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In the comments, when discussing Jordan Walker, Memphis Myke wondered if it mattered that Jordan Walker had minimal protection in the lineup, since he’s followed by Nolan Gorman. Who hasn’t really hit at all this year. Gorman does have a surprisingly high number of RBIs though considering his poor hitting thus far. He has 18 RBIs in 29 games. And not that he’d play in 162 games, but that’s 100 RBIs over a full season.

Breaking news: RBIs don’t tell you how good a hitter is. Also Gorman driving in runs has not a lot to do with protection as it pertains to Jordan Walker. Pitchers don’t see Gorman on deck and see the RBIs and think “well now I have to pitch to Jordan Walker.” They see the .214 average, the .357 slugging, and the 79 wRC+. You’d rather face him than Jordan Walker.

I instinctively said that protection is a myth. I read an article years ago on this very site that looked at the performance of the #2 hitters in front of Albert Pujols, and they didn’t really play much differently in that spot than in other parts of the lineup. I could not find that article. I did find an article by Tom Tango, however, talking about protection.

And his conclusions were indeed that pitchers pitched a little differently to hitters if there was a strong hitter behind them versus not. If you have a weak hitter behind you, they will probably pitch around you. Both BB% and K% increase with a weak hitter. Interestingly though, if you actually make contact with the ball, there’s no difference. What he terms a protected hitter is not seeing better pitches to hit. Pitchers still don’t want to give a good hitter a pitch to hit, and it doesn’t matter how good the hitter is behind him.

The entire point of protecting a batter is to improve his offensive output (wOBA) by forcing the opposing pitcher to pitch to him. And indeed, we saw above that opposing pitchers pitch to protected hitters, something that is evidenced by the fewer walks. However, when the ball is put into play, we see no significant difference between how the two sets of hitters perform. The unprotected hitters have a wOBA of .395 (counting only balls that are hit), compared with .391 for protected hitters. The difference of .004 is not statistically significant. 

…..

However, what we hoped to find was that, when pitchers pitch around the corners, batters tend to make worse contact (if they make contact at all). And we don’t see this. Instead, we again find that, if walks are ignored, the two types of hitters perform equivalently in wOBA. (The slight increase in strikeouts is compensated by a slight increase in the fraction of balls hit well when contact is made.) In short, we simply cannot find any evidence to suggest that the pitcher’s approach has any significant impact on the batter’s stats, aside from the obvious changes in walks and strikeouts.

So a couple of interesting takeaways here. The good news is that it doesn’t seem like the hitter behind him matters at all when it comes to contact quality. His batted ball data should not be affected. His overall performance should be the same. But it could also explain the strikeouts and the higher walk rate this season. Again though, pitchers saw what Jordan Walker was doing, and then adjusted the way they pitched to him. This had nothing to do with a weaker hitter behind him. If prime Albert Pujols was behind him, they’d try their best to avoid Walker hitting the ball.

Nolan Gorman’s defense

Outs Above Average Leaders – Third Baseman pic.twitter.com/qou1of8pcZ

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 29, 2026

In an interesting twist, the early returns on Nolan Gorman’s defense are very, very good. Unsustainably good certainly. But if he’s good on defense at 3B, then he’ll have an MLB job for quite a while, even if it doesn’t end up being on the Cards. A defense-first 3B who once jacked 27 homers? Yeah that guy would get lots of chances. Of course, we don’t know if he’s actually a good defender. Way too small of a sample size.

But, just to illustrate the importance of him being a good defender, I wanted to present what a +5 defender at 3B looks like with different offensive outcomes. Last year for example, it could have been the yips, but he was -6 OAA in 410 innings. The offensive bar is quite high if your defense is that bad. It would take a lot of faith in Nolan Gorman the hitter that I just don’t think people have.

But maybe he can reach a much lower bar and maybe if he does reach that, he still has a frustrating way to be an average overall player. Hey these are the kinds of things that we need to find out. Prior to last season, he had a combined 126 innings at 3B in the majors. Then, like I said, I think something mental was going on, because he kept throwing it wildly off, and that’s not been an issue this season. He has pretty much passed the eye test, and certainly it’s obvious how much better he is than last year. It’s not like we’re seeing the same thing and getting wildly different results.

