Worldwide Sports News

The San Diego Padres have put Jake Cronenworth’s 2026 season on hold.

The team announced they have placed their second baseman on the seven-day concussion injury list. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune (need a paid subscription), Cronenworth began experiencing bouts of fogginess and difficulty focusing during at-bats following the Padres’ road trip to Mexico City.

The slow burn of Cronenworth’s health condition

The medical staff misattributed his symptoms to the effects of playing at high altitude. But his physical troubles can be traced back to being hit in the jaw by a pitch thrown by Los Angeles Angels pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. 

At first, Friars manager Craig Stammen thought everything was going well. It kept Cronenworth out of the lineup for only one game, as initial baseline tests cleared him of a concussion. Slowly, his condition began to deteriorate, as headaches became more frequent. It was wise to get a medical explanation for his failing state. 

To his credit, Cronenworth kept playing without complaint, as his toughness is legendary in San Diego. He has been hit by a pitch 65 times, so Crone knows how to deal with pain.

A batting slump of major proportions

Unfortunately, his production at the plate took a major hit. He has endured the worst batting slump of his seven-year major league career. 

Cronenworth is batting .111 in 27 at-bats since the hit-by-pitch incident. The lefty has recorded only three hits, one RBI, four walks, with a .498 OPS. And for the season, Crone is hitting .144 with one home run and four RBI.

At times, it looked like he was swinging at pitches way too late in the strike zone. It is not a timing issue but rather a matter of failing to recognize the pitch coming out of the delivery.

Who is in at 2B?

With Cronenworth out of the lineup, the Padres have a few options to replace him at second. The team called up Sung-Mun Song from the minors to take his place on the roster and in the field. You may see Fernando Tatis Jr. start at second base periodically. It will depend on the pitching matchup.

Song carried his hot start in El Paso straight into the majors. He is hitting .500 with two RBI in two games. 

Baseball’s concussion protocol has come a long way over the last decade. Team doctors have made tremendous strides in diagnosing head injuries, but there is room for improvement. No one ever wants to see a player removed from the lineup because he sustained a concussion. 

It is no one’s fault that Cronenworth played with a head injury for an extended period. Everyone wishes the diagnosis had come sooner, but despite following all the correct steps, concussion symptoms often take time to surface.

The good news is that the Friars and Cronenworth know the cause of his struggles. Now, we wait for him to heal and return to form with the bat. Cronenworth will not be out of the woods until he puts together a couple of good games. 

Team doctors will monitor his progression before clearing him to play again. Do not be surprised if Cronenworth’s return to the lineup is longer than seven days.

This whole stretch has been such a whirlwind, there has been no time really spent on narratives. Beginning April 17, the Cubs played 13 games in 13 days. That included a trip to Los Angeles and San Diego in there as well as series again the Mets and Phillies, both with playoff aspirations. They aced that test with a 10-3 record, audaciously starting it with eight straight wins to run a winning streak to 10 games before stumbling out west. But in addition to those 13 games in 13 days, they had just one day off and then 10 more games. They’ve now played seven of that 10 and won them all to run a winning streak to nine games.

Not just a 19-3 run, but a 19-3 run in 25 days. If it feels like this is a historic run, I do believe that is accurate. I believe the 19-3 stretch of 22 games runs all of the way back to 1935. None of us were alive for anything like this before. Even then, baseball was vastly different than what it is today. Somehow, some way this team finds itself chasing history of the best kind. Another test awaits as they set back out on the road. But the Cubs leave Wrigley riding a 15-game home winning streak that, again, none of us has ever seen. They leave with the best record in baseball (tied with the Braves and Yankees). This has been remarkable and a whole lot of fun.

Thursday, the script was a bit different. The team got a fairly dominant start from Shōta Imanaga. Imanaga was particularly sharp over the first four innings while the game was tight. He can probably be excused a little for getting out of the zone following a fourth inning that saw the Cubs bat seemingly forever. They tallied seven runs against two Reds pitchers, including a delay for an injured pitcher.

The only blemish on the game was the bullpen not being able to limp across the finish line without Daniel Palencia getting into the game to record the last out. The offense produced seven hits and drew seven walks and a hit by pitch. As was often the case in this series, the difference defensively between an elite Cub defense and a leaky Reds defense was on display. The Reds weren’t charged with any errors, but they definitely had some miscues, including one particularly absent-minded play that robbed Ke’Bryan Hayes of a nifty highlight reel (would have been) double play.

