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Before you start complaining about Shōta Imanaga serving up another home run at an inopportune time (with two runners on base), consider that you’re not going to win many games when you get only four hits and three of them are solo homers.

That was the tale of the Cubs’ 6-3 loss to the Nationals Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Imanaga started out well, striking out the first two Nats he faced. Then two of them singled ahead of Joey Wiemer smacking a three-run homer. Wiemer, you might recall from his time with the Brewers, but he’s been in four other organizations (Reds, Royals, Marlins, Giants) before the Nats claimed him on waivers in January.

Imanaga threw pretty well after that, too, allowing just three more hits and a couple of walks. He got charged with a run after he left the game. All in all, it wasn’t a terrible outing for Shōta, apart from the homer.

Meanwhile, Jake Irvin, who led all of MLB in home runs allowed last year (38; Imanaga was third with 31), stymied the Cubs for three innings. The only baserunner up to the third was Alex Bregman reaching on an error in the first, but he did not get past first base. The Cubs did hit some balls hard in those early innings, including this hot line drive by Nico Hoerner, caught by Irvin [VIDEO].

That ball was hit 102 miles per hour — tip o’ the cap to Irvin for that catch.

Bregman touched ‘em all leading off the fourth with his first Cubs home run [VIDEO].

Nice grab on that ball in the bleachers, too.

Two pitches later, Ian Happ went deep [VIDEO].

So now it’s 3-2 and the Cubs did get the tying run on base later in that inning when Nico singled with one out. As Carson Kelly struck out for the second out, Hoerner stole second and moved to third on an error, but he was stranded.

The bullpen did all right, though Phil Maton allowed a run to score in the sixth, charged to Imanaga. That made it 4-2, where it stayed until the eighth, when Keibert Ruiz hit a two-run homer off Hoby Milner to make it 6-2.

The Cubs got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning on Bregman’s second homer of the game [VIDEO].

That was the end of the Cubs offense, unfortunately. As I said — four hits with three of them being solo homers isn’t going to win you too many games. The Cubs did prevent a seventh run from scoring off Daniel Palencia, making his 2026 debut, in the ninth. Palencia had allowed a one-out single, then struck out Brady House.

Then this happened [VIDEO].

Good defense all the way around there. Nice throw by Pete Crow-Armstrong, good relay by Dansby Swanson, good tag by Kelly.

The Cubs won a couple of ABS challenges in this game.

Here’s one by Carson Kelly on a called ball [VIDEO].

Here’s one by a Nats hitter on a called strike that was… well into the zone [VIDEO].

Overall, I don’t have too many complaints about Imanaga’s game. Yes, he gave up another home run, but he did strike out seven. Here’s more on Shōta’s outing [VIDEO].

So the Cubs begin the season 1-2, losing this series to the Nationals, not the way we’d like to have had 2026 begin. But there are plenty of games remaining and I’m not concerned. I was glad to see Bregman break out and have a two-homer game. I’m thinking there will be more of those to come this year.

A note from BCB’s JohnW53 on this game:

Last season, the Cubs gave up 23 triples, nine of them with nobody out, including six with nobody on base, as happened in the fourth inning today. All six of those runners scored, unlike the runner today. Four of the six did so immediately, two on wild pitches and one each on a double and groundout. The remaining two scored on a one-out groundout and one-out sacrifice fly. The fly turned into a double play.

Also from John, regarding the three solo homers:

Today’s game was the 32nd among the 19,506 that the Cubs have played since 1901 in which they scored three runs, on three homers. The have won nine of them. They finished only one previous game with three homers plus one other hit: a 6-3, 10-inning loss at Brooklyn on July 19, 1957. The hit was a single. They made three homers among five hits in four games: wins at home vs. the Giants in 1910 and at St. Louis in 1979, and losses at home vs. the Rockies in 2004 and Tigers in 2006.

The Los Angeles Angels will visit Wrigley Field for a three-game series (weather permitting, and it might not on Tuesday) beginning Monday evening. In the series opener, Edward Cabrera will make his Cubs debut. He’ll face Angels right-hander Ryan Johnson. Game time Monday is 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Rangers 8, Phillies 3

