As it turns out, Thursday night will be a very good day for local fans in Rome to show up to the ballpark and for Braves fans in general to keep an eye on the Rome Emperors. Walt Weiss spoke with the media before Tuesday’s night middle game between the Braves and the Marlins and revealed that Spencer Strider will be joining Sean Murphy in Rome to begin his rehab assignment as well.

While Murphy is expected to begin his rehab stint tonight, he’ll serve as a battery mate with Spencer Strider on Thursday night since that’s when Strider will make his first start since suffering an oblique injury during the tail end of spring training. According to Weiss, Strider is expected to toss 40-45 pitches before bowing out. I’d imagine that Strider’s timetable for a potential return to the big leagues will come shortly after his performance and the obvious hope is that he’ll look good enough once he’s done on Thursday night.

At the same time, they could really try to let him stretch out as much as possible since he’s dealing with an oblique injury after all. Obliques are notoriously tricky to deal with and the obvious hope is that Strider won’t re-aggravate the injury in any way, shape or form while he’s on rehab assignment with Rome. So this could only be the first start for Strider on rehab for all we know.

We also got a look at what Sean Murphy’s rehab schedule in Rome will look like:

Either way, if you’re a fan in the Rome area then Thursday night seems like the perfect night to mosey on over to the ballpark to catch a game. If you can’t make it to the game, you’ll be able to watch for free on Bally Sports Live and I highly suggest that y’all do so since the Braves will be off on Thursday, anyways. Here’s hoping that the rehab stint is a successful one for both Murphy and Strider and that we’ll see them both at the big league level real soon!

Today’s roster moves: Here

The Cubs are interested in Lucas Giolito, per The Athletic.

Tuesday notes…

• DOUBLE DIGITS THE WRONG WAY: Last night’s game was the Cubs’ 106th since 2016 in which they allowed double-digit runs. They played another game after 102 of the previous ones. They won 53 and lost 49, including 1-0 this year, 7-4 last year and 5-4 in 2024. They allowed an average of 4.34 runs in all 102 subsequent games, including five shutouts and 20 games with one run. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DANSBY, HEATING UP: Dansby Swanson, last three games: 3-for-9 (.333) with two home runs, four walks and six runs scored.
• KEEPING POSITIVE: The Cubs’ five-run eighth Monday kept their run differential in positive territory at +4, despite their 7-9 record.
• YOU GO, MO BALLER: Moisés Ballesteros, last six games since April 7: .563/.556/1.000 (9-for-16) with a double, two home runs, five RBI and five runs scored. (The BA/OBP difference is a mathematical oddity due to having one walk and one sacrifice fly.)

Cubs lineup:

Phillies lineup:

Riley Martin, LHP vs. Aaron Nola, RHP

Riley Martin, clearly, is an opener tonight, starting so he can face Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, Phillies left-handed batters who will come to the plate in the first inning.

Martin started one game at Triple-A Iowa this year and allowed one run in three innings. He’s never faced the Phillies, obviously, and perhaps he can stop Schwarber and Harper, and then give way, most likely, to Colin Rea, the originally scheduled starter for this game.

Rea stepped in admirably for Matthew Boyd when Boyd hit the injured list — just as he subbed capably for Justin Steele last year. He threw five two-hit innings against the Rays last Wednesday.

Last year, Rea made two starts against the Phillies. One was pretty good, the other not so much. J.T. Realmuto is 5-for-11 with a home run vs. Rea, and Kyle Schwarber has also homered off him.

Aaron Nola is off to a good start this year, with all three of his starts at least decent.

Last year he missed a whole bunch of time due to injuries, but before that he threw seven one-run innings against the Cubs April 27, 2025 at Wrigley Field.

Michael Conforto has homered twice off Nola — but is 10-for-53 overall with 19 strikeouts. Similar for Dansby Swanson: three homers off Nola, but overall 15-for-66 (.227) with 13 strikeouts.

Here is the weather forecast for Philadelphia.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also on TBS (outside the Cubs and Phillies market territories).

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin’ Avenue. If you do go there to interact with Mets fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

A brand new day for another game of baseball. This time, the Atlanta Braves are looking to bounce back from an embarrassing low-run loss in yesterday’s matchup. The rosters have been released.

