Worldwide Sports News

There is a story in the Wall Street Journal called ‘In Defense of Umpires’ in which the author complains about the ABS Challenge System, which kind of surprised me. Of course, there are people who will complain about anything, but I’ve liked the challenge system. I’ve been surprised at how quick it is, I was worried that it would be a long break in the action, but it fits in an at bat fairly seamlessly. It is a lot quicker than having the manager and pitching coach yelling at the umpire.

And, I think, it has made life better for umpires. As much as we think they should get every pitch right, that’s not possible. But they seem somewhat better at making calls this year and when they get one wrong it can be corrected. No one is going to be perfect, but this allows baseball to fix the very imperfect calls.

But the story in the WSJ starts with “There is nothing good that can’t be ruined by technology.” I don’t know, my baseball fandom has improved with the ability to watch every game, not just one game a week. And that I can share my fandom with others around the country/planet, not just the few friends I have that also are baseball fans (or will pretend to be because I’m going to talk about baseball all the time anyway).

I know I’m supposed to be old and hate everything new and I do have some of that in me. But I’m a fan of the ABS system.

But Jonathan Shapiro says:

ABS, however, stops the game in its tracks and destroys the pace of play. And it does so for the spectacularly uninteresting purpose of conducting a spot audit of the umpire’s competence. This shifts the crowd’s focus away from where it should be, on the contest between hitter and pitcher, and redirects it to an artificial and irrelevant contest between umpire and robot. 

I was thinking maybe it might just be me, so I thought I’d put up a poll.

As a result of last night’s rainout, the Houston Astros (11-19) and Baltimore Orioles (14-15) will play a traditional doubleheader today at Camden Yards.

Game One: RHP Peter Lambert (1-1, 3.27 ERA) will make his 3rd start of the season as he takes on Orioles RHP Chris Bassitt (1-2, 6.75 ERA). Today will be Lambert’s 1st career appearance vs. BAL.

TODAY’S GM 1 STARTER: RHP Peter Lambert will make his 3rd start/app. of the season today.

He was stellar in his last start on 4/22 at CLE, allowing just 3 hits in 6.0 scoreless innings with 8 strikeouts (16 whiffs) in the Astros 2-0 win.

Lambert joined the Astros via free agency this offseason after pitching last year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the NPB, posting a 3.98 ERA (55ER/124.1IP) with 111 strikeouts in 23 appearances in Japan. He began this season at Triple A Sugar Land (1.84 ERA in 3 app. (2 GS) before being called up for a start on April 17 vs. STL.

A SWING AND A MISS: In his 2 starts this season, RHP Peter Lambert has induced a combined 39 swing-and-misses. The 23 whiffs he induced in his April 17 start vs. STL are the 3rd-highest total by an AL pitcher in 2026 and T-5th highest in the Majors:

Most Whiffs in a Game (2026)

1. 27 –Cole Ragans (4/25)

2. 26 – Shota Imanaga (4/15 at PHI)

3. 25 – Jacob Misiorowski (3/26 vs. CWS)

4. 24 – Dylan Cease (3/28 vs. ATH)

T5. 23 – Peter Lambert(4/17 vs. STL)

T5. 23 – Jesus Luzardo (4/4 at COL)

T5. 23 – Yoshinubu Yamamoto (4/14 vs. NYM)

T5. 23 – Kyle Harrison (4/26)

TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have placed RHP Ryan Weiss on the Paternity List.

To take his place on the active roster, the Astros have reinstated RHP Cody Bolton from the 15-day IL.

The Astros have also added RHP Jason Alexander to the roster as the 27^th man for the doubleheader.

VS. THE O’S: Today’s doubleheader will wrap up this 3-game series vs. the Orioles.

The Astros were 4-3 vs. BAL in 2025 with a 3-1 mark here at Camden Yards, Aug. 21-24. The two clubs will next meet for a 3-game set at Daikin Park, July 17-19.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH?:Yordan Alvarez is a strong candidate for the AL Player of the Month Award as he has had a torrid start to his season, hitting .355 with 11 HR and 26 RBI.

