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Last week, the White Sox were 2-5. Over this past seven-day stretch, they were 2-5. Sounds like an emerging pattern.

The week opened with incredibly positive energy as the club called up Noah Schultz on Tuesday, and, after a miscommunication, brought up Sam Antonacci on Wednesday. Promoting the organization’s No. 2 and No. 9 prospects is a big deal. So is getting swept at home — and not in a good way.

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Debuts

Things got underway with a three-game set at Rate Field against the Tampa Bay Rays. Somehow, the teams played the entire series without delay, even amid one of the area’s rainiest Aprils on record. Schultz, a Chicagoland native, made it 4 1/3 innings in his first outing, allowing four runs (three earned), walking four, and punching out four. Was it the debut he had hoped for? Probably not. However, when the offense can only get within one, and the bullpen gives up four more after your exit, it is easier to sleep knowing that you were not the sole contributor to the loss.

The Southpaw made his second start of his young career on Sunday and had quite the bounce back. Five innings of one-run ball, with one walk, six strikeouts, and some run support, is enough to earn the first win of your career.

On Wednesday, it was Antonacci’s turn to rally the South Side around him and earn a win for his debut. Instead, the pitching gave up eight earned runs, four apiece by Sean Burke and Tyler Gilbert. The offense spent the entire game trying to score but was unable to do so until the bottom of the ninth inning. The Springfield native got his first hit in the bottom of the second with a blooper to right field. Hawk Harrelson would’ve called it a “Kansas City special” if he were still on the air. In the same inning, the second baseman also recorded his first caught stealing. Despite the loss, Antonacci went 1-for-3 on the night with a walk and a run scored, so it is doubtful he will ever forget Tax Day 2026.

Pitching

Davis Martin is making a name for himself this season with just four starts under his belt. The righthander opened the series with the Athletics out in Sacramento with seven strong innings. His ERA is now down to 2.16 after giving up just one run, walking two, and striking out four. Martin leads the team with three quality starts. If you were wondering who else on the team has a quality start to their name, the answer is no one.

On the opposite side of positive pitching performances is Seranthony Domínguez. There wasn’t much that went right for the “closer” this week. In three appearances, the struggling righty gave up three runs, hit two batters, walked four, and earned a loss. Domínguez is the star child of an overall struggling bullpen. If there are silver linings here, he did earn a save in Sunday’s win. It was not without drama as two men reached base to bring the tying run to the plate before he shut it down.

Hitting

In the last edition of this recap, much time was spent discussing how the offense was struggling and the severe lack of home runs. This week, round-trippers were abundant. Leading the charge is Japanese phenom Munetaka Murakami. The lefty doubled his home run total during the week by hitting a whopping four long balls. One of them came at home in the bottom of the ninth inning of Tuesday’s loss against the Rays.

Munetaka hit the other three at the highly touted Sutter Health Park against the (just) Athletics. The highlight reel dinger came on Friday night in the form of a grand slam; he smashed it 431 feet over the batter’s eye. If 114.1 mph off the bat wasn’t impressive enough, he hit another home run with the same velocity, 425 feet to right field, in Sunday’s finale.

Mune now finds himself as the first Japanese-born player to hit eight home runs in his first 22 games. Even though he is still striking out at a high rate (33.3%), he is also drawing a considerable number of walks (21.5%). In the six games he played last week, Murakami recorded seven free passes.

The rest of the offense also had itself quite a week. As a team, the South Siders hit 14 home runs. That is an average of two four-baggers per game! The increase in long balls boosted the team’s batting average as well. There are only five batters left on the team that are batting below .200. One of those batters is Antonacci, and it’s a small sample size with only five at-bats under his belt. There is significant room for improvement, but over the last seven days, the White Sox ranked 12th in strikeouts and third in walks drawn. Looking for the light in the dark.

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The key to success for this team is for the pitching to click at the same time as the hitting. When these things stay in sync for more than three days, this team can put together a winning streak. In lighter news, this is the first time the Chicago White Sox have reached eight wins before May 1 since 2021. That’s either comforting or mildly embarrassing, depending on your perspective. Either way, this is our baseball team.

