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It took a while to overcome the cold, but the bats heated up in the eighth inning for the Yankees to manage the Athletics in the opener of their latest series. Amed Rosario was the clear MVP of the night, smashing a pair of home runs including the go-ahead three-run jack that won them the ballgame. The Yankees’ continued success puts the pressure on the rest of their rivals to keep pace or fall into a widening early-season gap, so let’s see who managed to pull even on the day and who fell a little further behind.

Los Angeles Dodgers (9-2) 4, Toronto Blue Jays (4-7) 1

The Dodgers continue to haunt the Jays, returning from their victory in last year’s World Series just to stick it to them again on their home turf. It wasn’t the absolute beatdown that they gave them on Monday, but the Dodgers ran out Yoshinobu Yamamoto and watched him carve up the Blue Jays’ bats for six innings. He allowed just the one run, an RBI double from George Springer in the sixth inning that briefly threatened to cause a rally for Toronto. Yamamoto allowed a walk to put the tying run on base at the time, but buckled down and got the next two outs on grounders to end his night.

Meanwhile, Kevin Gausman wasn’t quite as effective against LA’s lineup. He lasted 5.1 innings, giving up a pair of runs in the third when Hyeseong Kim led off with a double, got moved to third on a bunt single and scored on a Shohei Ohtani single, and then Will Smith hit into a force out. Later, in the fifth, Kim led off again and worked a walk, and then moved to second on a balk that drew Toronto manager John Schneider’s ire and led to him getting ejected. Alex Freeland slapped a single to right to score him, making it 3-0 Dodgers. They tacked on an insurance run in the ninth inning, but it was hardly necessary as the Blue Jays managed just one hit in three innings against the Dodger ‘pen.

Boston Red Sox (3-8) 3, Milwaukee Brewers (8-3) 2

Boston’s been in a major skid to start the year, going 1-8 after Opening Day to put themselves squarely in last place in the AL East entering play on Tuesday. They faced a tough challenge in avoiding a ninth loss with Jacob Misiorowski on the mound for Milwaukee, but Garrett Crochet was going for Boston and rebounded from his previous poor start against Houston quite nicely.

Misiorowski gave the Sox plenty of trouble out of the gate, striking out the side in the first inning and following that up by striking out the first two batters in the second. Ceddanne Rafaela worked a leadoff walk in the third for the first Boston baserunner, but he was erased on a double play after yet another strikeout victim. Willson Contreras picked up the first base hit for the Sox in the fourth, but two more batters K’d including an ABS-confirmed punchout to end the frame, and the fifth saw a runner reach scoring position after a single and hit by pitch but nothing else.

Things changed in the sixth inning, however. Misiorowski struck out his 10th batter of the night in Roman Anthony to lead off, but then issued three straight walks to load the bases before getting lifted for a reliever in DL Hall. Trevor Story greeted him with a two-run double to break the scoreless tie, and a grounder to second brought in a third run.

Crochet had been matching zeroes on the scoreboard up until this point, but he found his limit in the top of the seventh. Joey Ortiz led off with a single, and two batters later Sal Frelick singled to put runners on with one out. A walk then loaded the bases, and Crochet made a rare error in hitting David Hamilton to force in a run. That would be it for Crochet, who handed the baton over to Zack Kelly and watched as he allowed one of his baserunners to score on a grounder but managed to preserve the lead by getting a second groundout. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman locked down the eighth and ninth innings, securing Boston’s third win of the year.

Minnesota Twins (5-6) 4, Detroit Tigers (4-7) 2

The Tigers had to feel confident entering this matchup, running Tarik Skubal against Taj Bradley. Their ace wasn’t on top form, however, while the Twins’ starter twirled a gem leading them to victory and overtaking Detroit in the early standings.

The game was scoreless through four, but the Twins jumped on Skubal in the fifth starting with a pair of one-out walks. Luke Keaschall, Ryan Jeffers, and Josh Bell all ripped RBI hits to push four runs across the plate, the last of which drove Skubal from the game after 4.2 innings. The reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner struck out seven in this outing, but he couldn’t avoid contact as he allowed eight hits on the afternoon, and both of his walks came to hurt him.

Bradley, on the other hand, was masterful against Detroit’s lineup. He went 6.1 innings, striking out 10 batters and scattering six hits throughout. Two of those came in the seventh inning, leading to his removal after recording his final punchout of the outing. Taylor Rogers came in and got them out of the inning with just one of those runners scoring, and after wasting a pair of walks in the eighth the Tigers hit two doubles in the ninth to drive in a second run. The tying run made it to the plate following a two-out walk, but Dillon Dingler grounded out to end it.