• Way to go, Rangers!
• Texas took 2 of 3 in Philadelphia. This is important for a few reasons.
• First, 2026 is the first time the Rangers and Phillies have faced off in the regular season and one team has not swept the other since 2014.
• Um, wait, 2014 is bad. Hmmmm…
• It is the first time the Rangers have won a series in Philadelphia since 2022.
• Okay, 2022 was also bad.
• Prior to yesterday, the Rangers had only won three games ever in Philadelphia — a two game sweep in 2022, and one game in 2011.
• Hey, 2011 was good!
• But also, 2011 was kind of bad.
• But more good.
• Okay, let’s move on.
• MacKenzie Gore was as advertised. He looked great at times, and missed bats, striking out seven and generating 15 whiffs on 90 pitches. He also got wild at times, walking three batters and hitting Alec Bohm with the bases loaded in his final pitch of the game.
• Gore gave up one well struck ball, a Kyle Schwarber line drive in the first that was snagged. Every other ball in play was either weakly hit or hit at an angle that made it not threatening.
• The Phillies didn’t get their first hit until the sixth inning, after being no hit by Jacob Latz for 4-plus innings the day before. That has to have Phillies fans feeling great.
• The Phillies got two hits off of Gore in the sixth, one a swinging bunt by Justin Crawford that there was no play on, and one a flare to center by Schwarber after Trea Turner had walked. That loaded the bases for Bryce Harper, who Gore struck out swinging, and you were thinking hey, maybe Gore can get out of this, give the Rangers six full innings.
• He then hit Bohm with an 0-1 fastball that, as indicated above, brought his day to a close.
• Cole Winn, asked to come in after a sterling effort by a lefty starter for the second day in a row, gave up a smoked sac fly off the bat of Adolis Garcia on the ninth pitch of the at bat before retiring Bryson Stott on a 1-0 comebacker to end the inning.
• After Texas regained those two runs in the top of the seventh to make it an 8-2 game, Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler was asked to get some outs. Baumler was the only reliever not to pitch on Saturday (unless you count Kumar Rocker, who was available in the pen as a long man), and thus was the one rested guy Skip Schumaker could turn to. Baumler walked the first two batters he faced before striking out Crawford and getting Trea Turner to hit into a GIDP.
• Baumler issued two more walks in the eighth, sandwiched between a Kyle Schwarber fly out and an Adolis Garcia swinging K. A line drive run scoring Bryson Stott single then ended Baumler’s day, with Schumaker turning to Chris Martin to get out of the inning. Martin allowed a 2-0 line drive off the bat off J.T. Realmuto, but it was caught for the third out, easing Rangers’ fans troubled minds.
• Every Ranger fan’s favorite reliever Robert Garcia pitched the ninth. After striking out Brandon Marsh he issued a five pitch walk, but ended things by going up 0-2 on Trea Turner before inducing him to hit into another GIDP, this time of the game-winning variety.
• I will note that there has to be some concern in regards to Carter Baumler. The stuff is legit. The command, through his first two major league games, has not been. Only 22 of the 43 pitches he threw on Sunday were strikes, and he struggled badly to locate his breaking ball. He has faced 15 batters so far in the majors, and has walked five of them while hitting another. He’s going to have to show much better command if the Rangers are going to be able to keep him on the roster all season.
• On the offensive side, things went well. Sam Haggerty, getting the start in place of Evan Carter against the lefty, singled with one out in the third, meaning that when Brandon Nimmo homered two batters later, it was a two run bomb instead of a solo shot. Just an inning later, a Corey Seager walk and a Jake Burger single preceded an Andrew McCutchen home run right down the line in left field, giving the Rangers a 5-0 lead and resulting in booing from the Philly fans.
• McCutchen scored the next run as well, smoking a two out double and then coming in to score on Kyle Higashioka’s single. The final two runs in the seventh were from an Evan Carter leadoff walk followed by an Ezequiel Duran double. After a Brandon Nimmo HBP and a Wyatt Langford fielder’s choice, Seager brought Duran home with a sac fly that Nimmo made scarier than it needed to be by advancing to second and just barely beating the throw.
• Carter and Nimmo tried to get some more of that action going in the ninth, with Carter working a seven pitch walk off of lefty Kyle Backhus and Nimmo picking up a one out single, but Langford and Seager decided to save some runs for Camden Yards instead.
• MacKenzie Gore’s fastball maxed out at 97.3 mph. Cole Winn’s fastest pitch was a 94.6 mph fastball. The fastest pitches for both Gore and Winn were against Adolis Garcia, which is interesting. Or maybe not. Carter Baumler topped out at 96.2 mph. The fastest of Chris Martin’s three pitches was his 94.4 mph fastball. Robert Garcia reached 94.5 mph with his fastball.
• Corey Seager had a 106.7 mph line out. Andrew McCutchen’s homer was 105.7 mph. Josh Jung had a 104.0 mph ground out. Brandon Nimmo’s homer was 103.7 mph. Wyatt Langford had a 100.8 mph fielder’s choice.
• Now to Baltimore, where Texas will be hoping Jack Leiter can give them a lot of innings on Monday.

The Mets and Pirates went to extra innings in a low-scoring affair for the second day in a row, but this time there were no walk-off fireworks by the home team, as the Mets fell to Pittsburgh 4-3 in ten innings.