I’ve talked in years past about the Cubs getting greedy. They are playing the greediest baseball I’ve ever seen. They’ve definitely caught some teams at the right time. But they have pounced just about every time an opponent has faltered over these last 22 games. It’s breathtaking and a whole lot of fun. Soak it in, Cubs fans. It won’t always be this way. Enjoy the ride.

Three Positives:

• Michael Conforto crushed the ball all day long. Single, double, homer, walk, two runs, two runs driven in. He has just 45 plate appearances but a .361/.467/.667 line.
• Shōta Imanaga threw six innings and allowed one run on six hits and three walks while striking out 10.
• Miguel Amaya had a two-run single, drew a walk and was hit by a pitch.

Game 38, May 7: Cubs 8, Reds 3 (26-12)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Shōta Imanaga (.221). 6 IP, 28 BF, 6 H, 3 BB, 1 ER, 10 K (W 4-2)
• Hero: Michael Conforto (.176). 3-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Sidekick: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.091). 1-3, BB, RBI, R, SB

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.094). 1-4, BB, RBI, R, DP
• Goat: Moisés Ballesteros (-.049). 0-4, BB
• Kid: Dansby Swanson (-.019). 0-3, BB, RBI, R

WPA Play of the Game: Michael Conforto’s solo homer in the second inning kicked off the scoring. (.115)

*Reds Play of the Game: With runners at first and second with no outs in the third inning and the Cubs up one, Rhett Lowder got Nico Hoerner to ground into an around the horn double play. (.089)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 37 Winner: Pete Crow-Armstrong received 223 of 242 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 3/Bottom 3)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Michael Conforto +12
• Shōta Imanaga +10
• Michael Bsuch +9
• Dansby Swanson/Jacob Webb/Caleb Thielbar/Phil Maton -6
• Matt Shaw -9
• Seiya Suzuki -14

A reminder that Imanaga was the 2024 Rizzo Award winner (nudging out Seiya Suzuki).

Current Win Pace: 110.84

Up Next: The Cubs travel to Texas to face the Rangers (17-20). The Rangers have lost seven of 10 and are just 7-8 at home. This feels like a little bit of a trap series at the end of a very long stretch of games and a closely contested series with the Reds. Ben Brown (1-1, 2.10, 25.2 IP) makes his first start after 12 relief appearances. He’s made 23 big league starts for the Cubs, including a few spectacular ones. He threw in the opener of the Reds series, so he’ll only be on three days rest. It’s hard to see him going any more than three innings. My guess is that they hope to get once through the order and then piggyback with Javier Assad. This is essentially a bullpen game with a highly depleted bullpen. Hopefully, the offense can jump out early.

26-year-old Kumar Rocker (1-3, 4.71, 28.2 IP) makes his seventh start of the year for the Rangers. Last time out, he allowed five runs on seven hits in just two innings against the Tigers in Detroit. The 3rd overall pick by the Rangers in 2022 had made 23 career starts with a 5.25 ERA. A couple of starts ago he held the Pirates to one run in six innings and he followed that with two runs over six against the A’s. Both of those starts were in Texas.

Find a way. Keep it rolling.

Go Cubs!

Thursday night wasn’t a great day to be a pitcher in the Atlanta Braves system. The best team outing was Rome allowing five runs in seven innings, and the worst was a large, large step below that. However, most of the games remained close thanks to big time home runs, including many of the top prospects in the system. Dixon Williams has been on fire for Rome and continued that with a long home run for his fifth of the season, helping lift the Emperors to the only win on the farm. In Augusta Alex Lodise and Luis Guanipa went back-to-back on solo home runs, and the team as a whole had four of them.

(22-13) Gwinnett Stripers, (13-22) Norfolk Tides PPD

(15-15) Columbus Clingstones 6, (13-17) Biloxi Shuckers 7

Box Score

• Lizandro Espinoza, DH: 1-4, HR, .275/.376/.549
• Drew Compton, 1B: 2-4, RBI, .154/.239/.231
• Ambioris Tavarez, 2B: 2-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, .211/.338/.421
• Shay Schanaman, SP: 2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 5.74 ERA
• Jhancarlos Lara, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 11.42 ERA

