Worldwide Sports News

As Seattle rolls into town, they’re having a really rough time. Even so, I think most Royals fans would trade places with them in a heartbeat. After coming so tantalizingly close to their first World Series appearance as a franchise last fall, the Mariners had a lot of expectations for this season. They even made the big offensive addition most Royals fans wished KC would make by getting Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals. Still, they sit 24-27, third in their division, and one game out of the last Wild Card spot.

The Royals, after hanging in tough following a couple of bad losing streaks, have seen that second losing period just keep extending, and while they were only 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot on Sunday, they’re now firmly 9 games off the division-leading Guardians and 4.5 games from the final Wild Card spot. Realistically, they’re not out of the playoff hunt as they stretch toward the end of May, but they’ve done very little to show us that they’re capable of playing well enough to escape these doldrums. It leaves us as Royals fans reminiscing about the early days when they were just not quite able to finish series off and were a game or two under .500.

Still, the Mariners were the team at the start of the Royals’ lone really good stretch and while KC can’t count on them to get the team out of a third such stretch as they’ll be done playing each other in the regular season after this weekend, perhaps lightning could strike twice? After all, things didn’t look remotely positive when Kansas City showed up in Seattle back at the beginning of this month, either.

To try to find their winning ways, the Royals will send a pitcher who has also been searching for himself a bit. But Noah Cameron actually did seem to kind of find himself in his start against the Cardinals last Saturday. His arm slot is still much lower than last season, but his pitch mix reflected the way that has changed his pitches and led him to rely primarily on his fastball and changeup with some curveballs instead of the cutter and slider, which were so effective last year but have seen their shape ruined by his mechanical changes. He pitched a definitional quality start, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings. But for the first time this season, he didn’t walk a single batter, and for the first time since his initial two starts, he struck out four more than he walked. The Royals’ offense, which has somehow been less than the sum of its parts, probably needs him to find even another gear, but at least it was a start.

The Mariners will counter with Logan Gilbert. Gilbert has really struggled this season, with the worst K-BB% of his career since his sophomore year, but adding nearly 2 home runs per 9 innings pitched. He allowed 7 runs on 3 home runs to the Padres in his last appearance. He didn’t face the Royals in their last series, but faced the Royals twice last year, giving up 2 runs in each start across only 10.1 innings total. He could be vulnerable, and if the Royals want to right this ship, they’ll need to take advantage of it.

Lineups

The Royals are using the same v RHP lineup they’ve used for weeks now, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez are still prominently in the 3 and 4 spots. I don’t think there’s anything else to say about that. Here’s hoping if we do the same thing something different will result.

The Mariners begin a six-game road trip today in Kansas City and hope to find a little more consistency between series. The Royals swept the Mariners clean at home over three games. Since then, the Mariners have mastered the art of the “It’s so over/We are so back.” This team has put on such a great Jekyll-and-Hyde performance that they could be nominated for a Tony. But maybe this time the Mariners can win two series in a row, then maybe they can even set their sights on being above .500.

Logan Gilbert climbs the mound tonight looking to bounce back after a rough outing last time against San Diego when he gave up seven runs over 6 2/3rds inning. Gilbert took the loss in his last start, so the hope is that the start of this road trip can be a good chance for him to get back on track and keep the Mariners on track along with it.

Lineups

Good vibes may already be back in order as Victor Robles returns to the Mariners lineup today for the first time since being placed on the IL back in April.

News:

Victor Robles’ return means Connor Joe was sent back to Tacoma. It’s a bummer for Joe, who has shown more than today’s cleanup hitter Rob Refsnyder with the bat as far as hard contact goes, but his lack of defensive flexibility and ability to be optioned ticketed him for a seat on the flight back to Tacoma.

The Royals made a roster move today as well, designating catcher Elias Díaz for assignment and selecting outfielder Tyler Tolbert. Tough reward for a guy who just hit a two-run homer in a Royals loss on Wednesday. The Royals also announced they’ll be sending Cole Ragans out on a rehab assignment, if you’re wondering why the Mariners won’t be facing him again this series.

