The Cubs finally snapped their 10-game losing streak Wednesday night in Pittsburgh and you could almost feel the sigh of relief on the North Side of Chicago. They posted 10 runs against the Pirates while holding the Buccos to just four. Under ordinary circumstances I’d just want to savor this win and not worry about problems that can be dealt with some other day. However, these aren’t ordinary times. The losing skid has the Cubs in third place in the NL Central, 4.5 games behind the Brewers. The Cubs need to make up ground and the Jameson Taillon home run issue is a bit too big to push to his next start.

All of the runs the Cubs gave up yesterday came on the 18th and 19th home runs Taillon has given up in 2026. Taillon has given up 20 or more home runs in each of the last six seasons. That’s a bit on the high side for season long home runs, but not terribly so. Basically a manageable issue, prior to 2026. You can see some of Taillon’s stats since 2021 below:

The next home run Jameson Taillon gives up in 2026 will be his 20th home run of the season. You read that right. To put this in perspective, in approximately half to a third of the innings he’s pitched this season, Taillon has already given up 19 home runs. He gave up 24 in 129.2 innings last season and just 21 in 165.1 innings the season before.

Given the Cubs current pitching injury situation, this isn’t merely a problem, it’s a potentially unavoidable crisis. The next man up should Taillon be unable to start for any amount of time is probably Javier Assad. The Cubs already tried an alternative starter with Jordan Wicks making his 2026 season debut earlier this week. For reference, here’s the line Wicks put up in that start: 4.1 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 1 BB 5 K (plus a home run of his own).

To his credit, Taillon has acknowledged the problem. After a rough outing against the White Sox he stated that “at the end of the day homers are thrown, not hit.” His fly-ball heavy, working in the zone profile makes him naturally susceptible to this kind of damage.

Those comments are all well and good, but summer is coming. As the weather heats up Cubs pitchers, including Taillon, should be expected to give up more home runs, not fewer. It’s not exactly a comfortable thought to project out what Taillon’s home run totals could look like if he were to give up home runs at the same rate he’s given them up through March, April and May. It’s a potential catastrophe to imagine what they could look like if that rate gets even worse as the weather improves. Especially given the innings the Cubs need Taillon to cover over the rest of this season.

Dave Winfield’s time with the Yankees was memorable — for all the wrong reasons.

The Baseball Hall of Famer spent nine of his 22 big league seasons in The Bronx, racking up awards and honors as one of MLB’s best players from 1981-90, but often sparred with owner George Steinbrenner to the point that the man known as The Boss hired an investigator to dig up dirt on his slugger.

“Those nine-plus years that I was there, there wasn’t one day that I felt the organization was on my side trying to help me promote me, move me forward,” Winfield revealed on the “All The Smoke Baseball” podcast Wednesday. “You got to go to work every day, a toxic work environment.”

He added: “One of the best things that happened for my career is when I left New York.”

It started when he was signed by the Yankees to a historic 10-year, $23 million deal ahead of the 1981 season after leaving the last-place San Diego Padres.

Winfield alleges Steinbrenner made his intentions regarding the deal clear.

“He basically told me to my face that ‘I’m not going to give you all your money and if you don’t like it sue me’,” Winfield said. “Told me that a couple times.”

Fans were likely blissfully unaware of the the behind-the-scenes turmoil, as Winfield played some of his best baseball in New York.

He was an eight-time All-Star in pinstripes, adding five Gold Glove Awards and five Silver Slugger Awards.

Winfield slashed .290/.356/.495 for the Yankees, mashing 205 homers with 818 RBIs in 1,172 games.

But even with all that success, all that Windfield wanted to do was to get out out town. 

In 1990, he was granted that wish and was traded mid-season to the California Angels.

Winfield suited up for four different teams in his final six seasons, finally capturing the World Series that eluded him in New York with the Blue Jays in 1992.

He retired after the 1995 season, totaling 3,110 hits, 465 homers and 1,833 RBIs with a career slash line of .283/.353/.475 — more than enough for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Winfield opted to enter wearing a Padres hat — a reminder of a time before his Yankees nightmare.

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) is most famous among Colorado Rockies fans for being drafted with the compensatory draft pick they received from the departure of Trevor Story. Thompson was drafted 31st overall in 2022 and finally made it to the bigs nearly three years later. Thompson was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on May 15, and made his MLB debut later that night against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field.

Over the weekend in Phoenix, Thompson reflected on his first week in the big leagues.

