The Royals continued to shuffle their bullpen Thursday, adding relievers Eli Morgan and Mitch Spence from Triple-A Omaha, while sending Luinder Avila and Steven Cruz down. Avila and Cruz each pitched extensively in Wednesday’s loss to Cleveland. Morgan was up last Saturday as the 27th man for the doubleheader against Milwaukee, pitching three scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

Morgan has pitched parts of five seasons with the Guardians and Cubs before this season, posting a 4.15 ERA in 275.2 innings, mostly as a reliever. His best year came in 2024 when he posted a 1.93 ERA, although he pitched in just 32 games. He pitched in just seven games last year before he injured his elbow in April and missed the rest of the season. The Royals signed the 29-year-old as a minor league free agent this past winter.

Spence was acquired from the Athletics in a trade for minor league reliever A.J. Causey. He has pitched parts of the last two seasons with the Athletics, mostly as a starter, with a 4.77 ERA in 236 innings. Last year he made 24 relief appearances and 8 starts, with a 5.10 ERA in 84.2 innings. He gave up just one unearned run over five innings in his only start for Omaha this year.

Avila has given up 14 hits, 4 walks and six runs in six innings with the Royals. He is ranked as the #9 prospect in the farm system and the team considers him a future top-of-the-rotation starter. Cruz has given up eight runs in five innings for a 14.40 ERA, with four home runs allowed, tied for the most in the league.

What's really behind Phillies' recent offensive drought originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The four-run seventh inning of Monday’s game at Oracle Park feels like forever ago.

That’s because the Phillies have not scored a run since then — 20 consecutive scoreless innings without one.

“Has it been that long?” Bryce Harper asked reporters after yet another shutout loss in San Francisco, sounding genuinely thrown by the number.

When the Phillies embarked on this West Coast trip after last Thursday’s electrifying comeback win, capped by Justin Crawford’s walk-off hit against the Nationals, it felt like the offense had some life again.

When they got to Colorado, they wasted no time carrying that momentum with them. They hung a statement seven-run first inning on the Rockies. Eleven batters came to the plate. They saw 44 pitches. It was an offensive clinic.

And yet, from that point on, the lineup has looked like a different group.

The Phillies did win the series in Colorado, but after that first inning, they scored only six runs over the final 26 innings against one of baseball’s weakest pitching staffs. Then they went farther west and into San Francisco, where they fell behind 4-0 through four innings in the opener before clawing all the way back behind six unanswered runs.

That game, more than anything, now looks like the exception.

Since that first inning in Denver, the Phillies have scored just 12 runs in 53 innings. That is the fewest in baseball over that span. They are batting .199 with a .574 OPS in the stretch, the third-lowest OPS in the sport.

So where is the real problem?

Recently, it has not been the top of the order.

That group was the main topic through the first six games of the season, all played at home. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper finished that first week slashing .164/.256/.315, a .571 OPS.

Over the last six games on the road, that same trio has slashed .302/.436/.508, a .944 OPS.

That is a massive swing, and it’s key, because the easiest storyline early on was that the stars at the top had not started hitting. Right now, that is not where the offense is breaking down. And it is hard to pin it on the bottom, either.

The Phillies have gotten quality at-bats from the last two spots in the order, mostly J.T. Realmuto and Crawford. Those lineup spots have combined for the second-highest on-base percentage in baseball at .362, trailing only the Dodgers.

That leaves the middle. More specifically, it leaves the fourth through seventh spots.

On the season, those spots are slashing .199/.256/.306, almost identical to what the offense has looked like during this recent dry spell. And when you split it apart further, the picture gets clearer.

Adolis García, who has spent time in that section of the lineup, has not been the issue. Neither has Brandon Marsh. García owns a .738 OPS. Marsh is at .727. Both have looked like contributors.

The bigger issue has been Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott, who have primarily occupied the cleanup and fifth spots. Bohm is hitting .186 with a .550 OPS. Stott is hitting .167 with a .405 OPS, the fourth-lowest mark among qualified National League hitters.

That is where the offense has bogged down. Oddly enough, though, there is a caveat.

One issue that has been there since day one is the Phillies’ inability to hit with runners in scoring position. The club is batting .200 in those spots, second-worst in the league.

But the team’s two best hitters in those situations so far, even in a small sample, are Bohm and Stott.

