Location, Location, Location.

Location remains the golden rule of real estate, directly driving a property’s market value.

The same holds for major league pitchers who master their location effectively by controlling the game’s tempo. It forces opposing hitters into uncomfortable at-bats at the plate.

San Diego Padres reliever Adrian Morejon was outstanding in his first appearance of the 2026 season. He pitched two shutout innings, as he threw 23 total pitches with 14 for strikes. The left-hander is the high-leverage arm that bridges he gap before Mason Miller comes in to close out games.

Since then, Morejon has given up seven runs on nine hits in three innings pitched. Three poor outings should not define a pitcher’s season. But his 10.80 ERA does offer early concerns in the second full week of the 2026 season. 

The struggles are unexplainable, but the numbers do not lie.

Command issues have plagued Morejon 

It’s very hard to imagine Morejon struggling in games because his velocity is up near 98 MPH this season. Command issues have limited his effectiveness on the mound. If he cannot locate the fastball, then his secondary pitches lose their edge against batters. It has been easy for hitters to put the barrel of their bat on the ball and drive the pitch for extra bases. 

His trouble is trying to strike out every batter instead of using the defense behind him to record outs. Morejon has a career 47% ground ball rate; he may need to narrow his approach to generate weak contact. 

No question, Morejon is a quality setup reliever with a swing-and-miss repertoire, but his location has been horrible over his last three outings. Often, the pitch count balloons, and the appearance quickly unravels. Damage is done by opposing hitters because the pitches have caught too much of the plate.

If Friars pitching coach Ruben Niebla can get Morejon to trust his pitches, the results will improve. He has too much talent to falter all season.

The Padres are 6-6, but the starting rotation is a work in progress. To win games, the bullpen must be productive and absorb poor starts from the rotation.

Morejon’s struggles must end now. 

Wednesday was a good day. For the second day in a row, the San Francisco Giants and their four Minor League Baseball A-ball affiliates all won their games. That’s a whole lot of winning, so let’s talk about it!

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

AAA Sacramento (7-4)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 8-7 (11 innings)
Box score

It took a pair of extra innings, but the River Cats managed to win their 4th consecutive game. And they did it with a fair amount of drama. Sacramento allowed the Manfred Man to score in both the 10th and 11th innings, and in the 11th, they started off the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, failing to move the runner over. But shortstop Osleivis Basabe, who hit 1-3 with an error, drew his 2nd walk of the day, and center fielder Drew Gilbert put the ball in play, reaching base safely — and knocking in the tying run — on an error.

And that brought up second baseman Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL), who ended the game by smashing an RBI double.

Rodríguez finished the day 2-5 with a walk, and is really heating up after a slow start. After being held hitless in the season opener, the righty has hit safely in 7 straight games, and so far in 3 games against Vegas, he’s 6-13 with 2 extra-base hits, 2 walks, and just 1 strikeout, which has brought him up to a .754 OPS and a 104 wRC+. He’s still a few weeks away from turning 24, and he’s on the 40-man roster … don’t be surprised if he makes his Major League debut in the coming months, whether as a backup catcher, a fill-in second baseman, or a utility player.

But while Rodríguez provided the winning hit, the most notable hit belonged to the most notable player on the roster: first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL). Eldridge needed just 1 at-bat in this game to provide a sight for sore eyes: a towering, majestic, absolutely gorgeous 2-run home run, though we sadly were deprived of audio for it.

It’s weird to say, but we hadn’t seen Eldridge’s power in a little while. Counting Spring Training, he had gone 24 consecutive games without putting a ball over the fence, with just 6 total extra-base hits during that time (though, admittedly, he wasn’t playing full Spring Training games).

But no more. Eldridge has his 1st home run of the year … and the 1st of many, I’m sure. The only question is how many will be in a Sacramento jersey, and how many will be in a San Francisco jersey.

Still, the warnings I issued in yesterday’s roundup are still true for Eldridge, who finished the day 2-5 with 2 strikeouts. While the nice day boosted his batted ball metrics, which had been lagging behind what we’ve grown to expect, the strikeout issues are still concerning, as the tall lefty is 16th percentile in strikeout rate, 11th percentile in whiff rate, 12th percentile in in-zone contact rate, and 32nd percentile in swinging strike rate. Work to be done, but a big step forward.

