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A 1-7 skid entering Milwaukee on Friday had the Nats’ fanbase looking for answers, and the team gave them exactly that with a major 3-game weekend sweep of the Brewers.

Gritty baseball powered Washington to a Game 1 win, with 2 RBI bunts flipping a 3-3 game on its head in the 9th inning as they secured a 7-3 win in the series opener. Foster Griffin was once again as advertised in Game 2, with a 5th inning 2-run double by Jacob Young the difference in a comfortable 3-1 win. The bullpen reared its ugly head in the finale, but timely hitting from Keibert Ruiz in the 8th inning broke a 6-6 tie and got the brooms out to begin the Nats’ road trip.

Washington has quickly gotten itself back within a game of the .500 mark, and now has to take on the NL Central leader Pittsburgh Pirates in a 4-game series. The Pirates, winners of 7 of their last 10 games, have lost just 2 series to this point in 2026. They fell just short of sweeping the Cubs on Sunday in a 7-6 loss, but are emerging as a formidable opponent with a stable pitching staff and much-improved lineup.

Monday – 6:40 PM EST

PIT: RHP Paul Skenes (2-1, 5.25 ERA)

WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (0-0, 2.51 ERA)

Seeing a 5 at the start of Skenes’ ERA is certainly not a common occurrence, as he’s still attempting to work past his dreadful season debut against the New York Mets. He’s looked much more like his 2025 Cy Young winner self in his 2 recent outings, throwing a combined 11.1 innings with just 2 earned runs allowed. It’s never an easy task facing a pitcher as good as Skenes, and the Nats will have to capitalize on every opportunity they can create.

Cavalli wasn’t able to match the length of his 2nd start, but he still turned in a solid 4.2 innings of work against the St. Louis Cardinals in his last appearance. An error by CJ Abrams extended his 1st inning, leading to the early hook, although he was able to bear down and deliver an adequate line. Holding down the Pirates’ hitters will be pivotal with Skenes as the opposing pitcher, and continuing his streak of sub-3 earned run outings would go a long way toward accomplishing that goal.

Tuesday – 6:40 PM EST

PIT: RHP Mitch Keller (1-0, 1.00 ERA)

WSH: RHP Miles Mikolas (0-3, 12.41 ERA)

Keller has yet to eclipse 5 strikeouts in a game this season, but that hasn’t damaged his effectiveness whatsoever. The righty has only allowed 2 earned runs in 18 innings, with 3 straight quality starts to kick off his 2026 campaign. Hitters have rarely been able to make any hard contact against him, especially in the air, and the Nats will look to be the first team to get to the 30-year-old this season.

It has to get better at some point, right? Mikolas’ time in the rotation could be coming to an end if he can’t turn things around, and there aren’t many under-the-hood metrics that point to improvement being on the horizon. Something has to give, whether it’s the veteran figuring it out or manager Blake Butera making a rotation change, but this could be a pivotal game toward deciding Mikolas’ role with the team.

Wednesday – 6:40 PM EST

PIT: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (0-0, 2.51 ERA)

WSH: RHP Jake Irvin (1-1, 7.07 ERA)

Mlodzinski has been a consistent swing starter for the Pirates since his debut in 2023, and has continued that trend through his first 3 starts in 2026. He’s yet to go 6 innings, which is to be expected, but opposing batters haven’t been able to lift the ball with authority, allowing him to put together 3 solid outings. He’s dealt with considerable traffic in each of his appearances, something the Nats jumped all over in Milwaukee and would benefit from replicating on Wednesday night.

The veteran right-hander settled in against the Brewers after getting hit around by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but had issues with his command throughout. With how the Pirates have been swinging the bat so far this season, walking another 5 hitters might not be a hole he can dig his way out of again. Relying on his offspeed is a probable game plan for Irvin, who has shown flashes this season but needs to put it all together.

Thursday – 12:35 PM EST

PIT: RHP Braxton Ashcraft (1-1, 2.12 ERA)

WSH: LHP Foster Griffin (2-0, 1.76 ERA)

Ashcraft transitioned into a full-time starter to begin this season after bouncing between the rotation and bullpen in 2025, and early returns have been fantastic. With 4 offerings sitting above 90 MPH and all of which grading out as above average pitches, he’s cruised to a 2.12 ERA with an impressive 30.3% strikeout rate. His arsenal during his last start versus the Chicago Cubs was lethal, generating 16 total whiffs in just 5 innings. The one crack in his armor so far has been his 21st percentile average exit velocity, something that could play into the hands of the Nationals’ power bats.