The Columbus Clingstones charged back in the ninth inning of this game, giving Biloxi a late run for their money in a bid to steal a game, but a breakout performance from Ambioris Tavarez fell tantalizingly short of lifting Columbus to victory. Pitching was a pretty massive problem for Columbus in this game and they weren’t sending out the A-squad to try to shut down the Shuckers, and Shay Schanaman took some lumps that put Columbus in a hole in the early stages of the game. Schanaman lived dangerously for two innings before it all fell to pieces, starting in the third inning with his third hit batter of the day. Schanaman let up three hits and three runs before being pulled with one out, and Samuel Strickland struggled to stanch the bleeding. Strickland let up a back-breaking two-run bomb that capped a chaotic frame, and Biloxi’s 5-0 lead looked to be the stuff of nightmares for a Columbus squad who had yet to find their way the first time through the order. Strickland would continue to let runs bleed in on solo shots in each of the next two innings, though he avoided traffic on the basepaths and that helped to limit the damage to just a couple of extra runs. Meanwhile the offensive attack ramped up with a second look at Manuel Rodriguez.

As the runaway league leader in team home runs it was expected that the Clingstones would make some noise of their own with the long ball, and despite missing the thump of David McCabe they were able to churn out some middle inning runs. Lizandro Espinoza got the first Clingstones hit and run with a line shot out to left field, and with that Espinoza has already reached the five home run mark after just 25 games this season. Espinoza has had a ton of success in the Southern League with seven home runs and a 137 wRC+ in 37 games, and that’s come with a new approach that has filled a big hole in his game. Espinoza is drawing walks at a rate north of 13% in Double-A, and though swing-and-miss remains a question for him a combination of increased on base production and even average power would be a significant shift in the profile of a player who can play up the middle defensively. It’s still too early to judge how much of these changes are sample size fluctuations, but the switch to a pull-heavy, higher effort swing has at least turned Espinoza into a hitter with a respectable power profile. Ambioris Tavarez hit a long home run the next inning to bring home two runs, smoking one into the power alley the opposite way and lifting it where the wind could carry it well into paydirt for him and the Clingstones.

Going into the ninth inning the Clingstones still trailed 7-3, however, and though two runners would get on via a hit batter and a walk they found themselves down to their final out. Drew Compton came through with an RBI single to edge Columbus closer, and then suddenly Tavarez made the game a load more interesting. He ripped a liner that just carried past the right fielder and into the gap for a double, bringing home two more runs and moving himself, the tying run, into scoring position. Ethan Workinger battled a 3-2 count out over a 10-pitch at bat, fighting to keep the game alive for Columbus, but his liner floated right to the second baseman ending the rally for Columbus.

Swing and Misses

Samuel Strickland – 6

Shay Schanaman – 5

Jhancarlos Lara – 3

(15-14) Rome Emperors 7, (7-22) Asheville Tourists 5

Box Score

• Isaiah Drake, DH: 1-4, .252/.317/.383
• John Gil, SS: 1-3, .282/.381/.456
• Dixon Williams, 2B: 2-3, HR, BB, 4 RBI, .283/.411/.630
• Cade Kuehler, SP: 3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 7.66 ERA

Swing and Misses 

Cade Kuehler – 4

Connor Thomas – 4

(15-15) Rome Emperors 5, (8-22) Asheville Tourists 6

Box Score

• Isaiah Drake, CF: 1-3, 2 BB, .252/.317/.383
• John Gil, SS: 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, .282/.381/.456
• Cody Miller, 3B: 3-4, 3 RBI, .202/.303/.308
• Colin Daniel, SP: 1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 5.47 ERA

The Rome Emperors offense has been taking full advantage of the hitter-friendly confines in Asheville, but so too have the Tourists put a lick on the Rome staff early in this series. Cade Kuehler had an other day on the mound where home runs were problematic, as he allowed three of them accounting for all three runs in the first game of this double-header. Kuehler was fortunate that all of those came early in innings and he was able to avoid having a real dent thrown on the start, though it was yet another underwhelming outing for him in a rough start to 2025. Fortunately he never threw a pitch with the team trailing after Dixon Williams gave him a huge lift to start the game. We can often attribute a home run explosion to the conditions in HomeTrust Park, but Williams earned his fifth home run of the season outright with a mammoth shot to center field. His blast to clear the bases put Rome up 3-0 in the first inning.