So I will present a few different outcomes just to illustrate the importance of him actually being good on defense. I’ll show you Gorman as 85 wRC+ hitter, which would be a career low, as a 95 wRC+ hitter, a 105 wRC+ hitter, and just for fun a 120 wRC+ hitter. And we’ll see how each of those hitting lines work with a -5 defender at 3B, a neutral defender at 3B, and a +5 defender at 3B. We’ll start with more or less worst case scenario:

85 wRC+, -5 defender = 0.5 WAR (per 600 PAs)

95 wRC+, -5 defender = 1.2 WAR

105 wRC+, -5 defender = 2 WAR

120 wRC+, -5 defender = 3 WAR

Not ideal, although I will point out he doesn’t need to be an especially good hitter to still be average here. My faith in Nolan Gorman the batter is not very high, but a 105 wRC+ isn’t crazy to imagine for me. He’s done it twice in his career. That said, not a super appealing profile here. Gorman won’t get 600 PAs if he’s a 105 wRC+ hitter and a bad defender, so he wouldn’t reach 2 WAR. Let’s take the conservative approach, probably what we’re “supposed” to do in this situation, assume an average defender:

85 wRC+, 0 defender = 1 WAR

95 wRC+, 0 defender = 1.8 WAR

105 wRC+, 0 defender = 2.5 WAR

120 wRC+, 0 defender = 3.6 WAR

Again, remember where Gorman was at last year. I would have for sure taken it if you could guarantee me Gorman was an average defensive 3B. With this version, predictably, his offense dictates how good he is. Below average hitter, he’s more of a bench player. Average or better and he’s a starting caliber player.

85 wRC+, +5 defender = 1.6 WAR

95 wRC+, +5 defender = 2.3 WAR

105 wRC+, +5 defender = 3 WAR

120 wRC+, +5 defender = 4.1 WAR

And the best case scenario is he’s a genuinely good defender, because even the career low wRC+ is a solid sub, if not necessarily someone you want as your starter. If he gets close to average offensively, he is solidly in above average player territory. And if we combine that with good hitting, then he’s either a great trade candidate or someone you hold onto.

My approach to Gorman turned into “trade him even if he breaks out” because I didn’t trust him to maintain his production. If he’s a good defender, this does change somewhat. He goes from fool’s gold to a high floor guy who might hit 40 homers one year. If I have to bank on him being a good hitter, I’m not a fan. If being a good hitter is just a bonus, then I can roll with that. Doesn’t even matter if it’s unlikely he becomes a good hitter.

In case you weren’t watching, the NL East leading Braves won yet another baseball game last night. They will end April without losing a series. And Matt Olson won it in the ninth. In case you haven’t seen it, where have you been?

Oh my word.

Here’s the longer clip.

Here it is from CJ Nitkowski’s seat

pic.twitter.com/i3pbzsbG0Y

— CJ (@CJNitkowski) April 30, 2026

Let’s take it all in again. There aren’t a lot of pictures in the CMS for this, but the ones in there are great. I’ll add a few screengrabs. First, watch the usher/support staff guy. He was the second one to know it was gone.

These blurry images of the guy beside him in the Clemson/Auburn themed Braves hat.

This one goes straight into the Louvre.

Here’s Olson, about as animated as you will see him.

The bullpen enjoyed it just a little.

Here’s Olson, still pumped.

Arrival at the plate

😎 https://t.co/Lk1IQpBpiVpic.twitter.com/CojBObq5V8

— BravesVision (@BravesVisionTV) April 30, 2026

still haven't lost a series btw 😏 pic.twitter.com/E5x2fCPCK5

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 30, 2026

Michael Harris II with the bubble gum shower.

Ronnie with the chest bump

Wiley Ballard thinking “oh no they’re screaming in my ear to grab Matt but they’re gonna take him right into the clubhouse”

Celebratory Gatorade bath (forgive the weird MSPaint cropping and stretching)

Forgive me, but you have to enjoy the little things. For one moment yesterday, this was everyone.

The Colorado Rockies are off to a strong start.

The pitching has been surprisingly solid as a whole, and the lineup has seen good performances from Hunter Goodman, Mickey Moniak, and Edouard Julien.

It hasn’t all been perfect, however. Tyler Freeman, TJ Rumfield, and Kyle Karros have shown some good signs amongst their overall mixed start, but the list of outright disappointments for this team so far is astonishingly small.

Given his track record the biggest underperformance so far for the 2026 Rockies is probably Ezequiel Tovar and the .193/.228/.294 triple slash line he had heading into Wednesday.