Another player who figures to hit a lot of home runs this year in either Sacramento or San Francisco went deep as well: left fielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL), who went just 1-5 with 2 strikeouts, but bashed a tie-breaking home run in the 8th inning.

Like Eldridge, Bericoto is striking out a little too much (26.2%), though that’s not been a big issue in his career, so probably something that will lower as he adjusts to the level. The sample is small, but through 9 games this year, Bericoto looks nothing like the hitter who struggled in 11 games at the level last year. Then he hit .196/.196/.283 with a wRC+ of 16; this year, he’s hitting .306/.381/.583, for a 155 wRC+.

And the final member of the home run party was center fielder Drew Gilbert, who hit just 1-6 but smacked a solo home run.

Gilbert had a rough Spring Training as he dealt with a shoulder injury and never was able to find a rhythm. But he’s been hitting very well in Sacramento, with an .833 OPS, a 135 wRC+, and more walks than strikeouts. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for right fielder Grant McCray, whose strikeout issues are starting to return, as he hit 0-4 with a walk and 2 Ks. McCray is mired in quite a slump at the moment: in his last 5 starts, he’s 0-16 with 7 strikeouts. He does have 6 walks in that time, and that’s been his saving grace this season: he’s hitting just 6-35 with 0 home runs, but has drawn 10 walks and been hit by a pitch.

While the hitters who are on the 40-man roster mostly had good days, the same cannot be said for the pitchers. Unfortunately, it was another rough outing for RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 12 CPL) who got the start but simply could not find the strike zone. The silver lining (if you really squint) is that McDonald was unhittable, ceding no hits all game. But that was because he was wild, and not effectively wild, either. He needed 52 pitches to get through 2.1 innings, and threw just half of them for strikes. While that did earn him a pair of strikeouts, it also resulted in 4 walks, a hit batter, and 2 runs to his name … and it could have been more than that, as he left with the bases loaded and just 1 out, but only 1 of the inherited runners scored.

McDonald was one of the stars of the start of Spring Training, but it’s been all downhill since then for the recently-turned 25-year old. In his last 6 games — 3 each in Spring Training and AAA — McDonald has pitched 12.2 innings and allowed 13 hits, 7 walks, 3 hit batters, and 14 earned runs, albeit with 14 strikeouts. He’s got some ironing out to do to catch the other young, unproven pitchers on the 40-man roster.

Replacing McDonald was RHP Tristan Beck, who is trying to work his way back to the MLB bullpen. He didn’t enter the rosiest situation, but also didn’t pitch his best, allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run in 1.2 innings of work, with 1 strikeout. Beck’s been fine so far this year — he has a 3.18 ERA, a 1.87 FIP, and 9 strikeouts against 3 walks in 5.2 innings — but isn’t yet forcing the issue.

Unlike McDonald and Beck, RHPs Gregory Santos and Will Bednar (No. 24) aren’t on the 40-man roster, but they have some of the best fastballs in the organization, and are hoping to become part of the Major League bullpen plan at some point soon. They had so-so days: Santos gave up 2 hits and an earned run in 2 innings, with a strikeout, while Bednar pitched the 10th and 11th innings and allowed both Manfred Men to score, but gave up just 1 hit and no earned runs, with 1 strikeout. Bednar is performing much better than he did in his brief glimpse of AAA last year. His velo was notably down in this game, but that could potentially be due to the fact that he wasn’t supposed to pitch in this game, and was called into action when it went to extra innings.

AA Richmond (4-1)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Altoona Curve (Pirates) 5-3
Box score

It was a very well-balanced attack for the Squirrels on Wednesday, as they, too, drove their winning streak to 4 games. The biggest contribution came from the hitter at the very bottom of the lineup: center fielder Jonah Cox.

By now, you’re likely familiar with the story of Cox, the 2023 6th-round pick whom the Giants stole from the A’s in the Ross Stripling trade. He’s arguably the best baserunner in the system (Jared Oliva takes the cake if we’re including the Majors), and plays quality defense at all 3 outfield positions. It’s an Oliva-esque 4th/5th outfielder profile, and that’s Cox’s ceiling unless he can start hitting better. Last year he spent the full season in High-A Eugene, where he had a modest .731 OPS and a 103 wRC+.

But he’s off to quite a start in Richmond. On Wednesday the 24-year old righty hit 2-4 with a double and a strikeout, raising his OPS to .831 and his wRC+ to 124. There will be some regression — he has a 27.3% strikeout rate and a .500 BABIP — but still. It’s good to see him making things happen with the bat.

