Worldwide Sports News

Syracuse Mets manager Dick Scott knocked on A.J. Ewing’s door on Monday night, informing him that he would not be in the team’s lineup on Tuesday.

Instead, the youngster received his highly-anticipated call-up to the big leagues.

Ewing officially joined the Mets on Tuesday afternoon at Citi Field, and he’ll jump right into the lineup batting eighth and playing center field in the series opener against the Tigers. 

“It’s awesome, man,” he said. “Just a dream come true, and I’m really excited.”

The 21-year-old was a bit surprised receiving this chance after starting the year with Double-A and appearing in just 13 Triple-A games, but he’s eager to help the club right away.

“I was just focused on being the best player I could and dominating the level I’m at,” he said. “The fact that it happened, I’m just excited to be here and ready to go.”

Ewing certainly did that in both levels of the minors, quickly cruising his way through Binghamton before taking the leap to Syracuse 18 games into the season. 

He only continued stacking strong showings from there -- hitting a combined .339 with a pair of triples, two home runs, nine doubles, 11 RBI, a .447 OBP, and .961 OPS between the two.

The dynamic outfielder also showcased his speed (17 SB) and game-changing defense. 

Now taking one last leap to the game’s highest level, he’ll look to bring a much-needed spark and energy boost for the struggling club on both sides of the ball. 

“I’m confident in my ability and I’m just going to play the same game that I’ve been playing, and just go and do what I do -- I feel comfortable and ready to compete,” Ewing said.

At long last, the Milwaukee Brewers finally have all their big bats available to them in the starting lineup. The Brewers have not had their top group of bats, Jackson Chourio, Andrew Vaughn, and Christian Yelich together all season.

Now they finally will as Christian Yelich has been activated off the IL and is recovered from his adductor strain. The Brewers optioned Tyler Black to make room on the roster.

Prior to his injury, Yelich was hitting .314 with a home run, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored, and a 132 OPS+. He was off to one of his better starts over the last few seasons and helped keep this lineup afloat after they had lost Chourio and Vaughn on the first and second games of the season.

With Brandon Lockridge currently on the IL dealing with a knee laceration and bone bruise, that could allow more opportunities for Yelich to play in left field rather than DHing upon his return.

Tyler Black had been performing well, hitting .333 with an .839 OPS and 135 OPS+. He had gotten his first semi-regular run at the big league level in quite some time and even though he wasn’t hitting the ball incredibly hard, the results were quite good and he’s put himself in line to be promoted again soon should a spot open up. But when everyone is healthy, it’ll be difficult for Black to crack the roster right now.

The Brewers are a much better lineup and team with Christian Yelich in it. A top five in the order of Chourio, Brice Turang, Yelich, William Contreras, and Andrew Vaughn is a much deeper and more dangerous group than the Crew had largely been putting out there over the first six weeks. Yet they still have been six games over .500 in the absence of that lineup and perhaps this will be the final piece to get this offense clicking like they know they can be.

The Cubs injury-laden pitching staff has forced a number of players into roles they likely weren’t anticipating at the start of the season. After all, how many of us thought the Cubs would have a 27-14 record along with seven different pitchers having saves as they head into a clash of the National League titans in Atlanta? But the player whose role may impact the team’s overall success the most might be Ben Brown, who has bounced between the starting rotation, bullpen and Iowa over the past couple of years as he tried to find the right fit.

This time might actually be different. In a February piece from The Athletic, Brown was quoted: “I developed a sinker and changeup this offseason.” Those pitches might end up being more consequential than anyone imagined at the time. After all, Brown’s problem has never been stuff, it was always sequencing, predictability and the ability to locate his pitches.

Last season Brown struggled to the tune of 5.92 ERA with a 1.44 WHIP across 106.1 innings while splitting time between the rotation and bullpen. The culprit was a two-pitch mix that smart hitters learned to sit on. As Chi City Sports noted in March, “opposing hitters teed off on his four-seamer” batting .315 with a .526 slugging percentage while producing just a 14.8 percent whiff rate. Hitters knew what was coming and they mashed it. Enter, stage right, a sinker:

That sinker made Brown a much more dangerous pitcher. He’s throwing it 42 percent of the time to right-handed hitters, and the results have been excellent. Batters are hitting and slugging just .217 off the sinker. It has also induced an 82.9 mph average exit velocity.

Brown is also throwing a changeup 5.6 percent of the time, almost exclusively to southpaws. He’s thrown 25 changeups so far this season and it’s a weapon. Brown’s changeup sits at 90.4 miles per hour and has a 40 percent whiff rate so far this season.

