them (LAD 3.49 SIERA in relief; SFG 3.59). 

L.A. is in a bit of a slump, dropping three of its last four games while missing Mookie Betts and Tommy Edman in the lineup. San Francisco, meanwhile, has yet to get the bats going against right-handed pitching (79 wRC+).

Dodgers vs Giants odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -200 | Giants +190
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 (-120) | Giants +1.5 (-105)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 | Under 7.5

Dodgers vs Giants trend

The Dodgers have dropped three of their last four games, costing one-unit bettors a 5.75 unit loss. 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

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.

MLB.com’s Anne Rogers talks to the Kansas City Royals leadership following a terrible start to the 2026 season.

“You look back two months ago, month ago, no one in here would believe we’re technically the worst team in baseball,” Bobby Witt Jr. said. “We believe in each and every one in here. And that’s how we got to go about it. We got to get better every day and try to just improve.”

This is the answer the Royals continue to state no matter how bad things look on the field. General manager J.J. Picollo expressed outward confidence in his club Monday afternoon in his usual homestand-opening scrum with local media, acknowledging that the group is pressing some but that the only way out of it is to keep moving forward and trust the process just 23 games into the year.

“We all know how long the season is,” Picollo said. “If you break the season up in bunches, short bunches, it doesn’t take much to turn something around. But if we get too focused and caught up in what’s happened over the last couple of weeks, we’re not going to be able to move forward. You get one big hit, the energy changes. The excitement changes. That may lead into the next night, and now all of a sudden the mentality changes. That’s something that we need to have happen.”

That was not all Picollo had to say, especially when it came to sticking with manager Matt Quatraro.

Once again, the Royals find themselves stumbling out of the gate in the first full month of the season. The Royals have lost eight straight games following Monday night’s 7-5 defeat to the Orioles in 12 innings, and they have the worst record in baseball at 7-16. Some fans have called for a change, but Royals general manager J.J. Picollo on Monday met with the media and expressed confidence in manager Matt Quatraro. The reason for Picollo’s faith? He looked back at Quatraro’s first year as Royals manager in 2023 when the team lost 106 games. But the following season, they were in the playoffs. “That’s ultimately going back to ‘23 when you go through a really tough year, and the composure that he kept through ‘23, the positivity, the way we played in August and September of that year, where we played a lot better, led into ‘24,” Picollo said of Quatraro. “I think his steadiness is what allows us to do things well and right the ship.” That ship is currently taking on water.

Where is the Royals’ new stadium actually going to be located? Probably not Washington Square Park, apparently.

Johnathan Duncan, city councilman for the 6th District, told The Star the stadium footprint “that will be briefed tomorrow is not Washington Square Park.” The city has notably been referring to the project location as a combination of Washington Square Park and neighboring Crown Center. While the Royals have not publicly unveiled their vision for the area, Duncan’s suggestion would illustrate a remarkable shift in at least the public perception of the stadium plan. The City Council passed an ordinance Thursday authorizing City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate with the Royals a stadium deal up to $600 million. The financial framework has occupied the conversation over the ensuing week, but Duncan said, “there’s a lack of clarity about the site.” The Royals could provide that clarity during a planned Wednesday morning announcement at a Crown Center restaurant.

Win or lose, the Royals have a big announcement Wednesday.

The Kansas City Royals are scheduled to announce an “important update” about the team’s future in Kansas City on Wednesday, a long-awaited decision that could mark the culmination of the team’s stadium hunt. Royals Chairman and CEO John Sherman will make the announcement alongside Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas at 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to a release from the team on Tuesday. TOP VIDEOS The video player is currently playing an ad. The announcement is expected to center on a new Royals downtown stadium, according to two officials scheduled to attend the press conference and an email invitation sent to City Council members on Tuesday. That invitation references a “Bring the Crown Downtown Ballpark Celebration.”

David Lesky did not mince words after the Royals’ Monday night loss.

