Masters champion points out fan to security
McIlroy has had prob;em with American crowds before
Rory McIlroy clashed with a fan on Sunday in the final round of the US PGA as chanting from the gallery once again drew his ire.
McIlroy was among the challengers on the final day but found heavy rough on the 16th as his bid for victory petered out. His next shot rebounded into a bunker, although he would go on to par the hole.
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Hello and happy Monday, folks. A new week begins, but that means we’re closer to a long weekend. So we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.
What we don’t have going for us at the moment, though, is quality outings from Brayan Bello. The birthday boy was unfortunately shelled on Sunday, as he gave up eight earned runs in five innings en route to the loss against Atlanta. Bello will not be pitching in this upcoming series in Kansas City, which is set to begin tonight at 7:40 p.m. EST.
My question to you folks is simple: what’s next for Bello?
He had two very solid outings preceding yesterday’s disaster, as both of those appearances featured an opener from the bullpen eating the first inning before handing things over to number 66. Is this simply a matter of reverting back to that strategy, or do you think the problems with Bello go deeper than that? Do we have to ride things out with him—especially with Crochet still on the mend—or do we have to consider sending him down to Worcester to get his act together? I want to hear from you.
Be good to each other and go Sox.
Last week saw to divisional matchups in the National League West, and NL West teams lost the two series against other NL teams outside the division. The San Diego Padres dropped two of three against the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Colorado Rockies lost two out of three against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But the division mostly took out any such frustration against the American League. The Dodgers and Padres, the two teams at the top of the standings and the only two teams in the division with a winning record, swept the Angels and Seattle Mariners, respectively, over the weekend. The San Francisco Giants won two out of three against the A’s in West Sacramento. The Arizona Diamondbacks did lost two of three to the Texas Rangers, but overall the division went 9-3 in interleague play for the week.
The Dodgers and Giants split four games in Los Angeles, with the Giants winning the first two games. On Tuesday, Eric Haase homered twice off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the first player to homer against Yamamoto twice in the same game. Haase is just the fourth catcher in Giants history to hit two home runs in a game against the Dodgers, and the first since Bob Melvin on September 22, 1987. Haase is the only Giants catcher with such a game at Dodger Stadium. Sean Keane has more on Haase’s big game at McCovey Chronicles.
Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly at age 37 pitched the first complete game of his career on Thursday night, his 178th career start, in a 9-1 rout of the Colorado Rockies. The folks at AZ Snake Pit have more. Kelly had just the second complete game at Coors Field since the start of 2023, along with Stephen Kolek of the San Diego Padres on May 10, 2025. There are 94 complete games in the history of the ballpark, which is now in its 32nd season.
Jake Cronenworth out with a concussion. Padres have gotten contributions from other players, like Miguel Andujar and Gavin Sheets (three go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning), which Thomas Conroy chronicled at Gaslamp Ball.
Rockies right-hander Chase Dollander exited his Thursday start and was placed on the injured list on Friday. There’s no timetable yet for his return, but optimism that he won’t need surgery. From Evan Lang at Purple Row:
Dollander described his injury as “just a very minor UCL sprain. That’s just what the MRI showed. I have a little information around the ligament, nothing to be too concerned about. Just thanking God that it wasn’t more than that. Obviously, it’s probably the best case scenario. Trying to look at the positive side.”
Dodgers 29-18, – –
Padres 28-18, 0.5 GB
D-backs 22-23, 6 GB
Giants 20-27, 9 GB
Rockies 18-29, 11 GB
Three different intradivisional series this week, in San Diego and Arizona.
England defender thanks Prince of Wales for his support
William expected to be in Istanbul for Europa League final
Ezri Konsa has said the Prince of Wales referring to him as a “Rolls-Royce” counts as the greatest compliment of his career and that Aston Villa are grateful for his royal backing. Prince William, arguably Villa’s best-known supporter and a patron of the Football Association, is expected to be in Istanbul for Wednesday’s Europa League final. Villa are seeking their first trophy since the League Cup in 1996 and will face the German side Freiburg in Turkey.