His legs, meanwhile, did what we’re accustomed to them doing, as he stole a pair of bases. Through 5 games he now has 5 thefts in 6 attempts. What a fun player.

Third baseman Dayson Croes had yet another nice game, hitting 2-5 with a double. He’s hit safely in all 5 games this year, which includes 3 multi-hit games, and he’s 10-24 on the year. I talked quite a bit about Croes in yesterday’s roundup, so you can get a refresher there if you missed it, but don’t be surprised if the Giants find a way to get him in AAA soon. He spent a chunk of time there last year, and hit quite well, and is probably only in AA because Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL) is occupying a very similar role for the River Cats.

Catcher Drew Cavanaugh (No. 19 CPL) continues to make an enticing case that last year’s breakout season was no fluke. The lefty hitter, who had the breakout season of all breakout seasons after 2 middling years following a 17th-round selection, hit 1-3 with a double and a walk. It’s only been 3 games — he’s splitting catcher duties with Adrián Sugastey — but Cavanaugh is hitting about as well as you could possibly hope, as he’s 6-11 with 5 extra-base hits and 4 walks. Perhaps most impressively, though, is that a year after running a 28.3% strikeout rate in AA (and a 27.4% rate across 4 levels), Cavanaugh has yet to strike out.

Also great days for second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) and right fielder Turner Hill. Velasquez, a contact maven who is lacking a bit in power and physicality, hit 1-2 with a double, 2 walks, and a strikeout, raising the 22-year old switch-hitter’s OPS to 1.264 through 3 games, with a 263 wRC+. Hill, a lefty who just turned 27 and who has a very similar profile to Cox, went 1-3 with a triple, a walk, 3 RBIs, and a strikeout, boosting his OPS to .818 and his wRC+ to 105 through 5 games.

It was an odd pitching game for Richmond. They gave up just 3 hits on the day, but walked 9 batters. The only player immune from the walks was the closer, RHP Tyler Vogel, who pitched a scoreless inning with a hit and 2 strikeouts. Vogel has been sensational through 3 appearances this year, giving up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs, while striking out 7 batters. He was dominant in 16 innings with Richmond last year, and earned a cup of coffee in Sacramento, so I’d say he’s not going to be a Squirrel for much longer. He’s really meeting the moment, and since he’s Rule 5 eligible, I’d guess the Giants would like to see what he can do in AAA.

The start was the organizational debut for RHP Logan Martin. A 24-year old taken in the 12th round in 2023, Martin came to the Giants over the winter in the Mason Black trade. It was also Martin’s AA debut, as he spent all of last year with Kansas City’s High-A affiliate, where he had a 3.45 ERA and a 3.79 FIP in 22 starts.

It was a so-so introduction to the level, as Martin pitched 4 innings and gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs, with 5 strikeouts. Only allowing 2 hits is great, though they were both extra-baggers, including a home run. But needless to say, the walks will need to come down. Still, the strikeouts proved encouraging: Martin only K’d 7.7 batters per 9 innings last year, so it will be interesting to see if the Giants have untapped some better swing-and-miss stuff, or if this was just an outlier where his wildness made amateur hitters uncomfortable.

Really funny scoreless relief appearances from LHPs Jack Choate (No. 37 CPL) and Dylan Carmouche. Neither of the 24-year old late-rounders (9th round in 2022 for Choate, 15th in 2023 for Carmouche) could find the strike zone, for better and for worse. Choate tossed 2.2 no-hit innings with 4 strikeouts, but walked 3 batters. Carmouche was even more extreme, with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts in just 1.1 no-hit innings.

High-A Eugene (5-0)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 5-2
Box score

Eugene saw Sacramento and Richmond’s 4-game winning streaks and said they’ll do one better: a 5-game winning streak! And a 5-game winning streak to start the season, no less.

The most notable players on the Emeralds roster are on the position player side, but let’s start with the pitching, because it really was a sensational day on the mound for the Ems. And it started, as things tend to do, with the starter: LHP Tyler Switalski.

Switalski, a 16th-round pick in 2024, is not generally a strikeout artist. He K’d just 7.6 batters per 9 innings in his debut season last year, which was split 75% in Low-A and 25% in High-A.