At some point, the hole is just too deep to get out of, but that point generally doesn’t come quite so early in the season. And yet, here we are after another Royals loss, their eighth in a row. The Royals had a gut-punch loss in the second game of the season when they blew a 2-0 lead in the ninth. They had another gut-punch loss just a few days ago when they came back from five down to take a lead into the ninth, but blew that. Last night may be worse than either of those. But having three examples to choose from in 23 games might be the bigger problem than any single game. The fact that I would have been shocked if they didn’t blow it last night is just sad.

There were 18 players who appeared for the Royals last night. Four of them carry zero blame of an ugly, ugly loss.

Lesky was not the only one who felt this way, after Royals fans made their feelings heard during Monday’s loss.

There were boos throughout the night. The Royals (7-16) own the worst record in Major League Baseball and have lost eight consecutive games. TOP VIDEOS The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. addressed the situation postgame. He felt the Royals’ fan base deserved a better product on the field. “Yeah, it sucks,” Witt said. “But if you’re the worst team in baseball, you might deserve to get booed every once in a while. It should motivate us to get better. Just motivate us to go out there and just lay it all on the field each and every night. Give it all every night, and so just go from there.”

Just in case you forgot the pain that was Monday’s loss, here is a good reminder from Vahe Gregorian.

Somehow, though, the Royals outdid themselves Monday night with a nauseating defeat — one that conjured the immortal wisdom of former Royals manager Buddy Bell. Following a 10th straight loss in 2006, he alertly said, “I never say it can’t get worse.” At least that losing streak ended after one more L. These Royals should only be so fortunate after the 7-5 loss in 12 innings against Baltimore extended the losing streak to eight — their longest since a 10-game string in 2023 on the way to a 56-106 season. Instead of being the fresh start they desperately need, this game was somewhere between a microcosm and fusion of all that’s been going awry all season: Again with the stupefying inability to produce with runners in scoring position, underscored by leaving 16 men on base. Fresh evidence that the bullpen that was such an asset last season no longer is slamming the door but … a trap door; in this case, it squandered Seth Lugo’s seven innings of one-hit, scoreless work into the eighth loss of the season by relievers after Alex Lange gave up five runs in the 12th.

Royals Keep says it is time to hit reset on our expectations for the 2026 Royals.

Is it Time to Rethink the 2026 Royals?
Yes. No big league team is or can be perfect, but Kansas City’s imperfections are glaring. Perhaps general manager J.J. Picollo found the offseason price of a new big bat too high and settled for less than he wanted and his club needed. Perhaps Perez is running out of gas. Maybe some of the club’s talent is overrated, and was from the start.

Improvement is needed. And sooner, not later; the club can’t wait for the midsummer trade deadline. But the history of this typically conservative franchise suggests no new, truly impactful major league hitter will arrive this season, and hoping the rotation and bullpen pick up the slack all season is too much to ask.

Although it’s still early, this club is in trouble.

The Royals minor-league affiliates are staying competitive to start the season, and one Omaha reliever is standing out from his peers.

On the pitching end, Chazz Martinez had a solid week, allowing no runs on two hits and three walks while striking out six in three innings of work. For the season, Martinez is posting a 41.7% K% and 20.8% K-BB% in six innings of work. While the TJ Stuff+ metrics aren’t great (98 overall), he’s done an excellent job limiting hard contact while generating solid whiff and chase rates, as seen below.

The four-seamer is an interesting pitch with crazy horizontal break (18.3 HB), and it generates a decent amount of chase (26.9%) and whiff (31.8%) as well as weak contact (.241 xwOBACON). As a result, the four-seamer has a 102 TJ Stuff+ and a 57 grade. Unfortunately, his other offerings don’t rate as well stuff-wise, with his sweeper having a 30 grade and changeup sporting a 47 grade.

Still, Martinez could be an Evan Sisk type who simply can generate chase and whiff effectively due to his arm angles, even if he may not have the most overpowering stuff profile.

All five of Kansas City’s starters are in The Athletic’s top 100 starting pitching rankings following the April update.

Labor negotiations. legacy, and more are in question as people react to the upcoming San Diego Padres sale.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan’s book The Arm is one of the game’s best works on modern pitching, but the insider talks to today’s young pitchers about the chase for triple-digit velocity.

Padres reliever Mason Miller is in a historic scoreless streak, but he is still chasing Wade Davis’ mark, among others.