The obvious answer as to what is holding Tovar’s offensive potential back is easy to diagnose: He chases too many pitches outside the zone. So far this season, he leads the league in terms of swinging at pitches outside the zone with a mind boggling 48.7% chase rate.

That’s right, Tovar is swinging at just under half of the would-be balls he sees.

The thing is, that’s not really too different from his career averages.

Swinging at pitches he shouldn’t be has been Tovar’s most obvious flaw for his entire career. During his 3.7 fWAR season in 2024, he had a 44.1% Chase %, which was second in MLB behind only Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox. It has been worse in 2026, but not by a significant margin that would explain the stark difference in productivity between the two seasons.

What’s interesting is that Tovar is actually making contact with pitches outside the zone more than he ever has. His chase contact rate has ballooned from being in the 46-48% range each of the past three seasons all the way up to 57.9% so far this year.

That sounds like a good thing. However, simply making contact with the ball does not necessarily mean it’s just a matter of time before his BABIP luck evens out. That may be some of it — as his overall BABIP is noticeably lower than his career average — but the quality of the contact also needs to be addressed.

In 2026, he is fouling off 25.1% of all pitches he sees while all of his previous seasons were in the 22% range. To go along with that spike in foul balls, his hard hit % has dropped nearly 3%, his average exit velocity has decreased nearly 2 mph, and his line drive percentage has dropped nearly 7%.

The biggest year-over-year change in Tovar’s stat line is his first-pitch swing percentage. In 2024, Tovar began 68.2% of his plate appearances with a strike, in 2025 he did so on 66.4%, and so far in 2026, it has been a truly wild 77.2%. That is a substantial increase, and all of it is accounted for by his 12.9% increase in first-pitch swings up to 59.6%.

Essentially, Tovar seems to be firing at the first pitch, finding himself behind in the count, and quickly adopting a two-strike mentality where he tries to fight off all the borderline pitches. This is a recipe for lots of contact without any productive results to show for it.

The solution is clearly for him to get better plate discipline, see the ball better, and make better swing decisions.

That’s much easier said than done.

We’ve now got over three seasons worth of data on Tovar, and it’s safe to say his poor plate discipline is part of his game and here to stay. He’s not suddenly going to become a patient hitter.

With all of that being said, the place to start is probably trying to get him to agree to simply not swing at the first pitch unless it’s a meatball right down the middle. This would likely give him some breathing room later in the count and reduce the strikeout pressure on every pitch. That one simple change is likely not a magic bullet to solve all of his problems but it absolutely would help.

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On the Farm

Triple-A:Albuquerque Isotopes 6, El Paso Chihuahuas 7

A close game in which the Isotopes fell just short of catching up to the early runs from the Chihuahuas. Parker Mushinkski did not perform well as the opener and was pulled after only two outs and three runs. Gabriel Hughes pitched the bulk of the innings and allowed another four runs alongside eight strikeouts. The offensive side was more favorable with both Sterlin Thompson and Cole Carrigg reaching base three times and Carrigg even stole three bags.

Double-A:Hartford Yard Goats 6, Reading Fightin Phils 2

Pitching and the long ball was the story of the night in Reading. The Yard Goats scored six runs on only six hits and five walks thanks to home runs from all of Bryant Betancourt, Aidan Longwell, and Roc Riggio. On the mound Konnor Eaton, Carlos Torres, Austin Smith, and Sam Weatherly completed the nine inning relay race only allowing two runs while striking out twelve despite none of them pitching more than four innings.

High-A:Spokane Indians 1, Eugene Emeralds 3

Jeff Criswell made his first official appearance on a rehab assignment after undergoing Tommy John surgery early last year. Given that it was his first appearance back, the two runs allowed were less important a measure than simply the fact that he was able to get through a full inning. He was followed by six great innings from Jackson Cox who struck out nine and only allowed one more run. At the plate, the best performance was from Tevin Tucker who had a walk, double, and stolen base.

Low-A:Fresno Grizzlies 9, Stockton Ports 8

This wasn’t quite a pitchers duel. JB Middleton walked six in 2.2 innings to start off the game for the Yard Goats but Seth Clausen did record a perfect two inning save to preserve the lineup’s hard work. At the plate there were more good performances than not: Clayton Gray was on base four times, Clayton Fossum had two doubles, Roldy Brito had a couple hits including a double. The thing you really want to see, however, is Ethan Holliday at the plate with the bases loaded in the second inning.

