Worldwide Sports News

The St. Louis Cardinals will see several familiar faces when they take on the Boston Red Sox at Busch Stadium Friday night. According to MLB.com, Dustin May will get the start for St. Louis while Connelly Early takes the mound for Boston. The current schedule doesn’t show former Cardinal Sonny Gray starting against St. Louis this series, but expect to see Willson Contreras in the lineup for the Red Sox. Maybe hitting him with a pitch is a bad idea?

The White Sox added a signature Pope hat to their list of popular home giveaways this year. Initially launched as a limited-edition item available only to specialty theme night ticket purchasers on August 11 against the Reds at 6:40 p.m. CT, the viral sensation Pope hat created to honor Pope Leo XIV will now be given to all attending fans. 

Specialty night ticket purchasers will receive a separate, exclusive item in addition to the Pope hat.

Brooks Boyer, Chicago’s chief revenue and marketing officer, commented on the promotion’s popularity.

“The fans have spoken, and unlike some of our more limited quantity promotions, the White Sox Pope Hat is one we believe all fans should have the opportunity to take home,” Boyer says. “We viewed the promotion as a creative way to celebrate one of the franchise’s most popular fans, and by the overwhelming response we received, White Sox fans certainly agreed.”

Like the slated giveaways, this Pope hat is guaranteed to draw fans in. Even if the product on the field doesn’t have a winning record, Sox fans know that the promotions are always a home run. Come for the giveaways, stay for the food (and maybe the team).

It’s early April but for tonight, we can say it’s Early-May 🥁 I know the pun is awful, but it kicks off the second of four consecutive series against Midwest based teams. Can the Sox find more momentum off of their first series victory against the Brewers or will the Redbirds emerge on top?

Also Masa taking the opportunity to go sightseeing gives me a good chuckle.

⚾️ First Pitch: 8:15pm ET — Busch Stadium, St Louis, MO

📺 TV: NESN

📻 Radio: WEEI

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Here’s the Braves lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

The Astros have been hit with yet another pitching injury. 

Houston starter Cristian Javier was placed on the injured list with a Grade 2 shoulder strain, the team announced Friday. 

He joins Astros ace Hunter Brown, who is also on the IL with a Grade 2 shoulder strain. 

Javier left the game before the start of the second inning after he felt something in his throwing shoulder. 

“I think it will be good results, hopefully,” Javier said through an interpreter after the game, per MLB.com. “I’m trusting in God that everything comes back fine and I can be able to make my next outing. … I did a couple strength tests [on the shoulder] and they came out pretty good.”

The team is now down two starters as they plan to go to a six-man rotation for a tough stretch on the schedule over the next couple of weeks. 

The two injuries come as the Astros are dealing with the loss of two-time All-Star Framber Valdez, who left Houston for a three-year, $115 million contract with the Tigers.

Javier was a key part of the Astros’ starting rotation in 2022-23, posting a 3.59 ERA over those two seasons. 

But arm issues became a problem in 2024. 

After just seven starts that season, Javier underwent Tommy John surgery and didn’t return until late last season. 

Upon his return, Javier posted a 4.62 ERA over eight outings. 

Javier has allowed 13 earned runs over just 9 ⅓ innings across three starts thus far this season.

The Astros have lost four games in a row and sit at 6-7 heading into Friday’s game against the Mariners.

If I’m the Royals, and even just two weeks into the season the WHITE SOX are tied with me in the standings, I’m much displeased. But thankfully, despite some significant time logged in Kansas City, I am not the Royals.

Given that our readers just voted the offense to be most likely improved in 2026, take a look at the garbage that Will Venable is rolling out in the second of a four-game set in K.C.:

The good news? Davis Martin is on the hill, and so far this season that has meant some good, good stuff. The unofficially team/spirit captain has been a rock in the rotation in the early going, and with an lineup that comes into the game as exactly replacement level, 0.0 WAR, the righthander will need to be at the top of his game.

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. CT, available at the usual TV and radio spots.

Friday saw the return of two beloved Mets.

Jeff McNeil and Luis Severino returned to Citi Field for the first time since they departed Queens and were treated to tribute videos by the Mets ahead of the team's series opener against the Athletics.

Severino, of course, left after a great 2024 campaign, his only one with the Mets, before signing a lucrative deal with the Athletics that offseason. 