It started with a call to his parents after receiving the news from Isotopes manager Pedro Lopez.

“I called my parents first,” Thompson said. “I called my mom and then she called my dad over, and I told them the news. And she started crying.”

Thompson got to Coors Field and wasn’t immediately in the starting lineup, which gave him some time to take it all in.

“I was just on the bench soaking it in and enjoying the experience,” Thompson said. 

But then he was called upon the eighth inning, so he quickly got ready to step up to the plate as a pinch hitter.

“And then I was in the cages and around the eighth inning, they told me I was up in the bottom of the eighth. I was the second one up. So that’s when I started to get my swings in, and then it was kind of quick from when I was told – it was like five minutes from when I was told to when I was in the box, so I had to get a few swings in. And I was the second one up that inning, and that’s how it was in the first debut.”

Thompson saw one pitch in his debut, grounding out to second and going 0-for-1 on the night.

But he had one thought going through his head.

“It’s just like, ‘Here we go. This is everything that you’ve worked for and everything that you’ve wanted,’” he said. “It was kind of everything I pictured – how the debut would be.”

And despite the result, Thompson got the chance to take in everything and reflect on the moments that brought him here.

“It’s a long time coming of just remembering all the years of sacrifice my family put into it – all the days, the long late nights, early mornings – that led into that,” he said. “Just all of those emotions all at once. That’s kind of what I was feeling. It’s a great feeling that I got to the Show. There’s only a select few people that made it, so that’s kind of how I was feeling.”

It took Thompson a few games to get into a groove, but he recorded his first hit in his third game — and it was a weird one! It was initially scored an error on Texas Rangers’ shortstop Ezequiel Duran, but then was changed to a hit by the official scorer.

Thompson played in three games before being sent down on Monday, but then he was called right back up on Friday when Mickey Moniak was placed on the injured list. 

“I got optioned on Monday and went to Vegas and played two games,” he said. “And on Friday I woke up with like 30 missed calls at 10:30. I had a flight at 1:00, and then got to Arizona around 4:00 pm and DH’d on that Friday night. So that’s been the whole process. It’s been a crazy week so far.”

But it was nothing compared to Tanner Gordon’s epic journey the previous week.

“I had a nice straight flight – non-stop – but I heard about TG’s flight experience,” he said. “But [mine] was quick because when I woke up, they said I was going up, and then I didn’t see anything with the flight right away, and then it came and it was at 1:30. And it was like 11:30 at the time, so I hauled to the airport real quick and then got here [to Arizona] and  did my little routine. It was crazy. And P-Lo wasn’t there – he was coaching third base – so Louie Lopez, who was the manager in Triple-A, called me. It was just cool to go and experience that and have ‘P-Lo’ at third base, too.”

Pedro Lopez coached third base for Warren Schaeffer on Thursday and Friday while everyday third base coach Andy González was at his daughter’s graduation. And the moment was not lost on either of them, as Lopez was the one who got to break the news to Thompson.

“When we told Sterlin that he was coming up, it was pretty cool,” Lopez said. “He actually made a baserunning mistake the day he got the call, so I brought him and we were talking about the baserunning, and I said ‘You can’t do that… if you do that and their manager wants to retaliate, you can get hit and you can get hurt.’ And then I told him, ‘And if you pull that tomorrow in the big leagues, I’m telling you right now you’re going to find yourself back in Albuquerque again.’

“And he kind of looked at me,” he continued. “But Sterlin and I go way back – I saw this kid from how he started playing last year in the first month and how much progress he’s made. I keep saying it to this day, I thought last year he was the most improved player out of all in Albuquerque. So just to see where he is now is incredible.”

And Thompson had high praise for his managers.

“It was great, with all the work we put in at Triple-A, to experience that firsthand at the big-league level together,” Thompson said. “And the time he was here, and had that moment in the top of the ninth, it was pretty cool. I think all the guys – the coaches and Schaeff – have all been welcoming since I’ve been here and have helped me settle in all the way.”

But the biggest piece of advice he’s gotten so far?

“Just go and play the game like you know how,” he said. “It’s the same game, so really just control what you need to control and the process of it, and go on doing the little things every day and be consistent at that. That’s something I’ve learned and just building each day at a time. [I’m] trying to get 1% better each day.”

And so far, Thompson has had some excellent moments. On Friday, he recorded his first extra-base hit — a double — and was driven in by Chad Stevens and waved home by Lopez.