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Rockies Already Seeing Immediate Returns From Edouard Julien Trade | SI.com

Seth Dowdle takes a quick look at Edouard Julien’s career leading up to his trade to Colorado this offseason and how that has led into his hot start with the Rockies. Dowdle gives credit to the Paul DePodesta-led front office for identifying Julien as exactly the type of bat this team needed.

Strike 2: Former No. 1 overall draft pick Moniak might become an All-Star for the Rockies | Mile High Sports

Mark Knudson, on the other hand, gives credit where it’s due to the Bill Schmidt-led front office for having taken a chance on Mickey Moniak after a poor start to his career. Knudson makes the case that Moniak could end up being the Rockies representative at the All-Star game this year, which is only really in question because of how many other players are also off to hot starts.

Feltner begins throwing program, hoping to avoid Minor League rehab | MLB.com

Thomas Harding talked with Ryan Feltner about being placed on the Injured List and his next steps. Feltner does not make his injury sound overly serious and appears to be attempting to follow in the footsteps of José Quintana and Kyle Freeland with a minimum stay on the IL.

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Triple-A: Nashville Sounds (Brewers) 7, Norfolk Tides 4

It’s almost impressive that the Tides lineup managed to go 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, largely squandering their nine hits and five walks. Jud Fabian drove in two of the runs with his sixth home run of the year. He also walked once and scored twice. Creed Willems and Jhonkensy Noel had one RBI apiece. Jonathan Rodríguez and Christian Encarnacion-Strand each had two hits. Encarancion-Strand added a walk and now has a .905 OPS on the year.

There was some good and some bad on the mound. Nestor German started and deliver four mixed innings. He only allowed one run on three hits and two strikeouts, but also issued six walks. Dietrich Enns coughed up a run over two innings while striking out three. Alex Pham also allowed one run in his two frames. But it was Josh Walker that really struggled, recording just two outs and allowing four runs, which included a walk-off three-run shot.

Double-A: Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 7, Chesapeake Baysox 3

Chesapeake had just four hits. One of them was a home run by Aron Estrada, his third of the year. Adam Retzbach and Ethan Anderson contributed one double and one run apiece. Thomas Sosa had the team’s only other RBI.

Five different Baysox took the mound in this one. Luis De León started and went 3.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits, three walks, four strikeouts, and two home runs. His ERA is up to 6.52 on the year. Micah Ashman had the most impressive outing of the day, striking out three over 1.2 shutout innings. Yaqui Rivera followed with a perfect frame, setting down all three batters he faced on strikes. Eric Torres gave up two runs (one earned) over 1.2 innings before Carlos Tavera recorded the final out of the eighth inning.

High-A: Frederick Keys 5, Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 0

All but one Frederick hitter reached based at least once in the winning effort. Ike Irish and Wehiwa Aloy both hit their four home runs of the season. Irish’s was a two-run shot while Aloy’s was just a solo. Colin Tuft had two hits, a walk, two stolen bases, and a run scored. Victor Figueroa doubled and drove in a run. Braylin Tavera went 1-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases. Leandro Arias walked twice and stole a bag.

The Keys pitchers had a great day. JT Quinn delivered five shutout innings, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out five. Michael Caldon worked 2.2 shutout innings in relief. Joe Glassey wrapped up the game by recording the final four outs, which included three strikeouts.

Low-A: Hill City Howlers (Guardians) 4, Delmarva Shorebirds 0

The Shorebirds’ tough season continued here. Their lineup collected just two hits, both of which were singles. Joshua Liranzo and Andrés Nolaya had one each. DJ Layton, the team’s lead-off hitter, did walk twice, but he was also picked off and caught stealing after one of them. The team went hitless in the five at-bats they had with a runner in scoring position.

Brayan Orrantia allowed four runs in his 4.2 innings of work, but only two of the runs were earned due to the three errors that the Delmarva defense made behind him. Orrantia made one of the errors himself. Adrian Heredia allowed one of the runners he inherited to score but then worked 1.1 shutout innings of his own. Riley Cooper struck out four over two perfect frames. Kenny Leiner came on in the ninth to pitch and allowed the two batters he faced to reach base before rain ended the game right there.

