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This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be credentialed for the Nats series against the Dodgers. That gave me a level of access I have not had before. Being in the press box, down on the field for batting practice and in the locker room gives me a new perspective to share with Nats fans.

It was a very cool experience, and was a dream come true. However, I was there to do a job. When you get there, the first real activity is to go into the locker room. Honestly, you spend a lot of the 50 minutes you get just lingering and observing. 

I chatted with some players there, which was awesome. When I went up to talk to Gus Varland, he was almost amused, asking how much he had to pay me for an interview. The conversation I had with him made up the meat of the story we put up a couple days ago. 

After that, there is a pre-game press conference with Blake Butera. One of the questions I asked him during those was why he wanted James Wood in the leadoff spot. Butera responded to that by saying, “James is one of the best hitters on our team and one of the best hitters in the league. When you talk about your best hitters, over the course of the season, you want to get them up to bat as much as possible”. Over the past couple games, Butera’s faith in Wood at the top of the lineup has been rewarded.

I enjoy Butera press conferences. He gives thoughtful answers and really tries to answer the questions. After that loss in the home opener, Butera was clearly pretty disappointed. The first thing he did was thank the fans and almost apologize to them as well. That was in the press conference after the game.

One of the coolest parts of the day is going down on the field for batting practice. You are right there and can even sit in the dugout. Being in the dugout was a bit of a pinch me moment. On the first day, Paul Toboni was available for questions. He held court for a bit over 15 minutes, and answered a variety of questions. There is even a photo from that scrum where you can see me.

Paul Toboni before his 1st Opening Day on the job at #Nationals Park pic.twitter.com/5mvT7ZIBXJ

— Nats Chat Podcast (@Nats_Chat) April 3, 2026

I asked Toboni a couple questions. The first one was about Joey Wiemer, and how he would characterize him as a player and person. Toboni called Wiemer a “high energy guy” and a “great teammate”.  

The other question I asked was about Harry Ford. Despite the Nats having a need behind the plate, Ford, who the Nats traded for this offseason, did not do enough to win a job out of camp. Toboni gave an honest answer, which I appreciated.

He stressed that Ford needed to work on his defense. The Nats new President of Baseball Operations said he wanted Ford to show he can be an average or above average receiver over a decent sample of games. Defense was a question mark for Ford in Seattle, and clearly the Nats new regime still has some questions about it as well.

Toboni also emphasized Ford’s youth as a factor in the decision. Despite the fact he has been on top 100 lists for years at this point, Ford is still just 23 years old. I got the sense that Toboni believes in Ford, but did not quite think he was there yet.

Another exciting thing about this experience is you get to see some of the tools the Nats are using. Before one of the games, the Nats had a pitching machine out at shortstop and it was feeding balls on a hop to the first baseman. It was enlightening to see them actually putting the work in.

The Nats have a machine set up at shortstop that delivers throws on a hop to Nationals first baseman so they can work on their scoops pic.twitter.com/bEouGeIOhS

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) April 4, 2026

This season, I will be going to a good chunk of the home games to cover them. I feel like it is important to have this access to help give you guys the best information I can. Seeing what happens on the inside will help me give you guys a better idea of what is going on.

It is also a lot of fun to be in there and experience what it is like to be inside a locker room. However, as I mentioned, I am there to do a job. This will give me new information and perspective, but I will not allow myself to be soft either. Getting this intel is all about giving you guys a better idea about what is going on with the Washington Nationals.

What’s particularly frustrating about the Red Sox horrific start is that you can’t just point to one aspect of the game that the team is struggling with and hope for some positive regression in the near future. The sad fact of the matter is that the Red Sox are finding all sorts of different ways to lose baseball games. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)

Last night, those different ways included a Manny Ramirez-esque defensive play by Roman Anthony out in left field. Anthony’s arm isn’t injured, but clearly something isn’t right. Alex Cora says the issue is mechanics, while Anthony says “It’s just a mix of everything. But at the end of the day, it’s a simple play. It’s got to be at least competitive. And it wasn’t, again. So it’s terrible.” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

At least the offense has woken up a little bit lately. Caleb Durbin had his best day at the plate as a Red Soxer last night (that’s right, I’m going with Red Soxer), notching two hits and scoring his first run with Boston. And his old manager in the opposite dugout hasn’t given up on him: “You can get down on him if you want.The fans can boo him. You can do whatever you want to do. But Caleb Durbin is a winner in every sense of the word.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

I thought we left those empty “winning ballplayer” platitudes behind back when David Eckstein retired. I guess I was wrong about that, but whether or not you want to insist that Caleb Durbin has some innately magical winning qualities, you can’t deny that he he hasn’t been helping the Red Sox win in 2026. And while we all know how April baseball works, it’s getting harder and harder to say “it’s early” given the historical record: “ [T]he Red Sox are the 187th team to lose at least eight of their first 10 games [since 1903]. Of the first 186, just 12 (6.5 percent) reached the postseason.” (Alex Speier Boston Globe)

With the playoffs threatening to slip out of sight before we even reach Patriots Day, it’s no wonder that the vibes inside the ballpark are ugly. Alex Cora, though, takes no issue with the boos that have rained down on his team this season: “Right now, we deserve whatever they’re thinking. We’re not playing good baseball, and we know it.” (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

And it’s not just boos that are ringing around Fenway. The last two losses have featured audible chants of “sell the team.” And regardless of what you think about that stance, you have to admit that this is hilarious:

tell me the captions changing "sell the team" to "hello team" isn't the funniest thing in the world pic.twitter.com/k99kzQ2RCo

— Dan Secatore (@DanSecatore) April 7, 2026

Maybe a good old fashioned baseball brawl will wake them up? Willson Contreras certainly seems ready for one: “It’s not just the hit by pitch. That’s the 24th time they’ve hit me in my career — 24th. That’s the sixth time [Woodruff] has hit me. And they always say, ‘I’m not trying to hit you.’ That gets old. So next time they hit me again, I’m going to take one of them out. That’s a message.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

The Detroit Tigers opened up their four-game road series at the Minnesota Twins on Monday night with a 7-3 loss. Casey Mize struggled in the frigid temperatures, while the bats also went cold.

Tuesday night offers an opportunity to knot things up with the Twinkies behind the best left-handed pitcher in the world, Tarik Skubal. So far, the southpaw has been nearly lights out, but unfortunately, that has not prevented him from being saddled with a loss already.

Hopefully, the offense can come alive behind the two-time consecutive Cy Young Award winner. But this is expected to be another cold one, with the high today reaching only 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Twinkies will be sending right-hander Taj Bradley, who has looked just as good as Skubes statistically so far in an extremely limited sample size. Here is how those two match up on Tuesday night.

Detroit Tigers (4-6) vs. Minnesota Twins (4-6)

Time (ET): 7:40 p.m. ET
Place: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota
SB Nation Site:Twinkie Town
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 11: LHP Tarik Skubal (1-1, 0.69 ERA) vs. RHP Taj Bradley (1-0, 0.87 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Skubal	2	13.0	19.1	0.0	47.4	2.80	0.3
Bradley	2	10.1	27.9	9.3	37.0	2.03	0.4

SKUBAL

BRADLEY

Dodgers minor league outfielder James Tibbs III ran roughshod over the Pacific Coast League in his first nine games in Triple-A, and on Monday was named Pacific Coast League player of the week.

In six games against Las Vegas, Tibbs had 10 hits in 25 at-bats with five home runs, a double, four walks, nine runs scored, and five runs bated in (yes, all five home runs were solo shots), hitting .400/.483/1.040.

The highlight for Tibbs came Saturday night, when he hit three home runs, just the 14th such game for Oklahoma City in its current Bricktown Era, dating back to 1998.

JAMES TIBBS III GOES YARD FOR THE THIRD, YES THIRD TIME TONIGHT‼️

We’re not sure what he ate this morning but we're going to make sure he does it again tomorrow 😅 pic.twitter.com/zSvnkOvWoH

— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) April 5, 2026

Adding in the opening weekend for Oklahoma City, Tibbs has been on fire for nine games now, hitting .474/.535/1.184 with a 336 wRC+, seven home runs, four doubles, a triple, five walks, 13 runs batted in, and 15 runs scored for the Oklahoma City Comets.

Tibbs so far this season already has three games with three extra-base hits, and another game with two extra-base hits. If you took away all of Tibbs’ singles, his extra-base hits alone (12 in all) would rank seventh in the minors in hits.

His seven home runs in nine games match his total in 36 games with Double-A Tulsa last season after the Dodgers acquired Tibbs and outfielder Zach Ehrhard from the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline for pitcher Dustin May.

The 23-year-old Tibbs tops the entire minor leagues in runs scored (15), hits (18), extra-base hits (12), total bases (45), and is tied with veteran Patrick Wisdom — now with the Mariners in Triple-A Tacoma — with those seven home runs.

Tibbs on Monday topped Baseball America’s list of hottest prospects to start the season, with Geoff Pontes adding, “Tibbs has been revitalized with the Dodgers and is now on the cusp of the majors. How long can he keep up this burner?”

Tuesday schedule

• 3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes at West Michigan (Tigers)
• 4:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City vs. Round Rock (Rangers)
• 4:35 p.m.: Tulsa at Springfield (Cardinals)
• 6:35 p.m.: Ontario at Inland Empire (Mariners)

After balancing a three-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak during their seven-game road trip, the Mets (6-4) return home to face the Diamondbacks (5-5). New York and Arizona split the six games they played in 2025, with the road team taking two out of three in each series.

The Mets visited the Bay Area and escaped with a series win against the Giants, as they dropped the opener but bounced back with three consecutive wins before their flight home. The series opener was not pretty, as David Peterson was roughed up in a 7-2 loss. The offense was listless for a third straight game, going 5-for-30 on the evening while going hitless in three at-bats with RISP. Sean Manaea was able to spare the bullpen, piggy backing off Peterson 4 1/3 innings with 3 2/3 innings of his own. His velocity remained down, but he only allowed one run.

The offense finally showed up and propelled New York to three straight victories, 10-3 on Friday, 9-0 on Saturday, and 5-2 on Sunday. The biggest negative from the weekend was the team losing Juan Soto to a calf strain, which landed him on the injured list—he is expected to miss two to three weeks. His teammates picked up the slack in his absence, as the lineup had 10+ hits in all three games. As a whole, the team went 40-for-117 (.342) while going 17-f0r-40 (.425) with RISP. The highlights from the weekend include Francisco Alvarez’s multi-homer game and Marcus Semien’s first home run as a Met (both on Friday), Tyrone Taylor’s three-run shot on Saturday, and the team’s four-run eighth inning on Sunday to storm back for the victory.

A lot of the team’s success this year will depend on the development of the youngsters, and the Mets got split results on that front during the road trip. First, the good: the Mets saw the return of 2024 Mark Vientos, which is a really welcome development . Entering this season off a rough spring and a tenuous grasp on a roster spot, he has looked terrific at the plate and has even played an acceptable first base. During the team’s road trip, he slashed .450/.500/.700 with one homer, five runs, four runs batted in, and a team-leading 243 wRC+ and 0.4 fWAR. Francisco Alvarez also had a solid road trip, hitting two homers and slashing .278/.316/.667 with a 176 wRC+ and a 0.3 fWAR.

Now the bad: Brett Baty, after a strong opening weekend, posted a 41 wRC+ while hitting .200/.200/.300 in 20 plate appearances. His versatility has still proven to be a huge boost for the team, especially with Soto out of the lineup, but the team will need more production from him going forward to fill the void. Then there’s Carson Benge, who finished the trip with a -8 wRC+ and a -0.2 fWAR as he hit .100/.182/.100 during the road trip. He has really struggled. He had just two hits in his 20 at-bats and really looked overmatched at the plate, and has for much of his time in the majors. With Soto out, however, it’s unlikely that he goes anywhere.

The Diamondbacks have had a weird season so far. They were swept by the Dodgers, turned around and swept the Tigers, then lost their first two to the Braves before winning the next two, making them the quintessential .500 team. Even funnier yet, they were outscored 19-2 in the first two games but then prevailed in two one-run affairs to secure the split.

The Diamondbacks are paced by Corbin Carroll, who has gotten off to a torrid start in 2026. The 2023 NL Rookie of the Year is hitting .313/.410/.656 on the young season, with two homers, nine runs batted in, and seven runs scored. The two-time All-Star also leads Arizona with a 190 wRC+ and a 0.6 fWAR. Ildemaro Vargas, in his third stint with Arizona, has gotten off to a red hot start, hitting .545/.583/1.091 with a 360 wRC+ and a 0.4 fWAR in his four games.

Tuesday, April 7: Freddy Peralta vs. Zac Gallen, 4:10 PM EDT on SNY

Peralta (2026): 10.1 IP, 14 K, 2 BB, 2 HR, 4.35 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 116 ERA-

Peralta fared better in his second Mets’ start than he did in his first one. On the road against the Cardinals, the right-hander limited St. Louis to one earned run over 5 1/3 innings as he settled for a no decision—he left with a lead, but Huascar Brazobán coughed it up by allowing an inherited runner to score. He allowed three hits, walked two, and struck out seven while throwing 92 pitches, 54 of which were strikes.

Gallen (2026): 10.0 IP, 4 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 3.60 ERA, 4.28 FIP, 92 ERA-

Gallen followed up a subpar first outing of 2026 (four innings, four earned runs, five hits against the Dodgers) with a tremendous second start (six shutout innings, four hits against the Tigers. He did not walk a batter, but he only struck out two batters, the same number he punched out in his first start as well. Gallen will look to build upon that start against the Mets, a team against which he’s posted a 3.07 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 44 innings against nine career starts.

Wednesday, April 8: David Peterson vs. TBD, 4:10 PM EDT on SNY

Peterson (2026): 9.2 IP, 8 K, 4 BB, 0 HR, 4.66 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 124 ERA-

After 5 1/3 shutout innings in his season debut, Peterson took a huge step back in his second outing against the Giants. He served up six runs (five earned) on nine hits while lasting just 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five, walked three, and put the team behind early by allowing three in the first innings. Peterson is still an enigma after faltering in the second half of last season following an All-Star first half, and with free agency approaching at year’s end, he’ll need more starts like his debut to show his value both to the Mets and teams around the league.

TBD

The Diamondbacks have not announced a starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game.

Thursday, April 9: Nolan McLean vs. Eduardo Rodriguez, 7:10 PM EDT on SNY

McLean (2026): 10.1 IP, 12 K, 4 BB, 1 HR, 2.61 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 70 ERA-

McLean was terrific in his last outing, storming out of the gate with five perfect innings before tiring out in the sixth and getting chased from the game. He allowed just one hit over 5 1/3 innings and was charged with two runs (one earned). After striking out eight in his debut, he only recorded four strikeouts in this one, and he walked two, matching his number from his first outing of the year.

Rodriguez (2026): 12.0 IP, 8 K, 3 BB, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA, 2.60 FIP, 0 ERA-

Rodriguez has stormed out of the gate this year, not allowing an earned run in either one of his outings. In his debut against the Dodgers, he held L.A. to one unearned run on four hits over five innings. He followed that up with a tremendous effort, shutting out the Braves over seven innings of four-hit ball, though his offense did him no favors as they failed to score a run. He has struggled against the Mets in his career, pitching to a 6.21 ERA in 21 2/3 innings against New York.

Diamondbacks News

First, a PSA that the start times for tonight’s and Wednesday’s games have been moved up to 1pm Arizona time due to expected cold weather.

10 Diamondbacks takeaways from the opening 10 games of the season by Alex Weiner [Arizona Sports]

“Going 5-2 with an offense that’s kind of struggling a little bit. … We got pitching heavy in those wins and that carried us. So, we handed off to one another. When it starts to fire on all cylinders, that’s when we’re gonna really take off,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

Ten games in, and the Diamondbacks are in second place in the National League West with a tough road trip ahead at the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles. Here are 10 early takeaways from 10 games played.

Diamondbacks Veteran Pitcher Elects Free Agency by Alex D’Agostino [SI]

Former Arizona Diamondbacks right-hand reliever Joe Ross has elected free agency, according to the transaction logs on his MLB player page. 

Ross had previously been designated for assignment, but he ultimately cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Reno. He will now test his market.

Taking stock of the D-backs through 10 games by Jesse Borek [DBacks.com]

That was some first week and a half of D-backs baseball, wasn’t it? Manager Torey Lovullo’s club has played five one-run games already, tied for the most in the Majors. Arizona also has had a pair of games decided by two runs, giving its 5-5 record a mixed bag type of feel.

D-backs fans are keenly aware of how imperative every game on the schedule can be when it comes to the chance to participate in October, and that it often takes players beyond the current 26-man group. As the team flies East to embark on a nine-game road trip in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore that opens Tuesday, it’s time to take stock of where things stand after five wins and five losses.

Opposing Hitters Are Watching Michael Soroka, And So Can You! by Michael Baumann [FanGraphs] {Ed. Note: Great article on Soroka worth reading the whole thing, but I want to provide the conclusion of the article here as it provides what may be a factor in the race for the final rotation slot. When looking at batted ball metrics, Soroka has been VERY lucky and Pfaadt has been equally unlucky. Do you think this will impact the race for fifth starter spot?}

Of the 24 batted balls Soroka has allowed through two starts, 11 have come off the bat at 95 mph or higher, and 12 (mostly, but not entirely the same ones) have had an xBA of .400 or higher. But Soroka is either scattering those dangerous batted balls, or his extremely fast outfield is turning them into outs. He has allowed six batted balls with a four-digit xSLG; three of those landed in the glove of either Alek Thomas or Corbin Carroll. There is no substitute for an army of little fast guys.

So we arrive at the disappointing, and yet highly predictable, conclusion to any analysis of a surprising pitcher two starts into the season: We’ll see. Soroka has looked good (and, more rarely and importantly, healthy) so far this year, though the quality of contact allowed and continued lack of swing-and-miss stuff mean we’re probably in for a regression. It’s April; what else did you expect?

Around the League

Hit 24 times by Brewers pitches, Willson Contreras is fed up by Adam McCalvy [MLB]

“We’ve been through this – it’s, what, nine years for me? – it seems like every year,” said Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff. “He’s trying to play a game and he’s trying to get his side fired up. Once I knew what was going on, I wasn’t going to let it affect me on the mound. I knew I had a job to do.”

If the Brewers weren’t backing down, neither was Contreras.

He’s tired of getting buzzed by Brewers pitchers.

“They always say, ‘I’m not trying to hit you.’ That gets old,” Contreras said. “So next time they hit me again, I’m going to take one of them out. That’s the message.”

MLB 2026 watchability index: Ranking most fun teams to watch by David Schoenfield [ESPN]

16. Arizona Diamondbacks (21.5 points)

Star power: 10 | Young talent: 2 | Baseball stuff: 7

Bonus (2.5): +1 for Geraldo Perdomo supplanting Ketel Marte as the most underrated player in baseball, +1 for Corbin Carroll legging out a triple, +0.5 for the “Serpientes” City Connect jerseys

The big three of Carroll, Marte and Perdomo make the Diamondbacks an entertaining watch. They should be a better defensive team this year with Nolan Arenado and Carlos Santana, but the two vets have struggled mightily out of the gate at the plate (one extra-base hit and one RBI through the first 10 games), and that’s not so fun. Zac Gallen has always been one of my favorite pitchers to watch, but his best days might be behind him, as well. Jordan Lawlar is Arizona’s one key young player, but he just fractured his right wrist.

Small Improvements With Big Playoff Implications by Ben Clemens [FanGraphs]. {Ed. Note: Spoiler alert -Diamondbacks stand to add the second-most to their playoff odds in the entire leagueby upgrading their weakest position (1B, of course) to league average.}

Last week, Dan Szymborski looked at how much a team’s fortunes can change in the first month of the season. That old truism – you can’t win the World Series in April, but you can lose it – turns out to, in fact, be true. Dan’s research found that even teams we think are good – those projected to win 90 or more games – had meaningfully worse results after a bad April, even if their actual talent remained the same. 

In other words, those early losses really do count. But I like to look at things from a glass-half-full perspective, so my takeaway was that there’s still plenty of time to fix a bad start, because it’s still early in the season. But how to fix it? That’s a trickier question. Luckily, “that’s a tricky question” is just FanGraphs for “that’s a fun thing to write an article about,” so I’ve got answers for you.

Mets Place Juan Soto on Injured List by Darragh McDonald [MLB Trade Rumors]

The Mets announced that outfielder Juan Soto has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right calf strain. The move is retroactive to April 4th but the club also announced the typical return timeline as two to three weeks. Infielder Ronny Mauricio has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move.

The Margins That Win Or Lose Baseball Games by Michael McDermott [Mike’s Hardball Blueprint]

In my very short time covering the Arizona Diamondbacks as credentialed media, manager Torey Lovullo constantly talked about winning the margins in games. Obviously, when you think of margin, a one-run game will be the first thing that comes to mind since runs are the deciding margins for who wins and loses. 

But that’s not what Lovullo has ever implied when saying as such. It’s less about the score and finding a way to execute in big situations. A common term he uses is “push moments,” situations that will decide the flow of the game.