No changes to today’s lineup, as it’s an exact reflection of yesterday.

You know what this could tell us? The same roster is set for their version of redemption, and chalk yesterday up to an unlucky opener. Reynaldo López will be taking the mound in his return, and if he can keep his steady streak (pre-brawl versus the Angels last week), the defense will be taken care of.

Maximizing runs on the board and applying offensive pressure will be what this competition comes down to. And if they can take advantage of Marlins’ Max Meyer’s weaknesses on the road, they just might accomplish that. When the Braves faced him on the road before, the on-base percentage was pretty high. Let’s see if they can extend that.

The Marlins are also keeping most of their lineup the same, with only one change near the bottom of the order.

Javier Sanoja will be taking over left field in today’s matchup, but the remainder of the roster is staying the same, in hopes of having a repeat of game one.

And get this, no one on the roster has faced López, so we’re in for a treat.

7:15 p.m. EDT is where it all happens tonight. We’ll check in with you after to discuss the results.

Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz has returned to his post, but did not emerge totally unscathed after taking a line drive off his face during a ballgame.

Albernaz told reporters Tuesday, April 14 that he suffered a broken jaw and at least seven facial fractures when a foul ball off Jeremiah Jackson's bat, clocked at 70.6 mph, struck him in the face during the fifth inning the night before.

The first-year manager was quickly shuttled down the tunnel and into the clubhouse by coaches and ballplayers, but he returned to the dugout a little less than an hour later. Perhaps unrelatedly, the Orioles stormed back from a six-run deficit as Jackson hit a grand slam and solo home run to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-7.

Albernaz did not meet with the news media after the game, farming out those duties to bench coach Donnie Ecker, but he was back for his usual afternoon briefing, and just like his first press conference as manager, evoked the name of his 2-year-old daughter.

Craig Albernaz has a broken jaw & 7 fractures in his cheek/orbital area after he was hit by a foul line drive in the face last night.

Albernaz is in good spirits & was joking through his pregame media.

Here’s a look at the damage, with a scrape on his cheek and a black eye. pic.twitter.com/tvcyo8NuMk

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) April 14, 2026

"Gigi," Albernaz said after telling reporters he'd be on a diet of soft foods for several weeks, "has a better diet than I do."

The Massachusetts native has a scar on his cheek and a semblance of a shiner on his right eye, but is no worse for wear. Nor are the Orioles - they've now won six of seven games to improve to 9-7 and share the AL East lead with the New York Yankees.

The Cubs are loading up on left-handers as they play the Phillies the next two days — and then four times next week at Wrigley Field:

You all know about Luke Little. Throws hard, but often does not know where the ball is going. In 35.1 MLB innings over the last three years, Little has a 2.80 ERA — which is good! He’s struck out 44 batters in those innings, which is also good! He’s also walked 28 batters in those innings, which is… not good. If Little could ever harness command and control, he could be a useful MLB reliever. So far this year at Triple-A Iowa, Little has walked 10 batters (and struck out nine) in 7.2 innings, so… not yet, anyway.

Ryan Rolison, as noted, pitched for the Rockies last year. He was their first-round pick (22nd overall) in 2018 out of the University of Mississippi. Last year Rolison posted a 7.02 ERA and 1.772 WHIP in 42.1 innings. The Cubs claimed him on waivers in January. At Iowa this year, Rolison has a 3.68 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 7.1 innings over five appearances.

Here are the moves to make room for Little and Rolison:

Charlie Barnes was called up to the Cubs over the weekend and threw the last three innings of Monday’s loss to the Phillies. I assume he’ll be on the Iowa Shuttle his year.

Ethan Roberts, who has a 0.00 ERA in three games (2.2 innings) with the Cubs this year. Hopefully this injury is nothing serious. He seems like he could also be a useful Iowa Shuttle piece.

This gives the Cubs four left-handers in the pen as they face the lefty-heavy Phillies for six more games over the next week. In addition to Little and Rolison, Hoby Milner and Caleb Thielbar round out the southpaw relief crew. The Mets, who visit Wrigley Field this weekend, are a more right-handed hitting team, though they do have a couple of switch-hitters in Francisco Lindor and Jorge Polanco.

As always, we await developments. Today’s game preview will post at 3:30 p.m. CT.