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

Norfolk: at Nashville, Game 1, 6:35 pm. Starter: Levi Wells (1-2, 4.84 ERA)

Norfolk: at Nashville, Game 2, TBD. Starter: Cameron Weston (0-0, 3.38 ERA)

Chesapeake: at Erie, 6:05 pm. Starter: Sebastian Gongora (0-0, 3.18 ERA)

Frederick: vs Brooklyn, 6:40 pm. Starter: Boston Bateman (0-2, 9.82 ERA)

Delmarva: vs Hill City, 7:05 pm. Starter: Esteban Mejia (0-2, 7.15 ERA)

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The Detroit Tigers hope to avoid the series broom when they meet the Atlanta Braves this afternoon at Truist Park.

While their offense has been relatively quiet during this series, my Tigers vs. Braves predictions expect the visitors' bats to boom today. 

Read on for my MLB picks for Wednesday, April 30. 

Who will win Tigers vs Braves today: Tigers moneyline (+115)

The market is overvaluing Atlanta Braves starter Bryce Elder’s 1.95 ERA while ignoring a 3.77 xFIP that signals massive regression. 

Elder’s 16th-percentile velocity (91.8 mph) and 28th-percentile whiff rate are a death sentence against a Detroit Tigers "heart of the order" that is currently nuclear. 

Over the last week, Spencer Torkelson (323 wRC+) and Riley Greene (219 wRC+) have punished mistakes, and their elite plate discipline (10% BB rate) will force Elder into the zone. 

Getting plus-money on an overpriced pitcher primed for regression is the ultimate value play.

Tigers vs Braves Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (+100)

While the bullpens remain relatively fresh after Wednesday’s efficient relief outings, this getaway-day total is still too low. 

Elder’s lucky .238 BABIP faces a Detroit offense featuring three hitters with wRC+ marks north of 190 this week. 

On the other side, Framber Valdez faces an Atlanta lineup that has historically punished him, highlighted by Ozzie Albies' career 1.300 OPS in the matchup. 

With 65% humidity and the wind blowing out at Truist Park and two starters who rely heavily on contact management, expect the "expected" power metrics to finally manifest in a high-scoring finale.

Tigers vs Braves odds

• Moneyline: Tigers +108 | Braves -113
• Run line: Tigers -1.5 (+144) | Braves +1.5 (-194)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-100) | Under 8.5 (-117)

Tigers vs Braves trend

The Detroit Tigers have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline in 10 of their last 18 games (+4.40 Units / 17% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Braves.

How to watch Tigers vs Braves and game info

Tigers vs Braves latest injuries

Tigers vs Braves weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Red Sox have been no stranger to slow starts in recent years, but 2026 takes the cake. As April comes to an end, the team has an abysmal 12-19 record, the manager’s been fired, hit pieces are starting to trickle out about the infighting, Garrett Crochet just landed on the IL, and the offense couldn’t hit water if they fell out of boat. The notion of “it’s early” has gone from a comforting restoration of confidence to a threat they’re going to ruin your entire summer.

So with the Red Sox thankfully out of games to play in April with today’s off day, the question becomes: is this the worst Red Sox April of all time? By pure win percentage, that honor goes to the 1932 team, which started 3-11 (baseball season started a bit later back then) on their way to 111 losses. But that team was supposed to be terrible. It was their 14th straight losing season after winning the World Series in 1918. The 2026 team was supposed to be good.

When I think of recent underachieving Red Sox squads, my mind immediately goes to 2011 and 2019. That 2011 team started off 0-6, but by the end of April they were starting to balance things out a bit and were up to 11-15. The 2019 team meanwhile, which doesn’t get nearly enough hate, was also four games under .500 at the end of April at 13-17. In other words, the 2026 Sox are almost twice as many games under .500 as those other two were. The 2012 Bobby Valentine Sox? They were 11-11 on April 30th. So yeah, this is miserable!

Talk about this and whatever else you’d like, and as always, be good to one another (even if the Red Sox aren’t good to you)!

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (14-13)

SYRACUSE, LEHIGH VALLEY

Game postponed due to rain; will be made up on April 30 as part of a single-admission doubleheader.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (8—15)

Game 1: NEW HAMPSHIRE 8, BINGHAMTON 2 (BOX)

You’ll notice a theme in last night’s games: poor offense and poorer pitching. Will Watson got lit up for seven runs on four hits and four walks over three innings pitched, and only Nick Lorusso collected more than one hit in the first game.