Bohm is hitting .333 with runners in scoring position. Stott is at .250.

So the criticism of that four-five pocket is fair, but it is not as simple as saying those two have been the reason the Phillies have not scored. In the spots that matter most, they have actually been among the better producers.

The issue is that the lineup has not clicked in order. Too often, when one section has gotten going, another has stalled. That is why Rob Thomson’s postgame comments Wednesday were worth paying attention to. He did not sound like someone ready to overreact. But he also did not sound like someone ruling out a tweak.

When asked if he might shake up the lineup after the off day, he said, “Yeah, a little bit. I might.”

That is important because the likely changes are not hard to see.

García can move into the cleanup spot. Marsh, against right-handed pitching, can slide into the fifth spot. Bohm and Stott can each move down a couple of slots.

And if García and Marsh keep getting on, that could put Bohm and Stott in the exact situations where they have actually had success so far — with traffic on the bases and less pressure to be the engines of the offense.

A major topic all offseason was how to give Harper more right-handed protection in the middle of the order. Dave Dombrowski’s answer was García on a one-year prove-it deal worth $10 million.

Thomson, though, has long preferred a contact-oriented run producer like Bohm in the four-hole. That is understandable. It is also why this part of the season is magnified. It is where roles start to sort themselves out.

García’s biggest problem over the last two seasons has not been bat speed or power. It has been patience and pitch selection. His average chase rate over that stretch was 34.7 percent. His swing rate sat at 52.1 percent. His in-zone contact rate was 78.5 percent.

This year, in a smaller sample, the changes are real. He is chasing at just a 29.8 percent clip, swinging 48.2 percent of the time and making contact on in-zone pitches at an 87.5 percent rate. Those improvements mirror the progress he made in spring training, when he walked eight times and struck out only five.

If García can maintain that, and if Marsh continues doing what he has always done against right-handers, the middle of the order could start to look a lot more functional.

But that is the point. “Could.”

The Phillies are 6-6. They are playing .500 baseball. They are only 1.5 games out of first in the NL East. This is not a crisis piece. It should not be one. They’re just 12 games in.

Harper, looking at the bigger picture, put it plainly after Wednesday’s shutout loss in San Francisco.

“We have to be that team,” he said. “Because if we’re not, then we’re not going to be where we want to be at the end.”

That is probably the right way to read this. And a slump like this did happen last year.

The last time the Phillies were shut out for more than 20 straight innings was last June, when they went 26 innings without scoring against the Mets and Astros. Their next game, they scored 13 runs in Atlanta.

The Phillies and Thomson could certainly use one of those nights when they get back to home and face the Diamondbacks on Friday night. And if the skipper does make a tweak, it will not be because the lineup is broken.

It will be because right now, it just is not clicking in the right order.

If you’ve ever been to a game at Coors Field and wondered what that’s song, say, Willi Castro is walking up to, and the clip is too short to Shazam, Reader, I am here to answer your questions.

Below are (most of) the 2026 music selections of the Colorado Rockies.

Zach Agnos — Jacob Banks’ “Chainsmoking” (from the beginning)

Jordan Beck — A$AP Rocky’s “Everyday” (:16-:32)

Willi Castro— Crazy DesignRD’s “Porón Pompón” (:04)

Chase Dollander — Kai Uriah’s “Bound 2 Be” (from the beginning)

Brenton Doyle — Bad Wolves’ “Zombie Bad Wolves” (1:03)

Tyler Freeman — Cody Johnson’s “Dear Rodeo” (:52)

Hunter Goodman — Cody Johnson’s “Til You Can’t” (0:59)

Jimmy Herget — BigXThaPlug’s “Back on my BS” (from the beginning)

Jaden Hill — YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Bruce Wayne” (Best Clean Version from YouTube) (1:02)

Troy Johnston — Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5” (0:03)

Edouard Julien — GIMS and Le Mano 1.9’s “Parisienne” (0:30)

Kyle Karros — Toro & Moi’s “The Difference Flume” (0:36)

Michael Lorenzen — KB’s “10k” (from the beginning)

Jake McCarthy — Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” (6:40)

Juan Mejia — Juan Luis Guerra’s “Soldado” (from the beginning)

Mickey Moniak — Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” (from the beginning)

José Quintana — La Moral’s “Criss 7 Ronny, lil Silvo” (from the beginning)

T.J. Rumfield — Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ in the Dark” (0:41)

Tomoyuki Sugano — HUNTR/X’s “Golden” (0:55)

Brett Sullivan — Big X Tha Plug’s “Holy Ground” (0:26)

Ezequiel Tovar — Rawayana’s “Inglés en Miami” (0:37)

Victor Vodnik — 2Pac’s “Ambitionz AZ A Riddah” (from the beginning)

We’ll try to keep this list updated throughout the season.