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• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Brown takes on larger role as Cubs navigate injuries to ‘pen. “Given the recent rash of injuries, Brown’s role has been expanded. The circumstances have forced the Cubs to carry five lefties in the bullpen.”
• Michael Brauner (Chicago Cubs on SI): Cubs Flashy Young Prospect is Biggest Trade Deadline Candidate to be Moved. “Beyond just the difficult path to playing time, Jefferson Rojas is thought highly enough of in prospect circles that he could be the centerpiece of a big-time deal to bring another ace to Chicago. Slashing .294/.351/.618 over 10 Double-A games at the age of just 20 this season, his status could continue to climb.”
• Field Level Media (Deadspin): On 5-game win streak, Cubs aim to add to Phillies’ woes. “Both teams continued going in opposite directions while completing a home series Sunday. The Cubs closed out a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with a 2-1, 10-inning win, while the Phillies suffered their fifth consecutive loss as the Atlanta Braves finished a three-game sweep with a 4-2 victory.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Alex Bregman knows what he wants his swing to look like, but he’s not there yet. “A lot of what Bregman is currently doing at the plate normally leads to success. He’s not chasing or swinging and missing, both at an elite rate. He’s squaring the ball up frequently, and his hard-hit rate is the highest it’s ever been. Still, the results just aren’t coming. It’s not hard to find the culprit. Bregman’s groundball rate of 47.8 percent is nearly a dozen points higher than his career average.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Jordan Wicks returns to the mound and could be a critical piece of the Cubs’ puzzle, “Wicks spent the offseason tweaking some things and the hope is he can pitch meaningful innings for the Cubs this year. On Saturday, he took the first step toward achieving that goal, making his first start of the year. Wicks fired three scoreless frames for the Iowa Cubs, filling up the strike zone before calling it a day. It was a strong first step back after working his way back from nerve irritation that delayed his start to the season. Given the injuries that have ravaged the pitching staff, this team isn’t in a position to be overly picky.”
• Jared Wyllys (Allchgo.com): Craig Counsell juggling hitter development with winning. “In moments like the sixth inning of Saturday’s game, Counsell’s focus is on getting runs on the board and winning a ballgame. That is going to mean pinch-hitting for guys like Ballesteros later in games. A part of a team’s long-term success comes from every guy understanding his role and being willing to put the group above the self.”
• Joey Mistretta (ClutchPoints.com): Pete Crow-Armstrong’s favorite MLB player is his Cubs teammate. “”We got the best bat to ball guy in baseball and my favorite player in baseball as our leadoff hitter,” Crow-Armstrong said of Nico Hoerner. “So getting on third base with one out and having Nico up, you’re pretty confident that you’re gonna find home plate somehow.”“
• Billy Heyen (Sporting News): Mark McGwire’s son is climbing the ladder toward the Chicago Cubs.“Mason McGwire made his first start of the 2026 season on Sunday, and he threw two perfect innings before allowing a double and a hit batter in the third. A double play allowed him to escape there, and he went 1-2-3 in the fourth. He had five strikeouts in the outing, as well.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Hey, a Cubs Pitching Prospect Won Weekly Honors for All of Minor League Baseball! “The system is heavier on the positional side right now in any case, and Jaxon Wiggins has been hurt (sigh), but we’re still hoping there will be some big pitching breakouts over the course of the season. The system really, really needs it. That’s why, even if only for one appearance, it was very good to see Mason McGwire nab a lot of positive attention today”
• Mike Sullivan (Sporting News): Pete Crow-Armstrong’s offense is a concerning problem for Cubs. “The struggles from mid-July on in 2025 have returned in 2026. His offense has become a major issue for the Cubs and is something to be worried about this season. If it weren’t for his stellar defense in the outfield, the $115 million outfielder would be someone the team would have a lot greater concerns over. Crow-Armstrong is hitting .222 this season with just one homer and a .585 OPS. Last season, he had a .768 OPS and 119 OPS+. He’s down to a 72 OPS+ this year. Another concerning part of his game that hopefully will get better is his base-stealing ability. He’s stolen four bases this year, but he’s been caught three times, the most in MLB so far.”
• Brian Sandalow (Chicago Sun-Times {$}): Injuries to Cubs’ bullpen forcing manager Craig Counsell to be flexible. ‘‘When the names are changing quickly, then your plans are a little more flexible and they’re going to change a little quicker,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘We’ve got enough new bodies down there that, day-to-day, roles can change a little bit.’’
• Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors): Cubs Re-Sign Dylan Carlson To Minor League Deal. “Back with the Cubs now, Carlson will provide some depth in the upper minors. Chicago’s roster has been decimated by injury, but nearly all of the health problems for the Cubs have been on the pitching side of things.”
• Daryl Van Schouwen (Chicago Sun-Times {$}): Jameson Taillon doesn’t discount struggling Mets, then holds them to one run in six innings. “It would have been easy to think silly thoughts and let the Mets’ losing streak get into his head. But Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon wouldn’t allow it on his drive Saturday to Wrigley Field. ‘‘I wasn’t going to fall into the trap of thinking this was a bad team or a struggling team,’’ Taillon said. ‘‘You look at the names up and down the lineup, I came in here not wanting to be the reason they got hot. I had that conversation with myself.’’”
• Jared Bloom (Sporting News): Strong pitching and high-scoring offense have the Cubs surging despite injuries. “Pitching was especially big for the club over the weekend. Jameson Taillon went six strong innings on Saturday, while Javier Assad went 5.2 innings, giving up just one run on three hits in the 2-1 extra-inning win on Sunday. On top of solid pitching, the Cubs have gotten good offensive production last week. Nico Hoerner has really stepped up lately, hitting two home runs and having 11 runs batted in over the last five games.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs manager Craig Counsell makes point with Carson Kelly’s pinch-hit, game-winning homer. ““Sometimes it works,” Counsell said.“