Game Information

First Pitch: 4:40 pm PST

Radio: Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com

TV: Mariners TV

Detroit Tigers vs. Baltimore Orioles

Time/Place: 7:15 p.m., Camden Yards
SB Nation Site: Camden Chat
Media: Apple TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 52: RHP Jack Flaherty (0-5, 5.77 ERA) vs. LHP Keegan Akin (0.00, 13.50 ERA)

The Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals are facing on in a battle of MLB’s top two scoring offenses. It is highly likely that no one truly predicted that these two teams would have scored the most runs this far into the season.

The biggest difference between these two teams is that the Braves have also had excellent pitching, whereas the Nationals have been terrible. Bryce Elder is set to take the mound with a top ten ERA of 2.01 and his opponent today, Miles Mikolas has a bottom four ERA of pitchers with at least 40.0 innings pitched with an ERA of 6.91.

On paper, the Braves have the clear advantage in this game, but nothing is ever guaranteed in MLB.

First pitch is at 7:15 EDT.

Lineup

Preview

The first of three with the Pirates, and I got back from my massage just in time to get the thread up.

50 games in we are much the same as we were a year ago. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the season will go the same.

Tonight’s lineups:

Mets Lineup

1. Carson Benge – RF
2. Bo Bichette – SS
3. Juan Soto – DH
4. Mark Vientos – 1B
5. Brett Baty – 3B
6. Marcus Semien – 2B
7. A.J. Ewing – CF
8. Nick Morabito – LF
9. Luis Torrens – C

SP: Tobias Myers (RHP)

Marlins Lineup

1. Xavier Edwards – 2B
2. Liam Hicks – 1B
3. Connor Norby – 3B
4. Kyle Stowers – DH
5. Jakob Marsee – CF
6. Esteury Ruiz – LF
7. Owen Caissie – RF
8. Joe Mack – C
9. Javier Sanoja – SS

SP: Eury Pérez (RHP)

Broadcast Info

First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: WPIX
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Go Rays!

The Nats offense just could not get going yesterday, which was a rare occurrence. That led to a 2-1 loss against the Mets, with the Nats settling for a split of the four game series. Now the boys head to Atlanta to face a Braves team that has been baseball’s best this season.

The Nats are making some adjustments with a righty on the mound. Luis Garcia Jr. will return to first base. One adjustment they won’t make is at third base. Despite a righty being on the mound, Curtis Mead will get the start at third base. Drew Millas will get the nod behind the plate in this one. James Wood will DH and Daylen Lile will return to right field. Richard Lovelady will open for Miles Mikolas.

Other than the Nats, the Braves have scored the most runs in baseball. While Drake Baldwin is out, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris are big threats in the middle of the lineup. Dominic Smith will start at DH, and he has been great for the Braves this season. Former Nat Sandy Leon will start behind the plate with the Braves top 2 catchers both being hurt. The resurgent Bryce Elder will be on the hill.

Game Info:

Stadium: Truist Park

Time: 7:15 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Some bad weather will be looming this weekend in Atlanta, but hopefully it can hold up long enough for these teams to play. The Braves and Nats are two of the most explosive offenses in the league, so this should be a fun matchup. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.

It’s been pouring all day in the greater Baltimore area, but it appears we’re going to attempt to play baseball tonight, because the public won’t rest until they get to see two teams that are a combined 20 games under .500 do battle. People all around the country are hosting their Orioles/Tigers watch parties, and we wouldn’t want to disappoint them.

Tonight’s game is airing exclusively on Apple TV+, with no local MASN broadcast. So if you don’t have Apple TV+, you have a convenient excuse to not watch the Orioles play. And even if you do have Apple TV+, you should probably just check out some of their original programming instead of watching this awful team. May I recommend Loot? Maya Rudolph is a delight.