Griffin just keeps getting better and better. He registered his best start of 2026 against the Brewers, relinquishing just 1 hit and 0 runs in 5.1 innings en route to his 2nd win of the season. He’s beaten teams both by the way of the strikeout and by limiting hard contact, forming a return to MLB that has already surpassed most preseason expectations. Offenses can’t seem to get a beat on him, and Washington will hope to keep that pattern alive in the series finale.

Keep the good times rolling

The Nats walked into Milwaukee and took down one of the top teams in baseball in 3 straight games, and are now right in the thick of the early NL East race. Sitting just 2.5 games back of the 1st place Atlanta Braves, they are now given a prime opportunity to take advantage of a division that has gotten off to an incredibly slow start. Pittsburgh is playing some great baseball so far, but as shown during their last series, the Nats can match up with anyone when they play their style of game.

With the loss to the Diamondbacks on Sunday, the Phillies fell to a game under .500. They’ll now welcome another would-be contender who is off to an uneven start to the season that has left them a game under .500.

Chicago Cubs

Record: 7-8, Fifth place in National League Central (Two games back)

The last time they met

The Phillies hosted the Cubs in early June 2025 and won the first game on an eleventh inning RBI by Brandon Marsh. Poor pitching doomed them in the middle game, but a strong start by Jesus Luzardo carried them to victory in the finale.

What’s the deal with the Cubs?

The Cubs made the playoffs as a Wild Card in 2025, and after winning their first-round playoff series, fell to the Brewers in the NLDS. The Cubs tried to build on that in the offseason by signing Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrera, though they did lose Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers. They also remade their bullpen by bringing in Phil Maton and Hunter Harvey.

The new additions have been a mixed bag. Cabrera has been excellent in the early going, but Bregman has disappointed (more on him next). And both Harvey and Maton are on the IL.

The Cubs’ offense hasn’t been where they expected it to be. In addition to Bregman, both Dansby “thoroughly stupid name” Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong are off to slow starts at the plate. Both are excellent fielders, but in the past, they’ve been much better hitters than they’ve shown so far this season.

Featured Cub: Alex Bregman

There’s no denying that Alec Bohm is playing poorly this season, and vindicating those who thought the team needed to move on from him. However, the two big names that most people wanted to replace him with are also playing poorly on their new teams. Bo Bichette has the Mets experiencing buyer’s remorse, and Alex Bregman hasn’t been much better.

It was unlikely that Bregman would ever regain the highs he hit in Houston where he was the MVP runner-up in 2019. But after he had an OPS of .821 and made the All-Star team for the Red Sox in 2025, the Cubs surely expected more than they’ve seen from him early on. He’s batting .213 with two home runs, and perhaps most surprisingly, his defense has not graded out well either.

As I’ve mentioned when talking about the slumping Phillies players, it is still very early in the season. Given Bregman’s track record, there’s a good chance that the next time we see him, his numbers will be around where we expect. Let’s just hope that his early season struggles can continue for at least three more games.

What about the Phillies?

Is it more frustrating when your team loses because they’re getting beat by a superior team, or because they’re just playing poorly? Looking at the rosters, it’s difficult to say that the Arizona Diamondbacks have a superior roster than the Phillies. but the Phillies lost the series because they made a lot of mistakes.

And no, I don’t think Rob Thomson needs to bench Bryce Harper for his poor decision to try to stretch a single into a double. Harper was clearly trying too hard in that situation, and he needs to be smarter. On the other hand, I’d rather see mistakes like that rather than a team that looks moribund. Mistakes of aggression are usually better than mistakes of passivity.

Pennant year song battle

Everybody Wants You by Billy Squier defeated Take the Long Way Home to hold on to the title for another series.

The next contender comes from 1983. In honor of the Phillies’ many mistakes on Sunday, we have It’s a Mistake by Men at Work:

Vote now:

Closing thought

Neither of these teams are playing great baseball at the moment. The series might come down to which team plays the less not great.

Toledo Mud Hens 11, St. Paul Saints 8 (box)

Toledo took the series, 4-3, against the St. Paul Saints on Sunday with an 11-8 win that ended on a walk-off grand slam.

The Mud Hens scored seven runs in the ninth to rally back from a four-run deficit. Ben Malgeri led off with a solo home run, Max Clark walked and Gage Workman hit a double to bring the tying run to the plate. Workman had two home runs earlier in the game — a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run bomb in the fifth — giving him 11 total bases on the day.

Eduardo Valencia singled in Clark and Workman, bringing the go-ahead run to the dish. Jace Jung walked, and Trei Cruz tried to move the runners into scoring position with a bunt. He ended up sending it back to the pitcher, Marco Raya, who got the lead runner at third, but Tomas Nido walked to load the bases.