Alvarez leads the AL in OPS (1.199), RBI (26), SLG (.736), OBP (.463) and Total Bases (81) while ranking 2nd in batting avg. (.355) and WAR (1.9). Additionally, Alvarez’ current 13-game hitting streak is tied for the longest active streak in the AL (Kevin McGonigle-DET) and matches his career-best, done May 2-16, 2023.

HISTORIC HOMERS: Yordan Alvarez is off to one of the most prolific starts in franchise history. His 11 HR through the club’s first 30 games of the season are the 2nd-most in franchise history. Below is a breakdown:

Most HOU HR Thru 30G:

1:Lance Berkman: 13 (2002)

T2: Yordan Alvarez: 11 (2026)

T2: Lance Berkman: 11 (2006)

Most HOU HR Thru 31G:

1. Lance Berkman: 13 (2002)

T2: Y. Alvarez: 11 (2019, 22)

T2: Jeff Bagwell: 11 (2003)

T2: Lance Berkman: (2006)

ROAD WARRIOR: In 9 road games (6 starts) this season, Brice Matthews is 7×21 (.333) with a HR, 6 RBI and 6 BB, slashing (.333/462/.619) for a 1.081 OPS.

In his young career, Matthews is hitting .289 in 16 road games (12 starts) with 5 HR and 15 RBI with a .396 OBP and a .689 SLG (1.085 OPS).

CAMDEN CRUSHER: Jose Altuve has a .366 (60×164) career avg. at Camden Yards with a 1.029 OPS in 39 games. His .366 avg ranks T-2nd-best all-time, using a minimum of 150 ABs vs. The O’s.

Additionally, Altuve has a .315 career avg. (94×298) vs. the Orioles overall. He has posted a .300+ career batting avg. vs. 15 opposing teams.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: With 238 career HR, Jose Altuve needs one more to tie Lou Whitaker for 7th place all-time among 2nd basemen.

Altuve also needs 3 RBI to become the 5th player in franchise history to reach 900.

WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER:Christian Walker is hitting .429 (12×28) in his last 7 games (since 4/20) with 3 HR and 7 RBI.

Among The Leaders: For the season, Walker enters today ranked T-3rd in the AL in RBI (23), 4th in SLG (.579), T-6th in TB (62), 5th in OPS (.956) and T-6th in doubles (9).

HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY: To Phil Garner, who would have turned 77 years old today.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1982 – At Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburth, Phil Garner hits a 3-run HR on his 33rd birthday to help defeat the Pirates, 4-3. Garner, who was voted into the Astros Hall of Fame earlier this month, had played for the Pirates (1977-81) prior to being traded to HOU on Aug. 31, 1981.

1979 – At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Terry Puhl’s 2-run HR in the top of the 9th lifted the Astros to a 6-5, comeback win over the Cardinals. The Astros had entered the 9th, trailing, 4-2. Puhl’s HR capped a dramatic, 4-run 9th-inning rally.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, April 30, 11:35 a.m. CDT

Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD

TV: Space City Home Network

Streaming: SCHN+

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

As fans continue to digest the news of Rob Thomson’s dismissal as Phillies manager, at least one legendary member of the franchise isn’t wild about the idea of firing a manager so early in the season.

Speaking to me on Monday, prior to Thomson’s firing, for my Hittin’ Season podcast, powered by WHYY, Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt said, as a player, letting go of the skipper at this juncture of the season is a bad look for the players in the clubhouse.

“I think letting the manager and coaches go is an embarrassing thing to the players,” Schmidt said. “They feel bad enough. And Rob, I think Rob is a fantastic manager.”

Thomson was let go after parts of five seasons as the Phils’ manager, coming off back-to-back NL East championships but also a string of disappointing postseasons and a 9-19 record and the worst run differential in Major League Baseball. Schmidt says the players are acutely aware of their role in this situation.