Let us know your favorites (or musical suggestions!) in the comments.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Welcome to The California Post’s weekly Dodgers main recap, where baseball writers Dylan Hernández and Jack Harris review the week that was –– publishing every Thursday.

TORONTO –– What became a controversial subplot in Game 7 of the World Series last fall has reemerged as a recurring storyline in this season’s early weeks.

For virtually every other pitcher in Major League Baseball, the rules about warming up for an inning are simple: A two-minute timer begins with the conclusion of the previous half-inning. If they’re not ready to face the leadoff batter by then, they risk incurring an automatic ball via pitch-clock violation.

For Shohei Ohtani, however, there is one loophole only he can really exploit.

As stated on the league’s website: “If the pitcher is on base, on deck or at-bat when the (previous) inning ends, the timer begins when the pitcher leaves the dugout for the mound.”

That modification, of course, wasn’t created explicitly for the Dodgers’ two-way star. In rare situations, a handful of pitchers still get at-bats each season.

Still, given there’s only one pitcher who hits full time in the majors anymore, it might as well be called the Ohtani Caveat.

“If you’re on the other side, you’re trying to rush him as much as possible and treat him like any other pitcher,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But the truth is, he’s different.”

Thus, don’t expect his routine to change soon.

Just like in Game 7 last year –– when he took his sweet time getting to the mound between innings, frustrating Blue Jays players and coaches wondering why he was granted so much leeway –– Ohtani has capitalized upon the carve-out during his first two pitching starts this season.

If he was at-bat, on base or on deck the previous half-inning, the clock has automatically been reset to two minutes once he reemerges from the dugout. Even if it takes most of the original two minutes for him to get out there.

On both occasions, the dynamic did not seem to go unnoticed by Dodgers opponents. Last week, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt came out to talk to an umpire the first time the clock was reset for Ohtani. On Wednesday, in Ohtani’s return to Rogers Centre to face the Blue Jays, it was veteran slugger George Springer who seemed to check with the crew about Ohtani’s added warm-up time.

Some drama between the #BlueJays and #Dodgers.

George Springer approached HP umpire Dan Bellino to inquire about the amount of warmup time for Shohei Ohtani.

Dave Roberts was visibly annoyed in the dugout.

(: @sportsnet) #BlueJays50pic.twitter.com/HwghO9tdnQ

— Daniele Franceschi (@Daniele_Media) April 8, 2026

When asked about it postgame, Roberts said he could “understand their gripe.” However, he countered by referencing Ohtani’s unique two-way job title, arguing that “there’s got to be some grace, which I think the umpires are giving him.”

How much it really helps Ohtani is another question altogether. On the one hand, he’s only really getting an extra minute or two per start (time that is mostly spent in the dugout changing out of his batting gear anyway). On the other, any extra breather might make a difference for the 31-year-old right-hander, who said Wednesday he was battling some fatigue at the end of a long road trip.

Either way, MLB’s rules are clear –– which means the Dodgers won’t apologize even if it’s disproportionately helping their four-time MVP.

As Roberts said, Ohtani is different, right down to the way in which the rulebook applies to him.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Christian Scott's second start of the year for Triple-A Syracuse went a lot better than his first.

The Mets right-hander, who is continuing to stretch out innings-wise after being out since September of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, fired five scoreless innings while allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out seven.

Scott's four-seam fastball, which he relied on heavily, topped out at 97.2 mph. He also threw plenty of sweepers while mixing in his cutter and split-change.

Four of Scott's strikeouts came when he got batters to chase his sweeper, while one came looking on a slider. The other two came swinging on four-seamers. 

There wasn't much hard contact against Scott, who threw 76 pitches (52 strikes).

The 26-year-old impressed during spring training, when he had his first game action since 2024.

Along with Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger, Scott is a vital part of the Mets' starting pitching depth, and should impact the major league club at some point this season.

If the Mets have a need and Scott is performing well, it's possible he will be the first pitcher called upon. 