But you wouldn’t know he wasn’t a big strikeout guy if you watched Wednesday’s game, when he simply wore down Vancouver’s hitters all game long. He gave up just 2 hits in 4.1 innings, and only walked 1 batter while throwing 53 of 73 pitches for strikes. And the kicker? A whopping 9 strikeouts.

You couldn’t craft a better start to the year for Switalski, who through 8 scoreless innings has issued 4 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 17. By comparison, he also struck out 17 batters in High-A last year … except that came in 23 innings, not 8. Obviously the sample size is small, but if he’s made tangible improvements to his stuff, then he’s worth keeping an eye on. Funky lefties can always rise the ranks … but most pitchers stall out if they can’t strike out batters.

Speaking of southpaws with strikeouts, LHP Esmerlin Vinicio made his season debut and struck out 3 batters in 1.2 no-hit innings, with 1 walk allowed. Vinicio only recently turned 23, but this is his 6th season of Minor League Baseball, and he’s still trying to prove himself in High-A. It might be a make-or-break season for him.

RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 21 CPL) showed off both his electricity and command issues in the 9th inning, throwing just 14 of 27 pitches for strikes, while walking 2 batters, allowing a hit, and giving up a run. But he also hit triple digits, and struck out the side. That’s the Maldonado package: he has some of the nastiest stuff in the system, and if he can figure out how to slash the walks in half, he could fly from A-ball to a high-leverage MLB role in a shockingly short amount of time. After a few years of being developed as a starter, it looks like the Giants are now committing to using the 22-year old strictly as a reliever, which seems like a good idea to me.

There was a lot of excitement on the offensive side, primarily from Eugene’s pair of highest-ranked prospects, center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) and shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL).

Kilen’s season has been nothing short of a 5-game revelation, and that continued on Wednesday, when he hit 2-4 with a double and a sacrifice fly. Some people — not ashamed to admit that I’m very much included in that group — might have had concerns about how last year’s 1st-round pick would fare with an opening assignment in High-A, after posting a .561 OPS and a 58 wRC+ in a 10-game sample in Low-A last year.

Smarter people — again, not ashamed to admit I’m very much not included in that group — felt confident in the assignment, given that the lefty, who turned 22 a few weeks ago, is a highly polished hitter coming out of the best conference in college (the SEC), and who was playing through an injury in his debut last year.

A 5-game sample is small, but it’s also enough to tell us emphatically that if Kilen is at the wrong level, it’s because he should be up a ring, not down one. All he’s done in Eugene is hit, hit, and hit some more. He’s hit safely in all 5 games, with 4 multi-hit showings. In total, he’s gone 10-20 with 5 extra-base hits, 3 walks, and only 2 strikeouts. And while there will be a lot to do in the coming months and years to prove that he can stay at shortstop, he’s looked good there so far.

As for Jordan, a fellow high-impact SEC bat, things have been not quite as solid, but plenty electric. The strikeout issues that plagued his career at Mississippi State — and led to him falling to the 4th round in 2024, despite having some of the best power, speed, and athleticism in the draft — took a step in the right direction last year in Low-A, but have come roaring back in High-A. That didn’t change at the start of this game, as he K’d in his 1st pair of at-bats … but after that? A double, followed by a double, followed by a double.

No, let me correct that: a loud double, followed by a loud double, followed by a loud double.

We’re seeing both sides of the coin with Jordan right now. He’s hitting 6-22, which is good, and all 6 of his hits have gone for extra bases, which is beyond great. He’s also struck out in 13 of his 23 plate appearances, which … well, yeah. You don’t need me to editorialize or contextualize there!

It’s a new level and it’s cold in the Pacific Northwest this time of year, which is something that someone who was born and raised in the south probably isn’t all too familiar with. So perhaps there’s no need to overcomplicate this … it might just be an adjustment period. But no matter how scary the strikeouts are, the impact when he makes contact has me drooling.

The other good offensive day belonged to someone in desperate need of one: catcher Diego Cartaya. You’re all probably familiar with Cartaya’s story at this point, but if not, here’s the quick and dirty: he was one of the best prospects in all of baseball in the Dodgers system, but fell apart as he reached the upper Minors, and was released (he was on the 40-man roster) last year. He got picked up by the Twins last year, and almost exclusively struck out — seriously, while playing for Minnesota’s AAA affiliate, he hit 5-59 with 40 strikeouts. They released him, and the Giants signed him to a multi-year Minor League deal.