Konsa has opened up on the surreal nature of support from the heir to the throne. William was in the Villa Park directors’ box for Villa’s second-leg 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, which cemented Villa’s place in a first major European final since 1982.
Continue reading...Benhard Janse van Rensburg in 42-man training squad
England consider resting Itoje and other senior players
England have called up the former South African U20 centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg to train with the national squad ahead of this summer’s inaugural Nations Championship. The Bristol Bears midfielder has been picked ahead of the omitted Bath pair Ollie Lawrence and Max Ojomoh despite not being officially available for England until 8 July.
Janse van Rensburg will become eligible on residency grounds on the grounds he has been in the UK for five years since joining his former club London Irish. This means he will not be available for England’s Test against the Springboks on 4 July but could potentially make a full debut against Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium the following weekend.
The 29-year-old, may also feature in a non-cap game against a France XV in Vannes on 19 June, assuming he makes a good impression in training. He did not have the best of nights in Northampton last Friday when Bristol suffered a record 94-33 defeat and were repeatedly cut apart by a rampant Saints backline.
The Rugby Football Union had to make a special appeal to World Rugby for dispensation to consider Janse van Rensburg, who played 21 minutes as a late replacement for South Africa’s U20 side back in 2016. This made him technically ineligible to qualify for England on residency grounds, until the RFU successfully argued that it was unfair for that brief appearance to bind him to South Africa in perpetuity.
Borthwick is clearly seeking fresh ways to inject momentum into his squad following the team’s fifth-placed finish in the Six Nations which saw England lose four of their five games. There are also call-ups for the impressive young Northampton scrum-half Archie McParland and Saracens’ fast-rising No9 Charlie Bracken, along with a recall for the rapid Leicester wing Adam Radwan.
Radwan has nipped in ahead of the unfortunate Arundell with Saracens’ Noah Caluori also included in a 42-man squad. Up front there are call-ups for the uncapped Bath front-row duo of Vilikesa Sela and Kepu Tuipulotu, prominent members of England’s U20 side who are now pushing for senior recognition. There may well be opportunities this summer with Borthwick understood to be considering resting some of his senior pros including the captain Maro Itoje for some or all of England’s July games.
The date May 18 this year marks Victoria Day for most provinces and all of Canada's territories. This day last year, however, consisted of a franchise-altering result for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That result was when the Florida Panthers came to town for Game 7 of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. With hope from Leafs fans that Toronto was going to see the third round of the post-season for the first time since 2002, the Panthers steamrolled the Maple Leafs with a 6-1 scoreline.
That humiliating loss for Toronto at Scotiabank Arena turned out to be more than just a defeat or elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs. What came to fruition in the aftermath of that loss changed the immediate future of the organization.
What many will remember from that night is that, in addition to being the Maple Leafs' final contest of the campaign, it turned out to be the end of Mitch Marner's tenure in Toronto - and it wasn't memorable in a good way.
In the final moments of that game, fans began to boo Marner whenever he got control of the puck. They would also throw jerseys and garbage onto the ice during play.
Were Toronto Maple Leafs Fans and Pundits Wrong About Mitch Marner?Freed from the suffocating weight of Toronto's expectations, Mitch Marner is doing in Vegas what Leafs Nation spent a decade insisting he never could, leading the NHL in playoff scoring and forcing an uncomfortable reckoning with the narrative that defined his time in blue and white.This loss marked the seventh straight Game 7 that the Maple Leafs dropped dating back to the 2012-13 post-season.
Florida would go on to win its second consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in six games. The Maple Leafs were actually the toughest series that the Panthers had in those playoffs in terms of the length of the series.
Nonetheless, there were a couple of changes to the team in that off-season, highlighted by the departure of Marner, who was signed and traded to the Vegas Golden Knights just one day before free agency kicked in.
Marner's departure marked the end of an era. For the previous nine seasons, Marner, along with Auston Matthews and William Nylander, were the team's top players. But with a third of that trio now gone, the Maple Leafs were always going to be a different team going into the next campaign.