Tong has only made five career starts at Triple-A and is working to refine his secondary pitches, while Wenninger has yet to make his big league debut (and is not on the 40-man roster). 

The Mets, who are not planning to go to a six-man rotation any time soon, are using a five-man rotation that consists of Freddy Peralta, David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, and Kodai Senga.

After tossing 5.1 shutout innings in his first start of the season, Peterson has struggled, allowing 11 runs (six earned) on 15 hits over his last two starts spanning 9.1 innings.

Manager Carlos Mendoza addressed Peterson's difficulties after Wednesday's game, saying the club was not considering a change in the rotation.

Peterson, who has been jumped by hitters early in counts a lot in his last two outings, believes part of his issue has been pitch sequencing.

Right-hander Christian Scott was excellent in his second start for Triple-A Syracuse

5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. He threw 76 pitches (52 strikes) and generated 14 swing & misses

His fastball touched 97.2 mph and he also threw his sweeper, gyro slider and split-change pic.twitter.com/zI3ZECAhML

— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) April 9, 2026

Now that the minor league season is in full swing, I wanted to do an update on how players are doing at each level. The Nats system is deeper than it has been in a long time, so there is quite a bit to get to. So far, the Nats affiliates have been doing a lot of winning, with every team above .500. With that being said, let’s dive into some performances.

Low-A Standouts:

I am going to start at the lower levels and work my way up, so the Fredericksburg Nationals are the first team I will talk about. The Fred Nats are absolutely loaded with talent. Baseball America listed them as the 7th most talented team in the entire minor leagues. That means there are a lot of notable names to cover.

On a team with players such as first overall pick Eli Willits, MacKenzie Gore trade headliner Gavin Fien and others, Ronny Cruz has been the best hitter so far. Cruz came to the Nats in the Michael Soroka trade, and has been generating buzz all spring. He showed big time flashes on the back fields, and even hit a home run in big league Spring Training.

It looks like his impressive spring is translating to real games. Cruz has a 1.098 OPS so far, and all five of his hits have gone for extra bases. Two of those have been home runs. There was one game where the youngster was a single shy of the cycle. 

Cruz was seen as a raw prospect, but it looks like he has taken a major step in his development. Last season, he was decent in rookie ball, but now he is excelling in Low-A. Cruz had a winding journey that saw him go from the Dominican Republic to the US after an IFA deal fell through. Then, in his senior year of high school, he dealt with a knee injury. He was behind the 8 ball in terms of development, but now he has caught up.

The tools have never been in doubt with Cruz, but now he looks more polished. Despite a skinny frame, he has impressive power due to his raw bat speed. He is also a quality defender in the infield. Naturally, he is a shortstop, but has played second and third base with Eli Willits manning shortstop.

Speaking of Willits, he has not had the loudest start, only hitting .200 with a .604 OPS. However, I am confident the hits will fall. He only has four strikeouts and almost has as many walks, with three. It is only a matter of time before he heats up.

A couple other notable performers are pitchers Miguel Sime Jr. and Landon Harmon. Both made their pro debuts recently. Neither went very deep in the game, but both showed their excellent stuff. Sime was particularly impressive with 6 strikeouts in 2.1 innings to just one walk. 

High-A Standouts:

The next level we will visit is High-A. Right now, the Wilmington Blue Rocks are 3-1 and have looked good so far. They are not as stacked as the Fred Nats, but they have plenty of intriguing names we will discuss.

The first guy I want to talk about is Angel Feliz. Sending Feliz to High-A was an aggressive assignment that was likely caused by how many young infield prospects the Nats have. Feliz only played 31 games in Low-A, where he did not light it up. However, the Nats were bullish on his glove and wanted him to play shortstop at High-A.

So far, he has been surprisingly solid with the bat, despite being one of the youngest players in High-A. He has done a really good job controlling the zone, with 7 walks and just 2 strikeouts so far. Feliz is batting just .250, but his ability to get on base is why he has an .859 OPS. He also has a triple, which is his only extra base hit so far this season.

Taking your walks seems to be a theme in Wilmington so far. The two other top prospects at the level, Ethan Petry and Devin Fitz-Gerald are also walking a lot, with five each. Learning to take those walks will be helpful in these guys’ development. Eventually, they will get pitches to hit and we know these players have hitting chops.

