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We are at the end of the first home stand. After the game the Jays will be on their way to Chicago for three games with the White Sox.

This is a weekday afternoon game. And it is school day at the ballpark. I was there for a school day and they were handing out decks of playing cards with little child safety messages on them. Of course, I’m a jerk and I said, ‘Look at this, they are giving out packages of cigarettes for the children. You gotta start them young.’ Of course the young person handing them out very quickly and loudly corrected me, but I continued on (because no one can run a bad joke into the ground like me). ‘If you want to get kids hooked on smoking, you gotta start them when they are young’. I’m always surprised when they let me into places.

Of course, getting the kids into gambling is likely as bad as getting them into smoking. If they are giving out those cards this year, make sure to teach the kids how to play black jack. Tell them to ask their parents for some money first.

And I should be in Sakata, Japan today, which looks like a lovely area.

Go Jays Go

Wednesday notes…

• TEAM HISTORY INCOMING: The Cubs can make a small bit of team history with a victory today. This is the 43rd season since 1901 in which they have started 2-3 — about one of every three. It is just the fourth they have begun by alternating losses and wins (loss, win, loss, win, loss). They did not win the sixth game in the previous three, tying in 1914 and losing in 1968 and 1993. The Cubs are 26-15-1 in sixth games after a 2-3 start. They are 16-12-1 after having lost fifth games. They finished above .500 after 20 of their previous 2-3 starts, including the three before this year: 2018 (95-68), 2023 (82-79) and last year (92-70). They won pennants in 1918 and 1935, won the division title in 2008 and earned Wild Card berths in 2018 and last year. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• SPLITSVILLE: Last season, the Cubs split the first two games of 26 three-game series. They won 13 third games and lost 13. They were 6-3 after winning and losing in the first two, including 3-3 at home.
• LEADING THE LEAGUE: Nico Hoerner’s three stolen bases puts him in a four-way tie for the MLB lead with Jake McCarthy (D-backs), David Hamilton (Brewers) and Nasim Nuñez (Nats).
• ALSO LEADING THE LEAGUE: Edward Cabrera’s 0.333 WHIP is tied for the NL lead with Michael McGreevy of the Cardinals.

The Cubs lineup was not available at posting time. Please check BCB social media for the Cubs lineup.

Angels lineup:

Matthew Boyd, LHP vs. Yusei Kikuchi, LHP

Matthew Boyd did not have a good Opening Day start. Nope, not at all.

So let’s hope he’s flushed that one and moving on.

Boyd has not faced the Angels since 2022, and that was a couple of one-inning relief appearances. The only current Angels with more than a handful of at-bats against him are Jorge Soler (6-for-22, 10 strikeouts) and Yoan Moncada (5-for-19, a home run).

Hoping for a better day today, Matthew.

Yusei Kikuchi threw 4.1 innings and allowed two runs to the Astros last Thursday in Houston.

This is his eighth year in MLB and he’s made 200 appearances and 188 starts — but tonight will be his first-ever start against the Cubs. Alex Bregman has hit him well — 7-for-20 (.350) with three doubles, two home runs and eight walks.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

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

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit the Angels site Crashing The Pearly Gates. If you do go there to interact with Angels fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

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

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

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

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

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

Discuss amongst yourselves.

After the Nats dominated in game one, the Phillies pulled out a close one in game two. Now it is time for a rubber match in Philly. Both teams will have their aces on the mound, so this should be a good one. The Nats are looking for their second straight series win to open the season.

With a lefty on the mound, the Nats have altered their lineup a bit. One thing that has not changed is James Wood’s placement as the leadoff hitter. Curtis Mead will make his first start as a Nat, hitting second and playing first base. Jacob Young will be back in the lineup, which slides Joey Wiemer over to center field. Brady House and Drew Millas are also back in the lineup. Daylen Lile will be the DH today. Cade Cavalli will be making his second start of the season and hopefully the righty can go deeper in the game this time.

The Phillies are rolling with the same lineup they had in yesterday’s win. We know most of these guys well at this point. The former Nats are at the top of the order, while home grown guys like Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott follow. Cristopher Sanchez established himself as a true ace last season and pitched well on Opening Day. He will look to continue his dominant run against the Nats.

Game Info:

Stadium: Citizens Bank Park

Time: 1:05 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Another series win against a team that made the playoffs last year would be massive for the Nats. However, it will be tough with Sanchez on the mound. With the red hot Joey Wiemer, the Nats have handled left handed pitching this season. Sanchez will be a different animal though. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

It already feels like the Orioles are teetering on the edge of the abyss. That’s being dramatic, of course. They’ve only played five games out of 162, which is 3.1% of a baseball season. If the Orioles went 2-3 over any random stretch in June or July, no one would blink at that. But here at the start of the year, when there’s nothing else that’s happened yet and it all feels connected to the same malaise from last year, it’s bad.