Food For Thought

A highly accomplished guitarist and singer/songwriter with a strong musical point of view grounded in the very best blues traditions. Combine those talents with original blues-based material and you begin to understand Daniel Castro’s strengths as an artist. After cutting his teeth in South Central L.A. blues clubs with “Mighty Mouth” Delmar Evans, who worked with the Johnny Otis Show, Castro backed other great artists from Otis’ band, including Pee Wee Crayton and Little Ester Phillips. He also recorded and toured with many other artists including legendary Small Faces singer-bassist Ronnie Lane. A Daniel Castro Band performance is soulful, polished, and intense as the group shifts from one scintillating groove to the next. Daniel covers lead vocals and rhythm and lead guitar with amazing dexterity. Musical chemistry is obvious from the first note the band plays and it never lets up.

A group of students from a Kansas high school rode to prom in style when they were able to enlist the services of an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

“People take limos,” student Cooper Lietz said. “This is basically just a big hot dog limo.”

50 Best Places to Visit in the USA

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

The early weeks of the 2026 Orioles season are giving off vibes that maybe it is going to turn into an anxious look down to the farm for better times for the team in the future. Hopefully those vibes go away. Until they do, every prospect development story feels essential. It’s important even if things get better for the team. They’re going to need guys they can trade to supplement the MLB roster with players who are actually capable of coming here and performing well for the duration of the remaining time before they hit free agency.

These weekly updates focus on the team’s top prospects, particularly those on Camden Chat’s composite top 20 Orioles prospect list from before the season. They also include other guys who interest us who might develop into prospects over time. I do not tend to spend much time on non-prospect journeymen, though one never knows who might turn into the next Jeremiah Jackson.

Here’s how things went this week:

Triple-A Norfolk Tides

• Last week: 3-3 at Durham (Rays)
• Coming week: vs. Memphis (Cardinals)
• Season record: 8-13, t-last place (6.0 GB) in International League East

The Tides are home to this week’s International League Pitcher of the Week. The winner of that honor is a guy I had pretty much given up on going into this season, Brandon Young. He was on fire this past week, though, throwing 5.2 hitless innings where he struck out ten batters. Counting his MLB start, Young has given up just two earned runs across 21.2 innings. I don’t know if it means anything in the long run, but it’s interesting.

Young was not the only Norfolk starter to have a good week. His fellow erstwhile Oriole, Cade Povich, also struck out ten men, with one run allowed over five innings. Pitching prospect Nestor Germanalso struck out ten men, though in his case it was over 4.1 innings with one run surrendered. Trey Gibson didn’t manage to strike out ten guys, but two runs allowed in five innings isn’t bad.

Levi Wells could not complete the party, allowing nine runs in four innings. Rehabbing major leaguer Andrew Kittredge also had a tough one, like seven earned runs in 1.2 innings over two outings. Keegan Akin is also rehabbing here. He did better, allowing a run over 2.1 innings. Dietrich Enns was also part of the rehab squad, pitching one scoreless inning.

For Norfolk batters, the standout for the week was a guy who’s making an early bid to be this year’s version of Jeremiah Jackson. That’s shortstop José Barrero, who smashed three homers over these games to raise his early season OPS to .982. Jud Fabian hit two homers, drew four walks, and struck out eight times. Whatever that guy is, he continues to be very that. Enrique Bradfield Jr. also had a nice week at the plate, with five hits in four games, and two stolen bases in the field.

Others of interest

• C/1B Creed Willems – Was not part of the hitting party this week, going just 3-18. He did draw five walks though, so good for him.

Tides season-to-date stats.

Double-A Chesapeake Baysox

• Last week: 1-4 at New Hampshire (Blue Jays)
• Coming week: vs. Akron (Guardians)
• Season record: 7-7, fourth place (5.0 GB) in Eastern League Southwest

Since I’m doing the update this week, you will have to first endure an update on my prospect crush, Aron Estrada. Not much to say about him this week, though, as he batted 4-16 with one double. At 21, he remains young for this level, but it’d be more exciting if he was OPSing above .629.