Rome kept hitting and put up four runs in the first inning, then turned around and put up two more in the second inning to open up a 6-1 lead. Williams again contributed with a sharp single the opposite way to score a run, and since that early season injured list stint Williams has become a wrecking ball for the offense. He has hit safely in six straight games with three home runs in that stretch, and his advanced feel as a hitter has translated well to High-A so far. Williams is above average in every relevant category as a hitter this season, and with the Braves aggression with prospects it wouldn’t be a surprise if his success is rewarded with a relatively quick call to Double-A. Williams’s power numbers are certain to come down to earth somewhat over the next few weeks, but otherwise he has shown the approach, contact, and swing characteristics necessary to sustain most of his success at this level.

While home runs weren’t the culprit of the game two loss for Rome, they still could not get enough outs in the early going and a sustained effort from the offense fell a bit short. Colin Daniel gave up a slew of hard contact in the first inning which turned into four extra base hits and three runs, and the 34 pitches he threw chased him from the game early and left it in the hands of Rome’s bullpen to cover bulk. That’s never something you want to see in a double header, and Jacob Shafer could not reverse the early game trend. While he was able to spread out his hard contact a bit more he still allowed three runs on six hits over three innings, and each time it seemed Rome was inching closer to tying the game up the Tourists got a run to keep some distance between the two sides. Rome did have an early lead after Isaiah Drake and John Gil drew walks to open the game, eventually scoring on a swinging bunt single from Cody Miller. In the third inning the duo sparked another rally with a walk from Drake and a fly ball from Gil that bounced off of the top of the wall for a double. Eric Hartman had a chance to do major damage but struck out, and the only run Rome got was on an infield single by Cody Miller. Miller’s third RBI hit of the game came in the sixth inning when he pushed a liner into shallow center field to bring home Gil, making it a 6-5 ballgame. Miller stole second base cleanly to sit in scoring position, but Rome wasn’t stringing together a ton of loud contact in this game and it came back to bite them. Gil and Drake were on base six times in this game and Miller added another three, but outside of that group there wasn’t much impact to be had and the team went 4-15 with runners in scoring position.

Swing and Misses 

Colin Daniel – 5

Trent Buchanan – 4

Jacob Shafer – 4

(15-15) Augusta GreenJackets 7, (19-11) Charleston RiverDogs 13

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, DH: 0-4, BB, .275/.433/.486
• Alex Lodise, SS: 1-5, HR, .254/.326/.397
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 1-4, HR, .291/.325/.482
• Landon Beidelschies, SP: 1.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 12.86 ERA
• Luis Arestigueta, RP: 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 7.53 ERA

The season is steadily getting worse for Landon Beidelschies, who had another blowup outing and now has allowed 10 earned runs in his past 2 1/3 innings. Beidelschies is facing a torrent of bad batted ball luck with a BABIP this season of .591, though it’s still fair to contribute much of the struggles he has faced to his own execution. Beidelschies isn’t making good pitches on a regular basis and he doesn’t have the raw stuff to get away with the mistakes he is making over the plate, and hitters have been able to take advantage with lots of contact. Beidelschies had flashes of better execution in his early could of starts this season and should come back down to earth soon, but his inability to keep his breaking balls low is an issue that he cannot afford to keep having. Beidelschies was not the only one to have trouble on the mound, however. Lewis Sifontes managed to avoid the control problems that have plagued him this season, but still wasn’t effective in his time in relief. Sifontes got hit around and allowed runs in the third and fourth innings, though his two runs allowed in 2 1/3 inning actually served to lower his ERA on this season. Luis Arestigueta continued his struggles as well, though he had stretches of play where he flashed some promising pitching. Arestigueta’s command is all over the place and he got knocked around while making a host of bad pitches in the sixth inning, but also had a couple of stretches both in the fifth and sixth where he locked in and seemed to find a groove. When Arestigueta keeps his fastball in the strike zone and his slider off of the middle of the plate he has shown electric movement and a capacity to generate whiffs at a high rate, and these little slices of success keep confidence high in the 20 year old. His issues are primarily with his mechanics, as when he has struggled these past few starts his arm slot has dropped and significantly and his arm has dragged behind. Following that home run home Arestigueta did a much better job of keeping his arm path more compact (though he naturally has a wide arm swing) and releasing a little closer to three-quarters and he was able to avoid having his pitches sail up and arm side. While this particular change came a bit too late in the outing to salvage much good it is still notable that he was able to make that adjustment on the fly, and hopefully that bodes well for him in the future.