St. Paul brought in Dan Altavilla to try to stop the bleeding, but Cal Stevenson ended the game with one swing. (Also, the admin who runs the Mud Hens Twitter account was having a blast using Justin Bieber lyrics.)

Outside of the ninth, Toledo was 0-7 with runners in scoring position. Workman’s first homer got the Mud Hens on the board after falling behind 6-0 over the first four innings, and Stevenson grounded into an out for the second run of the fourth. Workman’s second homer came with Malgeri on first in the next frame.

Lael Lockhart got the start for Toledo. Things started fine for him with six outs in a row, but things spiraled in the third for a five-run frame. St. Paul started squaring things up for some hard contact, including three balls that came off the bat over 101 mph. Kyler Fedko homered off him twice, both with a 106-mph exit velocity. His sinker and four-seam were extremely hittable today, but Lockhart had some good numbers with the splitter (54% CSW).

Jack Little relieved Lockhart in the fifth. He got through two innings with little trouble, but Fedko went yard for a third time on the day in the sixth. Sometimes, a guy is just locked in at the plate. Fedko also tripled in the eighth, giving him 15 total bases, five RBIs and four hits on the day. Little didn’t record a strikeout in his outing.

Drew Sommers threw a clean seventh for Toledo. He came back out for the eighth and got two quick outs, but Fedko’s RBI triple knocked him out of the game. Tyler Mattison closed out the inning and worked around two walks in the ninth. Mattison ended up earning the win, thanks to Stevenson’s heroics.

Malgeri: 3-4, HR (1), BB, K

Clark: 0-4, R, BB

Workman: 4-5, 2 HR (3), 2B (4), 3 R, 3 RBI,

Lockhart: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: Toledo is in Louisville next week. The series starts on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. ET.

Chesapeake Baysox 4, Erie SeaWolves 1 (box)

Erie dropped the final game of the series against Chesapeake, 4-1, on Sunday, finishing the week with a 1-5 record.

It was another five-hit day for the SeaWolves, two of which came in the first inning to score Erie’s only run. Seth Stephenson led off the game with a double down the left-field line, and John Peck singled him. Izaac Pacheco led off the second with a bloop single to left, but he was tagged out at third after taking off on a grounder to the left side.

Erie didn’t record another hit until the sixth, when Peck singled to right with two outs. Sebastian Gongora was really good for the Baysox. He needed just 66 pitches to get through 5 2/3 innings. Erie was chasing his heater and secondary stuff all day. Peck’s second hit came off Eric Torres, but that’s all he’d give up. Stephenson got a single off Jeisson Cabrera in the eighth, but nothing came of it.

Dariel Fregio was effective despite allowing five walks in his second start of the season. He gave up just one hit over 3 1/3 shutout innings. That lone hit was a blooper into left that Justice Bigbie probably could have gotten to with a better jump. It was a windy day, though. Fregio got nicked by a comebacker in the third, but he stayed in the game after a couple of throws to check his mobility.

Trevin Michael took over for Fregio with one out and one on in the fourth. He struck out all five batters he faced. The slider worked really well today, drawing plenty of checked swings that went too far. Luke Taggart was not nearly as good in the sixth. He walked four batters, giving up a free run, and recorded just one out before turning things over to Johan Simon.

Simon couldn’t hold the 1-1 tie through the seventh. He was on his way to working around a pair of singles, but a balk with a man on third gave Chesapeake the lead. Wandisson Charles gave up two runs in the eighth before ending the inning with a double play.

Stephenson: 2-4, 2B (3), R, K

Peck: 2-4, RBI, 2 K

Michael: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: Erie is back at home next week for a series with Harrisburg, starting on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. ET.

West Michigan Whitecaps 4, Great Lakes Loons 3 (box)

West Michigan finished the six-game series against Great Lakes with a victory, holding off a ninth-inning rally to win 4-3. The Loons took the series 4-2.

The Whitecaps were outhit 9-6, but both teams went 2-6 with runners in scoring position. West Michigan scored three in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead and added a very important insurance run in the following frame.

Five of the nine Whitecaps baserunners on the day reached in the fourth. Roberto Campos, Garrett Pennington and Andrew Sojka singled, with Sojka driving in the other runners. Ricardo Hurtado walked and scored on a balk, and Cristian Santana walked as well.

Woody Hadeen led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and scored on a throwing error after Jackson Strong legged out a single. Hurtado was hit by a pitch later in the inning, and Campos walked in the seventh. It wasn’t a strong day for the offense, but it was enough.