Chesapeake’s top hitter over these games was Brandon Butterworth, one of the players from the big Padres trade last year. He had seven hits, including a homer, and stole a pair of bases over five games played. I dig that.

It was the pitching staff that sent the Baysox to a poor record over these games. They gave up at least six runs in all five games that were played and allowed 10+ in three games. Among the guys who absorbed bad numbers were lefty Luis De León, who allowed four runs over four innings in his lone start, and reliever Tyson Neighbors, another guy from the Padres trade, who surrendered six earned runs in a three-inning outing.

Others of interest

• C/1B Ethan Anderson – Hitless in 12 at-bats across three games
• IF Griff O’Ferrall – One hit in 12 at-bats. If you want to feel better, he walked five times
• OF Thomas Sosa – The power-hitting outfielder was 4-22 at the plate; three of the four hits were doubles

Baysox season-to-date stats.

High-A Frederick Keys

• Last week: 2-4 vs. Hudson Valley (Yankees)
• Coming week: vs. Wilmington (Nationals)
• Season record: 6-8, fifth place (4.5 GB) in South Atlantic League North

The tradition last season was to begin Aberdeen’s updates by asking, how many times did Vance Honeycutt strike out this week? It continues with Frederick, and this week’s answer is 11 times in 20 at-bats. It’s a lot of strikeouts. However, Honeycutt did also get five hits, including two dingers, and he stole three bases, so that’s not nothing.

Your favorite recent Orioles first round pick and mine, Ike Irish, had five hits, including a homer, and also stole three bases. Irish outpaced Honeycutt in OBP by walking four times. Two guys managed to top both of these OPS numbers: Victor Figueroa (yet another player from that Padres trade) and Braylin Tavera. Figueroa now has a 1.157 OPS through ten games.

Joseph Dzierwa proved to be human over these games, giving up three runs while walking four batters over five innings. Okay, so he’s not just going to pitch shutouts with double digit strikeouts all the way up to MLB. His teammate JT Quinn, another early round pitcher from last year, continued to rock, tossing five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

Others of interest

• 2B Jackson Holliday – Played two games of a new rehab assignment, notching two hits in eight at-bats
• SS Wehiwa Aloy – 3-19 at the plate over this week, with nine strikeouts
• OF Nate George – 5-22 over five games, including a double, and he stole three bases, but with no walks that’s still a rough OBP for the week
• RHP Juaron Watts-Brown – Rehabbing at this level after starting on the IL with a shoulder injury, allowing one run on three hits and three walks over five innings
• LHP Boston Bateman – Piggybacked a relief outing, three scoreless innings with two hits, a walk, and a hit batter while striking out five guys

Keys season-to-date stats.

Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds

• Last week: 1-5 at Fredericksburg (Nationals)
• Coming week: vs. Wilson (Brewers)
• Season record: 4-11, fifth place (6.0 GB) in Carolina League North

DJ Layton, I see you. After spending last year with the Florida Complex League squad, the 2024 sixth round pick is making his full-season affiliate debut this year. It’s off to an excellent start, which the shortstop added to over the last week by going 6-18 with a double and a homer, plus five walks, plus two stolen bases. (He was caught twice, too. Not the ideal percentage.) The 19-year-old Layton is still a young guy for this level. He’s OPSing 1.062 through his first 14 games. Love to see some more of that.

The pitcher most worth following on this roster, at least going into the season, is Esteban Mejia. I do not have good news to share about him this week. He failed to complete the third inning in his one start, walking a whopping eight guys. No, I’m not kidding. Eight walks! This time last year, the similarly-command-challenged Keeler Morfe got some attention. Hopefully Mejia does not follow down the same road. Three starts in, the results aren’t encouraging.

Others of interest

• OF Jordan Sanchez – One of my hoped-for sleeper picks for the system this season. 3-21 batting and a .445 OPS overall so far isn’t an early winner on that pick.
• RHP Kiefer Lord – Barely pitched since being drafted by the team in 2023, which is why he’s 23 and still in Low-A. Eight strikeouts in five innings this week, with only one run allowed.

Shorebirds season-to-date stats.

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This is the only week all season where all four of these affiliates are at home. The Orioles will also be at home for the coming weekend. You have the opportunity to watch a lot of O’s-connected baseball in the mid-Atlantic from now through Sunday.

Past seasons have allowed us to present a poll where readers are able to choose their minor league player of the week. Unfortunately, technical changes outside of our control no longer allow us to embed polls the way we could before and we cannot track winners as the season goes along.