“They know what’s going on. The media doesn’t need to tell them. They feel awful.”

Schmist says the team is the victim of a small sample size.

“I looked at the box score the other day with the batting averages going up and down the box score, and they were horrendous, actually. That will all change over time. A month and a half from now, that will change. They can’t continue to lose at this rate. They just can’t. They’ll start winning 2 out of 3, 3 out of 4, and the confidence will come back, the players will start to feel it.

You’ve got to get rid of this sense of focusing on how many they’ve lost in a row and start thinking, ‘I hope we don’t lose another one’ and start thinking about having fun. When you start losing like that, it’s not necessarily fun to go out and play. It’s hard to describe. People would say, ‘Well they’re paying you $25 million a year, you ought to have fun, right?‘ It doesn’t work that way. Something will happen to change this, they’re just too good.

Before you know it you find yourself creeping back, creeping back to .500 and then boom, next thing you know you’re two or three games over, and you have a whole new lease on life.”

One thing the Phillies have in their favor is playing in an era in which getting off to a dreadfully slow start is more permissible. With three wild card teams and three division winners, teams can rally after a rough first couple months. Schmidt, who never played during a time when more than two division winners in each league made the postseason, is not a fan of a larger postseason field.

“I wouldn’t want to play the way they have it now. We had four. And we only played two rounds, the NLCS and World Series. I much prefer that, without question. But the way it is right now, the Phillies are still going to have to get to 90 wins. Maybe 88. It depends on the NL East. And they are some really good teams out west. San Diego, L.A. You get too far behind the other teams, then it’s hard to even grab one of those last playoff spots. But you can’t worry about that, you got to just go grind every day.”

Regardless of how the 2026 season ends, it appears inevitable that the sport is headed for a lockout once the final pitch of the World Series is thrown. Owners appear determined to push for a salary cap and floor to combat the disparity between ultra-spending teams like the Dodgers and Mets, and the under-spending teams like the Reds, Pirates, A’s and Rays.

“I’d assume [The Player’s Association] would hold strong [on a salary cap]. We did back in ‘76 when free agency was on the table. Players are entitled to make what they can make in a free market. I’m assuming it’ll be a rough off-season this year, as a former player.”

Schmidt is currently engaged in a campaign aimed at educating youth sports participants about the dangers of not using sunscreen while playing sports. Schmidt talked at length about his battle with melanoma as an adult, diagnosed in 2013 with Stage 3, undergoing surgery, immunotherapy and radiation to treat cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes. His desire is for parents and kids to avoid those kinds of troubles with skin cancer as an adult.

“Once it gets to the point it was with me, you can’t say that it won’t come back. Cancer is an awful thing. So I joined the Richard David Kahn Melanoma Foundation and it gives me a chance for me to tell my story. To give back and talk to kids and adults about the dangers of the sun’s rays. Try to convince kids and adults they need to wear protection. We decided to bring it up to Philadelphia, I started a 501c3, the Mike Schmidt Initiative.

So many great things are happening with us, and I’m getting an opportunity to tell my story and hopefully affect as many people as we can. Our mission is to stop skin cancer. That’s what we’re trying to do.“

If you would like to learn more about Mike Schmidt’s history with melanoma and his work with young athletes to prevent skin cancer, visit MelanomaFoundation.com.

You can watch the full interview on WHYY’s YouTube page here.

And catch the entire Hittin’ Season episode here!