Add to this Zach Eflin’s probably-season-ending injury from Tuesday night already taxing the starting pitching depth, and a bullpen that pretty much nobody believed in having some anticipated problems (Yaramil Hiraldo) and some less anticipated ones (Tyler Wells) and it’s a recipe for bad feelings.

Win today to avoid the sweep by Texas and the Orioles are 3-3 and that will stave off some misery. If they have more problems and fall to 2-4, then every concern will be one game closer to being solidified and the team will be starting to dig its way into a hole it will need to escape from. As we know from last year, the deeper the hole gets, the harder it is to address that later.

At least it’s Trevor Rogers day. Hopefully that turns out to be a good thing.

Orioles lineup

1. Taylor Ward – DH
2. Gunnar Henderson – SS
3. Pete Alonso – 1B
4. Samuel Basallo – C
5. Coby Mayo – 3B
6. Dylan Beavers – LF
7. Colton Cowser – RF
8. Leody Taveras – CF
9. Jeremiah Jackson – 2B

It’s the first start of the year for Taveras.

The young 4-5-6 hitters in today’s lineup have all not yet done much at the plate in 2026. Hopefully they can flip that around some today.

Rangers lineup

1. Brandon Nimmo – DH
2. Wyatt Langford – CF
3. Corey Seager – SS
4. Jake Burger – 1B
5. Andrew McCutchen – RF
6. Danny Jansen – C
7. Josh Jung – 3B
8. Ezequiel Duran – 2B
9. Sam Haggerty – LF

The Orioles batters will be facing Nathan Eovaldi initially. He had a rocky 2026 debut. Maybe they can continue that problem for him. That would be fun for us.

Mets lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Juan Soto – LF
3. Bo Bichette – 3B
4. Jorge Polanco – DH
5. Luis Robert – CF
6. Mark Vientos – 1B
7. Marcus Semien – 2B
8. Francisco Alvarez – C
9. Tyrone Taylor – RF

Freddy Peralta – RHP

Cardinals lineup

1. JJ Wetherholt – 2B
2. Ivan Herrera – DH
3. Alec Burleson – 1B
4. Masyn Winn – SS
5. Nolan Gorman – 3B
6. Thomas Saggese – LF
7. Nathan Church – RF
8. Pedro Pages – C
9. Victor Scott – CF

M. Liberatore – LHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 1:15 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Over the first week of games, you may have noticed pitchers, catchers, and hitters tapping their head after a pitch, signaling for a review. After six years of testing in the minors, MLB has implemented an Automated Ball Strike (ABS) challenge system that allows players (not coaches) to ask for a replay review of balls and strikes. Through the first week of games, the new wrinkle has brought added excitement and accountability to umpires. So how does it work?

Human umpires still call balls and strikes behind home plate. But if a pitcher, catcher, or hitter wants to challenge the ruling, they have to tap their head. Each team will be given two challenges during the first nine innings, with one challenge in each extra inning. Each team gets an additional challenge in the tenth inning. If that challenge is used, they’ll receive another in the next inning; if not, it carries over

The home plate umpire will announce the challenge, and the replay will be displayed on the ballpark video board. It should take no more than 15 seconds for the Automatic Ball Strike ruling to be issued. If the call is confirmed, the challenging team loses its challenge, but a team with a successful challenge will retain its challenge. Challenges are not allowed after replay reviews, or when a position player is pitching. If there is potential for a replay review after an ABS challenge, umpires will check to see if either manager wants to initiate a replay review before restarting the pitch clock. MLB has implemented a delay on all pitch location data to prevent teams from basing their challenge on the GameDay feed or other ball-tracking systems.

How is the strike zone determined? Each ballpark has a dozen Hawk-Eye technology cameras installed to capture player and ball movement. Each player has been officially measured, which has led to some amusing cases of players “shrinking.”

The top of the strike zone is set at 53.5% of the player’s height, while the bottom is set at 27%. The depth of the zone extends 8.5 inches in front of and behind the center of the plate. The zone is 17 inches wide, the width of home plate.

The strike zone is two-dimensional, rather than three-dimensional. Testing in the minors showed that some breaking balls barely nicked the front of the zone, only to move out of the zone as it crossed the batter, causing inconsistencies in calls.

Players have two seconds to challenge a pitch, although as we found out in the Royals’ game on Monday, the challenge may be made within two seconds after the play ends, such as when Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers made a snap throw to first.