Things got off to a nervy start immediately for Nolan McLean, who had trouble finding the strike zone in the first, walking the first two batters he faced. He bounced back to strike out the next batter, but then Ryan O’Hearn blooped a single to left to put the Pirates on the board. Carmen Mlodzinski got off to a strong start by contrast, striking out the side in the bottom of the first.

But after McLean rebounded with a quick 1-2-3 second, the Mets tied up the game in the bottom of the frame. Luis Robert, striding to the plate to a robust ovation from the Citi Field crowd after last night’s heroics, hit a one-out single past the third baseman Nick Gonzales; the ball was hit sharply right at Gonzales, but he failed to come up with it and it sparked a rally for the Mets. Brett Baty followed with a single up the middle, advancing Robert to third. Marcus Semien then tied the game at one run apiece with a sacrifice fly. The Mets threatened for more, as Jared Triolo bobbled a Carson Benge grounder, allowing him to reach base safely, but Luis Torrens struck out looking to end the threat.

The Pirates immediately jumped back ahead in the third on a solo home run by who else but Brandon Lowe, who has killed the Mets all series long. It was the first home run McLean has allowed to a lefty in the major leagues. Mlodzinski responded to being given a lead to work with by striking out the side again in the third, setting his career-high for strikeouts. McLean countered with a 1-2-3 inning of his own in the top of the fourth. The Mets threatened in the bottom of the fourth thanks to back-to-back one-out singles by Robert and Baty again, but they did not score. The Pirates had a chance to extend their lead in the top of the fifth with a one-out bloop just over Bichette’s head that rolled into foul territory by Lowe that he stretched all the way into a double with some heads up base running. McLean managed to strike out Bryan Reynolds looking for the second out, thanks to some generous calls by the home plate umpire that Reynolds inexplicably chose not to challenge. McLean struck out Ryan O’Hearn as well to end the inning and hold the Pirates to two runs, ending his afternoon after five innings of work, over which he struck out eight Pirates and walked two.

The Mets got McLean off the hook by tying the game in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Francisco Lindor hit a rocket off the wall in right-center that was not far away from leaving the yard and slid into third base safely with a triple. Juan Soto drove him in with an RBI single to tie the game. That ended Carmen Mlodzinski’s day and former Met Yohan Ramírez retired Bo Bichette—who has looked rough at the plate in the early going and looked particularly bad in this game—and Jorge Polanco to stymie the rally.

Huascar Brazobán needed just five pitches to retire the Pirates in order in the sixth and then recorded the first two outs of the seventh as well before making way for Sean Manaea, whose reduced velocity seems to have not yet rebounded. Manaea looked shaky, but ultimately got the job done. He allowed a two-out single to Oneil Cruz and made a throwing error on a pickoff attempt that allowed the go-ahead run to get into scoring position. But Marcus Semien made a nice play on a sharp grounder to second off the bat of Lowe to help Manaea escape the jam. The Mets rallied but failed to score again in the bottom of the seventh, this time against Mason Montgomery. Montgomery proved to be a tough left-on-left matchup for Carson Benge, who struck out to lead off the inning. But Luis Torrens then hit a slow roller down the third base line that stayed fair for an infield single. Lindor then singled and a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, but Montgomery struck out Soto and Bichette back-to-back to wriggle his way out of the jam. After striking out the first two batters he faced in the eighth, Manaea walked two consecutive batters, but Nick Gonzales grounded out to end the inning, as both teams maintained their low success rate in the game with runners in scoring position.

Isaac Mattson contributed a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth for Pittsburgh and Luke Weaver worked around a pair of walks to pitch a scoreless ninth for the Mets. Don Kelly turned to his closer Dennis Santana for the third time in as many games and Santana pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to send the game into extras for the second straight day. And for the second straight day the Mets sent Dicky Lovelady to the mound in a tie game in extra innings. It worked yesterday, but it did not work today and Lovelady ended up being the losing pitcher after having been the winning pitcher in yesterday’s thrilling victory. Ryan O’Hearn, the batter Lovelady was likely in there to match up against, singled to lead off the tenth and score the ghost runner. But Lovelady bounced back to induce a double play grounder from Jared Triolo and it seemed—just like yesterday—like Lovelady might just manage to escape the inning having yielded just the one unearned run. Unfortunately, Lovelady walked the next two batters and then Henry Davis laced an RBI single to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead.