'I Wish I Had A Recording': Former Maple Leaf Kurtis Gabriel Shares Experience Hanging Out at John Tavares' CottageKurtis Gabriel, who spent one season with the Toronto Maple Leafs' organization, shared a story about spending time at John Tavares' cottage in the summer of 2021. He referenced former Leafs such as Jason Spezza, Michael Bunting, Jake Muzzin and Wayne Simmonds.Still with the off-season additions of Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua, and Nicolas Roy - who arrived with the Marner deal - the difference was glaring, and not in a positive way.
Toronto ended up missing the playoffs for the first time in nine years and became a lottery-winning franchise for the first time since the Leafs drafted Matthews in 2016.
That Game 7 loss to the Panthers isn't solely responsible for the downfall of the 2025-26 regular season, of course. But it certainly played a role in the organization's trajectory.
Now, exactly one year later, Brendan Shanahan, Brad Treliving, Craig Berube, and some other members of the front office are no longer a part of the franchise.
At any rate, May 18, 2025 was certainly a day for Leafs fans to remember, for all the wrong reasons.
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This offseason, the Philadelphia Flyers will be spending the bulk of their finances re-signing their own free agents, rather than those coming from other teams.
Established core players like Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale are pending restricted free agents in need of new contracts, and it's possible the Flyers retain the likes of Nikita Grebenkin (upper-body), Sam Ersson, and Emil Andrae.
The Flyers already re-signed Aleksei Kolosov, so that is one piece of relevant business done for the summer. Now, they won't have to worry about AHL goaltending for the 2026-27 season.
As for the names above, though, their contracts are going to be less straightforward than Kolosov's one-year deal worth $850k.
In regards to Zegras and Drysdale specifically, those two players are going to be the talk of town in terms of contract value and length.
We can all expect the Flyers' exciting duo to sign for another couple of years, though what a "couple of years" means depends on the person.
NHL analytics mavens Evolving-Hockey have made their widely anticipated contract projections for the 2026 offseason available, and we can reference their data model to see what kind of contracts we can expect for all the Flyers' free agents.
To establish some precedent, Evolving-Hockey projected Kolosov's most likely contract to be two years for $866.5k. The Belarusian was assessed to have a 48% chance to sign for two years, and a 42% chance to sign for one. So, they were pretty close to the mark on this one.
At the time of this writing, Zegras is given a 23% chance to re-up with the Flyers for four years, which Evolving-Hockey predicts to come with a $7.589 million annual cap hit.
Notably, their model also gives Zegras a 19% chance to sign for five and eight years, and those lengths would then carry cap hits of $7.919 or $9.654 million, respectively.
Personally, I would expect Zegras and the Flyers meet somewhere in the middle, like seven years and $8.5 million annually, give or take.
The 25-year-old could sign almost any deal, though, and it would be a big win for Philadelphia. Anything that keeps him an important piece of the future is a success.
However, the Flyers will have a smaller margin for error with Drysdale's next deal, especially given that this past season was the best, and objectively the only good, season of his NHL career.
The 24-year-old defenseman's most likely contract comes in at five years and a $6.155 million annual cap hit, which will certainly carry some sticker shock.
A number in the $5 million range would be more reasonable for Drysdale, though Evolving-Hockey's model says the Flyers will have to offer between two and four years to get the price down to that level.
As it stands for the other relevant pieces, Ersson is projected to land a two-year, $2.762 million AAV contract if he re-signs with the Flyers, which seems unlikely at this stage.
Andrae and Grebenkin are given whopping 56% and 58% chances to land two-year extensions themselves, accompanied by modest cap hits of $1.462 and $1.127 million, respectively.
Grebenkin's is just about what I personally expected, though a one-year deal feels like the smartest move for Andrae.
He only has a 16% chance to sign one of those, but he is no longer waivers-exempt and won't be an unrestricted free agent until 2029.
If Andrae does remain with the Flyers, it would be surprising if it was for more than a season, even with the team's lack of left-shot defensemen coming up through the pipeline.