Rather than a poll, the comments are up for discussion. Who were the standout efforts for you over this past week? Whose early minor league performance has you concerned? Who are you excited to follow as the season goes along? Let us know in the comments below.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants return to Oracle Park today to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time this season.

I can’t lie, I’m kind of dreading this series. The wins over the weekend were great, and exactly what the team needed to build some momentum. Unfortunately, I’m concerned that said momentum is going to lead them straight into a brick wall when the Dodgers come to town. But I can maintain cautious optimism.

That’s the nice thing about rivalries, they can bring out the best in the players and cause unlikely things to happen. Like the Giants not getting swept. That would be wonderful. And I’m going to hope for it.

How are you all feeling about the Giants and Dodgers series this week?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants and Dodgers play game one of this three-game series tonight at 6:45 p.m. PT.

With eleven games under rookie Juan Brito’s major league belt, he is entering a stretch where it will be important for him to prove he can make some needed adjustments to continue top-side with Cleveland.

For Brito’s first 24 plate appearances, things could not have gone much better for the young hitter. He had a 102 wRC+ with a 20.8/8.3 K/BB%. He saw 21% four-seamers, 16% cutters, 10% sinkers, 24% sliders, 22% changeups, and 6% curveballs. In the following 21 plate appearances, Brito has put up a -20 wRC+ with a 42.9/4.8 K/BB%. From promise to disappointment… such is the life of many a baseball player. But, will Brito return to the promise we saw at first?

Well, have opposing pitchers begun attacking him differently? Nothing stands out when we look at pitch mix… Brito has seen a 10% increase in four-seamers (the decline coming from fewer changeups) in the past 21 plate appearances. Have pitchers begun going to different plans in locating those pitches? Aha… yes. During the first half of his 45 major league plate appearances, Brito saw 23.6% of the pitches thrown his way land outside the strike zone. During the second half, that number has increased to 31%. So far in the bigs, Brito has chased 38% of the time (36% in that first 24 PA’s and 39% in the following 21 PA’s), and only made contact outside of the zone 53% of the time. In looking at his chase rates, this doesn’t seem to be a pitch-specific issue; he’s chasing both fastballs and offspeed and breaking pitches outside the zone.

This is the big issue for Brito at the plate. If he is chasing pitches at anything near the rate he is right now, he will not be able to take his walks (obviously) and he will not consistently get pitches he can pull in the air. Brito does not have elite raw power to compensate for any of those losses in value by doing maximum damage on the few pitches he does see in the zone. He is not fast (34% sprint speed), so he will not be stealing bases when he does take a walk. He has to learn to chase less often, take his walks, and force pitchers to bring the ball into the zone where his 86% zone-contact can allow him to pull the ball in the air and be a dangerous offensive presence.

He can’t do what he did tonight as I was writing this article, for example. This is Brito against a fastball outside, a cutter in the zone, and three changeups to end the at-bat out of the zone from Astros’ pitcher Spencer Arrighetti:

Plaster this all over your locker, Juan. Opposing pitchers are going to do this to you until you force them to bring the ball into the zone.

Most folks reading this article are more concerned with Brito’s defense, I suspect. He has -2 Defensive Runs Saved so far and 0 Outs Above Average. It’s hard to tell much from small sample sizes of fielding stats, of course, but he also has looked in over his head at several points, and cost the Guardians a game in Atlanta by muffing a 91 mph grounder hit right at him. Brito can’t be making a notable error every week and costing the team games. There is no surer way to find himself hopping a bus back to the state’s capital.

It’s a critical time for Brito to begin to adjust back, because the team has two options to play second base who are performing quite well. In the majors, Daniel Schneemann has a 153 wRC+ with a 27.6/8.3 K/BB%. and he’s also been an average-good fielder all over the field, including 3 DRS and 5 OAA at second base for his career. In the minors… you guessed it… in 168 plate appearances at Triple-A, Travis Bazzana has a 134 wRC+ and a 22.6/19.3 K/BB% there. Getting Bazzana up soon and getting his feet wet to let him work through the usual struggles he has experience at each new level he reaches could be extremely helpful for a potential playoff run later in the year. Finally, Gabriel Arias is beginning baseball activities, and, while I suspect Rocchio has Wally Pipped his partner at short, I do think the team would promote Arias and demote Brito, rather than risk losing Arias’s glove in a DFA (I leave no comment on whether this is risk worth respecting).

I have been saying for a while that I think Brito’s best position is in the corner outfield. I still believe that’s the case, but, it will rely on him being able to get to his plate discipline and pull-air power on a somewhat consistent basis. I suspect that is what we will see him get the chance to do over the next 2-4 weeks… at which point, we will probably see either Arias OR Bazzana. Meanwhile, I would continue to give Schneemann 2-3 starts a week vs. RHP, at least until he shows signs of cooling off (as Angel Martinez has done).