The right-hander pitched to an 11-7 record and a 3.91 ERA while making 30 starts for the first time since the 2018 season. He was also solid in the postseason that year, throwing 16.2 innings and going 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA across three starts. 

Welcome back to Citi Field, Sevy! pic.twitter.com/236jJMxxLO

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 10, 2026

For McNeil, it's a little different.

While Severino impacted the Mets for one season, McNeil was in Flushing for eight and experienced plenty of highs and lows. He made two All-Star teams with the Mets, was sixth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2018, and was the batting champion in 2022 after batting .326. While his offensive production fluctuated over the years, his versatility on defense was invaluable to New York.

Across his eight seasons with the Mets, he slashed .284/.351/.428 with an OPS of .779 to go along with 80 home runs and 367 RBI. 

"I played hard, I played with passion every single day," McNeil told SNY's Steve Gelbs before Friday's game. "I'm a fiery guy, but you know I cared. I wanted to win, I wanted to do well. I think the fans knew that. I just wanted to be known as a player who played the game the right way, gave it his all, and enjoyed being in the Mets organization."

McNeil was traded to the Athletics this offseason for RHP Yordan Rodriguez in what was an organizational re-tool that saw Pete Alonso leave to Baltimore in free agency and Brandon Nimmo traded to the Rangers.

Welcome back to Citi Field, Jeff McNeil! 🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/Rhj6jupsPi

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 10, 2026

What. A. Game.

The San Diego Padres had their first walk off of the year last night and, with it, this team is starting to look like itself once again.

After failing to score more than one run—despite plenty of opportunities—San Diego entered the tenth inning against the Colorado Rockies with Jeremiah Estrada on the bump.

He was mostly solid, but allowed the Rox to put a run on the board, putting the onus on the Friars to score in the bottom of the frame. San Diego delivered and went into the eleventh, where Estrada gave up another run.

The inning shifted back to the Padres who, down to their final out with two runners on, saw Luis Campusano lace a double into left field, scoring the tying run.

That brought San Diego into the 12th, where the Rockies were finally unable to score.

Fernando Tatis Jr. laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third base. Colorado intentionally walked Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado to load the bases, thinking that Valente Bellozo could get Xander Bogaerts to ground into a double play.

They were wrong.

Bogaerts turned on a 89.6 mile per hour sinker and launched it into left field for a walk-off grand slam (the first of either for San Diego this year).

Going into tonight, the hope is for an offensive show so that the onus is taken off of the now-taxed pitching staff.

Taking the mound

Tomoyuki Sugano (COL) v. Walker Buehler (SD)

After a serviceable first year in MLB with the Baltimore Orioles (4.64 ERA, 157.0 IP), Sugano was signed by Colorado in hopes to bolster a starting rotation that was a big part of their historically bad 2025.

So far, he’s lived up to the one-year, $5.1 million deal. He’s pitched to a 1.69 ERA with nine strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings.

Sugano’s yet to face most of the Padres in this lineup so it will be interesting to see how he fares now that the Friars’ bats seem to have woken up.

Buehler has been the one sore spot of an otherwise (surprisingly) sterling San Diego rotation. Giving up seven runs across only 6 2/3 innings has hurt his case for a back-end spot once Griffin Canning comes back from the injured list.

The stuff is still there, and there’s positives from his outings. But if he doesn’t limit runs—and soon—his job will be in jeopardy.

Batter up!

After yesterday’s all-around extra-innings heroics, the offense is looking good. But the extra-innings hits made everyone quickly forget about the lack of hitting in the first nine innings (five hits).

But that doesn’t mean the offense is unhealthy, it’s looking infinitely better now than it did the first week of the season. With the righty Sugano on the mound, the Friars will likely look something like this:

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Gavin Sheets, 1B
7. Miguel Andujar, DH
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B

Laureano will probably return to batting leadoff after Cronenworth hit first yesterday. His bat has been solid and he deserves more at-bats in that spot before being bumped, especially against righties.

Campusano likely gets the start over Freddy Fermin since the latter started yesterday. Campusano came in late and hit the aforementioned game-tying double that ended up being a difference-maker in San Diego’s win.

Relief corps

Randy Vásquez kept rolling with 5 2/3 of one-run ball, that seemed to save the bullpen … but then the extra innings came. The back-and-forth finale forced San Diego to use five of their relievers.

Skipper Craig Stammen has continued to show a difficult relationship with bullpen management. He got off to a good start bringing out Bradgley Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon, and Mason Miller. But the decision to not leave Miller in for the tenth was an odd one.

Miller used to be a starter and has the ability to go more than an inning from time to time. Instead, Stammen ended up using Estrada and David Morgan to close out extra innings.

Now the Friars will only have Kyle Hart, Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta. Thankfully, each of those are multi-innings options.

Should Buehler stumble early (like he has in his first two starts), those three options will be first out of the ’pen.

When last I sat down to write a game thread, the Royals were at .500, and while they had just lost to the Twins, they’d absolutely whalloped them the night before in the rain. Things were looking up as a really tough opponent came into town. That night, I got to write a recap about a doubleheader split, which saw the team score eight more runs in a game. Since that night, the Royals have only won one more contest and scored a total of twelve runs in their last five games.

One reason I always advocate for evaluating the team no more often than a series-by-series basis is that a loss like last night’s can feel devastating, but if they win the next three, it won’t register nearly as poorly. Of course, to do that, the Royals will have to win the next three, and that starts with winning tonight.

The good news is that the White Sox do not currently have a lefty scheduled for the rest of the series, and that also starts with tonight. Chicago will send a journeyman double-first-namer, Davis Martin, to the mound in the second of four against the southsiders. Martin is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA to start the year. And sure, those numbers are shiny, but the underlying metrics seem to suggest he’s basically the same pitcher as last year. That would be the year he had a much less impressive 4.10 ERA.

Martin faced the Royals three times last year and got progressively better each time. He allowed 4 runs in 4.1 innings the first start, 2 runs in 6 innings the second start, and pitched 6 scoreless in his final outing against the good guys. The White Sox only won that middle game, though. He mixes six pitches together pretty evenly, but his offspeed and breaking stuff gets absolutely destroyed when it gets hit, but his fastballs aren’t much better. His sinker does good numbers, so that will be the pitch to avoid swinging at if possible.

Kris Bubic will take the bump for KC, wearing their new City Connects for the first time. He’s had kind of an odd season through two starts; he’s struggled through the first inning of each of them and then dominated for the remainder of the game. It’s a bit reminiscent of late-aughts starter Kyle Davis in that regard, though he is much better once he gets going than Davis ever was. Hopefully, the Royals won’t need to attempt similar shenanigans as they did with Davies. For those that don’t remember him, for a period of time the Royals had him pitch a simulated first inning in the bullpen to try and get him over that hump. It didn’t work.

Regardless, pitching hasn’t really been the Royals’ problem – setting aside the bullpen games last Saturday and on Wednesday, at least. So the Royals will need to hit. Bobby Witt Jr. has started tattooing the ball, but Kyle Isbel’s hot streak seems to have worn off, and not enough other guys are helping the star out, either. Maybe that will change tonight.

Lineups

The Royals are bringing a lefty-heavy lineup against Martin with five southpaws plus a switch-hitter. Michael Massey is getting his first start at second base after a less-than-optimal start in left field earlier this week. That makes sense because Martin has struggled far more against lefties this year, last year, and over his career. It makes the team vulnerable to left-handed relievers because after Salvy in the four-spot, only Collins in the eight spot breaks up the parade of wrong-handers. Still, that’s why Lane Thomas, Jonathan India, and Starling Marte are on the bench, I suppose.

The White Sox have only got two lefties in there to face Bubic. That shouldn’t matter much, though, except that maybe he can give one of them a golden sombrero.

A week in New York? Not bad a deal for the green and the gold. After kicking it around The Bronx for three games, a quick trip on the Metro brings them to Citi Field for another trio. This time against the Metropolitans who enter the series at 7-6.

Clay Holmes is the starting foe and he’s been on a roll. Two starts, two wins, and only two runs given up. His last start was a seven inning shutout against the Giants. Which I guess isn’t much of an accomplishment, given how poorly the Giants have swung the bat through the first two weeks.

Not like the A’s been much better though, but there’s reasons to be optimistic. After all, they’re coming off their first series win in Yankee stadium in ten years and apparently the first 1-0 victory over the evil empire since 1979!

I hope JT Ginn spent some quality time with Jeffrey Springs today. He could benefit from wielding some of the same magic that led Jeffrey Springs to a one-hit shove piece yesterday afternoon. What a way to show for your squad! I mean, this bullpen has been TAXED over the fast five days or so. Really since the last time Jeffrey took the ball in West Sacramento last Friday.

That’s not to say there haven’t been some quality starting performances in that stretch. Aaron Civale held down the fort on Tuesday. Aside form Sevy’s first inning, he too tossed the rock with a little kick.

They just weren’t at the level in which Springs was operating. Because now, not only are the A’s coming in with limited travel, they’re also showing up with hot arms. And everyone knows that a mediocre arm is at its best when it’s hot.

Just ask Scott Barlow.

On the offensive side, we’re working with a Rooker-less starting nine. Just a couple of hour ago, the A’s announced they were moving B-Rook to the ten-day, in response to his to awkward swing that took him out of the game’s first inning yesterday. Called up in his place and immediately dropped on the bench is Zack Gelof. Gelof has been on an absolute tear to start the season down in AAA.

Look at this pimp job from April 3rd.

Don’t let the Las Vegas heat fool you into thinking he’ll be doing anything like that this weekend. I’d be shocked if he gets anything more than a pinch hit or defensive replacement. This is Jeff McNeil’s weekend. His first time playing against his former team, for who he was at one point the longest tenured player.

There’s got to be a little pep in McNeil’s step ahead of his first go around against the Mets. They did, in a way, sort’ve give up on their former batting champion. Shipping him away to A’s in exchange for computer generated reliever. It had been a terribly unproductive season so far McNeil, before his mild hit parade against the Yankees in game one and two.

Here’s how the rest of the lineup shapes up around McNeil’s homecoming…

Carlos Cortes slots into Brent Rooker’s usual spot as designated hitter. Nick Kurtz is also FINALLY not hitting leadoff against a right handed pitcher. Now I know I went into the season saying how I was into it, but it has just not been effective. He’s also striking out at an Adam Dunn-esque clip and who in their right mind puts their biggest strikeout hitter in the lead-off spot?

…Lawrence Butler is a guess a better option?

MARK KOTSAY PLEASE READ THE ATHLETICS NATION COMMENT SECTION FROM TIME TO TIME

WE REALLY JUST WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR THE TEAM

JT Ginn’s first start this season happens to be against the team that drafted him. The team the A’s acquired him from for Chris Bassitt. I happen to love when it happens like this and I’m confident that Ginn is going to be pitching with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. He’ll need it against a Mets offense that has some generational hitters sprinkled throughout it.

Oh how I’ve missed Marcus Semien. Even though he’ll never be remembered as an Oakland A I will always say his name with pride. I remember the days where he was the worst defensive shortstop in baseball. Back in the day when he could only hit twenty home runs a season and literally nothing else. I hope he hasn’t forgotten about those days either. He should’ve been this generation’s Mark Ellis.

Not a member of the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers.

It’s a potent lineup the Mets possess if they can get all of the pieces moving at once. Let’s see if JT Ginn and the A’s have what it takes to come into New York and takes back to back series against the Yankees and Mets!

It was a rough home stand for the Nats, particularly for the pitching staff. They went 1-5 on the home stand, and things are not going to get any easier. The Nats are squaring off with the Brewers, who had the most wins in baseball last year. The Brew Crew are also off to a hot start, with an 8-4 record.

With the Brewers deploying a unique pitching strategy, Blake Butera responded accordingly. The Brewers are using a lefty opener, but following with a right handed pitcher. That means Curtis Mead will play first base and hit second. However, Luis Garcia Jr. will still be in the lineup, but he is hitting 7th to avoid the opener. Joey Wiemer is in the lineup against the team that drafted him, hitting 6th. Jorbit Vivas and Keibert Ruiz are also back in the lineup. Jake Irvin will look to bounce back from a rough start against the Dodgers.

The Brewers lineup is one of the better ones in the league, especially at the top. Brice Turang, William Contreras and Christian Yelich are a formidable trio at the top. Garrett Mitchell is a player that has gotten off to a really hot start for the Brewers. As usual, they have grinders at the bottom of the order. On the pitching side of things, lefty Aaron Ashby will open, while righty Chad Patrick will follow him. This approach was likely designed to counter the Nats lefty bats.

Game Info:

Stadium: American Family Field

Time: 7:40 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats were unable to take advantage of their theoretically lighter matchup against the Cardinals. That means they will be 4-8 entering a series against a team that smacked them around last year. The boys will need to answer the bell if they do not want to be totally cut adrift early. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.