Augusta’s offensive attack came in bunches early and fizzled down the stretch after their push to even up the game fell short. The GreenJackets strung together five singles in the second inning to get themselves on the board, and that flipped the lineup over to a waiting Tate Southisene with one out and a huge bases-loaded opportunity. Southisene went after the first pitch but rolled over an inside sinker, and the rally fizzled out as the shortstop turned a clean double play to retire the side. Augusta brought more thump in the third inning, and Alex Lodise brought the hammer with a leadoff bomb. On the following pitch Luis Guanipa got a slider that stayed on the top edge of the zone and he absolutely obliterated it, breaking a span of seven games without an extra base hit.

While the first week of May has been a bit less impactful from Guanipa he is still on a tear at the plate, and now officially has a career high in home runs and two more this season than in the 87 games he played between 2024 and 2025. Dalton McIntyre made it a third home run in the third inning with an opposite field two-run shot, and the GreenJackets found themselves trailing by just two runs. It seemed like Augusta was poised to make a run at tying the game, but the offense evaporated immediately after that home run. The next 18 GreenJackets in a row were retired until a Yamvier Carrero solo shot in the ninth inning, and it was far too little too late for a comeback by that point. In that ninth inning Tate Southisene was able to work a walk, and though that wouldn’t extend his five game hitting streak it did extend a 17 game on base streak that dates back to April 17th.

Swing and Misses

Landon Biedelschies – 8

Luis Arestigueta – 7

Diamondbacks News

(Arizona Sports) The good and the not-so-good from Zac Gallen in Diamondbacks’ loss to Pirates

Gallen drew a season-high 15 whiffs (swings-and-misses), nine with his slider and six with the curveball (none with the fastball), according to Statcast. Gallen’s arsenal has changed this year. His curveball does not drop like it used to, and he has replaced it as his primary breaking ball with a slider that has been more effective.

Coming into Thursday, Gallen’s overall whiff rate on the year was 16.5%, way below his career and the league’s average (both at 25%). The slider has been his best pitch at missing bats.

(SI.com) What D-backs’ Rough Series Loss to Pirates Told Us — And What it Didn’t

It looked like an offensive breakthrough had occurred in game one, as the D-backs put together a patient, well-rounded offensive effort against Pirates righty Bubba Chandler in a 9-0 win. It was the largest margin of victory of the year for Arizona. Walks were taken, productive outs were utilized, and Arizona’s approach looked airtight.

But in game two, the approach went out the window. Granted, facing Paul Skenes is no easy task. When the Cy Young-winning Pirates ace is on, there’s often little that can be done to stop him.

But the D-backs employed an early-swinging approach, expecting a wealth of hittable strikes. When that approach was clearly flawed, no adjustment was made, and Arizona gave up quick out after quick out on the way to eight innings of Skenes dominance.

(Burn City Sports) Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall endorses Lovullo’s message to starters, but will it be enough?

“It’s the idea of getting everybody together and saying, ‘Hey, we’re relying on you,’” Hall said on Bickley & Marotta Mornings. “Our bullpen is doing its job. If you guys don’t get later and deeper into games, we’re going to hurt our bullpen. And our offense is keeping us in games. You guys are not. And get back to what you were doing at the beginning of the season.”

(CBS Sports) Diamondbacks’ Ryan Waldschmidt: Exits Tuesday after pitch to head

Waldschmidt was out of the lineup Wednesday for Triple-A Reno’s 9-5 loss to Sacramento after he was removed from Tuesday’s series opener when he was hit in the helmet by a pitch in the top of the first inning, Preston Salisbury of AZSnakePit.com reports.

MLB News

(Yahoo! Sports) The Ws keep flying: How Cubs have suddenly surged to the top of the baseball world

The Chicago Cubs are 26-12 after Thursday’s 8-3 victory against the Reds, a win that capped a four-game sweep of Cincinnati. The Cubs are tied for the best record in MLB. They’ve also won 15 consecutive home games, the second-longest streak since 1935.

It all looks as real as baseball-related things can look in May. Not since the Rizzo-Bryant-Baez curse-breaking heyday have the vibes been this immaculate on the North Side.

(Sporting News) Who will be traded at MLB trade deadline? Yankees, Phillies players among top-five likeliest players traded during MLB’s trade deadline

We’re still a few months away from Major League Baseball’s trade deadline at the beginning of August, though there seem to be a few obvious names regarding potential trade candidates. 

There are some players who need to be moved because their teams aren’t in a position to win anytime in the near future, and others because they don’t make much sense on their current roster.

Below, I’m looking at the five most likely players to be traded at the Major League Baseball trade deadline.