But if you’re a glutton for punishment who insists on tuning in tonight, you’ll see the O’s take on a team that’s doing even worse than them. The Tigers, who have been in the playoffs the past two seasons, have collapsed to a 20-31 record and are currently sitting in last place in the AL Central. Their offense has disappointed and their pitching staff has been beset by injuries. Sound familiar? Check out Mark Brown’s series preview to learn more about this weekend’s Orioles opponent.

This is a series that the O’s absolutely need to win if they’re going to start climbing out of the massive hole they’ve dug themselves. Of course, no Orioles fan should feel at all confident that they’ll actually do so. The O’s are facing former Orioles bust Jack Flaherty, who is currently 0-5 with a 5.77 ERA. So of course he’s going to deliver a quality start against the O’s. You can pretty much etch it in stone.

The Birds will use Keegan Akin as an opener for the second time this year, letting him face the Tigers’ top lefty hitters — Kevin McGonigle and Riley Greene — before Chris Bassitt comes in as the bulk reliever. That combination worked excellently on Mother’s Day, when Akin tossed a perfect first inning against the Athletics before Bassitt went six strong frames and allowed just one run. It’s worth doing again, and hopefully the results will be much the same.

Orioles lineup:

LF Taylor Ward
SS Gunnar Henderson
C Adley Rutschman
1B Pete Alonso
DH Samuel Basallo
CF Leody Taveras
RF Colton Cowser
3B Coby Mayo
2B Jackson Holliday

LHP Keegan Akin

Tigers lineup:

SS Kevin McGonigle
C Dillon Dingler
DH Jahmai Jones
LF Riley Greene
1B Spencer Torkelson
CF Wenceel Pérez
RF Zach McKinstry
3B Gage Workman
2B Hao-Yu Lee

RHP Jack Flaherty

Weather-permitting, the Guardians’ lineup is:

The Phillies’ lineup is:

Let’s go, Guardians!

The New York Yankees are 4.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the best record in both the AL East and the American League writ large. This weekend, they have a golden chance to cut down that deficit, facing them in a three-game series in the Bronx. New York split a four-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays, losing the last two and scoring the grand total of one run between the two games. If the Yanks are going to get closer to the Rays, they are going to need their offense to step up.

Gerrit Cole will be making his 2026 debut tonight, after wrapping up his rehab from Tommy John surgery performed last spring. He completed a long rehab assignment that included six starts across High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, posting a 4.66 ERA in 29 innings. His most recent outing came in Scranton and included 5.1 strong frames in which he conceded a single run on six hits and a walk, with six punchouts. Cole threw 86 pitches in his most recent rehab outing, hitting 99.6 mph on the radar gun.

Cole will be facing Nick Martinez, a newcomer to the Rays who has put up a brilliant 1.51 ERA in nine starts and 53.2 innings. He has been pitching to contact, but things have gotten a bit extreme as he has just 35 strikeouts this year. If the Yankees can work some deep counts, they might be able to force some mistakes. They will need to be patient, though.

It’s also a perfect opportunity for team captain and three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge to show some signs of life. He has only one hit, a single, in his last five games, covering 21 plate appearances. More concerning is Austin Wells, who has had a nightmare 2026 to date. His middling-at-best .688 OPS from the end of April is almost a dream compared to the .111/.184/.111 showing he’s had thus far in May, walking just four times and delivering zero extra-base hits. Since fellow backstop J.C. Escarra isn’t hitting either, the Yankees just have to roll the dice with one of them on a given night and hope for the best. Wells has just 3 hits in his last 37 at-bats, with 18 strikeouts.

Prior to the game, the Yanks reinstated José Caballero from the injured list in addition to Cole. He is in the lineup for Friday’s opener, batting seventh and playing shortstop with Anthony Volpe on the bench. Trent Grisham is leading off after his knee injury scare, followed by Judge, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Caballero, Ryan McMahon, and Wells.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast/Streaming: YES Network, Rays.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM

Streaming: Rays.TV, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

I could just post this here and end this recap and every single one of you would understand exactly what the problem is with the Chicago Cubs.