That extra run is what would make the difference. The Mets had the top of the order up against José Urquidy in the bottom of the tenth and Francisco Lindor got things off to an encouraging start by drawing a seven-pitch walk. Juan Soto then muscled a double deep into the gap in left-center to plate the Mets’ third run, but Lindor was tagged out at home as the tying run, letting all the air out of what was perhaps building to another come-from-behind victory in extras. Bichette then grounded out to short for the second out and Soto advanced to third base. There was one last spark of hope when Jorge Polanco gave the first pitch he saw from Urquidy a ride to deep right field and for the briefest of moments, it seemed like the Mets may have just done it again, but Billy Cook (in the game as a pinch runner and defensive replacement) secured the ball right up against the right field wall to end the game.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Francisco Lindor, +34.5% WPA
Big Mets loser: Dicky Lovelady, -41.5% WPA
Mets pitchers: -1.2% WPA
Mets hitters: -48.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Lindor’s leadoff walk in the bottom of the tenth, +23.0% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ryan O’Hearn’s go-ahead RBI single in the top of the tenth off Dicky Lovelady, -36.7% WPA

How about the Joey Wiemer led Washington Nationals! The Nats secured a series win in Chicago thanks to the efforts of a new cult hero. Joey Wiemer got on base four times again, and has yet to get out this season. The Nats have now won their first season opening series since 2018.

After yesterday’s sloppy and lopsided loss, I would not blame you if you were pessimistic about the Nats chances today. The homer prone Jake Irvin pitching in Wrigley while the wind was blowing out also felt like an ominous sign. However, the Nats showed up and Irvin looked very good.

Irvin was a victim of the wind when he gave up back to back homers in the fourth. Outside of that, the Nats big righty was in command. His four seam fastball velocity was up over a tick from where it was last year and that paid off for him. Irvin got four whiffs on ten swings against the four seamer and hitters had trouble reacting to the pitch.

He got into a lot of deep counts, which meant he threw 93 pitches through five innings. However, the righty did his job and looked very sharp. Last season, Irvin only struck out 6.20 batters per nine innings, but today he fanned seven in five frames. The long ball will always be an issue for him, but his stuff looks more in line with how it did in 2024.

The Nats bullpen was also very good today. PJ Poulin, Gus Varland, Cionel Perez and Clayton Beeter combined to only allow one run in four innings. Varland was the best of the bunch today, showing off a dynamic fastball. The Nats may not have big names in the bullpen, but I think the unit will be better than expected.

However, I think we may be burying the lede here a little bit. The star of the show this afternoon was Joey Wiemer. He has already made himself into a bit of a cult hero in just two games. The 27 year old is 6-6 with two walks. He has yet to make an out this season and is just totally locked in. Wiemer started the party this afternoon with a 3-run homer in the top of the first off a Shota Imanaga splitter.

The athletic outfielder was not done though. He finished the day just a double shy of the cycle. Wiemer was one batter away from getting the chance to hit for that cycle. If only Victor Estevez did not wave Luis Garcia Jr. in the top of the ninth.

Joey Wiemer has been one of the stories of baseball through the first few days of the season. Right now, he is the front runner for NL MVP. Seriously though, this guy is taking amazing at bats. I know the plan has been to play him only against lefties, but with the way he is hitting, you need to get his bat in the lineup every day until he cools off.

Wiemer was not the only Nat to hit a big home run though. Keibert Ruiz’s game got off to a rough start with a pop up in a bases loaded situation and a throwing error. However, he redeemed himself late in the ball game. Ruiz hit a sac fly in the sixth and gave the Nats more insurance in the 8th with a big home run.

That was Ruiz’s first home run since March of 2025. Ruiz has shown flashes with the bat in the past, but has never put it all together yet. This is likely to be his last chance to prove himself as a starting catcher. If Ruiz can hit like he did today, that would go a long way.

Overall, this was a super fun start to the season. The Nats bats have been lively to start the season after a rough spring. They have been led by unexpected heroes, but there are a lot of hitters seeing it well right now. Brady House and Daylen Lile are two other guys who were in the middle of the action for the Nats today.

The boys head to Philly where they will face off against a familiar foe. Will this be a flash in the pan or can the Nats keep the momentum rolling against the Phillies? Foster Griffin will be making his Nats debut tomorrow and hopefully he can keep the good times rolling. It is so much fun to have baseball back, especially with the Nats winning and looking like a fun group.

The season is finally underway and it’s always fun to talk about a winning series to get things going, right? It certainly beats the stuffing out of the way last season started, right? Anyways, it was truly exciting to be in the building for Opening Night on Friday and it was even more encouraging to see this team pick up a strong series win right out of the gate against a Royals team that does have some real aspirations of making the Postseason heading into this season.

So how did everything go down? It’s time to dive into the first series recap of the season, so join me on this quick journey!

Friday, March 27

Braves 6, Royals 0

This was about as good of a start to the season as you could ask for as the Braves delivered a complete team victory to get their season off to a winning start. Chris Sale pitched six scoreless innings in this one and even if he wasn’t at his dominant best in this one, it also helped considerably to have some lights-out defense being played behind him. Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez and Tyler Kinley each entered following Sale’s exit and they each clamped down on the Royals in order to make this a shutout win for Atlanta.

Ozzie Albies became the first Braves player to hit a home run during the regular season for the third season in a row and this time, his solo shot that he pulled just barely fair around the left-field foul pole got the Braves out ahead early in the first inning. Ozzie’s dinger was the first of three on the night for the Braves, as Drake Baldwin added a solo shot of his own in the third inning and then Michael Harris II doubled the lead with a two-run shot that made it 4-0 Braves.

Mauricio Dubón then made sure that his debut with the Braves was a successful one as he delivered a two-RBI double in the eighth inning to make it 6-0 and officially put the Braves into cruising territory. As I mentioned earlier, Atlanta was truly firing on all cylinders in this one — the bats were potent, the pitching was reliable, the defense was on point and the base running was effective and aggressive. A truly ideal game of baseball was played by this ball club on Friday night.

Saturday, March 28

Braves 6, Royals 2

This was less ideal but it was certainly more dramatic. The Braves were unable to crack the code that Michael Wacha was offering them in this one, as Wacha ended up going for six scoreless innings while striking out seven Atlanta batters. The good news was that Reynaldo López was going pitch-for-pitch with him and it also turned out that the mechanical issues that plagued López during his final start of spring training appeared to have been fixed and he looked more like his normal self in this outing. López also pitched six strong innings as this one turned into a pitchers’ duel.

Unfortunately, López ended up getting the short end of the stick when it came to the duel, as he ended up giving up a homer to Salvador Perez in the seventh inning in order to break the deadlock. That was the last batter that López faced and things didn’t get a lot better for the Braves in the next inning as Joel Payamps ended up conceding a run to make it 2-0 Royals at that late point in the contest. The game went into the bottom of the ninth inning with that same 2-0 score and that’s when we got our first sign of high leverage magic from the Braves this season.

Before Royals closer Carlos Estévez threw his first pitch, FOX ran two graphics: One that stated that Estévez led all of MLB in saves last season and another that stated that the Royals were 73-0 in 2025 in games where they led after eight innings. I had a strange feeling that the commentator’s curse (Well, the Chyron graphics’ curse) was on and sure enough, Estévez walked Baldwin to lead off the ninth. Matt Olson put runners on the corners with his single and then Mike Yastrzemski marked his Braves debut with an one-out RBI single that cut the deficit to just one. Michael Harris II made it a tie game after he smacked one off of Estévez’s foot. The save was officially blown and now it was time for some magic.

Dominic Smith was also making his Braves debut in this game and with plenty of inspiration guiding him, he took advantage of a full count pitch that crossed the plate right in his sweet spot. Smith sent the ball flying into the Chop House for a walk-off grand slam that sent Truist Park into a complete and total delirium.

Sunday, March 29

Royals 4, Braves 1

With the series in hand, Grant Holmes got the ball to start this one hoping to make it three great starts in a row for the already injury-beleaguered Braves rotation. While Holmes wasn’t horrible, this was definitely the weakest start of the three Opening Series starts for the Braves, as the Royals tacked on one run in the third, fourth, and fifth innings in order to have a somewhat comfortable cushion heading into the later portion of the game.

It didn’t help matters that the Braves had some really bad luck in this one as far as xBA is concerned. Atlanta had the five hardest-hit balls of this contest and four of the five longest-hit balls in this game as well. They also finished with an xBA of .314 to KC’s .196 in this game as well. Usually that results in a win but instead, those long, hard-hit fly balls from the Braves ended up finding gloves instead of the seats while the Royals were able to dink-and-dunk their way into a comfortable lead.

Seth Lugo ended up tossing 6.1 shutout innings in this one and then the Kansas City bullpen came in and did an effective job. An eighth-inning Drake Baldwin home run off of John Schreiber made sure that the Braves didn’t end up getting shut out on a day when they were hitting the ball really well but that was all of the substantial offense that Atlanta ended up getting in this one. Lucas Erceg got a double play ball to wipe out a one-out single from Yaz that could’ve been the start of another magical ninth inning for the Braves. Instead, the dream of 162-0 died in the third game of the season for Atlanta.

It also has to be noted that Didier Fuentes made his 2026 debut during this game. While he did end up conceding a run, he pitched the final four innings of this one and he looked a whole lot more confident in this outing than he did in his initial big league stint, so there’s that.

While you always want to be greedy and pick up a sweep, the Braves still had a lovely start to the season with this series win. The first game in particular was very encouraging, as that game feels like the proof of concept of sorts when it comes to the style of play that Walt Weiss would like to see. I’d imagine that if the Braves are going to be heading back to the Postseason, they’ll have their fair share of wins that look like what happened on Friday night.

They’ll also have their fair share of losses that look like what happened on Sunday afternoon. Sure, it stunk to see Atlanta drop that one when the underlying stats suggest that they were the better team but I’d definitely prefer to go down like that instead of looking completely and totally feeble at the plate like this team did for long stretches of the 2025 season. While you don’t want to see the Braves drop too many games like that where they had everything going for them except the runs being put on the board, it’s the type of loss that makes you think that this is going to be a very, very tough team to put away on most nights.

Lastly, this might be a nit-pick of sorts but there’s still plenty of improvement to be made in the ABS department when it comes to this team picking and choosing the right time for challenges. We saw on Saturday night that the team actually ran out of challenges in the first inning. I’d imagine that both Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr. got a bit of a talking-to when it comes to figuring out the right and proper time to pat the helmet and maybe this’ll be something that will be more of a work-in-progress for the Braves than other teams. For now, there’s plenty of space to improve.

That’s my only real quibble for what was a very good Opening Series for the Braves. They won in comfortable fashion, they won in dramatic fashion and they lost in one of the very few ways that you can find comfort in losing. They’ll have a solid chance to keep things going in the right direction too, as they’ll be staying at home for the next three games while the Athletics will be coming into town all the way from Toronto licking their wounds after starting their season off getting swept by the defending American League champions.

If things are going to keep going in the right direction, the bottom of the rotation is going to have to come up big with Bryce Elder and (maybe) Jose Suarez getting the ball before Chris Sale returns to the mound on Wednesday. Things may be fine if the offense continues to swing the bat like they have to start the season but it’s clear that the pitching will need to continue holding up its end of the bargain if the Braves want to really get rolling to kick off the season. Let’s see what happens, y’all.

The Rays escaped from St. Louis with a win. Although the Rays offensive production was impressive — 11 runs, 17 hits and 4 walks — there was not one minute when this win felt assured.

The Rays started out with the lead.

After having been no-hit for six innings yesterday, the Rays were able to put up three runs in the second inning on a combination of hard hit doubles and singles. Chandler Simpson got the inning going with a single, he was driven in by Johnny DeLuca’s double. DeLuca scored on a passed ball, and then Carson Williams (double) and Yandy Diaz (single) combined for another run.

Steve Matz, one-time Mets and Cardinals pitcher signed this winter as a free agent, got the start for the Rays. He was perfect, and impressive, for the first two innings. In the third, he gave up a smashed double (115 mph) double to Jordan Walker. Walker scored on what was ruled a single with a throwing error, but it was a slightly bloopy softly hit ball that Palacios had trouble handling. He rushed his throw to first and sent it sailing, which allowed Walker to score, making the score 3-1.

The top of the fourth inning seemed to go quietly for the Rays, with two quick outs. But then Hunter Feduccia drew a walk (even after losing a challenge on a called strike), Red Hot Yandy smoked a left field double to drive him home, and Jonathan Aranda decided to make things symmetrical with a double to right field (Yandy scored) and Cedric Mullins said “that looks like fun” and also hit a run-scoring double, to make the score 6-1.

Things fell apart for Matz rather quickly, however, in the bottom of the fourth inning. A walk and a single didn’t seem too problematic, but then, as the pitch count mounted, Matz threw one too many over-the-plate change ups and Walker smacked the last of those into the stand for a three run homer, making the score 6-4. The Cardinals got two men on base once more in the fifth, but thanks to a double play neither runner scored.

This meant, however, that as of the sixth inning we got the Rays Bullpen Adventure. Kevin Kelly came in and promptly gave up a leadoff double. The runner advanced to third on a fly ball to center, and it was fortunate that Cedric Mullins caught that fly ball at all.

Garrett Cleavinger also allowed a hard hit lead off hit in the seventh, although this one held to a single. He then managed to load the bases — no comfortable, quick inning for our guys! — before getting out of the jam.

The Rays were able to score again in the eighth inning, facing rookie (making his major league debut) Matt Pushard. After a single, a walk, and a wild pitch Yandy was able to drive home a run with a bloop single (I guess he got tired of smoking the ball and decided to try some soft contact). Aranda singled home another run. Run number 9 came courtesy of Mullins’ sac fly to center.

Mason Englert came in, then, with the benefit of a five run lead, and did whatever he did to give it back. A solo home run by Nolan Gorman was followed by a single, followed by a two-run homer and we were back to a two-run lead — which we know is not NEARLY big enough.

The Rays offense, having seen what the bullpen can do, added on in the ninth. After a couple of hits put Simpson on third, Carson Williams put down a perfect bunt hit to score him (for the record, I’m largely a “don’t bunt” person but there’s a “speedy guy on third and needing an insurance run” exception.) 10-7.

Yandy went back the the “hit it soft” approach and his “excuse-me” swing ended up acting as a kind of bunt, scoring Williamson and putting leaving him with an infield single.

That meant the Rays had a four run lead and all we needed was a reliever to who could get three outs. Bonus if he could do it without first loading the bases. And in walks Bryan Baker. Three weak contact outs and, miraculously, the game ended with the Rays lead in tact.

As we savor this win, let’s look at the positives. Matz was really good for three innings. I think he can build on that moving forward. Yandy is red hot — five hits and four RBI today. Aranda and DeLuca had multi hit days, and look locked in.

On to Milwaukee for a weekday series.

New beginnings. So much hope, so much promise. The 2026 season is brand-new, and so is Shane Baz’s career as an Oriole. This week the team announced a five-year, $69-million extension for the right-hander—all before he’d thrown a single regular-season pitch. The front office called it a “no brainer.” It almost feels like too much anticipation.

All I can say after today is, given the sharpness of Baz’s stuff, they may be right, but four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 IP wasn’t the first impression Baz, or any of us, had hoped for. He threw just one bad inning, but seven hits is a lot.

It’s fair to say that in today’s Game 3 series finale against the Twins, Orioles pitching was a shambles. Between the two teams, there were fourteen runs allowed total, 24 hits, and ten ABS challenges (more on those in a sec). But in the end, it was OK, because O’s hitters delivered a special performance.

Down 4-0 early, the O’s rallied, courtesy of a Tyler O’Neill three-run homer in the fourth, and a two-run go-ahead double by Dylan Beavers in the sixth. New-ish reliever Yaramil Hiraldo allowed the Twins to tie it, 5-5, with a first-pitch homer, and Rico García had to clean up a bases-loaded mess, as he did all last season. The O’s raced ahead again with three runs in the seventh, including on an Adley Rutschman pinch-hit RBI double. Again their bullpen tried to give it away, Tyler Wells looking faulty. But Yennier Cano got another clutch, bases-loaded K, and Ryan Helsley was, if not lockdown, good enough. Batters were challenging strike and ball calls all day, and it was a little dizzying, but overall, ABS seems to be a good innovation.

Let’s start at the beginning. This was my first real impression of Shane Baz and here are some thoughts: OK, so the Baz fastball really does live at 96-97 mph. Wow! He hit 99. OK, he’s got a wicked knucklecurve, too. Total “swords” material, as the Pitching Ninja would say. He can also mix in a 91-mph cutter just to confuse things.

This is really pretty stuff. Maybe it’ll produce an ace one day, but Baz’s outing today wasn’t pretty. He dispatched the Twins in a stylish nine-pitch first inning, capped off by a challenged strikeout of Byron Buxton that ABS vindicated! But the second inning was a mess.

Four Twins reached with no outs: Matt Wallner served a 98-mph fastball into center, Josh Bell got hit, catcher Victor Caratini tapped an elevated offspeed pitch to left, and an infield single to second made it 1-0 Twins. Baz battled to strike out Royce Lewis, but the victory was pyrrhic. No. 9 hitter Tristan Gray doubled past a diving Tyler O’Neill, and three runs scored. The relay from center to second to third saw Coby Mayo put the tag on the runner, then fire home too late to stop the fourth run from scoring.

After that, Baz got better. In the fourth, Beavers, in his first-ever game in centerfield, lost a ball in the sun (d’oh—you felt for him), gifting Josh Bell a double. But Coby Mayo fielded a grounder, tagged Bell (or Bell left the basepaths; it wasn’t clear), a run-saving play. In the fifth, Byron Buxton dropped in a blooper to the right-field corner, but Tyler O’Neill fired a bullet to second. Buxton overran the bag, and he was out!

The scoreboard stayed 4-0.

At this point, the Orioles offense was even more disheartening than Baz’s one bad inning, because they were getting handled by Very-Large-But-Otherwise-Not-Terribly-Scary Twins starter Bailey Ober, who has a slowish fastball and a decent changeup/slider combo. I’m not just being mean: from the booth, Ben McDonald said “When I look at his stuff, it doesn’t wow me.”

But Orioles hitters made their adjustments off the soft-tossing giant, and Tyler O’Neill delivered again, this time with the bat. Pete Alonso had led off with a 108-mph single, bringing a needed jolt of life to this lineup, and Basallo followed with a single. Tyler O’Neill went to a 3-1 count and got a hanging sinker: bam. Out it went, crushed to left field. It was, as the booth said, a “muscular” response by O’Neill (that’s a working out joke, by the way).

The two starters were out early, and the ABS challenge system proved critical to both their replacements. Twins youngster Mick Abel coughed up Gunnar Henderson’s first hit of the year but still posted a scoreless fifth, boosted by an ABS-assisted strikeout of Taylor Ward. Taking over for Baz in the top of the sixth, lefty Grant Wolfram struck out Matt Wallner when Basallo challenged the ball four call. Gutsy! It was a strike by a hair, and this conceivably saved a run because the next hitter doubled.

The Orioles put up two more runs in the sixth, as O’Neill walked, Coby Mayo hit a bloop double, and Dylan Beavers delivered his biggest hit of the young season.