(NBC Sports) Cubs’ Matthew Boyd has surgery on knee that he injured playing with his kids

“It’s kind of the minor meniscus surgery so we know he’s going to miss a month, six weeks,” Counsell said ahead of his team’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. “Probably closer to six weeks with getting it ramped back up. That’s what we’re hopeful for. Obviously, we’ll see how it all goes and I think the important thing is how much time do we miss throwing. That’s probably the biggest thing right here. The knee is going to recover pretty quickly, but how much throwing down time do we have to take?”

(CBS Sports) Ted Turner dies at 87: Former Braves, Hawks and WCW owner shaped sports in Atlanta, nationwide

Ted Turner, the former owner of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks and World Championship Wrestling, has died at age 87. His company, Turner Enterprises, announced his death on Wednesday.

Turner shared in 2018 that he had been diagnosed with the progressive brain disorder Lewy Body Dementia, and in 2025, he was hospitalized with pneumonia.

Worcester Red Sox 10, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 8 (12 inn.) – BOX

The Woo Sox got a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th inning, which gave a position player the win as a pitcher on Thursday night over the RailRiders (NYY). Other than that, things were pretty uneventful. 

Worcester had two-hit efforts from Nick Sogard, Anthony Seigler, and Allan Castro, Thursday night’s hero. Seigler homered in the 4th. Castro’s two-run shot in the 12th walked it off. 

Catcher/First baseman Nathan Hickey got the win after pitching the top of the 12th. Hickey has actually pitched in four games this season, allowing just one run in 3 ⅓ innings over those appearances. He spoke in the postgame about it being his first win as a pitcher since high school. 

Seth Martinez got the start, allowing three runs in two innings, giving way to a slew of relievers, which the Woo Sox eventually ran out of. Braiden Ward had two walks and two stolen bases, his 15th and 16th of the season. 

Worcester has not announced a starter for the 6:05 ET game this evening. 

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 4, Portland Sea Dogs 2 (Game 1) – BOX

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7, Portland Sea Dogs 5 (Game 2, 10 inns.) – BOX

The Sea Dogs played a doubleheader against the Fisher Cats (TOR), after a Wednesday rainout. For two years running now, Dean Roussel has a voodoo doll on me, where the Wednesday games get rained out, leaving me with an extra game on the Thursday write-ups. I won’t forget this, Dean. 

In Game One, the bats were cold for Portland, with both runs coming in the bottom of the ninth, neither of which was credited with an RBI. Marvin Alcantara and Brooks Brannon had two hits apiece. 

Blake Wehunt got the start, allowing three runs in three innings. He’s now 0-2 with an 8.64 ERA at Double-A. Max Carlson kept things in check, throwing the final four innings, without allowing an earned run. 

In Game Two, much like Worcester, the game went to three extra innings. With the doubleheaders being scheduled for two seven-inning bouts, this one went into ten, with the Sea Dogs coming up short. 

Center fielder Will Turner put Portland on the board in the first, with a two-run homer. Franklin Arias, Ronald Rosario, and Max Ferguson each had two hits on the day. Portland tied the game in both the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings, thanks to an RBI single by Miguel Bleis in the eighth and a FisherCats throwing error on a bunt in the ninth. 

Caleb Bolden struck out eight over 3 ⅓ innings, allowing just one earned run. In fact, only three of the seven runs allowed by Sea Dogs pitchers were earned, thanks to all of the unearned runs scored by the designated runner in extras. 

The Sea Dogs starter is TBD at 6:00 tonight. 

Greenville Drive 6, Greensboro Grasshoppers 4 (BOX)

The Drive hitters were raking on Thursday, totaling 16 hits on the day in the 6-4 win over the Grasshoppers (PIT). As seen in the box score above, basically the entire team had two hits. 

Things got started early (as early as possible) with Justin Gonzales homering on the first pitch of the game, his fifth. 

Henry Godbout was up next. He also went deep. 

As Tyler points out, Godbout’s power has arrived this year. A second-round pick a year ago, that was his fifth home run of the season. Fangraphs rates Godbout to have a 30-grade “present” power and 40-future, but with five doubles and five bombs in 22 games, that may be changing quickly. His slash line is .281/.390/.506 on the year with a 135 wRC+. 

Brandon Neely was the bulk guy on the mound in this one, gaining a win that he wasn’t particularly deserving of, allowing five hits and three runs in 3 ⅔. Matt McShane got the save. 