San Francisco has, wisely in my opinion, decided to hit the reset button with Cartaya. Despite his experience in the upper Minors (he has 595 plate appearances in AA and 277 in AAA), they’ve sent him down to High-A to be in a lower pressure environment. It started very poorly: in his 1st 3 games, he hit 0-9 with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks. But Wednesday was a reminder as to the talent he has, as he got his 1st hit of the year, launching an absolutely stunning home run.

In his other 3 plate appearances, Cartaya struck out once and walked twice. There’s a lot of work to do. A lot of work to do, both for Cartaya and for the organization … but my goodness, that swing sure is gorgeous when it connects. Sadly there’s no video of the home run to back that up, but trust me!

Second baseman Zander Darby had a very nice day, hitting 3-4 with a stolen base and a strikeout. A lefty who was taken in the 12th round in 2024, Darby had a very strong year in Low-A last season, but struggled following a late-season promotion to Eugene. So far he’s putting those struggles behind him, as he’s 8-15 with 3 extra-base hits on the year.

Low-A San Jose (4-1)

San Jose Giants beat the Visalia Rawhide 8-2
Box score

Bryce Eldridge might have had the most exciting game in the system thanks to his proximity to the Majors. But there can be no denying who had the best game: shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL).

2025 was a breakout year for Level, a switch-hitter who turned 19 just a few weeks ago. But if the 1st week is any indication, 2026 is somehow going to be an even better year.

Level was utterly superb in this game, hitting 3-5 with a home run, 2 doubles, and 1 strikeout. Yeeeeeesh.

Level held his own in a short High-A stint last year, which was mighty impressive given his age. But this year he’s downright killing it, hitting 12-23 with 6 extra-base hits, 2 walks, and 3 stolen bases. Given his prospect pedigree and his defensive chops, plus the fact that he spent some time at the level last year, it wouldn’t be surprising to me if he ends up getting a fairly early promotion, assuming he keeps hitting like this. In the meantime, if you live in the Bay Area, maybe get to a Baby Giants game and enjoy the show while it’s still there. This dude is unreal!

Catcher Junior Barajas is having quite a professional debut, as he had yet another standout game, hitting 2-4 with a home run, a walk, and a strikeout. The 11th-round pick last year has hit safely in all 4 of his games in his debut season, and that underscores just how good he’s been: he’s 8-19 with 6 extra-base hits and 10 RBIs. Those are good numbers for anyone, but especially exciting stats for a player who has some solid chops behind the dish.

Taken 1 round ahead of Barajas last year was designated hitter Isaiah Barkett, who is a second baseman by trade. The 22-year old out of Stetson has only played in 2 games in his debut season, but he has also made quite an impression: after going 2-3 with a double and a walk in his debut, he went 3-4 on Wednesday, hit his first professional home run, and bopped another double. Happy debuts all around!

First baseman Jeremiah Jenkins, a 14th-round pick in 2024, continued his nice season, hitting 2-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout in his 2nd game of the year.

The best game on the mound came from a great story: RHP Sam Bower. Bower was an 11th round pick back in 2022 out of St. Mary’s, and was born in Visalia (hey, that’s who the Giants were playing!). But, due to a series of injuries, the 22-year old entered 2026 — technically his 5th season as a pro — still looking to make his Minor League debut.

That debut happened on Friday, and it didn’t go well, but it was a huge milestone nonetheless. But on Wednesday he made his 2nd appearance, and this was one he’ll remember, as Bower tossed 2 no-hit innings in relief, allowing just 1 baserunner on a walk, while striking out 3 batters and recording his 1st career win. What a great moment, and hopefully there are many, many more games in his future.

RHP Mauricio Estrella, who turns 22 next week, continued his great season of relief, throwing 2 shutout innings with 3 hits allowed … but 4 strikeouts. Through 2 games, Estrella has 7 strikeouts in 3.2 scoreless frames.

Like Bower and Estrella, RHP Dylan Carter pitched in his 2nd game of the year, and like Bower, it put a bad season debut well behind him, as the 2025 UDFA threw a perfect 9th inning with 2 strikeouts.

RHP Cody Delvecchio got the start, and it didn’t go as well as his sensational debut last week. The 2025 12th-round pick out of UCLA gave up some hard contact, as he allowed 4 hits (including 2 doubles) in 3 innings of work. That, plus a walk, tagged him for 2 earned runs, though he struck out 4 batters. Impressively, the recently-turned 22 year old threw 49 of 64 pitches for strikes, which you know the Giants love to see.