The Flyers will have a ton of cap space this summer with Kevin Hayes, Cam Atkinson, and Scott Laughton all coming off the books, so it will be interesting to see how aggressive they get with re-signing their own players as well as with targeting new ones.
Here are your links for today:
“Everybody knows the Hughes brothers want to play together. Maybe Jack wants to come to Minnesota now to join forces with Quinn rather than wait or have it the other way around. It would be complicated, though, because it’s hard to believe Jack would leave their youngest brother, Luke, behind with the New Jersey Devils. That may be why, per league sources, the Wild made a pitch to former Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald to acquire Luke this past season.” [The Athletic ($)]
“While he’s still young enough to improve, it stands to reason Nemec may not be looked at as a long-term core piece by Mehta. If that’s the case, here are a few landing spots that could make sense:” [Infernal Access ($)]
What should the Devils do about Dougie Hamilton?
Hurricanes have had a long break:
Quinn Hughes on the idea of resigning in Minnesota: “I can say that I really like it here. I love the team. I love the city and the fans. Just being in that locker room, it’s a special group. Would definitely be open to re-signing here with the guys that we have in the room and just the people we have in the room. A lot of trust with Billy, as well, and love (coach John Hynes) and (associate coach Jack Capuano) and the coaching staff.” [The Athletic ($)]
“The Vegas Golden Knights have been stripped of their second-round pick in this year’s draft, with coach John Tortorella also receiving a $100,000 fine, for ‘flagrant violations’ of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoff media regulations, the league announced Friday.” [ESPN]
“It’s safe to say the ‘Yzerplan’ has not worked out. And as the Detroit Red Wings enter a critical off-season, they need to change up their methods, even if that doesn’t include Steve Yzerman.” [The Hockey News]
Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! I hope you had a nice weekend. Things started off poorly for the Orioles with two losses to the Nationals, including an embarrassing 13-3 rout on Saturday. But they finished the series with a solid 7-3 victory to salvage one game.
The offense yesterday was powered by home runs from guys who had been struggling. Gunnar Henderson, Coby Mayo, and Colton Cowser all went deep yesterday, which felt pretty good. If those guys can rebound, it would work wonders for the offense.
No offense to Cower or Mayo, but Henderson is the one who matters most. And he had himself a fine weekend. On Friday, in the team’s 3-2 loss, Henderson singled and doubled in five trips to the plate. But he hit the ball hard four times up, with exit velocities of 97.5, 100.1, 106.1, and 111.9. He went hitless on Saturday, but did pick up a walk. And yesterday, Henderson had a four-hit game, including a double and a home run. His exit velocity in those four hits? 100.3, 100.3, 105.6, and 106.7.
It has only been one weekend’s worth of games, and I am not declaring Gunnar to be back. But I feel like I am ready to start asking the question. If he keeps hitting the ball hard, we’ll have our answer soon. He has been in the 57th percentile of exit velocity this year, averaging 89.1. In 2023-25, he was around the 90th percentile. A hard-hitting Gunnar is a good Gunnar.
He and the rest of the team will face a tough test over the next 10 days, where six of their nine games will be against the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays. They have won every series they’ve played this month and have only lost four all year. Weirdly, all of those series losses have come against the NL Central. They have not been swept. You can check back to this website at 10 a.m. to read Paul Folkemer’s series preview, which will tell you all the ways the Rays will beat the Orioles this week.
One last thing: former Oriole Grayson Rodriguez made his 2026 debut yesterday. It had been 655 days since his last start back on July 31, 2024. I wish I could say he had a triumphant return. Against the Dodgers, Rodriguez allowed seven runs on seven hits and four walks in just 3.2 innings. Here’s hoping he feels good physically after the start and that he can keep going.
Links
More bullpen banter, Albernaz on having Eflin around team and some mailbag questions – MASN Sports
Zach Eflin is providing veteran leadership even with his arm in a brace. Readers ask Roch Kubatko about Mike Elias’s job security, Jackson Holliday’s return, and more.