All of it adds up to a much more dangerous version of Ben Brown than the one who started 15 games last season. So when Matthew Boyd needed meniscus surgery, Brown was ready to rejoin the rotation. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Brown was already working multiple innings in anticipation of potentially needing to start during the season:

Brown said he didn’t think it would take long for him to be stretched out as a starter. Counsell said he has made a point of giving Brown multiple innings. He went 3„ innings in each of his first two appearances this season, and has gone at least two innings in eight of his last 10 appearances. He has thrown a team-high 25% innings out of the pen, posting a 2.10 ERA while striking out 10 and walking eight. Four of those walks came in his first three appearances.

The result was four no-hit innings against the Rangers. As Bleacher Nation noted: “Brown tossed four no-hit innings, struck out three, induced six ground ball outs, and had only one baserunner to deal with as a result of his one walk. He needed just 46 pitches to get through the four innings and threw nine sinkers and four changeups, getting 40 and 100-percent whiff rates on the two pitches, respectively.“ It’s a minuscule, but promising, sample.

Brown’s next test will be one of the league’s best offenses in Atlanta. He’s slated to toe the rubber for the Cubs opposite Chris Sale in Atlanta on Thursday.

It was looking bleak for the San Diego Padres for a while there.

Sunday’s series finale began as a pitcher’s duel between Walker Buehler and St. Louis Cardinals starter Kyle Leahy. The latter managed to keep the Friars scoreless while Buehler pitched deeper but surrendered a two-run shot to Jordan Walker.

That seemed like it would be all the Red Birds would need as the Padres failed to capitalize on any of their opportunities. With the Cardinals elite closer, Riley O’Brien, coming in to finish out the bottom of the ninth. (O’Brien would probably be considered the best closer in MLB if not for a guy named Mason Miller.)

Going into that game, the closer held the longest active streak in innings pitched without surrendering a home run (60 1/3). That all came to an end on a two-out, full-count splitter that Nick Castellanos sent into the left field bleachers to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. The Friars finished it off in extra innings with a sacrifice fly from Manny Machado.

Sunday’s win helped salvage a split after San Diego dropped the first two games to the Cards. It gives them a bit of momentum heading into their series against the Milwaukee Brewers today.

Taking the mound

Brandon Sproat (MIL) v. Matt Waldron (SD)

Sproat came over from the New York Mets in the trade that sent starter Freddy Peralta to the club. He’s been thrust into a role that he likely wasn’t ready for yet. He’s struggled to a 5.87 ERA across seven appearances.

Still, Sproat is a young pitcher with an incredibly high ceiling. His last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks was impressive, with the righty going four scoreless innings while allowing only one hit. If he can repeat that performance, Sproat will go a long way toward redeeming his 2026 season.

Waldron has had similar issues, though he is on the other end of his career. He’s been a kind of veteran minor leaguer, spending seven seasons between the majors and minors. This may be his last start for the time being as Lucas Giolito has to be called up by May 16.

The knuckleballer had a difficult time his first two outings but has markedly improved in his most recent ones. He pitched five innings and surrendered three runs to the Chicago Cubs before following it up with five more innings of one-run ball against the San Francisco Giants. If Waldron can keep that pace, he could earn a roster spot if Buehler stumbles.

In his gem against the Giants, reliever Bradley Rodriguez pitched the first inning, serving as an opener before Waldron pitched in bulk relief. That formula worked so well that the Padres are going to go with it again today. It should hopefully give Waldron the ability to work deeper into the game.

Batter up!

Unfortunately, San Diego doesn’t have any experience against the rookie Sproat. That will give the Milwaukee starter somewhat of an advantage. But that has been the case for most of the year and it hasn’t helped Sproat’s run prevention all that much, so the Padres should be able to tag a few runs off of the right-hander.

Manager Craig Stammen seems likely to use a fairly standard lineup, with Jackson Merrill remaining in the leadoff spot. Xander Bogaerts has been on a tear lately and could bat higher as well.

1. Jackson Merrill, CF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Xander Bogaerts, SS
5. Gavin Sheets, 1B
6. Ramón Laureano, LF
7. Miguel Andujar, DH
8. Freddy Fermin, C
9. Sung Mun-Song, 2B

With the off day yesterday, the starters will be out in full force. Andujar has seemed to serve as the regular DH lately, though his bat has cooled off recently.

Relief corps

With the Friars down two runs for most of the game, the club utilized most of its lower-leverage options. Ron Marinaccio covered two splendid innings before Bradgley Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth. Jeremiah Estrada came in to pitch the 10th and got two outs before Stammen turned to Adrian Morejon for the final out. That completed a scoreless outing from the ‘pen.

With the off day on Monday, San Diego will have all of their relievers available. But those who will be freshest are Jason Adam, Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and closer Mason Miller. Any of them could be turned to, though Matsui or Peralta will likely be out first if Waldron struggles early.