Do you still have hope the Royals can turn things around? Bleacher Report shows just how dire things can get before a team gets better.

Chris Bzozowski wonders if the Philadelphia Phillies are running out of time to turn things around.

Who is winning the ABS race after an abnormal weekend?

The Texas Rangers find a home for the controversial “One Riot, One Ranger” statue at GlobeLife Field.

Teams are starting to respond to baserunners increasing their average leads with first basemen doing the same.

Is there a new Elder statesman for the Atlanta Braves?

Boston Red Sox starter Sony Gray hits the IL with a hamstring strain.

The Minnesota Twins reinstated oft-injured youngster Royce Lewis from the IL.

Braves reliever Rasiel Iglesias hits the IL with right shoulder inflammation.

Check out the NFL Draft boards from Ryan Clancy and Daniel Harms.

Find someone who loves you as much as Stanford athletics loves winning national championships.

Caddies should and are getting some more love in golf.

New Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Justin Fields is embracing his new role.

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel is still dealing with the fallout of photos showing him with reporter Dianna Russini.

Basketball coach Billy Donovan resigned from his head coaching post after six seasons with the Chicago Bulls.

Hey, a date for that Riverfront KC Extension!

Unexpected Blooms in Kansas City turns recycled flowers into a way to nurture the next generation of florists.

What is the legacy of abolitionist icon John Brown in Kansas?

Alan Osmond, the eldest member of the Osmonds, passed away at 76.

Your song of the day is Rush with Tom Sawyer.

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

The three-game series is up for grabs when the Baltimore Orioles meet the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium this afternoon.

Royals starter Michael Wacha’s peripherals point to regression, and my Orioles vs. Royals predictions and MLB picks are backing the underdog Orioles. 

Who will win Orioles vs Royals today: Baltimore Orioles (+115)

Michael Wacha’s 1.00 ERA looks dominant, but it’s misleading. His 3.95 xFIP suggests he hasn’t pitched nearly that well, and regression is coming. 

The Baltimore Orioles lineup is already rolling, scoring 12 runs in this series, and the Kansas City Royals' bullpen, ranked 26th in baseball, is unlikely to slow them down. The Orioles also hold a clear bullpen edge, and that matters once the starters exit.

The Royals are 8-16 for a reason; outside of Carter Jensen and Bobby Witt Jr., their sticks have been too inconsistent, and I'll take the plus-money Orioles today.  

COVERS INTEL:This Orioles bullpen strikes out the second-most batters per nine innings (10.38) with a third-best 3.26 SIERRA.

Orioles vs Royals Over/Under pick: Under 9.5 (-126)

Wacha may be outperforming his metrics, but his 23.5% strikeout rate and 33% chase rate are legitimate, and Baltimore's lineup punches out 25% of the time against right-handers. 

That's a dangerous combination. 

Kansas City's bullpen may be a disaster, but they won't be tested much if Wacha deals deep into the game. Kansas City's lineup will swing early and often against Bassitt, and its 23.5% strikeout rate should help the struggling Orioles starter.

With two pitchers doing just enough against two aggressive lineups, runs might be hard to come by. Take the Under.

Orioles vs Royals odds

• Moneyline: Orioles +113 | Royals -122
• Run line: Orioles +1.5 (-170) | Royals -1.5 (+163)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+113) | Under (-117)

Orioles vs Royals trend

The Royals have cashed the Under in 29 of their last 50 games for +6.20 units and an 11% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Orioles vs. Royals.

How to watch Orioles vs Royals and game info

Orioles vs Royals latest injuries

Orioles 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.

There have been a lot of words spilled about the Mets and the Giants and the Blue Jays and the Red Sox potentially ending their October dreams, well, already. Seeing things like “only 3% of teams playing this poorly have gone on to make the playoffs” makes it sound like a done deal. But for most of baseball history making the playoffs was hard. Really hard. And the Red Sox are making it as hard as possible as they open the season going 9-14.