Gabriel Reyes got the start for West Michigan, giving up one run on six hits and a walk over three innings. He got double plays to end the first two frames, but three consecutive singles in the second gave Great Lakes a brief lead.

Seth Chavez earned the win, taking over for Reyes in the fourth. He threw two innings of one-hit ball, but nothing was too exciting there. Ryan Harvey held the lead over the next two frames. He didn’t give up any hits and walked just one batter while striking out three.

Zack Lee closed out the win over the final two frames, but there was some trouble in the ninth. A leadoff error led to a run being doubled in, and a one-out single made it a one-run game. Lee finished things off, though, striking out four along the way.

Kind of a boring game, but it’s a good win to send the crowd home happy.

Sojka: 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 K

Hadeen: 1-4, 2B (2), R, 2 K

Reyes: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 2 K

Harvey (H, 1): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: West Michigan is in Lansing next week. The series starts at 6:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Daytona Tortugas 14, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (box)

Lakeland lost its second game of the season on Sunday, and this one was much uglier than the first day before. The Dayton Tortugas shut out the Flying Tigers, 14-0. Woof. Lakeland still won the series, however, 4-2.

Cincinnati’s No. 10 prospect, Sheng-En Lin, threw five no-hit innings for the Tortugas, and the bullpen allowed just one hit. Jack Goodman was the only one who saw the ball well for Lakeland. He had three hard-hit balls (95 mph exit velocity or higher), including the lone Flying Tigers hit of the day, a single to right.

Alistair Tanner got the start after impressing through 3 2/3 innings last week. He only recorded two outs this time around. The mid-90s fastball still drew five whiffs on 11 swings (45%), but he left in the first inning after hitting 35 pitches. It was a bit odd to see him get pulled with two outs and a full count, but that’s Single-A ball (I guess).

Xiomer Guacache didn’t help Tanner out. He threw a ball to give Tanner a walk and an earned run. Guacache walked in another run before getting out of the inning. A leadoff walk in the second got the bullpen active, and Jatnk Diaz took over with one out.

Diaz pitched through the fourth, but he gave up four runs on six hits while striking out just one batter. His stuff wasn’t particularly good, and Daytona put a lot of balls in play. Yendy Gomez was next. He was solid, going two scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. The sinker-slider combo worked well.

Andrew Pogue got the seventh and started the eighth. It didn’t go well. He gave up six runs (four earned) on six hits, two walks and an error. Five straight batters reached off him in the eighth, including four consecutive hits. Outfielder Nolan McCarthy finished up the game, as it was already 14-0. McCarthy didn’t give up a hit, though!

Rainer: 0-3, 2 K

Goodman: 1-4, HR (2), R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Gomez: 2.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

McCarthy: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K (POSTION PLAYER PITCHING!)

Coming Up Next: Lakeland is in Fort Myers next week, starting on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET.

In order to make room on the active roster for Tommy Pham, the Mets are optioning Ronny Mauricio to Triple-A Syracuse. 

The move is not surprising, given how open manager Carlos Mendoza was about the situation when Mauricio was called up to replace the IL'd Juan Soto.

"Coming off the bench, lefty bat, the versatility, defensively, pinch-running if we need to," Mendoza said about Mauricio. "But also understanding that the playing time part is gonna be limited. But we're not talking about having a case here like last year, where he kind of sat on the bench for a long time."

With regular at-bats not available at the big league level, Mauricio -- who delivered a walk-off hit during the Mets' most recent win -- will be able to play nearly every day for Syracuse.

As far as Pham, he gives the Mets another outfield option.

Luis Robert Jr. and Carson Benge have been starting most days, with Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor, and Jared Young also getting time in the outfield with Soto out.

On days when Pham doesn't start, he'll be a valuable bat off the bench.

Pham, who signed a minor league deal on Opening Day, had been getting into game shape in the minors.

In 449 plate appearances over 120 games for the Pirates last season, Pham slashed .245/.330/.370 with 10 homers and 17 doubles.

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The New York Yankees will look to end a five-game losing streak when they begin a series with the Los Angeles Angels tonight.

The Bombers' offense has struggled to generate runs recently, but I like their bats to come alive this evening with a favorable pitching matchup.

My Angels vs. Yankees predictions and MLB picks break down why the Yankees and the Over have value on Monday, April 13. 

Who will win Angels vs Yankees today: Yankees -1.5 (+105)

Yusei Kikuchi has spent a ton of time in the AL East, so most New York Yankees players have a decent sample size of plate appearances against tonight's Los Angeles Angels starter.

For the most part, they’ve lit him up, too. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise, either.