Anthony Volpe is back in the big leagues.

The Yankees are calling up the 25-year-old shortstop, a move the club made official on Tuesday afternoon. 

After undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, Volpe began his 2026 campaign on a rehab assignment. But when that rehab assignment came to an end, he was optioned to Triple-A instead of being called up to join the big league club. 

But with Jose Caballero injuring his right middle finger on Sunday against Milwaukee, the Yanks needed a shortstop, and Volpe was the obvious answer.

Caballero, who returned to New York after Monday's game to visit team doctors, has landed on the IL with a right middle finger fracture. 

Volpe was hitting .221 in 18 games in the minors this season (rehab and non-rehab games), hitting one home run with eight RBI and 11 runs scored. 

He hit .212 in 153 regular season games with the Yankees last season, and had his struggles in the field. A Gold Glove winner as a rookie, Volpe committed 19 errors and had a career-low .963 fielding percentage last season.

“We want him to have the best chance to be successful, and we have to acknowledge, first how well (Jose Caballero) has played,” manager Aaron Boone said when Volpe was originally sent down. “He’s been a key factor in us getting off to a really good start this year on both sides of the ball, on the basepaths. So, it’s really as simple as that. It doesn’t change how we feel about Anthony or the kind of player we think he is and will be. But in this moment of time, we felt like this was absolutely the right thing to do, and a lot of that has to do with…. We have a lot of really good players right now competing for real roles and real spots. I think that competition ultimately is going to be a great thing for us."

The Mets made the promotion of prospect A.J. Ewing official on Tuesday afternoon. In a corresponding move, Andy Ibáñez was designated for assignment.

Ewing, who was ranked No. 6 on Amazin’ Avenue’s preseason prospect list and is currently ranked No. 2 on MLB Pipeline’s list of top Mets prospects, put up an .827 OPS in 12 games after being promoted to Triple-A Syracuse on April 27. The 21-year-old was selected by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2023 Draft (with a pick received as compensation for Jacob deGrom’s departure in free agency) and has thrived at every stage of the Minor Leagues.

In his MLB debut against Jack Flaherty and the Tigers on Tuesday night, Ewing will play center field and bat eighth. He will also wear jersey No. 9, making him the first Met not named Brandon Nimmo to sport that number since Kirk Nieuwenhuis in 2015. Ewing’s presence isn’t the only shakeup in the lineup, as Carson Benge will bat leadoff for the first time since April 19 while Juan Soto bats third for the first time this season.

After being claimed off waivers on April 30, Ibáñez went 0-for-6 with a pair of sacrifice flies in just three games with the Mets. Starting at third base in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Diamondbacks, he made a pair of costly throwing errors which Carlos Mendoza didn’t mince words about after the game.

With his 4th inning strikeout of Hunter Feduccia last night, Kevin Gausman became the 91st pitcher in major league history to record 2,000 strikeouts (and finished the night in 90th place given that Andy Benes had 2,000 on the nose). Gausman is just the 10th among those 91 to have played for the Blue Jays (of 539 players who have taken the mound for the Jays).

Even in that rarified air however, Gausman holds a particular distinction: he’s the only pitcher to record his 2000th strikeout for the Blue Jays. To get a better sense of these pitchers and their impact for the Blue Jays franchise, let’s split out their strikeouts for the Jays and sort by that:

It turns out there’s a few distinct categories here. The first is future Hall of Fame pitchers who came to Toronto at the tail end of their career, with both the 2,000 strikeout milestone and their best years well in the rearview mirror such that they’re mostly footnotes for Blue Jays purposes. A 48-year old Phil Niekro made three starts for the Jays in August 1987 as a desperation stopgap before Pat Gillick was able to acquire Mike Flanagan as a real upgrade. His 2,000th strikeout nearly pre-dated the Blue Jays franchise, occurring beforehand in April 1978.

Max Scherzer has had a few moments, but has mostly vacillated between injured and ineffective as a Blue Jay. His 2,000th strikeout likewise came well beforehand, back in mid-2017. Jack Morris at least had one solid season left in him before the bottom fell out in 1993, but is best remembered for achievements elsewhere. He was less than a year removed from the 2,000K milestone in April 1991.

The next grouping is a couple of pitchers who were in their primes with the Jays, but were short term rentals and went on record their 2,000th strikeouts later. David Price was electric for the Jays in the 2015 playoff surge, and just made it across the 2,000 mark as his career tailed off. David Cone was so good for the Jays in 1992 that they got him again in 1995 (and they should have retained him as a free agent instead of Dave Stewart). But both those stints together amounted to just 25 games pitched.