Red Sox Hit Piece Week rolls on, everyone! Today it’s Alex Speier, arguably the current dean of the Red Sox beat, who has a big piece diving into the ways that the relationship between Craig Breslow and Alex Cora slowly fractured over the past few years. The juiciest nugget in this one? “Breslow contemplated significant changes to the coaching staff and especially the hitting group (including Fatse ― beloved by players: ‘Top, top hitting mind and work ethic in the hitting world,’ said one) both during and after the 2025 season… [W]hen Breslow raised the idea of staff change to Cora, the manager made his feelings clear: If Breslow wanted to do so, he’d have to fire Cora.“ (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

And it’s clear that Breslow’s desire to fire the coaching staff last season wasn’t merely a case of a CBO wanting to bring in his own guys — there were meaningful conflicts about how best to do the job: “At one point last year… Breslow asked the Red Sox coaching staff to begin documenting every pregame hitting and defensive drill done by each player, which some coaches found excessive and time consuming, further fueling a perceived lack of trust between the staff and the front office.” Moreover, one unnamed player credits Alex Bregman with, at one point, stepping in to defend the hitting coaches and protect their jobs. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

Following his dismissal, Cora was given a chance to pen a farewell email to the Red Sox staff. Here it is. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

Many of the players appear to still be taking the dismissals hard. And that doesn’t just apply to Alex Cora. Connor Wong spoke out about losing Jason Varitek, who he says was “like a dad” to the whole team. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Given the age discrepancy, it would be pretty weird if Terry Francona said Varitek or Cora were like dads to him, but he did say that Alex Cora is “one of my favorite people in the world.” (Connor Ryan, Boston.com)

We have no idea how John Henry feels about Alex Cora, because John Henry continues to refuse to acknowledge the general public that funds his baseball team. But Sam Kennedy defended his boss’s silence: “John Henry is deeply engaged with this organization… he doesn’t always do it in the most public-facing way. He’s very selective in terms of how he engages with the media, but that should not ever be confused with a lack of involvement or care.” (Scott McLaughlin, WEEI)

With all of the former Red Sox players speaking out (though anonymously in many cases), you may have thought that Mookie Betts would get involved. But, naturally, Mookie is too smart for that:

Meanwhile, there is still baseball to be played and the Red Sox didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory up in Toronto this week. That certainly applies to Brayan Bello, who was demonstrably upset about being removed from the game by Chad Tracy yesterday. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Besides Tracy, here’s a look at some of the other new faces in the Red Sox dugout (Amin Touri, Boston Globe)

Michael Harris II was seen favoring his ailing quad during last night’s win over the Tigers, and as such, it’s not surprising to see him get another breather in a short turnaround matinee game, especially given that Framber Valdez throws with his left hand. The absence of Harris is part of a wholesale rejiggering of the bottom of the order on getaway day: Kyle Farmer starts at DH and hits seventh, Jorge Mateo is in at shortstop and hitting eighth while Mauricio Dubon moves to left field, and Eli White will man center and hopefully not have another nightmarish miscue that directly leads to a loss.

The Tigers are largely starting familiar faces, though the well-hitting Dillon Dingler will get a rest as Jake Rogers takes over with the tools of ignorance. It remains a fairly terrifying top half of the lineup for Detroit that Bryce Elder will have to navigate — Martin Perez and JR Ritchie did okay-ish, so we’ll see if Elder can do his part.

There’s not very much familiarity here between Elder and the Detroit batters. Only five batters in the lineup have faced him, none have more than six PAs, and the collective line is a .224 wOBA and .297 xwOBA in a whopping 17 PAs. Ho-hum.

On the flip side, the Braves have a fair bit of familiarity with Valdez given his veteran status (plus, Mauricio Dubon was his teammate for a while). Matt Olson, White, Mateo, and Ozzie Albies all have double-digit PAs against him — Albies has crushed him with a .553 wOBA / .400 xwOBA. Really, there’s mostly good history here among everyone except Dubon and Drake Baldwin (who haven’t faced Valdez yet), with a collective .344 wOBA and .330 xwOBA in 79 PAs. Austin Riley, Albies, and Farmer have also gotten some key knocks off Valdez in their shared postseason history.

As a bit of personal amusement, this will be Kyle Farmer’s first start of the year. He has 10 PAs so far this season, with a 92 wRC+ that comes from outhitting his xwOBA a bit.