• DH Eli Serrano III: 0-3, R, BB
• 3B Jacob Reimer: 0-2, R, 2 BB
• RF Jose Ramos: 1-4, 2 K
• C Kevin Parada: 0-2, BB, K
• 1B Nick Lorusso: 2-3, 2B, RBI
• LF TT Bowens: 0-2, RBI, K
• CF Matt Rudick: 0-2, BB
• SS Wyatt Young: 1-3, SB, E
• 2B Diego Mosquera: 1-2, BB, K
• P Will Watson: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
• P Felipe De La Cruz: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• P Jefry Yan: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Game 2: NEW HAMPSHIRE 5, BINGHAMTON 3 (BOX)

The second game was less painful offensively, with Jacob Reimer, Eli Serrano III, and Jose Ramos all having decent days at the plate. But Brian Metover (a top tier last name for a NY prospect) gave up three runs in just a third of an inning and the Rumble Ponies couldn’t recover.

• CF Eli Serrano III: 1-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K
• DH Jacob Reimer: 2-4, R, 2B, K
• C Chris Suero: 0-4, 3 K
• LF Jose Ramos: 1-1, 2 RBI, 3 BB
• 1B JT Schwartz: 1-4, K, SB
• 3B Nick Lorusso: 0-3, BB, K
• 2B Matt Rudick: 0-1, 2 BB
• RF Wyatt Young: 1-3, R, K
• SS Diego Mosquera: 0-3, 2 K
• P Joander Suarez: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
• P Brian Metoyer: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
• P Saul Garcia: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (10-13)

FREDRICK 5, BROOKLYN 0 (BOX)

Hey, Mitch Voit got two hits and two stolen bases and the bullpen didn’t allow a run in four and a third innings pitched! That’s about as much optimism as can be mustered in this shutout loss to the Keys, as Joel Díaz was rocked for five runs.

• SS Antonio Jimenez: 1-4, 2B
• 2B Mitch Voit: 2-4, 2 SB
• LF Corey Collins: 1-2, BB
• PH-LF Kevin Villavicencio: 0-1
• C Ronald Hernandez: 0-1, 3 BB, K
• DH Daiverson Gutierrez: 0-4, K
• 3B Colin Houck: 1-4, 2B, K, E
• 1B Trace Willhoite: 0-4, 3 K
• CF Sam Biller: 0-4, 4 K
• RF Yohairo Cuevas: 0-2, BB
• P Joel Díaz: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
• P Hoss Brewer: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• P Joe Charles: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• P Hunter Hodges: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (10-12)

Game 1: TAMPA 7, ST. LUCIE 6 (BOX)

The most offense in the entire system was St. Lucie, who lost the closest game of the day by just a skinny run. Elwis Mijares took the walk-off loss in minor league doubleheader extras (aka the eighth inning). JT Benson hit a three-run homer, too.

• SS Elian Peña: 2-4, R, 2B, 2 K
• DH Edward Lantigua: 0-4, RBI, K
• 1B Randy Guzman: 1-4, 2 R
• C Julio Zayas: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, K, E
• RF AJ Salgado: 2-4, 2 SB
• LF JT Benson: 1-3, R, HR, 3 RBI
• CF Simon Juan: 0-4, 2 K
• 2B Sam Robertson: 0-3, K
• 3B Branny De Oleo: 1-2, R, 2B, E
• P Frank Camarillo: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
• P Christian Rodriguez: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• P Elwis Mijares: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Game 2: TAMPA 7, ST. LUCIE 4 (BOX)

Through the raindrops, the Mets lost yet another game, this time with Conner Ware being the culprit, allowing four runs in four innings pitched.

• DH Elian Peña: 1-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB
• CF Edward Lantigua: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K
• LF Randy Guzman: 0-4
• 1B AJ Salgado: 1-3, K
• RF JT Benson: 0-2, BB, K, SB
• 2B Jamari Baylor: 1-3, R, K
• 3B Sam Robertson: 0-3, 2 K
• C Francisco Toledo: 1-3, R, HR, RBI, K
• SS Branny De Oleo: 0-2, R, BB
• P Conner Ware: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• P Miguel Mejias: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• P Zack Mack: 1.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (0-0)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Mitch Voit

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Will Watson

1922
White Sox pitcher Charlie Robertson fired a perfect game, beating the Tigers, 2-0, in Detroit. Robertson’s perfect game only took one hour and 55 minutes to complete. The 26-year-old rookie struck out six, in just the fourth start of his career. In the second inning, Earl Sheely drove in both Sox runs with a single.