Kikuchi's Bottom 8th-percentile fastball run value means his primary pitch is getting crushed, and the Yankees rank among the league's best in chase rate suppression, meaning they will lay off the off-speed stuff and sit on the heater.

Hard-hit numbers that have generally hung in the Bottom 30% of the league aren’t good issues to have against the Bronx Bombers either. Give me the Yankees to snap a losing streak in convincing fashion.

COVERS INTEL: Ben Rice has posted a .476 xwOBA with a 75% hard-hit rate across 35 plate appearances vs. Kikuchi.

Angels vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (-105)

I’ve already lamented this season why I’m more down on Will Warren than the market seems to be. I also believe there’s a decent chance that Kikuchi not only struggles tonight, but is crushed. Either way, the convergence of angles makes me lean towards the Over. 

Warren’s Bottom 7th-percentile chase rate means the Angels will sit in the zone and make contact. They struggle against great chase-inducing pitchers, but when they can avoid them, the underrated power of the lineup shows up.

The Yankees have more paths to scoring, but the Angels should do their part, too. I’d play this up to 10. 

Angels vs Yankees odds

• Moneyline: Angels +165 | Yankees -190
• Run line: Angels +1.5 | Yankees -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 9 | Under 9

Angels vs Yankees trend

The Yankees have hit the F5 moneyline in 22 of their last 35 games at home (+9.20 Units / 14% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Angels vs. Yankees.

How to watch Angels vs Yankees and game info

Angels vs Yankees latest injuries

Angels vs Yankees weather

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Pittsburgh Pirates’ centerfielder Oneil Cruz had a massive series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Sunday afternoon’s game started with a leadoff home run by Cruz to begin, a game that ended in a 7-6 Pittsburgh loss. The 422-foot blast extended his hitting streak to 11 games, which ties his career high which happened in 2024.  

Cruz also collected four hits, stole three bases, drew a walk and scored a run in Saturday’s 4-3 win. In the series opener on Friday, he singled, walked and stole a base.

The results have been so far so good for the 27-year-old, as his homer off of former Pirate Jameson Taillon on Sunday was his fifth of the season. His career high in home runs (21) came in 2024. His five home runs are tied for the most on the team with Brandon Lowe who hit two in the same game Sunday afternoon. 

There has been a lot of talk about Cruz defensively and how he might be a liability but there is no question that the lefty is one of the best hitters on the team. He leads the team with 20 hits and leads the team with 13 RBIs.

The last two games the center fielder was at the leadoff spot in the batting lineup and I think that is exactly where he should be. There were a handful of games this season where he batted at the six spot or elsewhere in the lineup but I think having that extra pop at the top of the order is a good thing for the lineup. 

Cruz’s hot streak is a very positive sign for the Bucs, as the 27-year-old struggled at the plate in 2025. If he can maintain this level of production, it could be a major boost for the team as they look to improve on their 2025 campaign.

The Pirates start a three-game series back at home against the Washington national Monday night with Paul Skenes on the mound. 

The “American League-leading” Minnesota Twins are 9-7 after two straight series wins over the Tigers and the Blue Jays. It’s been certainly impressive to see the team fight back after three straight series losses, and doing so without needing the heroics of Byron Buxton or Luke Keaschall. Instead, infielder Tristan Gray has been a solid contributor. After hitting his first career grand slam against the Rays last week, he had another nice game yesterday against the Blue Jays, with a three-run homer. However, it can’t be all sunshine and daisies, as Royce Lewis has now hit the 10-day IL with a left knee sprain. The Red Sox and the Reds are coming to Target Field this week, and the Twins will hope to continue the good vibes at home.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
• Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
• Zach Koenig checks on the Twins’ record against lefties over the past decade.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune checks in on old friend Louis Varland and how he’s fit in with his new team in Toronto.
• Tom Schreier at Zone Coverage looks at whether Brooks Lee is finally ready to be a difference-maker for the Twins.
• Cody Schoenmann at Twins Daily looks to see what is driving Austin Martin’s success this season.

In the World of Baseball:

• As mentioned earlier, the Twins are leading the AL with a 9-7 record, tied with the Cleveland Guardians. The A’s, Orioles, Rangers, Rays, and Yankees are all right behind at 8-7, reminding us not to get THAT excited. The gap between first and last is just three games.
• The National League has a bit of a bigger gap between teams, with the Dodgers (who else?) atop the league at 11-4 and the Braves, Padres right behind at 10-6. Probably the most surprising news is seeing the Pirates at 9-6.
• Will Leitch at MLB.com provides his new power rankings. You might need to scroll down a bit before you see the Twins though.