I have long been a believer in Brito’s plate discipline and pull-fly ball ability. It certainly won’t be the worst or the last time I am wrong if he can’t quite reach his potential in the major leagues, but it would definitely be a tough pill to swallow for a young guy finally reaching his lifelong dream of being a big leaguer, and on a good team. We will keep rooting for you, Juan, even if the arrival of Bazzana is what’s going to drive media attention when it happens.

Sonny Gray exited Monday’s game early with a hamstring injury. While the injury isn’t believed to be serious, Gray is spending at least 15 days on the injured list to recover. The Red Sox play 14 games over the next 15 games, so they’ll need someone to fill in. Gray’s turn in the rotation won’t come back around until Friday, and Tyler Samaniego will replace him for now, but they could turn to a traditional starter when the time comes. So, who should replace him?

Payton Tolle has a 3.00 ERA in three minor league starts. Tyler Uberstine is also on the 40-man roster and can provide bulk innings; he’ll come off the IL in three days. Jake Bennett has been impressive in his short stint in the organization as well. My vote would be for Tolle, but any of the three have a solid case. Lucas Giolito is a free agent as well — that could be fun, but it’s unlikely. Is there someone I’m forgetting? Let me know in the comments.

The past two weeks have been adventurous for the Yankees since their 8-2 start to the season. A lengthy losing skid obliterated their fledgling division lead, then a perplexing four-game set with the Angels showed their greatest strengths and greatest flaws in equal measure. Consequently, it was a relief to watch the Bombers dispose of the Royals in convincing fashion over the weekend to complete the homestand. That gives them a good dose of momentum ahead of the first Rivalry Series of 2026.

The Red Sox are, to the pity of nobody on this pages, struggling. They sit tied for last place in the AL East with an 9-13 record, unable to rely on either a slumping lineup or a scuffling pitching staff. They game saw their ace Garrett Crochet get hammered around for the second consecutive outing over the weekend, and hitters they’re relying on to have big seasons have not answered the call. Roman Anthony is off to a slow start. Trevor Story and Caleb Durbin have been frightful. Marcelo Mayer still hasn’t found his footing in the majors.

How-evah, as John Sterling would say, the Red Sox are still a very talented team the Yankees cannot afford to take lightly. The struggling Crochet will not appear in the series, but three strong starters—including one who always seems to elevate his game against New York—will take the home hill at Fenway Park.

Tuesday: Luis Gil vs. Connelly Early (6:45 pm ET)

This is a bit of a rough draw for the opener. Luis Gil has not looked great through his first two starts—he at least made it through five innings last time, but has allowed seven runs across nine frames. Gil has issued five walks and surrendered four homers, including three against the Angels in an eventual come-from-behind win. It remains to be seen if Gil can reattain his Rookie of the Year vintage, but if he can handle a sleepy Red Sox offense, maybe that can spark a turnaround.

Connelly Early opposed Cam Schlittler in his unforgettable Wild Card Game 3 performance, and was matching Schlittler’s dominance until losing his footing in the fourth inning. And hey, it’s still early, but the 24-year old lefty is looking good. Through four starts he has a 2.29 ERA with 20 strikeouts counterbalancing 10 walks. For what it’s worth, the Yankees feasted on Royals southpaws over the weekend, dispatching both Noah Cameron and Cole Ragans with ease. Will Early be another victim of a suddenly hot New York lineup?

Wednesday: Max Fried vs. Ranger Suárez (6:45 pm ET)

Speaking of left-handed pitching, we have a doozy in the middle game (airing on Prime Video) between two very good lefty starters. Max Fried had a substandard performance against the Angels last time, with Oswald Peraza of all people beating him twice. But he still has a 2.97 ERA through his first five starts and has been particularly strong on the road. Fried pitched great against Boston last year, including a strong Wild Card performance and six scoreless innings in a game at the Stadium in which he had an interesting encounter with a squirrel.

Ranger Suárez was the Red Sox’ big signing to make up for Alex Bregman’s departure to the Cubs. His first four turns through the rotation have been the definition of a mixed bag—two clunkers against Houston and San Diego followed by a pair of scoreless outings against the Cardinals and Tigers. That last game was an eight-inning two-hit masterpiece—Boston ultimately won that game 1-0 in 10 innings. Suárez is at his best when he keeps opposing lineups on the ground; he grabbed 10 of them in that start.