Until 1968 only two teams made the postseason. They played in the World Series. When the Yankees talk about “27 rings” remember that 20 of those were won via a single round of postseason play. (Yes that applies to the Red Sox too, but no other team is chanting their total titles.) The winner of that series won the World Series. No random chance 84-win team sending their ace in a coin-flip game. No Wild Card Series. No Division Series. No Championship Series. There was none of that when Cy Young, pictured above, was pitching in October, which was in fact, September in the beginning.

The 1951 New York Giants finished with a final record of 98-59. They started the season 9-14, just like the 2026 Red Sox. If the ‘51 Giants sound familiar to you it’s because they, like the 2026 Mets, lost 11 straight. During the opening 23 games. At least the Sox haven’t combined their record this year with the Mets losing streak. It’s partially sequencing, of course, as the Mets have only been a tad worse (7-16) than Boston so far, but it does feel better to know there is, like the Sarlacc pit, a new definition of pain and suffering.

Those Giants are the only team to start 9-14 and make the playoffs in this era. But keep in mind these were the two-team, straight-to-the-World-Series years.

From 1969 until 1993 the playoffs doubled in size from two to four teams. With expansion to 24 teams (12 and 12) and splitting each league into two divisions the playoff push became more difficult. But double the teams entered the competition! The 1969 Mets and 1979 Pirates even win the World Series after their slow starts. The 1984 Royals, 1987 Tigers, 1989 Blue Jays all make it into the playoffs, losing in their Championship Series to the Tigers, Twins, and Athletics, respectively.

This is not even half as much time as the World Series era but the slow starting 9-14 teams have five playoff appearances just by going from two to four teams.

Before the 1994 strike canceled the end of the season and the playoffs, baseball was set to debut a new postseason format. Expanding from two division into three with East, Central, and West divisions in the American and National leagues, MLB added two new playoff seats as each divisional champion would receive an invitation. And as they said in the As Seen on TV Ads of the ‘90s but wait there’s more! Two new Wild Cards – one per league – would be added as well. The team with the best record that wasn’t a division winner, across the entire league, would also make the playoffs. From four teams to eight.

The first team to go 9-14 and make the playoffs? The 2005 Yankees. The 2006 Twins, 2007 Rockies, 2007 Yankees, and 2009 Rockies would all go on to do this as well. That ‘05 Yankees team won 95 games! The Twins won 96. The ‘07 Yankees won 94.

Outcomes can be unlikely but still possible. Heck, just look at batting averages. It’s cliche but it’s true.

2012 would bring another tweak: the Wild Card would become a one-game playoff. We’re now at ten teams or one-third of the league. There will be a one-year sixteen-team playoff tournament in 2020 due to, well, everything. And then from 2022 to at least 2026, a twelve-team bracket. In all of these Wild Card expansions there has been only one slow starting team in October: the 2014 Pirates. They started at 9-14 but finished at 88-74. The 2014 Mariners would go on to win 87 games but not make the playoffs.

Since then the slow starters have maxed out at 82-80, the 2025 Kansas City Royals.

But the takeaway is not that it’s impossible or that it’s likely to happen. But that over time, as MLB expands the playoffs, teams can make bigger mistakes, start slower, and not necessarily be punished. It doesn’t’ matter that 3% of teams doing X, Y, or Z made the playoffs from 1901 until 2025. What really matters is from 2022 onward. In four seasons, yes, there hasn’t been a team that started 9-14 in the playoffs. And last year’s Royals finished 5.0 games back from even the expanded Wild Card. But the Tigers made it in with 87 wins. Not starting 9-14, but the Cincinnati Reds made it into the Wild Card with 83 wins. 83!

The Red Sox are frustrating. But it’s not over yet. Maybe 90 wins is impossible. But if they win 87 and Garret Crochet is healthy and cruising, Roman has 20 home runs, and Chapman has a pile of saved games, do you think that team couldn’t win 2 out of 3 in the postseason? Or 3 out of 4? I’m not sure I really want mid-or-low-80s teams to have a possibility of the playoffs, even if it’s my team, but in a 12 team bracket that’s possible. The longer MLB runs with 12 teams (or more!) in the postseason the more likely it is that these “no team has ever” records fall away.

Meet the Mets

The Mets lost their twelfth-straight game 5-3 to the Twins, despite a three-run home run from Francisco Lindor and a strong start by Nolan McLean.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic

Plenty has been said about who or what may be at fault for the Mets’ losing ways, but the Mets offense has been the worst in the league during their eleven game skid.