Wilmington’s top pitching prospect is Yoel Tejada, who had an up and down first start. He struck out 7 in 4.1 innings, but he did allow three runs. Tejada is a massive 6’8 pitcher who has interesting upside. However, he is still quite raw.

Double-A Standouts:

From a record standpoint, the Harrisburg Senators are absolutely killing it. They are 5-0, and winning the game they are playing while I am writing this. Their offense has been explosive, and they have also had some fun pitching performances.

Right now, Sam Petersen is carrying the Senators offense. When Petersen is healthy, he absolutely rakes. It has been no different this season. Right now, he is hitting .364 with an OPS over 1.000. He may have been picked in the 8th round, but Petersen is the real deal.

MLB Pipeline has him as the 22nd ranked prospect in the system, which just feels too low. Petersen has a .937 OPS in his minor league career. Those numbers are just undeniable. The Nats have a lot of outfield prospects in the upper levels, but Petersen is the next man up and could force his way to the big leagues before too long.

However, Petersen is not the only hitter performing down there. After a rough start to his pro career, Seaver King has been heading in the right direction since the Arizona Fall League. His approach is much improved, and he is showing why the Nats took him in the top 10.

Right now, King has a .908 OPS on the season. He already has 8 walks, which is a great sign for a player who has faced concerns about chasing too much. We know King has the raw athleticism, he just needed to perform. With his athleticism and versatility, he could be in the big leagues by the end of the season.

On the mound, the Senators have a couple intriguing prospects worth following. While he is not in the Nats top 30 for MLB Pipeline, Davian Garcia is a name with a lot of helium. Baseball America listed him as a guy with breakout potential due to his uptick in velocity and improving command. In his first start, Garcia threw 4.2 innings of one run ball with five strikeouts and two walks.

Another high octane arm in AA is Eriq Swan. The Nats got him as part of the Alex Call return. Swan has control issues, but he has elite arm talent. He can touch triple digits and has a wipeout slider to go with it. In his first start of the season, he threw 4 no hit innings with two walks. This is likely a reliever profile, but if he looks how he did last night, he could be fast tracked.

Triple-A Standouts:

The Rochester Red Wings are such a fascinating team. They have prospects like Harry Ford, Abimelec Ortiz and others, but some of the most interesting guys are players with big league experience. The biggest name in that group is Dylan Crews.

The former second overall pick was sent down after a brutal spring. The idea was to have Crews rebuild his swing and confidence at a lower level. So far, the results have been solid, if not mind blowing. Crews is hitting .278 with an .830 OPS. One thing I do like is that he is walking at a 17% clip. The whiffs have been high, but after his spring, that is not a giant surprise. 

Crews hit a mammoth pull side homer the other day, which has gotten him going. In the last week or so, Crews has really heated up. If he can push that OPS close to .900, I think he will force Paul Toboni’s hand and get a call up before too long.

However, Crews is far from the only intriguing bat in Rochester. One player who has not done as well is Harry Ford, who the Nats acquired in an offseason trade. As usual, Ford is taking his walks, but the quality of contact has not been great so far. However, he had a slower April last year before hitting over .400 in May, so it is not time to panic at all.

One player I want to see in the big leagues soon is Abimelec Ortiz. He had a chance to win a job out of camp, but struggled this spring. However, he has had a great start in AAA. He has an .849 OPS and has more walks than strikeouts. I think he would plug in nicely to that DH spot against righties, a role currently held by Jose Tena.

On the pitching side of things, Andrew Alvarez and Riley Cornelio have been the standouts. Cornelio is the one who really catches my eye though. His stuff has been ticking up, and he is getting more whiffs than ever. The fastball has been particularly sharp so far, comfortably sitting in the mid-90’s.

Cornelio is 25 and on the 40 man roster, so I would not be opposed to giving him a shot in the rotation or the bullpen. The bullpen desperately needs help and I think Cornelio could be nasty in short bursts sitting 96-97 MPH. He will certainly get a big league look at some point, but it should happen sooner rather than later.

While there has not been much winning at the big league level, it is a different story in the minors. All of the teams are above .500, and I actually think that is a good sign for the overall health of the organization. Last year, the Nats minor league teams were not very good across the board. This year, that looks to be changing. Paul Toboni is taking a ground up approach to his project. Eventually, he hopes that minor league success will make its way to the big leagues.