As proof of Robertson’s mastery on this day, only eight of 14 balls in the air were popups in some form, an indication that Detroit wasn’t seeing the hurler well at all. The Tigers, for their part, accused Robertson of doctoring the ball with grease or oil; unsurprisingly, player-manager Ty Cobb was the most vocal in protest.

Robertson became the third pitcher of the 20th Century to throw a perfect game. It was the first perfect game in 14 seasons — and there wouldn’t be another regular season perfecto for more than 42 years (Jim Bunning, 1964). (Don Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series.)

Robertson never had a winning record in eight seasons in Chicago, compiling a White Sox career of 49-80 and 4.44 ERA. However, he made quite a splash with the club, pitching 527 innings in his first two full seasons with the White Sox, compiling 7.6 WAR.

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1929
In the top of the seventh of an 8-4 win at Comiskey Park, the White Sox pulled off a triple play against Cleveland. With runners on second and third, Carl Lind grounded out to shortstop, with White Sox first baseman Bud Clancy turning throwing home nab both runners at home plate.

The victory would draw the South Siders to 6-6 on the season, but the 1929 White Sox would finish at 59-93, the worst club in franchise history to that point.

Interestingly another triple play occurred on this same day, just seven years later, in 1936, under completely different circumstances. Chicago was getting blown out, 16-4, at Fenway Park, when Oscar Melillo lined out to Luke Appling, catching runners at first and second too far off of the bags. The loss dropped the White Sox to 4-8, but the season itself was much sunnier than 1929, as the White Sox finished 81-70-2 — the best record put up by the club since 1920.

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1934
Buoyed with four runs in the first and fifth innings and NINE in the fourth, the White Sox walloped Cleveland, 20-10.

Every player in the Chicago lineup had at least two hits except for catcher Marv Shea and third baseman Jimmy Dykes (although Dykes’ mid-game replacement in the blowout, Joe Chamberlain, went 2-for-3!) as the South Siders assaulted Cleveland for 18 hits and 10 for extra bases. The middle of the White Sox order (Zeke Bonura, Al Simmons and Luke Appling) combined to go 7-for-15 with three doubles, two homers, nine runs scored and 10 RBIs.

None of the five Cleveland pitchers gave up fewer than two earned runs in the loss. For the White Sox, Sad Sam Jones earned the win by scattering six hits and three earned over six innings (and added two hits himself); Joe Heving mopped up for the final three innings, earning his second save of the year despite giving up seven earned runs!

The 20 runs remain tied for the fifth-most in White Sox history. Naturally, while Cleveland put another 12 up in the next day’s game on May 1, the White Sox mustered just one.

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1951
Minnie Miñoso was acquired by the White Sox as part of a three-team deal involving Kansas City and Cleveland. The seven-player deal resulted in Miñoso becoming the team’s first Black ballplayer (Sam Hairston and Bob Boyd were Black players who were both signed before Miñoso, but Miñoso was the first Black player to appear in a game for the White Sox). 

Miñoso used his blinding speed and power to become the American League Rookie of the Year for 1951 (from The Sporting News, but not the baseball writers) by hitting .324 with 10 home runs, 76 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. He’d be named to the All-Star team six times in his career representing the Sox. His No. 9 was retired by the club in 1983.

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1962
A day after his 28th birthday, White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio was shown sliding into a base on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The headline read, “The Players With Magic. Luis Aparicio of the White Sox.” 

The future Hall-of-Famer would lead the American League in steals for nine consecutive years while playing remarkable defense.

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1968
Bill Melton was called up to the majors for the first time, arriving from the Triple-A Hawaii Islanders on May 3. The young slugger’s first stint in the majors was a bust, as he slashed .204/.259/.265 with 19 strikeouts in 17 games/49 at-bats.

Melton was shipped back to the minors on May 22 and split time in Hawaii and Syracuse (on loan to the New York Yankees!). The future home-run champ returned to the big leagues for good with his second 17-game stint during roster expansion in September, when he crushed the ball at a .317/.373/.500 clip, including the first two of his 160 career dingers.

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2022
Tim Anderson led off an eventual 4-0 win over the Angels with a home run. With the clout, the last eight leadoff home runs for the White Sox were by Anderson, dating back to Aug. 18, 2000. That became the longest such streak in team history.