It’s only April, but questions have already been being raised about whether or not the 2026 Mets can be salvaged.

Kodai Senga’s start will be pushed back, with Christian Scott being called up to start Thursday instead, and David Peterson will remain in the bullpen.

Juan Soto will be activated for today’s game, but his workload will be managed in his return.

Soto may have more than just the Mets record on his back in his return—he could be responsible for his manager’s job security as well.

The Mets are breaking new ground for early season disappointment, at least when it comes to hyper-specific records.

Around the National League East

MLB and the Phillies revealed the festivities for All-Star Week, which coincides with the celebration of America’s semiquincentennial.

The Braves made a bevy of moves, with pitcher Raisel Iglesias landing on the injured list and Sean Murphy and Spencer Strider having their rehab assignments moved.

Zack Wheeler will be making his much anticipated (and needed) return to the Phillies rotation on Saturday against the Braves.

The Marlins fell to the Cardinals 5-3, with Chris Paddack giving up all five runs in 4.2 innings, with eight hits and seven strikeouts.

The division leading Braves were smacked around in an 11-4 loss to the Nationals. Reynaldo López lasted just one inning, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks.

The Cubs continued their hot streak against National League East teams, beating the Phillies 7-4. Jesús Luzardo pitched well for the Phillies, giving up just one run in 4.2 innings.

Around Major League Baseball

Craig Counsell criticized the two-way hitter designation with regards to Shohei Ohtani, and Dave Roberts responded.

MLB has no plans to have the ABS call every ball or strike…yet.

Recently released Met Luis Garcia found a new home, signing with the Mets current opponent, the Minnesota Twins.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

It’s been about a month of minor league baseball, and as such Steve Sypa delivered the fourth 2026 group of Mets Minor League Players of the Week.

Linus Lawrence looked back on the worst losing streak in Mets history, which was unsurprisingly in 1962, losing 17 straight from late May to early June. We’re getting closer!

This Date in Mets History

56 years ago, Tom Seaver received his 1969 Cy Young Award plaque and proceeded to strike out 19 batters in a 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres.

Rangers 5, Pirates 1

• Hey, that was fun!
• Texas got down two batters into the game. Oneil Cruz had a leadoff single, stole second and ended up on third when Danny Jansen’s throw ended up in center field, and scored on a Ryan O’Hearn single.
• Oh no!, we all thought, Kumar Rocker doesn’t have it today! We are going to have to use Cal Quantrill for multiple innings!
• Kumar Rocker did have it, though. As you can infer by the final score, no more Pirate runs scored the rest of the way. And after those first two leadoff singles, Rocker allowed just two hits and one walk. Rocker logged a Quality Start, striking out five. Way to go, Kumar!
• There is, however, a huge asterisk on that final line. An Evan Carter shaped asterisk.
• After the O’Hearn single, Rocker faced thirteen straight batters and got thirteen outs, with the one single he allowed erased on a double play ball. With one out in the fifth, Rocker was cruising.
• Jake Mangum then hit a first pitch single. Konnor Griffin hit a grounder in the hole at shortstop. Corey Seager was only going to have one play, at first, but he ended up bobbling the ball, resulting in two on, one out. A Henry Davis (hey, remember him?) tapper in front of the plate moved the runners to second and third with two outs, bringing up Oneil Cruz with the Rangers up 2-1.
• Here’s what happened next:

• Evan Carter made a spectacular leaping catch at the wall, stealing a go-ahead homer from Cruz.
• When Carter was going back to the wall, I was sure the ball was gone. I just knew that Carter would get there, leap, and the ball would be five feet over his glove. The Pirates had taken the lead.
• But no…Carter got there, timed it perfectly, and made the catch of the year for the Rangers.
• The Rangers added onto their lead in the bottom of the fifth, and things never felt in doubt after that. The Pirates didn’t get a runner past first base over the final four innings, with Cole Winn, Jacob Latz and Jakob Junis all responsible for an inning apiece.
• I thought Latz would be asked to finish things out when he came into the game for the eighth inning, though with Robert Garcia day-to-day with a sore left shoulder, Latz appears to be late inning lefty #1 right now, and thus limited to shorter outings.
• The bats put up crooked numbers in the second and the fifth. A Joc Pederson single, Josh Jung double, and Evan Carter single tied the game, with Josh Smith hitting a sacrifice fly to give the Rangers a lead that they would never surrender.
• If Game Winning RBIs were still a thing, Josh Smith would have gotten one for that.
• The other three runs came in the fifth when, energized by Evan Carter’s catch, the Rangers chased Pittsburgh starter Carmen Mlodzinski thanks to a Smith double, an Ezequiel Duran double, and a Corey Seager single. A Jake Burger single and a Joc Pederson walk loaded the bases up, and we all hoped the suddenly super-hot doubles machine that is Josh Jung would blow things open. We settled for an RBI groundout.
• Duran, incidentally, was in the game in place of Wyatt Langford, who walked and stole a base, but left the game due to forearm soreness he felt swinging the bat in his second plate appearance. Langford is getting an MRI on Wednesday, and hopefully, he is fine. If not, well, I guess it is Alejandro Osuna Time.
• Kumar Rocker’s sinker topped out at 95.5 mph, averaging 93.9 mph. Cole Winn hit 96.2 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz reached 96.1 mph with his fastball. Jakob Junis topped out at 91.7 mph with his sinker.
• Joc Pederson had a 109.4 mph single. Corey Seager had a 109.0 mph groundout. Josh Smith had a 108.1 mph double. Brandon Nimmo had a 106.8 mph fly out. Jake Burger had a 104.9 mph single. Josh Jung had a 103.5 mph double and a 101.0 mph groundout. Evan Carter had a 103.3 mph single and a 100.6 mph groundout.
• Texas started the homestand off on a good foot. Let’s keep it going.

It’s bad enough that the Red Sox are struggling out of the gate. But we are also constantly hearing complaints from fellow fans that the 2026 Red Sox are no fun to watch. It’s hard to blame them. They only managed to score four runs in three games over the weekend! They are nearly being out-homered by Yordan Alvarez alone! They were just brought to heel by the Yankees’ worst pitcher!

So, yes, the 2026 Red Sox are no fun so far. No argument from me. But what would it take for them to become the least enjoyable team of your lifetime?

For me, I’m not sure I’ll ever hate a team more than the 2001 Red Sox. That team, unlike this one, started great, sitting at 17-9 on May 1, after an offseason in which we spent dreaming about finally breaking the curse. But this was the year that we began to see cracks in Nomar’s armor (he didn’t even play his first game until the end of July after the aggravated his wrist in February). This was the year that the team was briefly led by the worst manager of my lifetime (yes, even worse than Bobby Valentine): Joe Kerrigan, who took over for a tired Jimy Williams and was clearly in way over his head. This was the year they lost 13 of 14 games at the end of August and start of September.

Use this space to talk about teams you’ve hated and whatever else you want and, as always, be good to one another.

By beating the Houston Astros, the Guardians are now 14-11 and hold a 1-game lead over the 12-11 Twins.

For a while, it looked like the Guardians were going to blow their chance to face Houston’s terrible pitching, but a 6-run 8th inning saved the day. Chase DeLauter came up with the bases loaded and tripled home all three runners. Deborah has your recap here.

Franco Aleman has yet to give up a hit or a run in Columbus. Just in case Chris Antonetti was thinking we might need some bullpen help.

Houston fell to 9-16, banging into the floor of the trash AL West division. The A’s are now in first at 13-11.

Around baseball

The Mets are trying to rebound from a losing streak like the 2025 Guardians once did. Theirs is at 12 after the Twins came back to beat them yesterday.

The Royals and White Sox won. The Tigers lost.

These five words will never cease to amuse me: Shohei Ohtani made history, again.

Although the Dodgers suffered their third defeat on this current road trip— dropping Tuesday’s contest to the San Francisco Giants 3-1— Shohei Ohtani was able to extend his on-base streak to 53 games, tying Shawn Green for the longest such streak in Los Angeles Dodgers history. Ohtani is still five games off from tying Duke Snider for the longest in franchise history.