How will ABS affect the placement of runners?  The umpires will let stand any calls unaffected by the incorrect call, but if an incorrect ball/strike call impacts a play on the bases, the umpires have discretion to then place any runners involved.

In the Royals/Rangers exhibition game last month, Seth Lugo threw a pitch that was called ball four. But the runner at first took off for second and eased up – perhaps because he thought it was a ball four call that would have forced him to second safely. Salvador Perez called for a challenge, and the call stood, but if it were overturned, Langford could have potentially been called out at the umpire’s discretion. Players will have to learn to ignore any calls, assuming it could be overturned.

Speaking of Salvy, he has been terrific at calling for challenges, successful on four of five so far. Baseball Savant even tracks which players are making the most valuable challenges. Here is the catcher leaderboard:

Royals hitters have made just one challenge, with Maikel Garcia getting a call overturned on Monday against the Twins. The Royals have been formulating a strategy on how to deal with challenges, and will not allow pitchers to challenge.

“No. 1, I don’t think pitchers should challenge any call,” pitching coach Brian Sweeney said Saturday. “Let the guy behind the plate, who has the feel for it, [do it]. I’m sure we’re going to see it over there right away. A pitcher is going to square up the glove, it’ll be a ball, he’ll go like that [tap his hat], and it’ll be a foot off the plate. It’s a process we’re trying to understand and talking to R&D and the guys in the Minor Leagues who have used it before.

The early data shows that teams are successful overturning calls slightly more than half the time, consistent with numbers from testing in the minors.

But the addition of the challenge system has brought an added measure of excitement to the ballpark. Testing in the minors showed it only added a minute to the length of games. It has added some drama to situations as fans await the outcome of a challenge.

It has also added some accountability for umpires, particularly for those that have been notoriously inconsistent.

It will also be interesting to see how the technology impacts the game. Will pitchers nibble more at the edges, hoping to hit the strike zone box? Could we see more high strikes – something many umps are less likely to call? How will teams use their challenges? Will hitters draw heat from teammates for overusing challenges? Will a catcher like Salvador Perez, who has fared poorly in framing metrics – seem like a more valuable catcher based on his challenges and the lessening value in framing? Will the system undermine the authority of umpires?

What do you think of the ABS challenge system so far? Any tweaks that need to be made?

Here are the lineups for the series finale against Washington, with a chance to win the series. Cristopher Sanchez looks for his second win of the season, while the Nats’ Cade Cavalli looks for his first.

For the Phillies:

For the Nationals:

The latest news on the Houston Astros and everybody else.

This was the worst blown call of the season so far, and it benefitted the Astros:

Astros managerJoe Espada had strong praise for RP Cody Bolton, who pitched well in his Astros’ debut last night:

The soon-to-be 28 year old Bolton entered last night’s game with only 42 innings of major league experience, and little success. Can he be the next pitcher to go to the “Astros’ Lab” and come out better?

The Astros have been chasing starting pitchers early:

Hunter Brown became the second fastest Astros pitcher to 600 strikeouts, doing so in 102 games. Only teammate Lance McCullers Jr. got there faster (100 games).

DBacks’ Jose Fernandez joins an exclusive club, as he becomes the 8th player in MLB history with a 2 HR game in his MLB debut:

Rookies are having huge starts to the season:

C.B. Bucknor continues to work on being the worst umpire in MLB. Thankfully there is replay.

Baseball pranks are the best:

How about some former All-Time Met on former All-Time Met crime?

Get ready for an awful lot more of these from Phillies’ phenom Andrew Painter:

Sometimes all you can do after you get gunned down on the bases is shake your head in amazement, like Cody Bellinger:

The Dodgers on Wednesday acquired pitcher Jake Eder from the Washington Nationals, in exchange for cash considerations.

Eder was designated for assignment by Washington on Saturday. The left-hander pitched in the majors in parts of the previous two seasons, appearing in one game for the Chicago White Sox in 2024 and seven games for the Angels in 2025. Over those two years, Eder has a 4.87 ERA with 16 strikeouts and 10 walks in 20 1/3 innings.

All of Eder’s major league appearances have been in relief, while in the minors all 69 of his games have been starts. Last season, between Salt Lake and Rochester in Triple-A had a 6.59 ERA with 61 strikeouts, 20 walks, and 15 home runs in 68 1/3 innings.

The 27-year-old has 42 days of major league service time, and has one option year remaining, having used options in 2024 and 2025.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Eder, the Dodgers moved Jake Cousins to the 60-day injured list. Cousins, who signed a one-year deal on March 25, had Tommy John surgery last June and isn’t expected back until midseason at the earliest.