Orioles mash 3 homers en route to a 7-3 victory over the Nationals – The Baltimore Banner
Game story with quotes from Craig Albernaz and the players.
After slow starts to ’26, three young O’s heat up in a big way – MLB.com
I don’t know that I’m ready to say that Colton Cowser has heated up, but the home run was nice.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have four Orioles birthday buddies, including the legendary Brooks Robinson. Robinson spent his entire 23-season career with the Orioles. He won 16 Gold Gloves, was an 18-time All-Star, won two World Series, was named American League MVP, World Series MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983. He was also the nicest human of all time. Brooks Robinson passed away in 2023 at the age of 86.
Believe it or not, Brooks Robinson isn’t the only former Oriole and Hall of Famer born on this day. Today is Reggie Jackson’s 80th birthday. Jackson spent one season, 1976, with the Orioles.
Also born on this day is 2026 Oriole, Trey Gibson. Gibson has pitched in two games with the Orioles this year, and is currently with Triple-A Norfolk. We’ll see him in Baltimore again this season, I’m sure. Happy 24th birthday, Trey!
Last (and also probably least, sorry), today is Luis Terrero’s 46th birthday. Terrero appeared in 27 games with the 2006 Orioles.
On this day in 1957, the Orioles and White Sox were playing in Baltimore with a 10:20 curfew put in place to ensure the White Sox could catch the last train out of town. At 10:19, Oriole Dick Williams hit a ninth-inning, game-tying home run. The game was called for curfew as he touched home plate. The two teams later replayed the game, and the Orioles won. Why didn’t the White Sox pitcher just stall for one minute? That’s what everyone else wondered too.
In 1983, the Orioles and White Sox were again playing, and White Sox pitcher Rich Dotson pitched a one-hitter against the Orioles. Unfortunately for him, the one hit was a home run by Dan Ford. Storm Davis and Tippy Martinez combined to pitch nine shutout innings for the O’s.
In 1990, the Orioles tied an American League record with eight straight singles in the first inning against the Rangers’ Bobby Witt (who wouldn’t become Bobby Witt, Sr. for 10 more years). The Orioles scored seven runs in that first inning and went on to win, 13-1.
And on this day last year, the Orioles lost to the Nationals, 10-4. Zach Eflin started for the Orioles and was torched for eight runs, including a six-run second. The Orioles had nine hits, including solo home runs by Jackson Holliday, Gunnar Henderson, and Cedric Mullins.
SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 5, SYRACUSE 3 (BOX)
Syracuse got on the board in the top of the first on a pair of extra base hits off the bats of Nick Morabito and Christian Arroyo, but Scranton recouped both runs in the bottom of the third. Syracuse took the lead once again in the top of the sixth, this time on a Yonny Hernandez RBI single, but the RailRiders took the lead permanently in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs off of Alex Carillo and taking a 5-3 lead. The Mets had a couple of opportunities, getting the tying run up in the eighth and ninth, but weren’t able to cash in.
· CF Nick Morabito: 1-4, R, 3B
· DH Ji Hwan Bae: 2-3, 2 R, BB, K, SB (12)
· 1B Ryan Clifford: 0-4, K
· 2B Christian Arroyo: 1-4, 2B, RBI
· 3B Yonny Hernández: 2-4, 2 RBI
· RF Cristian Pache: 1-4, K
· C Ben Rortvedt: 1-4, K
· SS Jackson Cluff: 0-4, K, E (7)
· LF Matt Rudick: 0-4, 2 K
· RHP Jack Wenninger: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
· LHP Matt Turner: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
· RHP Ryan Lambert: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
· RHP Alex Carrillo: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, BLK, L (1-1), BS (2)
· LHP Cionel Pérez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
· LHP Anderson Severino: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
ROSTER ALERT: Syracuse Mets activated RHP Ofreidy Gómez from the Development List.
ROSTER ALERT: Syracuse Mets released RHP Luke Jackson.