Home run tracker

2 — Victor Bericoto — [AAA]
2 — Jhonny Level — [Low-A]
2 — Junior Barajas — [Low-A]
1 — Bryce Eldridge — [AAA]
1 — Drew Gilbert — [AAA]
1 — Diego Cartaya — [High-A]
1 — Isaiah Barkett — [Low-A]

Thursday schedule

Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Las Vegas (SP: Carson Whisenhunt)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Altoona (SP: Greg Farone)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT at Vancouver (SP: Niko Mazza)
San Jose: 6:00 p.m. PT vs. Visalia (SP: Jordan Gottesman)

The Yankees have generally gotten off to a winning start this season, with only a few things here and there going wrong. One thing that has definitely gone wrong for them has been the fact that they’ve gotten hardly any production out of the lower order of the lineup. As it turns out, that’s a big issue when the top part of the lineup also has a bad day.

Facing Jeffrey Springs and the Athletics, the Yankees were held to just one hit all day, as it took very late into the game to even get on the board there. Springs allowed just one Ben Rice single and two walks in his seven innings, before turning it over to an A’s bullpen that didn’t give up much more.

On the mound for the Yankees, you can’t really complain about anything that happened there. While he does go down as the losing pitcher, Ryan Weathers had a very good afternoon. He ended up going eight innings, allowing one run on seven scattered hits, while striking out seven. He very much looked like the intriguing pitcher the Yankees traded for, and that should and probably will be a performance that gets rewarded almost every other time.

However, it wasn’t in this one, as the Yankees’ offense struggled too much, dropping the game and the series in a 1-0 loss to the Athletics.

The pitching matchup on paper didn’t seem like it had massive pitchers’ duel potential, but that’s what it was. As mentioned, the Yankees didn’t record a hit until the seventh, and Weathers was able to at least keep putting up zeroes in the run column, even though the A’s had a couple more chances. Eventually, the Athletics broke through for the game’s only run.

Leading off the top of the seventh, Max Muncy tripled after Cody Bellinger (filling in for Trent Grisham, who had the day off) slightly misplayed the ball off the wall. Tyler Soderstrom immediately followed that with a hit of his own to plate Muncy with the game’s only score.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Yankees finally got into the hit column when Rice singled. Giancarlo Stanton had already drawn a walk, and the hit set up the Yankees’ first real RISP chance of the day, but that failed to amount to anything. Similarly, they had a couple runners on in the eighth against Justin Sterner for Aaron Judge, but he could only muster an inning-ending groundout.

Despite allowing a double, Paul Blackburn threw a scoreless frame in the top of the ninth to keep the Yankees in striking distance. However, they would only remain in striking distance and not actually striking, as they went down fairly meekly at the hands of Hogan Harris, who retired them in order in the ninth.

This was a game where you can’t even bemoan them stranding runners in scoring position as, while they did do that a little bit, they didn’t even get a ton of opportunities. The left-on-base total for the game ended up at just five. As a result, the Yankees have taken a series loss for the first time all season, and we have our first stretch that we can truly complain about in 2026. Hooray?

Having wrapped up their first homestand of the season, the Yankees will now head south. They’re set to make their first trip to the reopened Tropicana Field tomorrow night at 7:10 pm ET. Luis Gil will make his 2026 debut in that one, going opposite Steven Matz.

Box Score

Mets left-hander A.J. Minter began his rehab assignment with a clean inning at Single-A Port St. Lucie on Thursday afternoon.

The reliever had a quick outing, needing only nine pitches to get the three batters he faced, including a strikeout looking, aided by a timely ABS challenge.

Speaking in Queens ahead of Thursday’s game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza indicated it could still be a bit of time before the 32-year-old reliever is ready to pitch again in the big leagues as he looks to return from a torn left lat.

“We started the clock,” Mendoza said. “It will be one of those where, if we have to use every single day, we will. But the fact that he’s in real competition is a good sign.”

Minter averaged 93 mph on his four fastballs, which was down 1.5 mph from his average last season. He got one whiff on three swings, which came on his hardest heater of the afternoon at 93.5 mph.

The cutter was good, getting three called strikes on four pitches, including the put-away on the strikeout. His average velocity of 89.8 was right in line with his average from a year ago.