Ohtani is slated to pitch against the Giants for Wednesday’s game, and the Dodgers intend to have Ohtani resume his two-way duties after opting to only pitch in his previous start, notes Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“I think that it makes a lot of sense that if you’re … hitting while pitching, it takes a little bit of a toll,” Roberts said. “He certainly has managed it really well, but if it makes sense, I’ll have that conversation with him.”

Now that the Dodgers are in the midst of their first season with Shohei Ohtani performing his two-way prowess for a full season, Mike Petriello of MLB.com writes about Ohtani potentially unlocking a new gear that the baseball world has yet to see.

Links

The Dodgers had their new bona-fide star closer for all of three weeks before landing on the injured list.

Edwin Díaz will miss the next three months after being diagnosed with loose bodies in his right elbow, which now raises a question about which Dodger reliever will take over as the team’s de facto closer. As for what Dave Roberts forecasts, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, the initial candidate is Tanner Scott but the decision will vary day-to-day.

“If I had to guess … I would say probably Tanner,” Roberts said. “And that could change. I honestly don’t know. I mean, Tanner can pitch in the seventh tonight, and Blake can get the save. So honestly, it’s kind of day to day. It really is.”

The Dodgers will shoot down trade talks involving the red-hot Dalton Rushing unless the return haul lands them something huge in return, reported Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic during his latest appearance on the Foul Territory podcast.

“At the deadline, anything is possible, but I can’t see the Dodgers entertaining this unless it was a major deal— unless they were getting something huge in return— and I’m not sure what that would be at this point.”

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Did you know the Cubs are in the most interesting division in baseball? Of course, we always knew that, but it seems like the NL Central is getting a lot of attention this week. Other things on people’s minds? The Phillies, Mets, and Astros are the talk of the town, and it’s largely because of how bad they’ve been. Not bad? Astros’ slugger Yordan Alvarez. Likewise, Japanese star Munetaka Murakami might be striking out a lot, but he’s still exactly what the White Sox hoped for.

We’ve got all that and more—including goats—in today’s news brief, so let’s just jump right into it.

• Ben Clemens looks at how Munetaka Murakami has been exactly what the White Sox hoped he would be.
• Yordan Alvarez swings a hot bat, and it has been a real bright spot for the Astros this season. Story by Jay Jaffe.
• Here’s a first look at the All-Star Week schedule. (MLB)
• The Red Sox and Tigers had a super early game on Monday, but that didn’t stop one fan from drinking a beer out of his shoe. Story by Kyle Koster.
• Stephanie Apstein wonders what the sale of the Padres might mean for other small-market teams.
• Adley Rutschman is back from the injured list. (AP)
• Love it when ballplayers show up for kids like this. (Direct link to the BlueSky post for those reading on Apple News)

• Bad news for the Dodgers, Edwin Diaz is headed for surgery. Story by Jay Jaffe.
• Tim Capurso tries to determine how the Dodgers will handle that closer spot going forward.
• David Adler makes a case for why the NL Central is the best division in baseball right now.
• Kyle Koster looks at what’s going so wrong for the Phillies to start this season.
• How did Will Benson score twice in the same game without ever seeing a single pitch? Stephen Douglas brings us a fun baseball oddity.
• Cam Schlittler makes his return to Boston, where he says he received death threats during last year’s MLB postseason. Story by Madison Williams.
• The Blue Jays had to take an old-fashioned bus ride to get between cities after their plan was grounded. (AP)
• A new Mets curse? (Direct link to the BlueSky post for those reading on Apple News)

• Dan Szymborski wonders if the 2026 Mets can be saved.
• Brian Murphy tries to determine where Mason Miller’s scoreless streak ranks among all-time relievers.
• Daniel Kramer shares what might be one of the best catches I’ve seen all week.
• Tom Verducci looks at how “lab-grown” pitching is impacting baseball.
• On that same note, Jeff Passan looks at the rise of the 100mph fastball, which is becoming more and more common.
• Jayson Stark ponders if MLB will ever go full robot-umpire after testing ABS. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• I always knew those outfield lawns were good for something.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.