BINGHAMTON 10, SOMERSET 7 (BOX)
Binghamton trailed early on, at one point as much as 6-1, but the bats came through. In the fourth, they plated three runs, in the fifth, they plated two, and in the sixth, they scored four more, taking the lead. Jacob Reimer had a big game, going 3-3 with two doubles and a homer, raising his batting line from .200/.328/.355 coming into this game to .221/.346/.416; the infielder has quietly been enjoying a solid May after a very poor April and is hitting .279/.373/.581 on the month.
· LF Eli Serrano III: 0-4, RBI, BB, 2 K
· DH Chris Suero: 0-4, R, 3 K, HBP, SB (10)
· 3B Jacob Reimer: 3-3, 2 R, 2 2B, HR (4), 4 RBI, BB, SB (6)
· CF Jose Ramos: 1-4, R, HR (6), 2 RBI, BB, 2 K
· 2B Nick Lorusso: 1-5, R, 2B, K
· C Vincent Perozo: 1-4, R, HR (1), 2 RBI, BB, 3 K
· 1B JT Schwartz: 1-4, R, BB, 3 K, E (1)
· RF Jaylen Palmer: 1-4, R, K
· SS Wyatt Young: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, K
· RHP Brendan Girton: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, BLK
· RHP Douglas Orellana: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (3-0)
· RHP Dan Hammer: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, H (1)
· RHP Saul Garcia: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, H (3)
· RHP Ben Simon: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, S (2)
ROME 3, BROOKLYN 1 (BOX)
The Emperors scored a pair of runs off of Brady Miller in the second and one more in the third; that would end up being all they needed to win, as the Cyclones managed just a single run on the afternoon, a Trace Willhoite RBI single in the seventh. With the loss, the Cyclones lost the series two games to four and have just four wins in the entire calendar month of May.
· 2B Yonatan Henriquez: 1-4, SB (2)
· C Ronald Hernandez: 0-3, 2 K, HBP
· LF John Bay: 1-4, R, 2B, K
· DH Corey Collins: 0-4, 2 K
· SS Colin Houck: 0-2, 2 BB, K
· 1B Trace Willhoite: 1-4, RBI
· CF Sam Biller: 0-4, 2 K, CS (1)
· 3B Nick Roselli: 0-3, K
· RF Yohairo Cuevas: 1-2, BB
· RHP Brady Miller: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HBP, E (1)
· RHP Felix Cepeda: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
· RHP Juan Arnaud: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
· RHP Hunter Hodges: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
ST. LUCIE 3, JUPITER 1 (BOX)
St. Lucie got on the board in the bottom of the first on an AJ Salgado RBI double and held onto the lead for the rest of the ballgame. Branny De Oleo plated two more in the bottom of the fourth to give the Mets a little breathing room, which came in handy when Nicolas Carreno allowed a run in the sixth. That run ended up being the only one that the Hammerheads would score on the afternoon, and all’s well that ends well.
· DH JT Benson: 0-4, K
· 1B Jared Young: 0-2, BB
· 1B Chase Meggers: 0-0, HBP, E (3)
· LF Randy Guzman: 1-3, 2 R, 2B, HBP
· RF AJ Salgado: 2-4, R, 2 2B, RBI
· 3B Kevin Villavicencio: 0-4
· CF Simon Juan: 0-3, 2 K
· C Francisco Toledo: 0-2, K, HBP, E (3)
· SS Branny De Oleo: 1-3, 2 RBI
· 2B Jamari Baylor: 0-2, 2 K, HBP
· RHP Emilio Obispo: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
· RHP Nicolas Carreno: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, HBP, W (1-0)
· RHP Joe Scarborough: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, WP, S (1)
NO GAME (SCHEDULE)
Jacob Reimer
Alex Carillo
It has been a rough month for the Detroit Tigers, who have just four wins in 15 tries so far in May after dropping two of three to the Toronto Blue Jays in the first leg of their seven-game homestand. The visitors struck early on Sunday, getting a pair of runs in the first and third innings, and the offense simply could not catch up, resulting in a 4-1 loss.