The Mets have 30 days for Minter to complete his rehab, which puts him on track for a late-April or early-May return.

Fresh off a come from behind, ninth inning victory over the New York Yankees last night, the two teams were back at it this morning for the rubber match of the 3-game series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Jeffrey Springs got the start for the Athletics today against Ryan Weathers for the Yankees.

Both pitchers were rock solid through five innings. Weathers allowed four hits and no walks, and Springs held them hitless through five with just one walk. The only negative so far was Brent Rooker leaving the game during his first at-bat. After a swing and a miss, he immediately asked to be lifted from the game in pain. Lawrence Butler replaced him. The initial report was right side soreness. Look here for more info once we hear anything.

Springs continued holding the Yankees hitless through six innings, but despite a mattering of hits, the A’s have yet to score. Max Muncy tripled off the wall in deep right-centerfield to open the seventh inning.

Tyler Soderstrom drove him in with a single to right. Austin Wynns dropped a nice sacrifice bunt to move Soderstrom to second with just one out.

With one out in the seventh, Springs walked Giancarlo Stanton and then Ben Rice singled for the first hit of the game for the Yankees. The Yankees successfully executed a double steal with pinch runner Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Rice. But Austin Wells flied out to left to end the inning and the threat. Headed to the top of the eighth inning, the A’s led the Yankees 1-0.

Springs exited the game in the bottom of the eighth, replaced by Justin Sterner. After two quick outs, he walked Amed Rosario. That brought up Aaron Judge. After working Sterner to a full count, Judge grounded out to second to end the inning.

Former A’s hurler Paul Blackburn came in to pitch the ninth for the A’s. With one out, Max Muncy doubled. Soderstrom grounded out, but that allowed Muncy to advance to third, but now with two outs. Wynns struck out to end the top half of the inning and brought a bottom of the ninth showdown.

Hogan Harris entered to pitch the ninth. He got Bellinger and Chisholm Jr. on pop outs. That brought up Ben Rice. He may have spoiled Springs’ no-no, but he was not going to spoil the win for the A’s and the save for Harris. The A’s took the series from the Yankees and now head to Flushing Meadows for a three-game set against the neighboring Mets.

For the Yankees, avoiding infamy might have felt like a minor victory.

But there was no real victory. And for 12 innings stretching across two miserable days, there was not even a hit.

Out of nowhere, as if their bats were suddenly dealing with a termite infestation, the Yankees offense disappeared. Following a single from Amed Rosario in Wednesday’s fourth inning and into Thursday’s seventh inning, Yankees batters went 0-for-36 and made Jeffrey Springs — less ace and more crafty lefty — look like Gerrit Cole.

Ben Rice ensured the 40,392 chilly fans in The Bronx would not witness history, but that proved to be the most positive moment of the matinee in what became a 1-0 loss to the A’s, who handed the Yankees their first series defeat of the season.

“We got shut down today,” said manager Aaron Boone, an eternal optimist who found no offensive silver lining. “The previous games where we’ve struggled scoring, I feel like we’re getting the traffic, we’re having quality at-bats.

“Today was the day we got beat.”

The Yankees (8-4) had looked like a buzzsaw until pitching from West Sacramento created a malfunction. Against Luis Severino and the A’s bullpen Wednesday, the Yankees totaled one hit after the first inning — the Rosario knock, which was erased by a double play — and flirted with true disaster a day later, finishing with a single hit.

Springs took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and never threw a pitch that registered even 93 mph. The veteran lefty was efficient, in control and pitching to weak contact on an afternoon when hopeless Yankees at-bats lent some belief that the 33-year-old could etch his name into history books.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

But with one out in the bottom of the seventh, a walk cracked open the door. Giancarlo Stanton worked a strong at-bat and earned the Yankees’ second base on balls of the game, and first baseman Nick Kurtz — likely aware of Stanton’s sneak-attack steal a few days prior — held him on first base.

Rice took advantage of the hole and grounded a single through the right side, prompting cheers from the fans and exhales from the Yankees.

There was “a little bit” of a sigh of relief, Rice acknowledged, but even the breakthrough was mitigated.

“Kind of a seeing-eye ground ball,” Rice added. “But it feels good to see one get through.”

The hit did not lead to a run. With two on and one out, Randal Grichuk struck out and Austin Wells flied out to strand two. That would conclude the drama, the Yankees unable to find a second hit.