“Here come the Isotopes!” indeed.

He also recorded his first career RBI the next night, driving in Troy Johnston on a 3-1 groundout.

Thompson hasn’t set the world on fire yet — going 4-for-24 with a double, two RBI, two walks and four strikeouts in nine games. However, he is showing what he can do and is working to get 1% better everyday like he set out to do.

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The Milwaukee Brewers, fresh off another sweep of an NL Central foe in the Cardinals, are headed to Texas as they’ll take on the Houston Astros for three games beginning Friday night. The Brewers sit at 33-20 on the season, 4.5 games ahead of the second-place Cardinals heading into Thursday’s play. The Astros, at 25-32, sit in fourth place in the AL West, though they’re just three games back of the first-place Mariners (28-29). Houston wraps up their intrastate battle with the Rangers in Arlington tonight, as the Astros have won two of three entering the series finale.

The Brewers are currently without pitchers Logan Henderson (mid-June), Jared Koenig (early June), Brandon Woodruff (early June), Quinn Priester (TBD), and Rob Zastryzny (early June), as well as Angel Zerpa, who is out for the season. Outfielder Akil Baddoo was activated from the IL and sent to Triple-A Nashville, while fellow outfielder Brandon Lockridge is out until mid- to late June with a knee injury.

On the other side, Houston is without several of their big-name players. On the position player side, Jose Altuve (TBD), Yainer Diaz (June), Carlos Correa (out for season), and Joey Loperfido (could return this weekend) are all shelved. For the pitching staff, they’re without Cristian Javier (June), old friend Josh Hader (June), Hunter Brown (mid-June), Lance McCullers Jr. (TBD), fellow old friend Bennett Sousa (TBD), Ronel Blanco (second half of 2026), and Hayden Wesneski (second half of 2026), giving them a very depleted rotation.

Offensively, the Brewers are led by Brice Turang, Jake Bauers, William Contreras, Christian Yelich, and Jackson Chourio, Bauers leads the team with eight homers thus far, driving in 30 and scoring 29, while Turang has seven homers with 30 RBIs and a team-high 43 runs scored to go with nine steals. Gary Sánchez has struggled lately after jumping out to a hot start, but the return of Chourio and Andrew Vaughn has helped in a big way over the last few weeks. Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Ortiz, David Hamilton, Luis Rengifo, and Blake Perkins round things out. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .246/.332/.364 (.696 OPS ranks 17th), with 37 homers (last), 259 runs (seventh), and 57 steals (second).

Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker are powering the Astros, as Alvarez leads the way with 20 homers and Walker has 15 bombs. Alvarez is hitting .312/.422/.663, making him an early contender for AL MVP. Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith both had five homers, while Smith leads the team with seven steals. Christian Vázquez is the team’s primary catcher with Diaz out, while Brandon Shewmake and Jeremy Peña round out the infield. Jake Meyers starts in center, with Brice Matthews, Taylor Trammell, Zach Dezenzo, Nick Allen, and César Salazar serving as depth. As a team, the Astros are hitting .246/.322/.412 (.734 OPS ranks fifth), with 74 homers (tied for fourth), 253 runs (12th), and 20 steals (29th).

Aaron Ashby sits atop the Brewer bullpen with 25 appearances, also leading the league with nine wins and a perfect 9-0 record. He’s struck out 49 over 35 innings with a 2.06 ERA. Grant Anderson, DL Hall, Abner Uribe, and Trevor Megill are the other regulars for Milwaukee, with Shane Drohan, Jake Woodford, Chad Patrick, and Carlos Rodriguez serving as depth/long-relief arms. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.14 team ERA (third), including a 3.05 starter ERA (third) and a 3.26 bullpen ERA (seventh). They’ve struck out 514 batters (fourth) over 472 1/3 innings.