Thursday: Cam Schlittler vs. Brayan Bello (6:10 pm ET)

Schlittler is due to receive a positively venomous reception from the Boston crowd thanks to that aforementioned utter domination of the Sox to eliminate them in the Wild Card Series. It’s hard to believe the Walpole native will be pitching at Fenway Park for the first time—Schlittler’s meteoric rise has come that quickly. He and fellow Massachusetts native Ben Rice are quickly turning New England against them, and that suits Schlittler just fine.

Brayan Bello, of course, is a Yankee-killer. He’s never really been an exceptional starting pitcher, but he routinely elevates his game against the Bombers. Given his 6.75 ERA through four starts, he’s certainly hoping that trendline can continue. Bello threw over 30 pitches in a rocky first inning and exited after four innings with four runs allowed—so the key to the Yankees will be to get after him early.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

You know, over the course of a six-month season, you’ll see every kind of baseball game. Sometimes you’ll see a heavyweight clash between two tenacious clubs, battling with every fiber of their being as they put on a clinic of intense, well-played baseball.

And then other times you’ll see what can only be described as a frenetic slap fight between two mediocre opponents, each apparently trying to give the game away but neither one willing to take it.

You can probably guess which of these descriptions applies to last night’s ridiculous Orioles vs. Royals contest. Somehow, some way, the O’s ended up with a 7-5, 12-inning win in a game that they trailed 1-0 with two outs in the ninth. For 8.2 innings, it was shaping up to be one of the Birds’ most embarrassing losses, one in which they managed a single hit — from the second batter of the game, no less — before the O’s offense vanished for eight innings. Gunnar Henderson got picked off twice. Kyle Bradish allowed 13 baserunners in 5.1 innings to a terrible Royals offense and somehow only one run, owing to the aforementioned terrible Royals offense.

In the end, Samuel Basallo saved the day with the game-tying, two-out, two-strike hit in the ninth and the go-ahead RBI single in the 12th, and Leody Taveras added the cherry on top with his first career grand slam. And still the Orioles almost blew a five-run lead in the bottom of the 12th. That was the game in a nutshell. An O’s victory both thrilling and maddening, equal parts exciting and exasperating. Against any other team it probably wouldn’t have been a win, but the Orioles took full advantage of the worst team in the AL. Mark Brown recapped all the ridiculous action.

I’m not going to go so far as to say that this is a win that will give the Orioles some momentum, because all of their season-long warts were on full display for most of it. Their problems aren’t exactly fixed. Still, it was nice to see Basallo’s bat start to come around and unexpected 2026 stalwarts like Taveras, Rico Garcia, and Anthony Nunez continue to contribute. The O’s need their star players to return to form, but in the meantime they’ve had lesser-known players keeping them afloat so far.

What the Orioles did last night sure wasn’t the way you’d script it, and it’s not a sustainable way to win. But let’s take the victories now and sort the rest out later.

Links

Updates on Holliday, Hiraldo and other injured Orioles – School of Roch

A bunch of injured Orioles appear close to returning, but we probably won’t see Yaramil Hiraldo again this season. My apologies to all the Yaramil Hiraldo stans out there.

Has Jeremiah Jackson solidified his place on the Orioles? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

By being basically the best hitter on the team? I should think so!

Kyle Goon: Jeremiah Jackson’s fiery start for the Orioles merits a serious look at his long-term lineup spot – The Baltimore Banner

What he said. Jeremiah has been a great story for a 2026 Orioles team sorely lacking in them.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! And happy birthday to an Orioles Hall of Famer and the 1973 AL Rookie of the Year, Al Bumbry. “The Bee” spent 13 of his 14 MLB seasons in Baltimore, racking up 252 stolen bases, third-most in O’s history. Enjoy your day, Al! Other former Orioles born on April 21 include lefty Cionel Pérez (30), infielder Ryan Adams (39), catcher Ronny Paulino (45), and MLB’s all-time leader in games pitched, Jesse Orosco (69), who made 336 of his 1,252 career appearances as an Oriole.

On this day in 1996, Brady Anderson set an MLB record by hitting a leadoff homer for the fourth consecutive game. He accomplished the feat in all three games of a series against the Rangers and a game in Boston before that. The kicker? The Orioles lost all four games.

Random Orioles game of the day

On April 21, 2005, the Orioles suffered a 1-0 shutout loss to the Red Sox at Camden Yards. The game’s only run came in the second inning on a Ramón Vázquez RBI groundout that plated future Oriole Kevin Millar. Birds starter Rodrigo López pitched brilliantly, going eight innings while allowing only that one (unearned) run, but the O’s offense had no answer for Red Sox righty Matt Clement, who worked eight scoreless of his own before Keith Foulke nailed down the save in the ninth. The O’s had eight hits in the game, including three by Melvin Mora, but couldn’t get any when it mattered.