Neither team has announced a starter for tonight, at 7:00. 

Delmarva Shorebirds 6, Salem RidgeYaks 2 (BOX)

Christian Doutch got the start and allowed three runs (two earned) in 3 ⅓ innings and the RidgeYaks were barely able to muster anything offensively. They ended up with five hits, with Skylar King’s single in the first being the lone RBI, and Delmarva (BAL) won 6-2.

Barrett Morgan (1-0, 0.96) gets the ball on Friday at 6:35. 

It is time for the Guardians and Twins to play again.

The Twins are 16-22, 13th in wRC+ at 99, 12th in baserunning runs above average at 0.7, 22nd in Defense at -8.4, 15th in starting pitcher ERA at 4.12 (4.08 FIP), and 29th in bullpen ERA at 5.81 (4.71 FIP).

The Guardians are 20-19, 17th in wRC+ at 97, 25th in baserunning runs above average at -1.1, 13th in Defense at -4.7, ninth in starting pitcher ERA at 3.94 (4.33 FIP), and 16th in bullpen ERA at 4.12 (4.12 FIP).

Matchups:
Game One: Parker Messick, LHP 2.20 ERA (3.07 FIP) vs. Connor Prielipp, 3.86 ERA (4.14 FIP)
Game Two: Tanner Bibee, RHP 4.58 ERA (4.51 FIP) vs. Joe Ryan, RHP, 3.72 ERA (3.04 FIP)
Game Three: Gavin Williams, RHP 3.28 ERA (4.15 ERA) vs. Taj Bradley, RHP, 2.87 ERA (3.52 FIP)

As luck would have it, the Guardians will face the best of the Twins’ starters this weekend. All eyes will be on Joe Ryan after he left his last start with elbow soreness. It will be key to get the Twins’ starters out of the game as soon as possible and take advantage of their poor bullpen. Let’s get Bibee and Williams back on track and take a series.

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers lost to the Yankees yesterday, 9-2.

Evan Grant writes about the slim margin of error the Rangers have to work with in order to get a win these days.

Kennedi Landry touches on MacKenzie Gore, who was in control through five innings before the wheels shot off.

Joc Pederson started in right field and it did not go any better than you’d think it would.

On the positive side, Zeke Duran stayed hot in the Bronx.

Elsewhere Cody Freeman had a setback while recovering from his back issue, never a good sign.

And Grant’s latest podcast guest is Jake Diekman.

That’s all for this morning. Happy Friday.

The Guardians somehow managed a split in Kansas City and now they return home to play the Twins. Finally, some sweet AL Central action.

Here’s our recap of yesterday’s 8-5 win over the Royals. Tim Stebbins reports that Slade Cecconi felt like his off-speed was the key for a better performance. He still gave up six hits and three walks, so I’m going to hold on to some skepticism, but I love Slade, so I hope it’s real.

I did a Disgusting Baseball Podcast with Mike Mahoney where we talked through six wins and six losses for the 2026 Guardians who look mostly like a .500 team so far.

Zack Meisel has another collection of great Guardians’ notes at the Athletic.

AROUND MLB:

The Twins lost.

The Yankees are going to call up Spencer Jones.

San Diego Pardes starting pitcher Michael King deserved better than what he got. The right-hander has returned to form as the ace of the staff, especially with Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, on the injured list and he delivered a six-inning performance allowing one run on one hit before he was removed from the game after 86 pitches. When King walked off the mound, the game was tied, 1-1 but the Padres allowed another run to the St. Louis Cardinals in the top of the seventh inning and lost the game, 2-1 to open a four-game set at Petco Park.

King’s one hit allowed was a solo home run off the bat of Alec Burleson in the top of the fourth inning, which tied the game at 1-1. King was dominant throughout the game and looked to be in control recording six strikeouts, while allowing two walks. Bradgley Rodriguez took the mound for King in the top of the seventh inning and allowed a leadoff double to Jordan Walker. He struck out Nolan Gorman, but then allowed a triple to Masyn Winn, which gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead. To his credit, Rodriguez stranded Winn at third base, getting the next two batters to strikeout and groundout to end the inning.