Wells went hitless in three at-bats and is batting .167 through 10 games. José Caballero, who is ensuring that Anthony Volpe’s job is safe, owns a .135 average. Ryan McMahon, who heard boos Wednesday and found himself back in the lineup even against a lefty a day later, is down to .069 in 12 games with a revamped batting stance that apparently takes some time to master. Add in the struggles of Jazz Chisholm Jr. (.186), who came off the bench and stole a base but flied out in his lone at-bat, and the bottom of the Yankees order is a wasteland.

“We’ll get this going,” said Boone, whose Yankees — for all their recent hitting struggles — have lost by a single run in each of their defeats. “We got a few guys struggling to get on track a little bit.”

Thursday was not a case of smashed line drives from the Yankees dying in gloves.

Against Springs — who struck out six in seven innings and maxed out at 92.6 mph — the Yankees struck one pitch that left a bat over 100 mph — a second-inning flyout from Rice. Otherwise, a lineup intended to mash a lefty — featuring Rosario as the leadoff hitter and Grichuk, righties who were brought in for these exact scenarios — looked like one that is not looking forward to seeing southpaw Steven Matz in Tampa on Friday.

“We didn’t generate much. We didn’t hit a lot of balls on the screws,” said Boone, whose club wasted excellence from Ryan Weathers (eight strong innings of one-run ball).

The Yankees cannot wait to get hot. At least they can do so literally beginning at Tropicana Field on Friday.

“Definitely looking forward to that [weather],” Rice said.

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Just when it feels like the home run market can’t get any tighter, MLB rolls out a six-game Thursday slate filled with tricky spots for targeting long balls and MLB player props.

That said, Kansas City stands out as the premier hitting environment on the board. With a high total, favorable wind conditions, and plus-money value on both sides, the matchup at Kauffman Stadium offers some of the best opportunities of the day. There are several +400 or longer home run prices worth targeting in this game, while the rest of the slate presents far fewer appealing options.

As a result, I’m locking in three bats from the Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals matchup for my favorite home run props and MLB picks on Thursday, April 9.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Munetaka Murakami	+410
Bobby Witt Jr.	+470
Miguel Vargas	+590
💲Today's HR parlay	+14148

Munetaka Murakami (+410)

Kauffman Stadium has the best home run conditions on the board today, as Thursday features one of the thinnest slates of the year, with just a handful of games and cold weather across the East Coast.

Munetaka Murakami projects as the most likely player to go deep, with a 0.28 HR projection per Covers, powered by THE BAT. With a fair price around +320, the Chicago White Sox slugger offers solid expected value in a limited market.

Seth Lugo is prone to giving up power, allowing 27 home runs over 145 innings last year, ranking among the higher HR/9 rates. With double-digit winds blowing out to left field, the total has climbed as high as 9.5.

Murakami hasn’t piled up hits yet, but half of his knocks have gone over the fence. The matchup, environment, and price all line up well in this spot.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Chicago Sports Network App, ROYL

Bobby Witt Jr. (+470)

Although Bobby Witt Jr. has yet to go deep, he leads the Kansas City Royals with a .409 xwOBA, which ranks inside the Top 25 in baseball. He’s been unlucky, but positive regression should be coming soon.

The hitting conditions at home are among the best on the slate, and he gets a favorable matchup against Anthony Kay, who has allowed a home run in each of his two starts and profiles as a contact-heavy arm.

Kay is also giving up plenty of hard contact — 92.4 mph average exit velocity — and the Chicago bullpen is also without three key arms. 

As the weather improves, Witt’s HR price will likely drop below today’s number more consistently. This is a good spot to buy in on one of the top players in baseball in a strong matchup and favorable environment.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Chicago Sports Network App, ROYL

Miguel Vargas (+590)

Let’s keep attacking one of the best home run environments on the board and go back to the Chicago side with the No. 3 hitter, Miguel Vargas, who projects better than his current price. THE BAT has Vargas closer to +500, creating a solid edge.

Vargas draws a favorable matchup against Lugo, a pitcher who can be vulnerable to the long ball. The profile fits — we’re not looking for singles here, just power — and the conditions only help with double-digit winds blowing out.

On a thin slate, there’s value in double-dipping against a homer-prone arm in a strong weather spot.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Chicago Sports Network App, ROYL

Today’s HR parlay

Munetaka Murakami	Bet Now +14148
Bobby Witt Jr.
Miguel Vargas

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