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A simple one this morning. There are many pitchers in baseball. Is Tarik Skubal the best?

A reason to say yes: he has the highest projections for a single pitcher across Steamer and ZiPS. He also (barely) led Paul Skenes in fWAR last year, and finished second to Chris Sale in fWAR in 2024.

A reason to say no: well, I’m not going there. I think definitively saying he isn’t is too tough a sell. He is not the pitching fWAR leader right now, trailing both Cam Schlittler (and his ridiculous video game numbers through seven starts) and Max Fried of the Yankees. That said, he’s still top five in FIP- and top seven in xFIP- among anyone that’s thrown 20 innings so far (142 pitchers), and he actually has one fewer start than Schlittler and Fried, so…

Anyway, what say you? Tarik Skubal, currently the best pitcher in MLB? If not, who is.

And yeah, the Braves get to face him today.

Columbus Clippers 8, Toledo Mud Hens 6

Clippers improve to 15-13

It was a big day for the Clippers offense as five different players had multi-hit games, led by Kody Huff and Maick Collado, who both had three hits, with Collado collecting two doubles and a walk.

Kahlil Watson also went 2-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base while Dom Nunez went 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base. Milan Tolentino stayed hot, going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

Austin Peterson made his 2026 debut, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and a walk on two hits. It’s great to see him back.

Jack Leftwich had 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, but Will Dion got absolutely blasted for six runs in just 1.1 innings. Thankfully, Tanner Burns and Cody Heuer followed with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and the offense responded with four runs to retake the lead. Burns also did allow both of his inherited runners to score.

Akron RubberDucks 0, Harrisburg Senators 3

RubberDucks fall to 13-9

Akron had a rough day on offense. Ralphy Velasquez was the lone player who reached base safely twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk. Jake Fox stole a base.

The lack of offense ruined a decent start from Josh Hartle, who allowed two runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out four and walked one.

Lake County Captains 9, Beloit Sky Carp 10

Captains fall to 11-11

Lake County’s rally fell just one run short in the ninth inning as Beloit took advantage of 15 walks from Lake County pitchers to score more runs than it had hits on the day.

Offensively, Bennett Thompson continues to stay hot, going 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and a walk, raising his OPS to 1.228.

Aaron Walton went 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk while Nolan Schubart continues to heat up, going 1-for-3 with a home run, a stolen base and two walks, also scoring three runs.

Esteban Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with a stolen base while Dean Curley went 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base.

Fresh off his best start of the season, Jackson Humphries allowed a pair of runs on two hits in 3.0 innings with a whopping six walks and four strikeouts.

Cam Walty walked three more, then Connor Zsak walked four more in the next 1.2 innings combined. The walk parade finally ended with a strong showing from Kendeglys Virguez, who struck out six batters in 2.0 innings of work.

Hill City Howlers 17, Delmarva Shorebirds 1

Howlers improve to 13-9

Hill City’s offense went ballistic on Tuesday as the team reached base safely a whopping 29 times.

Robert Arias went 3-for-7 with a double, Juneiker Caceres went 2-for-6 with a hit by pitch, Riley Nelson went 1-for-2 with four walks, Anthony Martinez went 1-for-3 with three walks, Luis De La Cruz went 2-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base, Jonathan Martinez went 2-for-5 with a triple and aa walk, Ty Howard went 2-for-4 with two walks and Yelferth Castillo went 1-for-3 with a walk. Dauri Fernandez also went 1-for-6 with a double and a walk.

Aidan Major was outstanding in his start, tossing 5.0 shutout innings of three-hit ball with seven strikeouts and a walk.

Zane Petty added 3.0 scoreless frames, but the shutout was blown in the ninth by Wes Burton, who walked four batters. Keegan Zinn got the final out.

The Cubs got the bats going in San Diego for the second straight night, highlighted by Pete Crow-Armstrong’s three-run homer that broke the game open in the seventh inning. That, plus some solid pitching from Edward Cabrera, Hoby Milner and Ryan Rolison, gave the Cubs an 8-3 win over the Padres, breaking their three-game losing streak.

The Cubs got on the board first, in the top of the second. Ian Happ and Michael Busch walked. After Carson Kelly struck out, Dansby Swanson doubled both runners in [VIDEO].

Swanson then stole third, but was stranded. When the bottom of the second began, Swanson was out of the game, with Nico Hoerner moving to short and Nicky Lopez taking over at second. Here’s what the Cubs said about that a couple of innings later:

There were no updates on Swanson postgame, but this doesn’t sound too serious. I’d think Swanson might sit out of today’s game and, with Thursday’s off day, be ready to go on Friday.

Xander Bogaerts homered off Cabrera in the bottom of the second to make it 2-1.

The Padres tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth. Bogaerts walked to lead off the inning, and I want to show you two (!) pitches he got overturned in that at-bat.

First, a strike 2 call was overturned to ball 1 [VIDEO].

Then, Bogaerts was called out on strikes and he got that one overturned, too [VIDEO].

I mention these because both of those pitches were almost in the exact location of the pitch that got Bogaerts called out on strikes in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last October at Wrigley Field. You have to believe Bogaerts has not forgotten that — and that the Cubs were very lucky that ABS challenges were not available for that game.

Anyway, Bogaerts then stole second and was singled in by Ty France to make it 2-2.

The game stayed that way until the sixth, in part because of this nice sliding catch in the fifth by Seiya Suzuki [VIDEO].

Then the Cubs took that two-run lead back in the top of the sixth. Kelly singled. Lopez tried to sacrifice him to second, but Kelly was forced. PCA walked and after a pitching change, reliever David Morgan wild-pitched both runners up a base.

One out later, Nico Hoerner doubled in Kelly and Lopez [VIDEO].

In the bottom of the sixth, Cabrera got in trouble on a single, hit batter and RBI single by Luis Campusano that made it 4-3. Cabrera was removed and wasn’t happy after that RBI hit [VIDEO].

Milner entered the game and got out of the jam by striking out Bryce Johnson [VIDEO].

Overall, though, I thought Cabrera had a nice outing. He struck out seven [VIDEO].

Here’s more on Cabrera’s outing. As usual, he relied mostly on that devastating changeup [VIDEO].

The Cubs put the game away with a four-run seventh. Seiya Suzuki led off with a walk. One out later, Michael Busch was hit by a pitch, and had to be checked out by trainer Nick Frangella. Ultimately Busch stayed in the game [VIDEO].

Kelly followed with a ground ball. Busch was forced at second, but Kelly beat the relay throw, putting runners on first and third with two out. Craig Counsell sent Alex Bregman up to bat for Lopez. Bregman had not started this game to try to give him a bit more rest from the sore foot he had after being hit by a pitch in Los Angeles on Sunday. If it seems like the Cubs have been hit by pitches a lot, they’re in the middle of the pack with 16 HBP. The Angels and Cardinals lead MLB with 24.

Anyway, Bregman singled, with Suzuki scoring [VIDEO].

PCA was the next hitter and he hit this baseball a very, very long way [VIDEO].

That made the score 8-3 and, as that home run was off a left-hander, I thought you might be interested in seeing that PCA has had strong reverse splits so far this year.

PCA vs. RHP: .215/.261/.292 (14-for-65) with two doubles, one home run, four walks, 20 strikeouts
PCA vs. LHP: .277/.370/.404 (13-for-47) with a double, a triple, a home run, five walks, 17 strikeouts

You’d think that eventually he’ll hit RHP as he did last year (.271/.315/.523 with 24 home runs) and will have the year everyone expects from him.

The Cubs shut down the Padres the rest of the way. Ryan Rolison, who’s been a real find for this team, threw two shutout innings, retiring all six batters he faced, striking out two. He’s allowed just three of the 19 batters he has faced this year to reach base and hasn’t walked anyone. Perhaps it’s early for this declaration, but could Rolison be this year’s Drew Pomeranz? Rolison was once a first-round draft pick (Rockies, 2018) so… maybe?

In any case, here’s the final out of the game [VIDEO].

This win was a milestone for Counsell, the 900th of his managing career.

Here’s PCA talking about his home run and about the team offense in general [VIDEO].

PCA talked about all the walks the team is drawing in that clip. The Cubs have 136 walks in 30 games, 4.53 per game. That’s second in MLB to the Yankees, who have 137, and that pace would shatter the franchise record, which is 656, set in 2016. And the eight-run outburst gave them 164 runs for the season, 5.47 a game, a pace for 886. The 164 runs is third in MLB behind the Dodgers (165) and Braves (171).

The Cubs will go for the series win, which would give them a 3-3 road trip, Wednesday afternoon in San Diego. Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs and Matt Waldron goes for the Padres. Game time is 3:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network

Last night, and for the first time since June of 2022, the Phillies took the field without Rob Thomson in charge. After four seasons, 355 wins, two National League East titles, and one National League pennant, Topper’s tenure as the manager has come to an end.

Some will remember him mainly for those successes, for his presiding over an era that had the Phillies in the playoffs in every season and saw Citizens Bank Park’s playoff frenzy become the envy of the baseball world. Others will focus on the fact that his tenure did not feature the longed for parade down Broad Street. All, though, will remember that he represented the team with a sportsman’s dignity and good nature.

Today’s question is: how will you remember Thomson’s tenure?

Yankees 3, Rangers 2

• This not scoring many runs things is getting old.
• You had Jacob deGrom give up just one run in six innings! You let down Jacob deGrom!
• In six innings, deGrom allowed three hits. Unfortunately, two of the three hits came in the first inning, when an Aaron Judge two out single was followed up by a Cody Bellinger double that barely missed leaving the park.
• As a side note, I was looking at exit velocity and launch angle data during yesterday’s game and comparing it to similar EV/LA combos from this season around MLB, and while the ball has generally not carried well once again in 2026 at the Shed, the ball did seem to be carrying well to right field on Tuesday.
• The Bellinger double, for example, was 97.5 mph off the bat, with a 25 degree launch angle, and was measured by Statcast at 383 feet. There have been 12 other balls in the majors this year hit between 97 and 98 mph with a 25 degree launch angle, and three-fourths of them were between 337 feet and 348 feet, with the others being 371 feet, 372 feet and 381 feet. So Bellinger’s double carried farther than any other ball at that EV/LA in the bigs this year.
• Also, the entire rotation appears to have contracted Dane Dunning Disease this year. Texas has allowed 23 runs in the first inning of games, including 11 home runs. That’s 21% of all runs allowed by the Rangers this season, and 30% of all homers. They’ve also allowed 23 runs in the fifth inning, weirdly, though on just 5 homers. Otherwise, from the second through the seventh innings, the pitching staff hasn’t allowed more than 10 runs.
• The pitching staff has allowed 12 runs in the 8th and 15 in the 9th, though.
• Jalen Beeks allowed a solo homer to Austin Wells in the 7th. It was just the fourth run allowed, and the second homer, in the 7th inning by the Rangers this year. It was also to right field, and carried slightly more than average for its exit velocity (97.5 mph) and launch angle (31 degrees). Maybe the Rangers turned the air conditioning on high.
• Cole Winn allowed a homer in the ninth, to Aaron Judge, which, you know, its Aaron Judge. That’s three homers Winn has allowed this year, though, which matches his total for all of 2025. That’s less than ideal.
• The other two homers Winn has allowed were to Shea Langeliers and Jacob Wilson, both on Tax Day in Sacramento. In case you’re interested.
• You’re probably not.
• The offense once again had baserunners but didn’t get them in. Seven hits, four walks, an HBP and an E5, and Texas only pushed two runs across, with both of those not coming until the ninth.
• Texas was 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left ten runners on base.
• Texas was pretty helpless for most of the game against Yankees starter Cam Schlittler, who has been dominant this year. But they had plenty of opportunities late, and didn’t convert.
• Brandon Nimmo singled and Josh Jung walked to start the sixth inning, but didn’t advance.
• Sam Haggerty had a pinch hit single to lead off the seventh, with Danny Jansen then walking with two outs, but they were left on first and second at inning’s end.
• The eighth was perhaps the most vexing part of the evening for the offense. Josh Jung singled and Corey Seager walked, putting runners on first and second in what was then a 2-0 game. That brought up Joc Pederson, who…bunted.
• Now, you may say, Joc Pederson is terrible, he might as well bunt, but you’d be wrong. Pederson is slashing .224/.346/.328 this year, good for a 102 OPS+. Since starting the season going 0 for 14 in his first six games, Pederson has been slashing .283/.406/.415. He homered the night before.
• One can argue that, well, it almost worked out. Pederson laid down a good bunt, and it took a great play by Yankees’ pitcher Fernando Cruz to get Jung at third base:

• Skip Schumaker challenged the play, which was upheld.
• It appears Pederson was bunting for a hit there, not trying to lay down a sac bunt, given that he bunted it towards third, rather than first. But still, behind Pederson you had Jake Burger, who has been struggling. After Burger was Haggerty, who had pinch hit for Carter, and who doesn’t hit well against righthanders (and who was lifted for pinch hitter Ezequiel Duran). After Haggerty was Josh Smith, who is doing an early season Marcus Semien imitation, only without the Gold Glove defense.
• I think I’d rather have Joc Pederson swinging away in that situation.
• As a side note, the aggressively pinch hitting for Evan Carter when the opposition brings in a lefthanded pitcher before the eighth or ninth is becoming problematic, because you end up in a situation like this one, where whoever pinch hit for Carter is now facing a righthanded pitcher later in the game, and you’d rather have Carter up there.
• That’s before getting into the fact that the various pinch hitting machinations resulted in the Rangers running an outfield of Andrew McCutchen in left, Brandon Nimmo in center, and Ezequiel Duran in right in the ninth inning.
• Texas did manage to avoid the shutout in the ninth, with McCutchen reaching on a one out E5, then scoring on a Danny Jansen triple. A Brandon Nimmo HBP and a Josh Jung single brought Jansen home, putting the tying and go ahead runs on base for Corey Seager, who had the opportunity to be a hero.
• Sadly, Seager hit into a 4-6-3 GIDP, and that was ballgame.
• I want the Rangers to start scoring some runs, dammit! Lots of runs!
• Jacob deGrom hit 98.5 mph with his fastball, averaging 97.1 mph. Jalen Beeks’ fastball reached 94.9 mph. Jakob Junis touched 92.7 mph with his fastball. Cole Winn’s fastball maxed out at 96.2 mph.
• Corey Seager had a 109.3 mph double. Josh Jung had a 106.1 mph single and a 103.4 mph fly out. Sam Haggerty had a 105.5 mph single. Jake Burger had a 101.5 mph fly out. Joc Pederson had a 101.1 mph fly out.
• Okay, let’s try to avoid the sweep, and not going into the off day on a losing note.

Good morning! The Phillies — wanting to get in on some of that sweet, sweet dysfunction — copied the Red Sox by firing their own manager yesterday. Rumors immediately swirled that Alex Cora would reunite with his old boss, Dave Dombrowski. But those rumors were quickly quashed when it was revealed that interim manager Don Mattingly would be given the rest of the season (a level of job security that Craig Breslow did not give to Chad Tracy). As it turns out, though, the rumors were based solidly in fact. From Chris Cotillo:

Within 24 hours of his dramatic firing by the Red Sox on Saturday, Alex Cora received a new job offer from a familiar boss.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed Tuesday that he tried to hire Cora in the immediate aftermath of his firing Saturday night. Despite still having a manager (Rob Thomson) at the time, Dombrowski made an overture to Cora on Sunday. Cora declined, citing a desire to spend the rest of the season with family, and Dombrowski pivoted, firing Thomson and replacing him with interim manager Don Mattingly before Tuesday’s game.

Cora is free to sit on his couch for the rest of the season and keep collecting paychecks from the Sox (about $7.5 million worth of them) which sounds pretty good to me. But Rob Thomson is not going to be the last manager fired this year, and the rumors will keep coming. So what do you think, will we see Cora back in the bigs this year? Would you want to work or would you take the cash and spend the summer roadtripping to music festivals or something? Talk about that and whtever else you want and, as always, be good to one another.

Meet the Mets

The Mets beat the Nationals 8-0, with most of the offense coming in the fourth inning during a seven run offensive outburst, the likes of which have been unheard of for the Mets this season.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, New York Daily News, New York Post

Firing Carlos Mendoza in the middle of the season may not have the positive impact some would hope, if the last few instances of mid-season managerial changes are to be considered.

For what it’s worth, Mendoza said he has had no conversations with team leadership about his managerial status and it has been business as usual instead.

With the rest of the Mets struggling offensively, Soto is getting pitched to much differently by opposing teams.

Christian Scott is back with the major league team after Kodai Senga was placed on the 15-day injured list with lumbar spine inflammation.

Kodai Senga had to receive an epidural for his back inflammation, and will go 7-10 days without throwing at all.

Christian Scott will be slotting into Senga’s spot in the rotation, lining up to face the Angels on Friday night.

In continued injury news, Juan Soto has been dealing with forearm tightness and will continue to play at designated hitter for the time being, but an MRI showed no structural damage to his arm.

Luis Robert Jr. is day-to-day with lower back tightness, not appearing in last night’s win over the Nationals.

Around the National League East

The Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson, promoting Don Mattingly to interim manager.

The hope is that Mattingly can provide the same spark that Thomson did when he took over for Joe Girardi mid-season in 2022.

Alex Cora was offered the managerial spot with the Phillies, but he opted to spend time with his family instead.

The Phillies first game in the Don Mattingly-tenure was a big 7-0 victory over the Giants, with Trea Turner going 4-for-5 and Adolis Garcia driving in two runs on a double.

The new Phillies mantra under Don Mattingly seems simple enough: get back to “better baseball.”

While Ronald Acuña Jr. has had a disappointing season (by his standards) at face value this year, a closer look reveals some cause for hope.

The Braves beat the Tigers 5-2, with Martín Pérez going five innings, striking out five and walking four while only allowing two hits and no runs.

The Marlins held on to beat the Dodgers 2-1, behind a solid Janson Junk start of six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four.

Around Major League Baseball

Tatsuya Imai is struggling with adjusting to American baseball and culture, and a not insignificant part of those struggles might just be the team he decided to sign with.

One month into the season, there are already some big surprises—and some major disappointments.

Giancarlo Stanton has found himself on the injured list yet again—this time with a low-level calf strain.

Pete Alonso hit a two-run home run to propel the Orioles to a 5-3 win over the Astros, in an encouraging sign after his slow start to 2026.

The Tigers were dealt another blow to their rotation, with Casey Mize leaving his start against the Braves in the third inning with groin tightness.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

A Pod of Their own returned with a new episode.

Chris McShane wrote about the difficulty of envisioning a Mets turnaround with Francisco Lindor on the injured list for so long.

Steve Sypa had this year’s fifth grouping of Mets Minor League Players of the Week.

This Date in Mets History

30 years ago, John Franco recorded his 300th save, becoming the first left-handed pitcher to reach that tally.

Often, we hear about those who contributed to the New York Yankees’ best years in franchise history. Those names are etched not just on the walls of Yankee Stadium, but also on some in Cooperstown through the Baseball Hall of Fame and, of course, in the videos of their work in the biggest moments.

But quite a few who departed the organization prior to their winning ways would help them reach greatness in a roundabout fashion. And we’ll talk about one of those players today, who not only left before the best years of the club, but also found the best years of his career along the way with another.

Sterling Alex Hitchcock
Born: April 29, 1971 (Fayetteville, NC)
Yankees Tenure: 1992-95, 2001-03

Sterling Hitchcock was born in North Carolina and attended Armwood High School in Seffner, Florida. Selected in the ninth round of the 1989 MLB Amateur Draft by the Yankees out of Armwood, despite initially committing to the University of South Florida to play ball he signed with the club instead, earning himself a $50,000 signing bonus.

Hitchcock had a quiet confidence about him, and scouts loved the lefty’s approach, ultimately earning him multiple appearances on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list. He worked his way up the ranks of the minor leagues before jumping from Double-A Albany-Colonie straight to the majors, making his MLB debut in pinstripes at the age of 21 on September 11, 1992. He tossed six innings against 39-year-old George Brett’s Kansas City Royals, allowing six hits, one walk, and three earned runs, though he only fanned a couple batters and took the loss. That was one of three games he pitched for the Yankees that season, and the other two didn’t go nearly as well. Hitchcock only saw seven innings across the two, giving up 12 earned runs in 13 total innings pitched with six walks and six strikeouts to his name. He finished with an 0-2 record and an 8.31 ERA.

Hitchcock spent most of 1993 at Triple-A Columbus and was only solid, but he did have a much better showing when he was tapped for another look at the big-league level. In 31 innings pitched, he struck out 26 batters and walked only 14 with an ERA of 4.65 in the six starts — including shutting out an up-and-coming Cleveland lineup through seven in his season debut on August 26th.

By overall ERA, Hitchcock’s 1994 was better, but it was honestly a year he’d probably have preferred to forget. He got himself in hot water by criticizing the Yankees’ organizational development strategies in spring training, and while he did appear in 18 games for New York in the first half, they were all out of the bullpen. Hitchcock never fully found his rhythm as a lefty reliever and was eventually optioned to Triple-A with a 6.27 ERA. At Columbus, he built back up as a starter, and he did have a 2.93 ERA across five starts for New York when given another chance in late July, but the players’ strike cut that season short on August 11th with the rebuilding Yankees holding the AL’s best record.

Manager Buck Showalter entrusted Hitchcock with a rotation spot in 1995, and he acquitted himself nicely at age-24, starting 27 games with 168.1 innings of league-average ball, recording 2.2 bWAR. He shined brightest down the stretch when the Yankees couldn’t really afford to lose any games as they desperately hunted down a Wild Card berth with a 22-6 final month. Hitchcock threw a complete game in a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays on September 20th and followed it with seven innings of two-run ball in a win in Milwaukee on September 26th.

Given the ball for the regular-season finale in Toronto on October 1st, Hitchcock knew that if the Yankees won, then his team would snap its 14-year postseason drought. Rubén Sierra and Pat Kelly helped give him a 4-0 lead by the bottom of the second, and the lefty made it hold up with 5.1 innings, striking out six while allowing one run on five hits and two walks. He ran into some jams but mostly escaped them, and reliever Bob Wickman induced a double-play ball to escape his last hurdle in the sixth. The bullpen kept the Jays at bay and the Yanks — and Don Mattingly — finally had their playoff spot.

Alas, there was no room for Hitchcock in the playoff rotation, thanks to former Cy Young Award-winning starters David Cone and Jack McDowell, the surging Scott Kamieniecki, and another young southpaw by the name of Andy Pettitte, who outpitched him. Hitchcock was ineffective in relief in both of his ALDS appearances, and the Seattle Mariners won a New York heartbreaker in five games.

Following the 1995 campaign, the Yankees underwent some upheaval on and off the field and Hitchcock was deemed expendable for the right cost. Indeed, he was traded to those same Mariners as part of a package that brought over a legend of the late ’90s Yankees: Tino Martinez. He started 35 games for the M’s and racked up a 5.35 ERA before Seattle sent him to the San Diego Padres in a deal for Scott Sanders, a right-handed pitcher. The 1997 season was somewhat forgettable for the left-hander, but it was 1998 when Hitchcock really shone, not just in the regular season but in the playoffs as well.

Hitchcock pitched in 39 games (and started 27) for the pennant-winning Padres in 1998. He threw 176.1 innings and finished with 158 strikeouts and a 3.93 ERA, the lowest of his career for one season where he pitched at least 10 games with one team. But in the postseason, he received his flowers. Hitchcock not only won both of his starts in the NLCS with a 0.90 ERA, but also overall in the 1998 playoffs, he was 3–0 with a 1.23 ERA and 32 strikeouts. (As an amusung aside, whenever Hitchcock struck anyone out, the fans at Qualcomm Stadium would hang Alfred Hitchcock silhouettes instead of K’s.) He was awarded the National League Championship Series MVP Award as a result of his heroic performance against a favored, All-Star-filled Atlanta Braves team.

In an absolute David vs. Goliath matchup in the Fall Classic against Hitchcock’s old club, the Padres were swept by the Yankees. Hitchcock gave it his best effort in Game 3 in San Diego, going pitch-for-pitch with former teammate Cone and only really getting burned by eventual World Series MVP Scott Brosius (as did Trevor Hoffman).

Hitchcock pitched for the Padres up until 2001. He dealt with injuries, including Tommy John surgery in June of 2000 when he only threw 11 games for the team. Shortly after returning to the team the next season, he was dealt back to the Yankees for a couple of minor-league players. New York wanted better rotation depth and was interested in seeing what the 30-year-old had to offer. His 4-4 record belied how he actually pitched (6.49 ERA) across 10 games, and once again he ended up near the back of the Yankees’ playoff depth chart.

Unfortunately, Hitchcock had rejoined the Yankees just in time to see their championship run come to a close, Luis Gonzalez’s World Series Game 7 heroics ending dreams of a fourth consecutive title. Hitchcock, at least, could lightly console himself with the fact that he’d won one of the games during the Yankees’ furious mid-series comeback in New York. After Brosius’ ninth-inning heroics tied Game 5 against Byung-Hyun Kim, the Yankees and Diamondbacks battled into the night. Manager Joe Torre called on Hitchcock in the 12th, and he smoothly retired the side in order on 10 pitches.

Rookie Alfonso Soriano walked it off in the home half of the 12th, and Hitchcock got the win to give New York a 3-2 series lead. If only it wasn’t the Yankees’ last of 2001.

Re-signed to a two-year deal that December, the Yankees ultimately decided in a hurry that they weren’t actually that interested in Hitchcock. A lower back injury delayed the start of his 2002 campaign, and he wasn’t given a spot in the rotation upon his return — only occasionally being given spot starts. Acknowledging that it’s hard to find consistency when you’re not pitching much, Hitchcock didn’t earn time either. In 47 games from 2002-03, he had a 5.46 ERA across 89 innings.

Hitchcock was traded to the Cardinals down the stretch in August 2003, and though he was solid in St. Louis, a swan song in San Diego turned sour in 2004. He hung up the spikes that September after just four MLB appearances. Hitchcock has appeared at Yankees Old-Timers’ Day in retirement but has otherwise led a pretty quiet life away from the game. We hope that includes a happy 55th birthday!

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

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The Tampa Bay Rays' starting pitching has dominated the Cleveland Guardians through the first two games of this series.

My Rays vs. Guardians predictions call for a series sweep for Tampa, with Drew Rasmussen on the mound. 

Read on for my MLB picks for Wednesday, April 29. 

Who will win Rays vs Guardians today: Rays (+105)

Drew Rasmussen is pitching like an ace with an 88th-percentile xERA, 96th-percentile walk rate, and the Cleveland Guardians are hitting .167 against him career, with zero extra-base hits in 36 career at-bats. 

The Guardians have scored just seven runs in their previous four games, while the Tampa Bay Rays offense scores just enough to win and owns a career 1.070 OPS in 34 career at-bats against Gavin Williams. 

The Rays' pitching in this series has been outstanding. Tampa Bay is hot, and Cleveland can’t string two hits together. Back the Rays to sweep. 

COVERS INTEL:The Rays are hitting a seventh-best .275 with runners in scoring position. 

Rays vs Guardians Over/Under pick: Over 6.5 (-114)

Williams looks great on paper, but Tampa Bay has tattooed him. 

Yandy Díaz is hitting .500 against him in 12 ABs, and the righty has walked more Rays hitters than he has struck out. 

Once Rasmussen exits, the Tampa bullpen becomes a liability that Cleveland might exploit. 

One crooked number from the Rays early and a few runs against the pen late make this total very reachable. Back the Over.

Rays vs Guardians odds

• Moneyline: Rays +104 | Guardians -108
• Run line: Rays -1.5 (+194) | Guardians +1.5 (-203)
• Over/Under: Over 6.5 | Under 6.5

Rays vs Guardians trend

The Tampa Bay Rays are riding a six-game winning streak heading into today’s contest with the Guardians. Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Guardians.

How to watch Rays vs Guardians and game info

Rays vs Guardians latest injuries

Rays vs Guardians weather

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The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres have split the first two of their three-game set and will play the series finale at Petco Park on Wednesday, April 29.

My top Cubs vs. Padres predictions and MLB picks are calling for Chicago to put too many crooked numbers on the scoreboard for San Diego to keep up this afternoon.

Who will win Cubs vs Padres today: Cubs moneyline (-108)

The Chicago Cubs are rolling at the dish during their 14-6 heater with the highest wOBA in baseball and an average of 6.2 runs per game.

Facing San Diego Padres knuckleballer Matt Waldron shouldn’t be too high a hurdle on Wednesday afternoon, either. He sports a career 5.19 ERA and 4.53 xFIP across 201 1/3 innings in the majors.

Finally, I particularly value the sustainable surface of the Chicago offensive success, with the Cubbies sporting the fifth-highest walk rate and fifth-lowest strikeout percentage during the 20-game stretch.

COVERS INTEL: The Cubs have a 60% Pythagorean winning percentage, matching their 18-12 record, and showing that their success is sustainable.

Cubs vs Padres Over/Under pick: Over 9 (-105)

In addition to Chicago being positioned to put runs on the board, San Diego is set up to chip in offensively as well.

Cubbies veteran Jameson Taillon is sporting a 4.55 ERA and 4.80 xFIP through five starts, and his fastball velocity is down to a career-low 91.5 mph. 

Chicago has also played to the Over in 16 of its past 23 games (+9.40 units / 37% ROI), and there have already been 27 runs through the first two games of this series.

Cubs vs Padres odds

• Moneyline: Cubs -115 | Padres -105
• Run line: Cubs -1.5 (+140) | Padres +1.5 (-170)
• Over/Under: Over 9 (-105) | Under 9 (-115)

Cubs vs Padres trend

The Chicago Cubs have won 11 of their last 14 games (+8.75 Units / 53% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Cubs vs. Padres.

How to watch Cubs vs Padres and game info

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The Dodgers offense let down Shohei Ohtani after another dominant start as he suffered his first loss of the season on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins.

While Ohtani dazzled on the mound over six solid innings, the Dodgers didn’t give him any run support and just narrowly avoided being shutout by scoring their lone run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ohtani’s bat was desperately missed on Tuesday, as he had six hits over his last two games at the plate and had reached base 10 times over his last three games.

Dave Roberts explained that just because Ohtani was not in the lineup isn’t enough reason as to why the Dodgers couldn’t manufacture runs on Tuesday, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“I don’t think that is going to play in my math. I think the main thing is to do right by Shohei,” Roberts said. “Even without him tonight in the lineup, we should’ve won the game. I feel good about it. I’d do the same thing again.”

As far as whether Shohei Ohtani will continue to remain out of the lineup on start days will vary week to week, but Ohtani is determined to do whatever he and the team feel is best for keeping him healthy throughout the season, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

“I’m going to prepare the best I can with whatever the team expects is best for me and for the team,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “We’re only going to find out in the totality if it’s a plus or a minus. I think for players who want to do two-way and want to DH, they should get the option to do DH. But at the same time, it’s hard to tell now. We’ll see how it goes at the end of the season.”

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Monday was a feel-good moment for Kyle Tucker, as he delivered his first-walk off hit as a Dodger in their come-from-behind victory on Monday. In what has been an early season slump, Tucker described the walk-off hit as a “huge moment” for him, per Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times.

“I was like, ‘OK, sweet, this is sick,’” Tucker said after the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory… “That was a huge moment right there,” Tucker said.

Is it time for Roki Sasaki to move to the bullpen, or should the Dodgers keep him in the rotation? That’s what Huston Mitchell of the Los Angeles Times attempts to solve in the latest edition of Dodgers Dugout.