But you come here for a game recap and you shall have one, even though you probably won’t like it.

The Cubs lost to the Astros 4-2 and honestly, with that many runners on base and that many chances to score with runners in scoring position, they really should have scored six or seven runs and won easily.

Not on this day, though.

The Cubs, in fact, had RISP in the very first inning, when Alex Bregman singled with two out and Ian Happ doubled him to third. But nope, Seiya Suzuki grounded out. The Cubs didn’t have another hit until the fifth, though they loaded the bases with nobody out on a walk by Nico Hoerner followed by two hit batters (Michael Busch and Bregman).

Nope again, Happ struck out, Suzuki popped up and Michael Conforto grounded out.

The Astros, then, had a 4-0 lead on Jameson Taillon by the fifth and it wasn’t all his fault. I want to call particular attention to this sequence in Houston’s two-run fourth. They’ve got runners on first and second with one out and Cam Smith hit a ground ball to Dansby Swanson:

The ball bounced high in the air and as you can see, Swanson tried for a force at second, but was way too late. Then he couldn’t get Smith at first so both runners are safe. Had he just thrown to first, he would have retired Smith and, presuming the next play goes as it did (not guaranteed, of course), that was another ground ball that would have ended the inning. Instead, that force play scored a run and then Christian Vázquez singled in the second run of the inning.

Little stuff like that drives me crazy.

The Cubs again had two runners on in the fifth, nothing doing.

They finally broke through in the sixth after Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti was lifted, Miguel Amaya was sent up to bat for Conforto and singled.

One out later, Pete Crow-Armstrong lofted this long home run to right field [VIDEO].

PCA had himself a good day at the plate, good to see after his, uh, eventful week. He also walked twice and went to third on a missed pickoff throw — only to be, as you could have figured, stranded.

Oh, and that home run? It went a long way [VIDEO].

The home run also broke a 1-for-15 streak for PCA.

Cubs relievers did a nice job in this one. Hoby Milner did give up a single that scored a run charged to Taillon, but after that Ethan Roberts, Jacob Webb and Phil Maton threw four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks and striking out five. Roberts, in particular, has thrown really well since returning from the injured list and I think he’s rapidly moving up on Craig Counsell’s circle of trust list.

The Cubs had another good chance in the eighth. With two out, Carson Kelly was hit by a pitch and PCA drew his second walk. Swanson hit a ground ball to short that was thrown wide by Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña and was safe, loading the bases.

Sigh. Nico hit into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

In the ninth, Dansby made a play at short that’s worth watching [VIDEO].

Granted, there’s a catcher running but he’s probably 15 feet into left field and made a perfect, accurate throw to first and got Vázquez by a full step. Great defense from Swanson.

The Cubs went down 1-2-3 in the ninth, sparing us more RISP failure. Gallows humor there, a bit, but seriously, the Cubs had tons of chances in this game and cashed in on exactly zero of them. That will have to change to break this losing streak, which has now reached six games.

A couple of game notes from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs had not lost a sixth consecutive game since July 13, 2022, when they were beaten at home by the Orioles, 7-1, after having dropped four in a row on the road to the Dodgers, then the opener to the Orioles, 4-2.

They lost their next three as well, at home to the Mets, before snapping a nine-game skid with a 3-2 win on July 17.
…..
The Cubs are hitless in their last 11 at bats with a runner in scoring position, since Seiya Suzuki’s infield single in the eighth inning Tuesday.

They are 2 for 27 since Monday, 4 for 42 since Sunday and 7 for 78 in their last 10 games, beginning May 9.              

The last part of that sums up the issues with this team’s offense. They’re getting plenty of runners on base and into scoring position and just… failing.

The Cubs will try to break the losing streak Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Colin Rea will start for the Cubs and Kai-Wei Teng starts for Houston. Game time is again 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.