On Monday, the Cleveland Guardians come to town for a four-game set that is as important as one can be before crossing the 50-game mark of the season. The Guards have won five of their last six, including a series-winning 10-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
The Tigers have their current de facto top starter taking the mound on Monday night, left-hander Framber Valdez. The 32-year-old is coming off a quality start last time out that saw him allow two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven New York Mets batters en route to a 10-inning team loss.
Amazingly, Valdez has not faced Cleveland since 2023, when he threw a complete-game no-hitter for the Houston Astros back when it was still called Minute Maid Park. What Tiger fans would do to see that happen again…
Opposite him is right-hander Slade Cecconi, who has been more or less replacement-level this season, logging just one quality start while turning in mixed results for Cleveland. The 26-year-old’s last start was solid, throwing four shutout innings on five hits and a walk while striking out seven Los Angeles Angels in a team win.
Cecconi faced Detroit twice last season, turning in a pair of quality starts, allowing one and two runs, respectively. He earned the win in the first game, 3-1, but was saddled with a 2-1 loss in the second.
Take a look below at how the two match up for Monday evening’s American League Central battle.
Time (ET): 6:40 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:Covering the Corner
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 48: LHP Framber Valdez (2-2, 4.32 ERA) vs. RHP Slade Cecconi (2-4, 5.60 ERA)
| Player | G | IP | K% | BB% | GB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valdez | 9 | 50.0 | 18.8 | 7.6 | 52.8 | 4.04 | 0.6 |
| Cecconi | 9 | 45.0 | 18.5 | 8.3 | 42.8 | 5.05 | 0.1 |
VALDEZ
CECCONI
Free of charge for the discerning reader.
Happy birthday to Eric Young Sr., and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1897, Bill Joyce hits four triples to lead the New York Giants to an 11-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Exposition Park. This is the last time this feat has been accomplished in major league history. Previously, George Strief of the American Association Philadelphia Athletics hit four triples in a game on June 25, 1885. , and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
Cubs Birthdays:Randy Rosario, David Patton, Rich Garcés, Eric Young Sr.,* Jim Sundberg, Chris Ward. Also notable: Reggie Jackson HOF. Brooks Robinson HOF.
Today in history:
Special Music-related stories on this date:
*pictured.
Is it time to rename this section to “What impressive performance did Jacob Misiorowski pull off last week?” It’s starting to feel that way with how well he’s been pitching. He followed up his performance against the Yankees last week with a seven shutout inning, 10-strikeout day on Wednesday. He only allowed four hits, did not walk a batter, and did that in 93 pitches. That start could have gone even longer had he not felt a cramp in his leg again when going out for the eighth inning. Misiorowski hasn’t allowed a run in the month of May and the last run he allowed came on April 25 against the Pirates.
There’s also some honorable mentions to go around. Kyle Harrison would be making an appearance here more often if it wasn’t for Misiorowski. He pitched five shutout innings on Thursday, allowing just five hits while striking out seven. Chad Patrick is transitioning to the bullpen and it’s going well. He had a scoreless inning on Tuesday, but that was just the warmup for his four shutout innings on Saturday. He allowed just one hit and struck out three as he recorded a four-inning save. Coleman Crow and Logan Henderson also had good starts for the Brewers, each allowing just a single run in five innings of work. Henderson has 56 strikeouts through his first nine major-league games, which is one more than Misiorowski had in his first nine.
Jake Bauers is making himself known in his final year before free agency. In four games last week, he went 7-for-15 with four doubles, two RBI, and one stolen base. He had a .467/.529/.733 batting line and boosted his overall line to .281/.358/.489 this season. One of his biggest hits came on Friday, when he hit an RBI double to put the Brewers ahead for good. He’s also on an 18-game on-base streak that goes back to April 21.