San Diego got on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a check swing flyball off the bat of Xander Bogaerts that sailed over the infield and dropped into right field for a single that allowed Manny Machado to score to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. The San Diego offense could not get anything going after that, scratching out just four hits against St. Louis pitching. Two of those hits came from Fernando Tatis Jr. who opened the bottom of the seventh inning with a single to right field. Tatis Jr. then stole second base, or so it appeared, but he was called out. The play went to review, but the call was upheld although it was clear his right foot contacted the base prior to him being tagged. There was no way to know at the time, but Tatis Jr. would be the last Padres batter to reach base in the game.

San Diego will continue searching for offensive consistency today against St. Louis at 6:45 p.m.

Padres News:

• Luis Campusano fractured a toe and was placed on the IL, giving Rodolfo Duran a chance to join the big-league club. He made his MLB debut in the loss and finished 0-for-3 at the plate, but he did throw out a runner.

• Jase Bowen impressed in Spring Training and he continues to do so in El Paso as the outfielder slugged his eighth home run of the season for the Chihuahuas.

Baseball News:

• The Chicago Cubs keep winning at Wrigley Field and knocked off the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3.

• The New York Yankees are reportedly calling up outfielder Spencer Jones to replace Jasson Dominguez who was injured when he hit the wall in their 9-2 win over the Texas Rangers.

• Craig Kimbrel allows eighth-inning grand slam, which allowed the Colorado Rockies to avoid a sweep by the New York Mets.

• Mookie Betts is starting his rehab assignment and could be ready to join the Los Angeles Dodgers next week.

• Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony lands on IL with wrist injury.

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It was a welcome winning day on the dinger market yesterday, and I’m asking the four-bag gods for some Friday home run luck and a little more love from the MLB player props.

I don’t think bettors put enough value into attacking bad bullpens, especially when paired with short-leashed starters, and that’s the approach I’m taking today. 

See why Adley Rutschman is featured in my favorite home run props for Friday, May 8.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Sal Stewart	+420
Brent Rooker	+475
Adley Rutschman	+575
💲Today's HR parlay	+15932

Home run pick: Sal Stewart (+420)

This is shaping up to be a high-scoring affair. The wind is blowing out at Great American Ball Park, both bullpens have ERAs north of 7.00 over the last two weeks, and neither starter is likely to go deep.

The Cincinnati Reds should be able to hit around Mike Burrows, who owns a Bottom-30 HR/FB rate among MLB starters. There aren’t many great prices on the board, but getting Sal Stewart at +380 or better projects as +EV.

He homered yesterday at Wrigley, is up to 10 on the season, and the bat-tracking numbers are strong. Nothing elite, but his fast swing percentage, square-up percentage, and ideal attack angle all grade out positively.

Cincinnati will also get a crack at a Houston Astros bullpen that owns the second-worst HR/9 among MLB relief corps over the last week.

The Reds have the worst mark themselves. This game could turn into a shootout.

• Time: 6:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Reds.TV, Space City Home Network

Home run pick: Brent Rooker (+475)

Someone finally blew the dust off Brent Rooker this month. Entering May, he was slugging just .288, but he’s found his swing with a .600 SLG over his last six games while hitting .320 with two home runs.

It comes at the perfect time for bettors because his +475 price to go deep is too long in a matchup against Kyle Bradish, who has been prone to the long ball and rarely works deep into games. That should force Baltimore to lean on a bullpen that owns the fourth-worst ERA over the last two weeks while also logging the second-most innings during that stretch.

Rooker’s fair price today is around +410, and it’s tough to find an Athletics bat above +380 that’s worth backing on this Friday slate.

He may be the player who has sold me the most over the last two seasons, but the streaky slugger is a buy right now, and both the matchup and setting work in his favor.

• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MASN, NBCSCA

Home run pick: Adley Rutschman (+575)

It’s a good time to buy into Adley Rutschman. He’s been on a tear lately with a .985 OPS since returning to the lineup 12 games ago, and he owns a 1.285 OPS at home during that stretch with four home runs.

Jacob Lopez is firmly on the fade list after making his first start following a bullpen move and allowing six runs and two home runs over 96 pitches against a light-hitting Cleveland lineup. Right-handed hitters have been punishing him, and Rutschman has done a lot of his damage batting right-handed this season.

It’s also an Athletics bullpen that ranks in the bottom five in baseball in HR/9 and lacks a defined closer. This sets up as a strong game environment for runs, and while I do want Pete Alonso exposure, I’m not paying +350 when a red-hot, matchup-friendly Rutschman is sitting at +575.

• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MASN, NBCSCA

Today’s HR parlay

Sal Stewart	Bet Now +15932
Brent Rooker
Adley Rutschman

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.