In a season-long search for answers, the Cardinals appear to have some offensive pieces emerging. Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson, rookie JJ Wetherholt, and (hopefully) Jordan Walker can continue to do what he’s done through the first 3 weeks of the season. Between Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Victor Scott II, there existed the biggest questions about their offensive futures on this team. Walker, undoubtedly, has earned himself a lot longer leash with his start. Gorman is doing his Gorman thing, showing flashes of offensive upside, and then stretches where he can’t even touch the baseball.

The St. Louis Centerfielder Victor Scott II spent the offseason with a biomechanical specialist at West Virginia (his alma mater), and he worked to make his swing more efficient. The results early on this season have not shown a tangible improvement.

According to Statcast, Scott’s swing path still appears to be mostly unchanged, if only a minor tweak that Scott is trying to take the ball back up the middle more often than pulling it, which could allow him to leg out of a few more infield hits.

Victor Scott has also moved back in the box slightly on his setup and the stance he has closed himself off more, likely in an effort to keep himself more direct and up the middle with his approach.

What about when he’s putting the ball in play? Looking at his batted ball profile, it appears he is still struggling with pulled groundballs. Scott has cut his “AIR%” in half from 56% down to 33.3%, which is an okay trade-off for a player of Scott’s skill set. The problem is that Scott is not able to do any damage; he is not pulling the ball in the air, only at a putrid 2.4% so far in 2026.

When you look at what Scott has done against individual pitches to try to understand what has given him the most trouble, it’s pretty much everything that’s not a Sinker or Cutter.

Oddly enough, when you go over to Fangraphs, Victor Scott has a 123 wRC+ against LHP. Normally, you don’t see a player perform that well against same-handed pitching. The other unfortunate end of that is that his wRC+ against RHP is 10.

The bottom of the zone with those offspeed/breaking balls is the area of greatest need. Ordinarily, players will have a tough time if there is a spot or two that is tough to cover. When it’s the entire bottom 1/3 of the zone and underneath the zone that can be exploited by the opposition, especially the best in the world at that, it can almost be untenable.

Okay, what about his speed and defense?

Scott is a little bit slower in his reads, but he seems to process the flight of the ball really well, and has above-average to plus closing speed, and is great with closing speed and getting to the baseball once he has an idea of where it might land.

Scott’s 29.6 ft/s is in the 98th percentile in all of baseball. These are the two things that Scott does best. Impacting the baseball and providing any kind of offensive value is not. Which is unfortunate, with nearly 700 MLB PA in his career already, it doesn’t seem like, projecting forward at least, that Scott will be anything more than a 4th OF in MLB long term. Which would prove my initial evaluation of him wrong. I thought he could be someone with 10-15 HR power annually and play gold glove defense in CF, and that could be a nice above-average player on a competitive team.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently posted his first 2026 MLB mock draft, and included in that piece was the Cardinals at number 13. For that spot, one name that McDaniel talked about was Trevor Condon, who is a prep outfielder from the state of Georgia. McDaniel mentioned that some evaluators around the game whisper the name “McGonigle” when talking about Condon, and that caught my attention QUICKLY. MLB dot com drew comparisons to Brett Gardner or Sal Frelick, which are definitely different profiles, but that was released back in December, and we now have this spring’s results and performance to include in that evaluation. The overall purpose of this blurb in this article is that this years draft class is particularly loaded with some young exciting outfield prospects and while you dont draft for need, if the evaluations are close, position could be a tie breaker, lest we not forget the lurking emergence of Tai Peete or Ryan Mitchell, both of whom could project to play CF long term if their development continue in a positve way, both with considerable more offensive upside than Scott has displayed in his 2+ seasons at the big league level thus far.

Could Scott change something and unlock more offensive ability down the road? Sure. But, at this point, he hasn’t shown anything to convince us otherwise, and those asking the question about what Scott is long-term. It would be hard to argue anything other than a 4th outfielder at this point.

What are your thoughts on Victor Scott? Let me know, and let’s talk about it!

-Thanks for reading

Phillies News:

• Rob Thomson remains committed to Alec Bohm, should he?
• Gearing up for the TDL in April? Some predict Adolis Garcia might be there already
• The media is already salivating on the manager hot seat with Rob Thomson
• Phillies’ prospect Matthew Ferrara made MLB.com prospect team of the week

MLB News:

• Craig Counsel finds the Dodgers roster advantage “bizarre”
• Small market MLB teams are outperforming big payrolls, undermining owners’ push to cancel 2027 season
• Former Phillie Mick Abel hits the IL with elbow inflammation (uh oh)
• Edwin Diaz still has a bit of NY Met in him still, goes on IL with scheduled elbow surgery