The Orioles bullpen did not look nails today, and I have some questions, but that’s for another day. Yaramil Hiraldo allowed a game-tying homer on his very first pitch, then hung several sliders and walked three batters. Rico García, Mop-up Man Extraordinaire, froze Matt Wallner, who pointlessly used his ABS challenge, and it proved important the next inning.

In the seventh, Twins newbie Mick Abel was kind of hung out to dry—I’d have pulled him before 81 pitches, but I’m just a couch potato, after all. After a leadoff single, Gunnar Henderson was alleged to walk. Ball Four was definitely not a ball, but home plate ump Chris Segal blew it, and the Twins were out of challenges! With Ward on second and Gunnar on first, Pete Alonso came through with a single on an outside pitch. (OK, for the record, this guy can really hit.) The O’s weren’t done: a pinch-hitting Adley Rutschman cranked a double to the center-field wall to make it 7-5 good guys. Basallo was intentionally walked (flattering). With no outs, Mr. Canada grounded into a forceout, but Coby Mayo came through with a single. 8-5 Birds.

Unfortunately, Tyler Wells, like Yaramil Hiraldo, was also having a “can’t find the strike zone day,” and he, too, let a run in and loaded the bases. Today, Yennier Cano was up to the task, however, and froze Buxton, complete with a triumphal Cano Strikeout Pose.

Ryan Helsley, pitching on a couple days rest, had himself an 8-6 lead to protect. He did not look particularly sharp, and again, ABS came to the rescue. After a leadoff single, new left fielder Taylor Ward earned his keep with a low ranging grab on a sinking liner. Then, Helsley nearly walked Josh Bell, but new backstop Adley successfully challenged a 3-0 ball call. Come back to the plate, Josh! Then, Helsley dropped in a 3-2 slider on the edge of the strike zone that the ump called ball four. Now Helsley challenged it, and lo and behold, it was a strike by a hair!

Here is Adley’s challenge (Pitch 4) and Helsley’s (Pitch 6). Clearly, ABS is already making a huge difference.

That was a crazy one, folks! It was also a series win, and a great day for the bats.

So, who is your vote for Most Birdland Player of Sunday’s outing? Mr. Canada himself, Tyler O’Neill and his three-run jack? Pete Alonso, who kickstarted the offense and had two singles and a walk? Dylan Beavers, coming through with a go-ahead, two-out double? Rico García, who pulled another Houdini with the game tied and the bases loaded in the seventh?

Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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The first edition of Sunday Night Baseball in 2026 pits a pair of uneven starters against one another as the Seattle Seahawks host the Cleveland Guardians.

My Guardians vs. Mariners predictions expect the offenses to make life miserable for both starters in a high-scoring final.

Check out our full MLB picks for Sunday, March 29, including Sunday Night Baseball props from analyst J.D. Yonke.

Guardians vs Mariners predictions

Guardians vs Mariners best bet: Over 7.5 (-122)

This total does not account for what these two starters are.

Cleveland Guardians hurler Slade Cecconi posted a 4.99 xERA last season with a 49% hard-hit rate that was among the worst in the sport.

Meanwhile, Seattle Mariners starter Emerson Hancock is trying to outperform his underwhelming metrics entering his third season. The righty posted a 4.90 ERA last season, paired with a 5.51 expected ERA. The season before followed a similar pattern, with a 4.75 ERA and a 5.92 expected ERA.

The ball will be in play early and often, and the quality of contact should be high.

COVERS INTEL: Cecconi’s 12% barrel rate and 49% hard-hit rate both ranked in MLB’s bottom 10% among qualified 2025 starters.

Guardians vs Mariners same-game parlay (SGP)

The -144 price point for Seattle is about right with my -146 projection.

I’m genuinely more confident in the Mariners' bats to exploit a pitcher with a serious barrel rate and hard-hit problem. Cal Raleigh looms large, but others like Dominic Canzone, Luke Raley, and Randy Arozarena posted hard-hit rates above 40% last season.

Guardians vs Mariners SGP

• Over 7.5
• Mariners moneyline

Guardians vs Mariners home run pick: Dominic Canzone (+430)

Canzone opened the year with two homers and has posted a Top-3 exit velocity among all Guardians and Mariners hitters in this series. He projects favorably against Cecconi’s fastball-slider combo, particularly the slider, which is a pitch the righty leans on heavily. Canzone posted the highest hard-hit rate among Seattle hitters against that pitch last season.

Guardians vs Mariners odds

• Moneyline: Cleveland +122 | Seattle -144
• Run line: Cleveland +1.5 (-176) | Seattle -1.5 (+146)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-118) | Under 7.5 (-104)

Guardians vs Mariners trend

The Seattle Mariners have hit the Game Total Over in 90 of their last 160 games (+17.65 Units / 10% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Guardians vs. Mariners.

How to watch Guardians vs Mariners and game info

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