Honorable mention goes to Joey Ortiz. He put together a .308/.412/.615 batting line last week with a double, home run, and two runs batted in. His home run was his first since July 19 of last season.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 5-3 vs. Syracuse Mets
SS George Lombard Jr. 2-4, RBI — tied the game on an infield hit in the sixth, also hit a ball 106.3 mph in the first (though a groundout)
DH Yanquiel Fernández 0-2, 2 BB, RBI, K — drew bases-loaded walk to put Scranton ahead
2B Marco Luciano 1-4, 2B, RBI, K, fielding error
LF Oswaldo Cabrera 0-2, BB, RBI, 2 K, SF
DH Ernesto Martínez Jr. 0-4, K
C Payton Henry 1-3, BB
3B Jonathan Ornelas 0-4, 2 K
CF Duke Ellis 1-3, BB, K
RF Kenedy Corona 0-3, BB
Carlos Lagrange 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 6 K — per YES Network’s Conor Foley, four-seamer averaged 100.2 mph, topping out at a season-best 103 mph, smokin’ (though still might be a reliever long-term)
Dylan Coleman 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K (win)
Kervin Castro 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Bradley Hanner 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (save)
Double-A Somerset Patriots: L, 7-10 vs. Binghamton Rumble Ponies
LF Jace Avina 1-5, 4 K
DH Garrett Martin 1-4, 2B, 3 K
RF Jackson Castillo 0-4, K
SS Tyler Hardman 1-4, HR, RBI, K, fielding error — go-ahead homer briefly made it 7-6, Somerset (also I guess they’re trying to add versatility because he’s normally a third baseman)
3B Coby Morales 2-4, 3 RBI, 2 K, SB — Patriots’ second three-run homer of the day put them ahead 6-1
CF DJ Gladney 0-4, 3 K
C Manuel Palencia 1-2, 2 BB, K, SB
1B Miguel Palma 1-4, HR, 3 RBI — three-run blast in the second
2B Duncan Pastore 1-3, BB
Chase Chaney 4.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R (5 ER), 3 BB, 6 K, 2 HR — fortunate to be spared the loss as he let 6-1 Patriots lead go by the wayside
Chris Kean 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R (4 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, HR, HBP, throwing error (loss) — gave up back-breaking three-run dinger to Jacob Reimer
Hayden Merda 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Michael Arias 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Matt Keating 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 3-6 vs. Frederick Keys
SS Kaeden Kent 0-3, BB
C Eric Genther 2-4, K
DH Kyle West 1-4, K
LF Wilson Rodriguez 0-2, 2 BB
2B Roderick Arias 0-4, RBI, 2 K
3B Enmanuel Tejeda 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI, K — only run-scoring hit of the day for the ’Gades on his double
1B Josh Moylan 0-4, 2 K
CF Camden Troyer 0-4, 2 K
RF Cole Gabrielson 1-3, BB, K
Franyer Herrera 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 1 K, HBP, throwing error (loss) — most consequential pitch might have been plunking 2025 first-rounder Ike Irish on the wrist
Tanner Bauman 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, HR
Wilmy Sanchez 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K — bullpen combined for
Thomas Balboni Jr. 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP, pickoff error
Hansel Rincon 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Chris Veach 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Low-A Tampa Tarpons:L, 0-5 vs. Dunedin Blue Jays — shut out on five hits
3B Jackson Lovich 0-4, 3 K
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 1-4, throwing error
1B Hans Montero 0-3, BB, K, picked off
LF Luis Puello 0-4, K
CF Willy Montero 2-3, 2B — the lone multi-hit day in the batch
DH Engelth Urena 0-3, K
C Ediel Rivera 0-3, K
RF Luis Durango 1-3
2B Santiago Gomez 1-3, SB
Tyler Boudreau 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 7 K, fielding error (loss) — 11 swings and misses from his fastball/slider/changeup/curveball mix, not that bad a day honestly for the 2025 undrafted free agent, just needs to work on that PFP since his E1 led to the two runs
Bryce Warrecker 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Brennan Stuprich 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 4 K, HR, balk
Florida Complex League Yankees: Offday
Above .500 before Memorial Day. Who’d have thunk it?
It does help that they are playing some of the middle class teams in baseball instead of repeating viewings of the upper crust, but the Phillies are still playing good baseball right now, getting back to the spot we thought they’d be in.
On to the links.
Phillies news:
MLB news: