CANADA - MAY 31: Rick Leach (Photo by Jeff Goode/Toronto Star via Getty Images) | Toronto Star via Getty Images
Rick Leach turns 69 today.
In 1979, the Tigers picked him 13th overall. Leach reached the majors in the 1981 strike season, hitting .193/.320/.289 in 83 at-bats, mainly pinch-hitting with some first and right field. He played three seasons for Detroit without much success at the plate before his release.
After leaving Detroit, the Blue Jays signed him before the 1984 season. He spent five seasons with the Jays, playing DH, first base, right field, left field, and occasionally center field. He even pitched an inning in 1984, though it went poorly: two walks, two hits, a home run. He hit fairly well. In 1986, he posted a .308/.335/.435 line; in 1987, .282/.371/.405. Still, he lacked the power and speed expected of a corner outfielder, but as a fourth outfielder, he was solid.
His time in Toronto had challenges as well. In 1986, Leach tested positive for a recreational drug, resulting in a 60-day suspension and mandatory treatment.
In 5 years with the Jays, Rick hit .283/.34/.391 with 8 home runs and 95 RBI in 763 at-bats. After Toronto, Leach played a season with the Giants and Rangers before leaving baseball at 33. He was a likable, fan-favourite fourth outfielder, but with Bell, Barfield and Moseby in the outfield, he had no chance at a full-time role. Still, he was a useful lefty off the bench.
He was a favourite of mine partly because, back in the day, I played Statis Pro Baseball and Strat-O-Matic Baseball. Rick had good numbers in 1986 and 1987, which gave him a valuable card in those games.
Leach was also a solid college football quarterback and was a fifth-round Broncos pick in 1979.
Wishing Rick a happy 69th birthday.
Also having birthdays:
Miguel Cairo turns 52. Signed by the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent, he played 17 MLB seasons. His debut was with the Jays, who acquired him and Bill Risley for Edwin Hurtado and Paul Menhart. After 9 games (.222/.300/.296), he was traded to the Cubs for Jason Stevenson, who never made the majors. Cairo played 1,490 MLB games, hitting .264/.314/.361 with a 7.7 bWAR.
Max Castillo turns 27. An international free agent signed by the Jays in 2015, he pitched in 9 games (2 starts) for them in 2022. In August, he and Samad Taylor were traded to the Royals for Whit Merrifield. He pitched 12 games for the Royals in 2022 and 2023 and is now in the Phillies farm system.
Butch Alberts turns 76. He played 6 games for the Jays in 1978, hitting .278/.278/.333. Butch and Pat Kelly were traded to the Angels for Ron Fairly in 1977.
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After a history-making Game 6 in the first round, the New York Knicks are onto Round 2 of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. where they’ll face their longtime rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Knicks took down the Atlanta Hawks in six games to advance to the second round. The series included a 140-89 Game 6 victory that made history as the Knicks’ largest playoff win ever.
It took the No. 7-seeded 76ers all seven games to defeat the Boston Celtics and advance to the second round. Down 3-1 going into Game 5, the Sixers won three straight to shock the No. 2 seeded Celtics.
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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
What are loose bodies? About the Tarik Skubal injury
Loose bodies are fragments of bone, cartilage or both that have broken off and float freely inside a joint. In a pitcher’s elbow, they are typically caused by the extreme stress of throwing. The violent snapping motion of releasing a pitch, repeated thousands of times over a career, causes bone and cartilage to chip away. It usually comes from the back of the elbow. Those fragments can move around the joint, causing locking, catching, pain and loss of range of motion.
It’s not an uncommon injury for pitchers. Skubal himself has had significant elbow problems before, including Tommy John surgery in 2017 and flexor tendon surgery in 2022. This procedure is generally considered less serious than either of those.
How serious is Tarik Skubal's upcoming surgery?
Arthroscopic surgery is minimally invasive. Surgeons insert a small camera and instruments into the joint through tiny incisions to locate and remove the fragments. Recovery varies widely by each pitcher. Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both had loose body surgery this spring within days of each other. Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day IL and still had not thrown two months later. Waldrep was throwing bullpen sessions within weeks. Los Angeles Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz had the surgery in April and is expected to miss about four months.
Skubal’s situation will be clearer once he consults with doctors and schedules the procedure.
Bottom line: Tarik Skubal injury will cost Tigers ace time in contract year
There were warning signs. In his last start, Skubal shook his left arm mid-inning, grabbed his forearm and called catcher Dillon Dingler to the mound. He stayed in and finished seven innings and told reporters on May 3 he felt fine going through his between-starts routine. Later that day, however, Skubal told manager A.J. Hinch something had flared up. He underwent imaging where the loose bodies were identified.
It’s obviously a blow for the Tigers, but also one for Skubal. He is in the final year of his contract and expected to command one of the largest pitching deals in baseball history this offseason. The injury adds uncertainty to that picture heading into what should have been a showcase season.
Send in your questions now for this week’s episode of The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast to discuss everything Pistons. Submit your question to the comments section here or on X/Twitter to @TheRealWesD3 and/or @blakesilverman.
Join us live on Saturday afternoon for the show where we’ll recap the Pistons’ incredible 3–1 comeback to eliminate the Magic in the first round and preview the second-round series against the Cavaliers. How are you feeling heading into round two? How far can this Pistons team go? And how surreal is it to watch a playoff series win for the first time since 2008?
Plus, The Pindown has a phone line where you can leave a message and hear your voice on the show. Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message around 45 seconds or less so we can fit everyone into the show.
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Joel Embiid had one of his best playoff performances of his NBA career in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 109-100 Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday. The center had 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to lead Philly to the second round.
But, Warriors forward Draymond Green doesn’t think the performance was a “legacy game” for Embiid, who has now reached the Eastern Conference semifinals for the sixth time in his career.
“I know a lot of people are saying, ‘Yo, is this a legacy game for Joel Embiid?’ and I say no, ‘hell no,’ ” Green said on “The Draymond Green Show.” “Joel Embiid is a great player, Joel Embiid is an NBA MVP, Joel Embiid is all of those things. Gold medalist, perennial All-Star, one of the best bigs in this league.
“Joel Embiid, also for those same reasons, is the reason that a game in the first round, I don’t care if it’s Game 7 or Game 2. … It’s still a first-round game and we’ve seen Joel Embiid in the first round. In order for Joel Embiid to have legacy games, Joel Embiid has to get to the conference finals and then Joel Embiid needs to help push that team to the NBA Finals.”
Green said he believes the people stating that it was a legacy performance are the same ones who will be ready to blame Embiid if the 76ers fail to reach the conference championship – somewhere Embiid has never been since entering the league in 2014.
“I hate when people try to set guys up like, ‘Aw man, this is a legacy game for Joel Embiid,’ only to set him up to try to tear him down in the weeks to come,” Green said. “I don’t like stuff like that. There’s no way a guy of Joel Embiid’s stature can have a legacy game in Round 1 and he still hasn’t accomplished, ultimately, what he wants to accomplish.”
In eight first-round appearances with Philadelphia, Embiid has averaged 26.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists while leading the 76ers to a 6-2 record over those series.
However, Embiid and the 76ers – who hadn’t reached the conference semifinals since 2022-23 — are 0-5 in second round playoff series.
“I don’t think if you spoke to Joel Embiid, he would say ‘aw man, that game I had in Round 1 versus Boston is a legacy game,’” Green said. “No, you feel good about it, you feel great about it, you’re moving on. … but the job’s not done.
“If Philly goes out here and loses the series, no one is coming around this summer like, ‘Yeah, but Joel Embiid had a legacy game in that first-round series,’ Green said. “No one’s talking about that. The talk is going to be ‘Joel Embiid can’t win again, Philly needs to break the team up, Joel’s going to never be healthy.’ ”
The win over Boston was the first time the Embiid-led 76ers had defeated the Celtics in the postseason after falling to them three times prior. Philadelphia kicked off their second-round matchup with the New York Knicks on Monday.
The Giants (13-21) and Padres (20-13) meet for the fourth time to open their second series versus one another this season. San Francisco won two out of three in San Diego earlier, but these aren't the same teams as a month ago.
San Francisco has lost six straight games and eight of the past 10 as they enter the series. The Giants have been outscored 27-9 over that six game stretch and scored more than two runs only once. San Francisco is hitting .208 over the last week, which ranks 28th with zero home runs (last).
San Diego has dropped four of the past five games, but are coming off a 4-3 win over the White Sox. The Padres have been outscored 28-12 in that five-game stretch. In the past seven days, the Padres are hitting an MLB-worst .192 with the fewest hits (30) in five games.
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Giants at Padres
Date: Monday, May 4, 2026
Time: 9:45 PM EST
Site: Oracle Park
City: San Francisco, CA
Network/Streaming: ESPN / MLB TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Padres at the Giants
The latest odds as of Monday:
Moneyline: San Diego Padres (-136), San Francisco Giants (+113)
Spread: Giants +1.5 (-143), Padres -1.5 (+119)
Total: 8.0
Probable starting pitchers for Padres at Giants
Monday's pitching matchup (May 4): Randy Vasquez vs. Trevor McDonald
The Giants’ Luis Arraez is hitting .308 with 40 hits and 49 total bases over 130 at-bats
The Giants’ Patrick Bailey is hitting .152 with 12 hits and 20 strikeouts over 79 at-bats
The Padres’ Xander Bogaerts is hitting .269 with 32 hits and 49 total bases over 119 at-bats
The Padres’ Jake Croneworth is hitting .147 with 14 hits and 23 strikeouts over 95 at-bats
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Padres at Giants
The Giants are 14-20 ATS this season
The Padres are 19-14 ATS this season
The Giants are 14-17-3 to the Over this season
The Padres are 15-17-1 to the Over this season
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Padres and the Giants
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Monday's game two between the Giants and the Padres:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Giants on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Giants at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Over on the Game Total of 8.0
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Could LeBron James’s time with the Los Angeles Lakers end not with a bang, but with a whimper? This series against the Oklahoma City Thunder should certainly force that question.
MyLakers vs. Thunderpredictionsand NBA picks have no faith in L.A., not even in Game 1, on Tuesday, May 5.
UPDATE: Added prediction for who will win.
Lakers vs Thunder Game 1 prediction
Who will win Lakers vs Thunder Game 1?
Thunder: Perhaps LeBron James conjures up a vintage performance to steal one game in this series, but do not expect it and certainly do not expect it in Game 1 in Oklahoma City when the Thunder have a significant rest advantage.
They met four times this season. The Thunder covered the spread in each game by an average of 19 points compared to bookmakers’ expectations.
The Lakers fell short of their team total in three of the four meetings by an average of 11.6 points even when including the sole Team Total Over, which came by two points.
Without Luka, expect OKC to collapse on LeBron James at every moment.
Los Angeles played on Friday, and while that did become a rout, it was a rather tense moment heading into that game. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City has had a full week off after its easy sweep of Phoenix.
Every advantage lines up for a Thunder blowout to open this series, and once the game is out of hand, Lakers head coach JJ Redick likely will sit Austin Reaves to spare his oblique any added stress. Reaves played just 34 and 31 minutes in his two games back against the Rockets. There will be no logic to pushing him while trailing by two dozen.
Lakers vs Thunder SGP
Thunder First Half -9.5
Thunder -15.5
Austin Reaves Under 21.5 Points
Our "from downtown" SGP: Not Yet, LeBron
LeBron James may continue to get away with it, but there is no logic to pushing him in a lopsided Game 1. Every ounce of reason expects Los Angeles to lose this game handily. Chalk it up to rest, chalk it up to home court, chalk it up to anything you want. Just expect it.
Redick will be smart to preserve any massive game from James for when it is within reach.
Look at Game 4 of last round: The Lakers lost by 19 and trailed by more than that. Related: James played just 33 minutes and scored only 10 points.
Lakers vs Thunder SGP
Thunder -15.5
LeBron James Under 20.5 Points
LeBron James Under 7.5 Rebounds
LeBron James Under 7.5 Assists
Lakers vs Thunder odds for Game 1
Spread: Lakers +16 | Thunder -16
Moneyline: Lakers +700 | Thunder -1100
Over/Under: Over 213.5 | Under 213.5
Lakers vs Thunder betting trend to know
In four meetings against the Lakers this year, the Thunder covered the full-game spread in just the first half in three of them. In the exception, they exactly matched the full-game spread of 18 points. Find more NBA betting trends for Lakers vs. Thunder.
How to watch Lakers vs Thunder Game 1
Location
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Date
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Tip-off
8:30 p.m. ET
TV
NBC/Peacock
Lakers vs Thunder latest injuries
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When the Mets unveiled their lineup for Monday's matchup with the Colorado Rockies, there was a new name at the top of the order: Juan Soto.
For just the third time in his major league career, and the first time since the 2021 season, Soto finds himself batting leadoff, which manager Carlos Mendoza explained he'd been considering, especially with the injury to Francisco Lindor.
"It’s something that I’ve been thinking about the past few days, given a lot of the players on our injury list. Just got to a point of watching how other teams deploy their bullpen, not so much affecting Juan, but the guys behind him, and it’s forcing us to make decisions a lot earlier in games," Mendoza said. "We’re gonna get a guy who is gonna get on base, having Bo (Bichette) behind him. But I think it makes my decision a lot easier when you get the buy-in from the player. I didn’t bring it up to him until yesterday, but I was thinking about it for a few days. I was giving the team a chance to see how it was going to play out.
"But when I brought it up to him yesterday, it was an easy yes. It was ‘I’ll do whatever the team needs,’ kind of like my conversation with him when we talked about the left field situation in the offseason, or the times that I hit him in the three hole or back to the two hole, it was an easy yes."
According to Mendoza, having Bichette hit behind Soto, instead of the other way around, makes it more difficult for teams to pitch around the slugger.
"If they bring a lefty, they know they’re going to have to face Bo behind him.," said the skipper.
The one potential downside to moving Soto up is that it could take away RBI opportunities, but Mendoza said that he's "also trying to create traffic" to lead to more runs as well.
Mendoza was also asked how long he plans to stick with Soto in the leadoff spot, and the answer seems to be open-ended.
For now, it's a wait-and-see situation.
"It’s hard to tell. Personnel matters," Mendoza said. "I’m not putting a number of days, games. I’m just going to let it play out and see how it goes."
Soto is hitting .314 with a .915 OPS this season, belting three homers with eight RBI and eight runs scored.
The San Francisco Giants were still licking their wounds after the pasting the New York Yankees gave them opening week and it seemed as though their division rival the San Diego Padres would extend the misery. Instead, the Giants took 2 out of 3 and left San Diego with the same 2-4 record as the Padres. But, from this point, the two teams diverged.
The Padres exploded for an 18-7 record in April while the Giants went 11-15. The surprise was less that the Giants underperformed and more that the Padres were great. As I mentioned in the last preview:
It’s expected to be a down year for the Padres, right? The team’s finances are such that AJ Preller couldn’t make a big splash in free agency and years of huge trades has emptied their farm system. They scored just 7 runs in their opening series against the Tiges, tied for third with the Rockies and just behind the Diamondbacks, putting all four non-Dodger NL West teams in the bottom 5 of the sport in terms of runs scored. By wRC+, San Diego’s 66 puts them just outside that bottom 5 at 6th place. Sustainable for all these NL West teams? Probably not.
San Diego sold at a valuation of $3.9 billion not long after the series and that seemed to gas them up to competing with the Dodgers for the top of the NL West. Except there’s been one cute little storyline accompanying all that winning:
Fernando Tatis Jr. has not hit a home run this season.
He’s slashing .261/.333/.311 in 139 PA (32 G) with just 4 doubles and a triple. He is 9-for-11 in stolen base attempts and he’s playing his normally great defense in right field, but why has the power disappeared? Has he caught the Matt Chapman Virus? Not according to Statcast, which puts him in the 99th percentile of Hard Hit rate. According to MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan, “While he has been hitting rockets, he hasn’t been producing contact that’s conducive to slugging, recording the lowest pull and fly-ball rates of his career.“ He warns, ”At some point, though, the dam is going to break.“ Could that be at Oracle Park, where he’s enjoyed a .908 OPS thanks to 10 home runs, and 9 doubles in 178 career plate appearances?
While the Padres and their fans hold their breaths, Giants fans will be holding theirs to see if the team’s #1 hitting prospect, Bryce Eldridge, can finally hit his first major league home run. At the end of Spring Training during the exhibition schedule, those willing to attend a game that didn’t count got a look at Eldridge’s opposite field power in Oracle:
He’s been called up along with Jesus Rodriguez to give the Giants a season-saving shot of talent. In a 10-game, 37-PA cup of jav at the end of last year, he was 3-for-28 with a pair of doubles. He’s been striking out in 30% of his plate appearances for Triple-A Sacramento, though, and those seem likelier to stick than the .900+ OPS he’s also sporting. Still, who will homer first this season: Fernando Tatis Jr. or Bryce Eldridge?
Series overview
Who: San Diego Padres (20-13) vs. San Francisco Giants (13-21) Where: Oracle Park | San Francisco, California When: Monday & Tuesday at 6:45pm PT, Wednesday at 12:45pm PT National broadcasts: None.
Projected starters Monday: Randy Vasquez (RHP 3-0, 2.94 ERA) vs. Trevor McDonald (RHP season debut) Tuesday: Walker Buehler (RHP 1-2, 5.40 ERA) vs. TBD Wednesday: Matt Waldron (RHP 0-1, 9.88 ERA) vs. TBD
Players to watch
Padres (besides Fernando Tatis Jr.)
Randy Vasquez: Is the 27-year old good and breaking out or has he just had a few good starts here in the early season? Last year, he posted a 3.84 ERA in 133.2 IP (26 starts) but with a 4.85 FIP and just a 5.3 K/9. Through his first 6 starts here in 2026, he’s at 2.94 in 33.2 IP (3.45 FIP) and a 9.1 K/9. His game log looks like this:
Start 1: 6 IP 0 ER 3 BB 8 K
Start 2: 6 IP 1 ER 1 BB 3 K
Start 3: 5.2 IP 1 ER 0 BB 8 K
Start 4: 4 IP 4 ER 4 BB 6K
Start 5: 7 IP 0 ER 0 BB 5 K
Start 6: 5 IP 5 ER 3 BB 4 K
He’s allowed just 1 run on the road — okay, admittedly, just 2 starts on the road, but they were in Boston (Start 2) and Colorado (Start 5).
Still, his Statcast page is unremarkable, bordering on poor. It’s when you look at the raw stuff that you see the upside: a 95 mph fastball (has both a four-seamer and sinker) and wicked spin on his cutter, curveball, slider, and sweeper. He also throws a changeup. The Giants lineup has a tough assignment ahead of them, as is often the case.
Miguel Andujar: Along with Xander Bogaerts (138 wRC+) and Manny Machado (112), Andujar (161) has really helped the Padres hit their way to victory over the past month or so. He has just a 2.9% walk rate against a 15.7% strikeout rate, but an impressive .209 Isolated Slugging percentage. His .389 batting average on balls in play suggests this is all pretty unsustainable, and maybe the Giants will pitch him into a cold streak, but for now, this utility guy is hitting the ball hard (41.5 Hard Hit%) and he’s doing it by pulling the ball in the air at an elite rate (23.1%).
Mason Miller: He’s not a “lights out” closer, he’s a soul devouring one. On top of all the strikeouts (32 in 16.1 IP), he’s got a 65.2% groundball rate. If he gets the ball at the end of the game, and you haven’t already done so, give the Giants the L.
Giants (besides Bryce Eldridge)
Matt Chapman: Is he, like Willy Adames, the ghost of the player we once knew? Did Chapman and Adames fall down an elevator shaft at the team hotel and what we’re seeing on the field now is merely their ghosts? What’s happened to Chappy? What’s happened to Willy? Their career-threatening slumps are getting a little silly.
Trevor McDonald: The only named starter for this series as of publication, it will be exciting to see if he can pickup where he left off at the end of last season as sort of the “hey, why didn’t the Giants stick him in the rotation sooner?” guy. He’ll be going against a strong lineup who might not be all that impressed with 93-94 and a big ol’ curveball.
Who will close: It couldn’t possibly be Ryan Walker at this point, which means Caleb Kilian, Erik Miller, and Keaton Winn are on closer watch.
Tony Vitello watch
You know, Hunter Wendlestedt’s jab at Director of Pitching Frank Anderson was a really sudden reminder that the top step of the dugout crew for the Giants is not respected around the league. Makes sense. That’s got to be earned. At the same time, the disrespect is compounded by all the losing. I don’t know if these Giants have any resiliency, but when Tony Vitello’s answer in the post-game presser goes like this:
“It all kind of got pretty hot pretty quick,” Vitello said. “I was trying to figure out, can we take a look at it and what can be done from there. I kind of blacked out, to be honest with you amongst all the extra riffraff after something about ‘rah-rah’ and ‘pom-poms,’ which I assume was something to do with either college or my behavior in the dugout.
I become concerned about focus and priorities. What’s coming across is that Vitello & co. are overwhelmed right now, likely in over their heads, and they’re (especially Vitello) lurching from feeling to feeling. The abject failure of the roster has to be making this all seem surreal or nightmarish, so I have some sympathy, but at this point, I think I only know Vitello by his visceral reaction to events or situations and not really anything about his philosophy on baseball or the players under his management. Am I going to learn any of that in this three game series? Probably not, but I’ll be on the lookout.
Prediction
The Giants won’t get swept, but it might feel like they did. Unless they win the series, in which case we’ll all be a little crabby about how they didn’t get a badly needed sweep.
LAS VEGAS — Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson will return for Game 1 of the team’s second-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks after missing nearly six months with a lower-body injury.
Coach John Tortorella confirmed the news before the game.
Karlsson was hurt in the first period of Vegas’ 4-3 overtime loss against the Ducks on Nov. 8.
Karlsson had four goals and three assists early in the season before the injury. He had back-to-back 50-point seasons, but finished with only 29 in 53 games last season, when he was sidelined twice because of injuries.
Breaking news out of Detroit: Two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is scheduled to undergo elbow surgery to remove loose particles. Thus, he will not be on the mound tonight when the Tigers (18-17) open their three-game series against the struggling Boston Red Sox (13-21). Tyler Holton faces Payton Tolle in the opener.
Detroit enters this three‑game series playing dominant baseball at home, where they’ve posted a 12–3 record. Their offense opened the season meekly but has been steady, hitting .262 over their last 10 games while outscoring opponents by six runs. A couple of the key contributors are youngsters Kevin McGonigle (.315) and Riley Greene (12-for-37 with three home runs in his last 10). The Tigers have won 13 of 18 games when scoring five or more runs…and they may well need plenty of them without Skubal on the mound for the foreseeable future.
Boston arrives in Detroit looking to rebound after dropping a weekend series to Houston. The Red Sox sit at 7–11 on the road, with their offense struggling to find consistency. Although they scored but seven runs in the three games against the Astros, they Sox have shown flashes—hitting .255 over their last 10 games—and players like Wilyer Abreu (.298, 4 HR) and Willson Contreras (12-for-38, 3 HR in his last 10) have been bright spots.
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game Details and How to Watch: Red Sox vs. Tigers
Date: Monday, May 4, 2026
Time: 6:10PM EST
Site: Comerica Park
City: Detroit, MI
Network/Streaming: MLB.TV, NESN, Tigers.TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
The Latest Odds: Red Sox vs. Tigers
The latest odds as of Monday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Boston Red Sox (-112), Detroit Tigers (-108)
Spread: Red Sox -1.5 (+143), Tigers +1.5 (-173)
Total: 8.0 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers: Red Sox vs. Tigers
Pitching matchup for May 4:
Red Sox: Payton Tolle Season Totals: 10.2 IP, 0-1, 3.38 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 15K, 5 BB
Jarren Duran hit safely in each of the 3 games against Houston (4-13)
Spencer Torkelson was 2-10 over the weekend against the Rangers
Dillon Dingler is 4-10 over his last 3 games
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top Betting Trends & Insights: Red Sox vs. Tigers
The Tigers are 12-3 at home this season
The Red Sox are 7-11 on the road this season
The Tigers are 18-17 on the Run Line this season
The Red Sox are 11-23 on the Run Line this season
The OVER has cashed 16 times in Boston games this season (16-17-1)
The OVER has cashed 16 times in Tigers’ games this season (16-17-2)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions: Red Sox vs. Tigers
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s game between the Red Sox and the Tigers:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Run Line
Total: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total OVER 8 runs
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CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 03: Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons guards James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter at Rocket Arena on March 03, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Pistons 113-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Raptors and Pistons share a similar offensive profile. Neither team loves to shoot three-pointers, primarily because they aren’t very good at it. They’d prefer to score from the mid-range or attack the basket — led almost entirely by one primary initiator (more on this later).
That means Cleveland’s defensive game plan will be similar to round one. Pack the paint, shrink the floor, and dare someone to beat you.
Toronto surprised most of us with its efficiency. They nailed 35.6% of their three-point attempts in round one, the fifth-best of any playoff team this year. But they also struggled to score for long stretches, often because the Cavs declined to pay them any respect behind the arch. Shrinking the floor makes it really hard to score if you don’t have the personnel to shoot with volume.
That’s why the Raptors took the third fewest three-point attempts per game in round one, despite shooting better than anyone expected. They just didn’t have guys who could launch ‘em.
Neither do the Pistons… mostly.
Detroit has some weapons that the Cavs will have to monitor. Duncan Robinson can burn you. Tobias Harris is capable of big games. Even Cunningham shot near 40% from deep in round one. But truthfully, perimeter shooting is a weakness that the Cavs can exploit.
Evan Mobley made more 3PTs in R1 than anyone on Detroit other than Cade, Duncan, and Tobias
The Pistons shot the second-fewest three-pointers in round one and converted on the fifth-worst percentage. Harris, Dannis Jankins, Caris LeVert, and Javonte Green all shot below 30% from downtown. Thompson only attempted one three-pointer, which he missed. Neither big man in Detroit is likely to push their luck from deep either.
I’d expect the Cavs to totally ignore Thompson, and to dare everyone other than Harris, Cunningham, and Robinson to make them pay. I’d also expect the Cavs to win that gamble, given that the Pistons ranked 20th in three-point accuracy during the regular season — even worse than Toronto (18th).
2. Put it all on Cade Cunningham
Both the Cavs and Pistons battled to the end in round one. A seven-game series can be draining. More so, if you’re the one carrying the entire team on your back.
This isn’t to discredit Harris, who showed up big in Game 7 for Detroit, but let’s be real… Cunningham’s usage was through the roof during that series. He posted an absurd usage rate of 37%, matching Joel Embiid for the highest load in round one.
For comparison, Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with a usage rate of 30%.
Carrying that much weight will wear anyone down. The deeper you go into the playoffs, the more of a toll it takes. Cunningham averaged 32 points on 22 shots per game in the first round. He’ll be asked to do something similar versus Cleveland. That’s a benefit for the Cavs.
The more pressure you can put on Cade to win this series on his own, the better. That means the Cavs will do everything in their power to limit Detroit’s supporting cast. The weight could be unbearable if Cleveland keeps a lid on the Pistons’ role players.
The Cavs are well-equipped to make Cunningham work. Dean Wade just had a phenomenal defensive series, while Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen will no doubt pack the paint and contest every drive. Even Max Strus and Sam Merrill have shown they can ramp up the intensity — while Jaylon Tyson is more than ready to be physical with Cunningham.
Cunningham averaged 18.5 points on just 34% shooting against the Cavs in four games this season. I’m sure he’ll be better than that in this series. But it shows the Cavs can give him problems offensively.
On the other end, Cleveland would be mistaken not to include Cunningham in as many screening actions as possible. He’s already being tasked with too much offensive responsibility, so the more they can challenge him defensively, the more exhausted he’ll become.
3. Attack mismatches
Not having to worry about Scottie Barnes will be nice.
Seriously, Barnes delivered one of the better defensive performances I can remember. It felt like he was everywhere, using his length, athleticism, and seemingly never-ending motor to disrupt everything Cleveland wanted to do. The backcourt struggled primarily because Barnes, along with Jamal Shead, RJ Barrett, Ja’kobe Walter, and Collin Murray-Boyles, made them struggle.
Can Detroit replicate any of that?
Some things are certain. The Pistons will try to muck things up by using Thompson on one of Donovan Mitchell or James Harden. He’ll pressure them up the floor and deny the ball whenever possible. Other Pistons will attempt to do the same.
But that’s where Cleveland starts to gain advantages.
The Raptors were loaded with length and athleticism on the wing. No matter who the Cavs brought into the action, Toronto was able to switch and swarm the ball with their wings. The Pistons — while a better defensive team — are arguably a better matchup for the Cavs from this perspective.
Thompson is a great defender. But Duncan Robinson is not. The Cavalier backcourt will feel significantly more comfortable attacking Robinson than anyone on the Raptors roster outside of Jakob Poeltl.
This extends down Detroit’s rotation. Harris is a fine defender, but I don’t see him matching Mitchell’s speed like any of Toronto’s best defenders. Duren isn’t as mobile as CMB. Jankins shouldn’t be as disruptive as Jamal Shead. Kevin Huerter might not even get on the floor, and if he does, could promptly be played off it.
That’s kind of a big deal.
The playoffs are matchup-dependent. You are only as strong as your weakest link. The Raptors’ baseline of having no bad defenders made it an eternal struggle for the Cavs offense to get rolling. But Detroit’s weak points will be tested at every available opportunity.
If that happens, Mitchell might remind us of why he’s become a perennial All-NBA player at this stage of his career.
What had been a fantastic week for the Yankees became somber this Monday, as the news of John Sterling’s passing broke this morning. The radio broadcaster was the voice of the team for decades, retiring during the 2024 season but sticking around for their postseason run to the World Series. His iconic custom calls for every Yankee player who hit a home run were an endearing part of his legacy, and he’ll be sorely missed.
The season must go on, and the Yankees now have yet another reason to go and win it all. After a week that saw them win series against the Rangers and Orioles (with a chance to sweep a four-game set against the latter tonight), they made news by sending down shortstop Anthony Volpe at the end of his rehab assignment. Did the Yankees make the right call in keeping Caballero as their shortstop for now? Will we see Volpe return to the team before the first half concludes? Can George Lombard Jr. push his way into the picture? If you have questions like these, or anything else on your mind, send ‘em in for a chance to be featured in our Yankees mailbag.
Answers will run on Friday afternoon. All questions received by the night of May 7th will be considered. You can leave your submissions in the comment section below or by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
Tarik Skubal will miss Monday’s start against the Red Sox — and then some.
The Tigers ace will undergo surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, manager A.J. Hinch revealed ahead of the first game of the series in Detroit.
Skubal’s time away could look to be at least two months, though there is no official timetable yet.
Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on April 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. Getty Images
Skubal’s last start was a possible indication that something was off with the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
He shook his left arm and rubbed his left elbow during an outing against the Braves last Wednesday. Hinch, assistant athletic trainer Kelly Rhoades and catcher Dillon Dingler visited the mound but Skubal stayed in the game after throwing a practice pitch.
The 29-year-old felt a “funny feeling on the outside of his arm,” Hinch said after Wednesday’s game.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) rubs his arm during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026, in Atlanta. AP
He went on to strike out the side and finish the night with two runs allowed, both earned, and seven strikeouts across seven innings.
Before he was scratched from Monday’s start, Skubal didn’t seem worried about his health, saying “I’m all right.”
This season, two-time All-Star holds a 2.70 ERA with 45 strikeouts across seven starts.
After winning back-to-back American League Cy Youngs, Skubal was highly expected to be in the running again in 2026 — as well as be a potential trade chip after a record $32 million arbitration victory in the offseason.
Before the injury, the baseline was a new deal for Skubal was seen as $400 million, per The Post’s Jon Heyman.
Who will win Dodgers vs Astros today: Dodgers -1.5 (-125)
The Houston Astros have four starting pitchers injured at the moment, which is why Steven Okert is set to start in what will be a bullpen game.
Unfortunately for the Astros, their bullpen has posted a 6.69 ERA and 5.70 FIP over the past two weeks.
It’s silly to expect them to suddenly turn things around against a loaded Los Angeles Dodgers lineup sporting the third-lowest strikeout rate over the past two weeks.
Houston’s offense is dealing with injuries as well, and will find it hard to score enough against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers will cover the spread here.
COVERS INTEL:Over the last two weeks, Houston’ bullpen has allowed a 52.6% pull rate and 25% line drive rate, both among the worst marks in baseball.
Dodgers vs Astros Over/Under pick: Over 9 (-115)
The Astros should not get blanked tonight, especially with hitters like Yordan Alvarez in the lineup.
Yamamoto has been somewhat fortunate, given his xERA of 3.98 is more than a run higher than his 2.87 ERA.
Opponents are having real success vs. his four-seam fastball, slugging .548 vs. a .257 mark a season ago. He’s also having less success with his splitter, a pitch he utilizes 30% of the time.
Shohei Otahni is due to break out, and likely will against this Houston bullpen. His .053 ISO and .214 BABIP over the past week are starkly at odds with his .348 xwOBA.
Jason Ence's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 3-5, -2.42 units
Over/Under bets: 5-3, +1.91 units
Dodgers vs Astros odds
Moneyline: Dodgers -186 | Astros +178
Run line: Dodgers -1.5 | Astros +1.5
Over/Under: Over 9 | Under 9
Dodgers vs Astros trend
The Astros have hit the team total Over in 16 of their last 24 games at home (+6.95 Units / 24% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Astros.
How to watch Dodgers vs Astros and game info
Location
Daikin Park, Houston, TX
Date
Monday, May 4, 2026
First pitch
8:10 p.m. ET
TV
SportsNet LA, SCHN
Dodgers starting pitcher
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-2, 2.87 ERA)
Astros starting pitcher
Steven Okert (0-0, 4.20 ERA)
Dodgers vs Astros latest injuries
Dodgers vs Astros weather
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COVERS INTEL: Los Angeles had far fewer worries against Houston’s offense, 