At the other end, Roy Halladay stand almost singularly in Blue Jays history. But his 2,000th strikeout came with Philadelphia as he faded in 2012. Then there’s Rogers Clemens, who is a unicorn-ish mix of the first two groups: a Hall of Fame calibre pitcher who was with the Jays during his prime (or second prime, anyway) for a relatively short period such that he’s most remembered for what he did with other teams and off the diamond.

That leaves a group of three into which Gausman best fits. Like Gausman, A.J. Burnett came to the Jays as a high profile free agent, came into his own later such that the second half of his career was better (especially from a strikeout perspective), and had some very good years for the Blue Jays that represent a significant part of his career. Even had he not opted out though, his 2,000th strikeout only came in later 2013.

David Wells doesn’t quite fit that profile, and wasn’t so much a strikeout pitcher as most others mentioned here, just pitched forever. But like Gausman about 40% of his strikeouts came with the Jays, and when all is said and done Toronto will represent the most significant part of a career spanning many stops. His 2,000th strikeout came in early 2005, more than four year after departing the Jays the second time, and almost 18 years after first breaking in with them. His first strikeout came while the SkyDome was still being built and by the time of the 2,000 it was the Rogers Centre.

One final note of interest: while (very unlikely), Gausman has at least an outside shot at 3,000 strikeouts. Though he’s first the Blue Jay to record a 2,000th strikeout with the Jays, even should he stay the Jays and hit that milestone, he will not the first to hit 3,000 with them. That was Clemens, when he struck out Randy Winn to finish off the side in the 3rd inning on July 5, 1998.

The Atlanta Braves have had one of the best offenses in MLB, and they will need to lean on it tonight with Grant Holmes struggling as of late.

The Braves are third in MLB in barrel percentage, and batted ball events. When you hit the ball with quality combined with hitting it often, it generally has positive results. It should be no shock that the Braves are second only behind the Yankees in HRs, fourth in doubles, and first in slugging. This has resulted in the Braves being first in MLB in both OPS and runs scored.

The Braves are on pace for nine-hundred runs scored. This would give them them their most since 2023 and third most since 1897. 2003 was the other season where the offense stuck out with nine-hundred-seven runs.

The lineup should only get better starting with tonight now that Ha-Seong Kim is back, and a Ronald Acuña return right around the corner.

The biggest question going into the lineup tonight was how Kim returning would shake everything up. Yastrzemski has struggled to put things lightly, but has a strong history of being successful against the Cubs’ starter Colin Rea (two HRs and a 1.625 OPS). Dubón has been extremely clutch this season and needs to stay in the lineup if possible. LF makes the most sense for him to play. Without seeing the lineup card, ahead of time the best estimate would be Kim at SS, Dubón in LF, and Yastrzemski in RF.

As can be seen above, these are good problems to have. The Braves have not been this deep in years even with Murphy out again, and it makes it a lot of fun to try and guess which lineup card will be handed in. As it turns out, Weiss went with the following:

Weiss did in fact go with the most logical lineup in terms of who was starting where after all. With Murphy being on the IL now, it also makes sense that Smith would get the start at DH. Ozzie Albies turning things around this season has been huge. The simple fact that Weiss has the confidence to have him batting second against a RHP is telling, in a good way.

Kim will make his debut hitting eighth and playing SS.

Austin Riley has been heating in May with a .294/.314/.500 slash line and it may continue tonight with him having a .958 OPS against Rea in eight at-bats. Matt Olson, who has been the best hitter MLB as of late, has an OPS of 1.681 against Rea in eight at-bats of his own.

The Cubs have been an offensive force in their own right. They have scored the fourth most runs in MLB, fourth in OPS, sixth in HRs, all while leading MLB in walks. This could be a huge issue for Holmes who has struggled with walks this season.

Only Bregman and Conforto are the only players to face Holmes before. Bregman is hitless in two at-bats, and Conforto has a 1.550 OPS in five at-bats.

First pitch is at 7:15 EDT.

BALTIMORE - In a startling reversal of fortunes for a former franchise stalwart, the New York Yankees promoted shortstop Anthony Volpe from Class AAA Tuesday, May 12, just more than a week after optioning him to the minor leagues, according to multiple reports.

The move comes the same day incumbent shortstop José Caballero was examined by a hand specialist and club orthopedist Michael Ahmad after he suffered an injury to his right middle finger.

Caballero, third among position players with 1.6 WAR, sat out the Yankees’ 3-2 win Monday but did pinch run and was thrown out on an attempted steal for the last out of the game.

Volpe, 25, produced 3.3 and 3.5 WAR in his first two major league seasons, hitting 21 home runs in his 2023 rookie season. But he slumped to a .212 average and .272 OBP last season, after which he underwent shoulder surgery.Rather than call Volpe to the minor leagues, the Yankees simply left him in Triple-A as the reliable Caballero seized the job.

Now, the door is open again for Volpe.