The Astros’ bullpen — as you’ll see in the numbers below — is the worst in baseball through two months. Steven Okert leads the team with 26 appearances with a 3.86 ERA, while they’ve had plenty of arms going up and down from the minors and due to injuries. AJ Blubaugh (4.81 ERA over 33 2/3 innings) and Bryan Abreu (6.88 ERA over 17 innings) have both struggled, while Bryan King (3.04 ERA over 23 2/3 innings) leads the team with six saves in eight tries and Enyel De Los Santos (3.57 ERA over 22 2/3 innings) has four saves. Former Cub Nate Pearson, Logan VanWey, and Alimber Santa (who pitched the final two innings of a combined no-hitter in his MLB debut this week) round out the ‘pen. As a staff, the Astros have a 5.12 team ERA (29th), including a 4.84 starter ERA (29th) and a 5.46 bullpen ERA (last). They’ve struck out 469 batters (13th) over 499 1/3 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Friday, May 29 @ 7:10 p.m.: RHP Coleman Crow (0-0, 2.61 ERA, 2.29 FIP) vs. Kai-Wei Teng (3-3, 2.19 ERA, 3.55 FIP)

Crow, 25, has looked strong in his first two career starts against the Marlins and Twins. Across 10 1/3 innings, he’s allowed three runs on seven hits, a walk, and a hit batter to go with seven strikeouts. He took a no-decision in both appearances, though the Brewers won both of those games. Since that start against the Twins on May 15, he’s made one start with Triple-A Nashville, going 4 1/3 innings with three runs allowed on six hits, a walk, and a hit bitter with five strikeouts against the Durham Bulls on May 22. This marks his first career start against Houston.

Teng, 27, is in his third MLB season and first with Houston after spending the last two with the Giants. After starting the season in the bullpen, he’s made his last three appearances as a starter, totaling 37 innings over 17 appearances (four starts) with a 2.19 ERA, 3.55 FIP, and 36 strikeouts. Teng’s last start was his best yet, as he went six scoreless innings against the Cubs, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out six to pick up the win. This marks Teng’s first career appearance against Milwaukee.

Saturday, May 30 @ 3:10 p.m.: RHP Brandon Sproat (1-3, 5.84 ERA, 5.55 FIP) vs. Peter Lambert (3-4, 3.79 ERA, 3.37 FIP)

Sproat, 25, has picked up his strikeout numbers, but he still has difficulty making it through five innings — across eight starts this season, he’s made it through five-plus innings just three times. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that has translated to difficulties his second time through the order — while hitters are batting .220/.352/.390 against him the first time through, they’re hitting .254/.329/.508 the second time through, including five homers. Sproat went four-plus innings against the Dodgers in his last outing, allowing three runs on four hits, four walks, and a hit batter with seven strikeouts in a 5-1 loss. This marks his first career start against Houston.

Lambert, 29, is in his fifth MLB season and first with the Astros, as he spent parts of four seasons with the Rockies between 2019 and 2024. After coming into the majors as a starter (he made 19 starts for Colorado in 2019), he transitioned to a swingman role before returning to the rotation in Houston this year. Across seven starts this season, he has a 3.79 ERA, 3.37 FIP, and 40 strikeouts across 40 1/3 innings. The former second-round pick sent five innings against the Cubs his last time out, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts in a victory. Lambert made two appearances against Milwaukee while with the Rockies, totaling eight innings with five runs allowed (5.63 ERA) and six strikeouts.

Sunday, May 31 @ 1:10 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (5-2, 1.83 ERA, 1.88 FIP) vs. Tatsuya Imai (2-2, 6.17 ERA, 6.03 FIP)

Misiorowski, 24, has simply dominated this month. Through five starts, he’s allowed just one run across 31 1/3 innings (0.29 ERA) with 49 strikeouts to just 11 hits and six walks (0.543 WHIP). That makes for one of the more interesting NL Pitcher of the Month races we’ve ever seen, as the Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez has gone 39 scoreless innings with 45 strikeouts to 25 hits and three walks (0.718 WHIP) across five starts this month. Given that Miz has allowed a run and Sánchez hasn’t, I’d guess Miz needs to go seven or eight scoreless frames with 10-plus strikeouts to have a real shot at winning the award. As is the case with Crow and Sproat, this is Miz’s first career start against Houston.

Imai, 28, signed with the Astros out of Japan during the offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $54 million deal. He reportedly struggled acclimating to American culture, which translated to struggles on the field, though he’s coming off his best start in the majors. After entering Monday night with an 8.31 ERA over his first five starts, he went six no-hit innings against the Rangers, allowing four walks with a pair of strikeouts, as a pair of relievers (Okert & Santa) closed out Houston’s fifth no-hitter in the last five years (including one in the 2022 World Series). This marks Imai’s first career start against Milwaukee.

How to Watch & Listen

Friday, May 29: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Saturday, May 30: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Sunday, May 31: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

The Astros haven’t gotten off to a great start, and a long string of injuries hasn’t helped them. I’ll take the Brewers to win two of three against their former division rivals.