Colorado Rockies (5-6) 5, Houston Astros (6-6) 1

Raise your hand if you had the Rockies taking back-to-back wins against the Astros in this matchup — no, put your hands back down, we’re not buying it. In all seriousness though, Colorado had a far easier time on Tuesday as Kyle Freeland tossed 6.1 innings of one-run ball, getting beat just once in the second inning for a Christian Walker solo shot. That briefly gave Houston the lead, but they gave it up in the bottom half as the first three Rockies all reached base. Colorado took their own lead in the fourth on a Willi Castro two-run shot, and tacked on two more when Mickey Moniak launched a two-run blast of his own.

Texas Rangers (6-5) 3, Seattle Mariners (4-8) 2

Brendan Donovan owns an OPS over 1.100 in the early going, and he got the M’s off to an excellent start with a leadoff homer. Unfortunately, the rest of the Mariners’ lineup has been rather ice-cold, and they struggled to do much else in support of George Kirby on the mound. Cal Raleigh managed to knock in a run with two outs in the fifth, but the offense couldn’t muster up much else around those two instances. And while Kirby managed to go the distance in this game, it was only an eight-inning effort as he fell behind in the fifth — back-to-back singles set up our old friend Kyle Higashioka for a go-ahead home run.

Last night started off great.

It was a pitcher’s duel for five innings (and a no-hitter duel for 3 2/3 before a Gavin Sheets miscue). Heading into the eighth inning with the Pittsburgh Pirates leading the San Diego Padres 2-1, it felt like the Friars had a shot.

Adrian Morejon was coming in to pitch and it seemed like San Diego might see Mason Miller in the bottom of the ninth. Those hopes were dashed rather quickly.

After a quick first out, Morejon gave up two singles before a soft grounder to Xander Bogaerts. The shortstop dropped what would have been an inning-ending double play, and the bases became loaded.

What followed was a slaughterhouse, with the Bucs scored five runs on three straight singles before Morejon was finally lifted for Ron Marinaccio. The bleeding stopped there, but the damage was done and San Diego lost the game, 7-1.

Today they’ll face the Pirates in their second straight rubber match. Hopefully they can take the series and end this road trip at .500 before heading home for tomorrow’s series opener against the Colorado Rockies.

Taking the mound

Mitch Keller (PIT) v. Michael King (SD)

Keller has gotten off to a fantastic start in 2026, with only two runs allowed across 12 innings pitched. But, in his last start against the Baltimore Orioles, he struggled to limit the walks (4 BBs).

If San Diego can capitalize on those command issues, the Padres will have a shot at getting Keller out of the game early.

King has also been solid in his first two starts. His first start was a vintage five-inning performance in which he limited the Detroit Tigers to one hit.

But he struggled in his last outing, giving up four runs on seven hits against the Boston Red Sox. That was mostly due to one bad inning, so if King can miss bats like he did in his first start, the Friars should be alright.

Batter up!

Facing the righty Keller will allow manager Craig Stammen to use mostly the same lineup as yesterday’s game. That could change somewhat, with Nick Castellanos either replacing Miguel Andujar at DH or Gavin Sheets at first base:

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Gavin Sheets, DH
7. Nick Castellanos, 1B
8. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
9. Luis Campusano, C

After yesterday’s lack of hitting against ace Paul Skenes, San Diego will need to turn it around on Keller. They certainly have done that historically, with those who have faced him having a combined .288 batting average against the righty.

Chief among those is Machado who has a .294 average in 17 at-bats.

What to look out for: Merrill is 3-for-6 in his career against Keller. His bat has been relatively cold to start the year so it would be nice to see him breakout today.

Relief corps

Pivetta was quite sharp through five innings (including four one-hit innings) apart from an Oneil Cruz two-run double that ended his night. His five innings allowed San Diego to be relatively lax in its bullpen usage.

The Padres ended up using Bradgley Rodriguez, Wandy Peralta, Morejon, and Marinaccio. Those four covered the remaining three innings well — apart from Morejon’s blowup.

That leaves multi-inning options like Kyle Hart and David Morgan. Behind those two are high-leverage relievers Jeremiah Estrada and closer Mason Miller.

Miller’s been dominant thus far this season, but San Diego has only used him in save situations. If the Friar Faithful hope to see him today, the Padres’ offense will have to bounce back after yesterday’s one-run performance.

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The Philadelphia Phillies will be looking to win the rubber match this afternoon against the San Francisco Giants as they send Aaron Nola to the hill. 

My Phillies vs. Giants predictions are targeting Philly to deliver behind a stellar outing from Nola.

Read more for my MLB picks for Wednesday, April 8. 

Who will win Phillies vs Giants today: Phillies moneyline (-133)

The Philadelphia Phillies lost 6-0 on Tuesday, as Robbie Ray dominated.

However, today, they’re up against strugglingSan Francisco Giants right-hander Tyler Mahle, who has allowed seven earned runs over nine innings in two starts. The Phillies’ lineup is also hitting .308 against Mahle across 52 at-bats.

Aaron Nola, meanwhile, has compiled a 3.18 ERA across his two outings, and he’s held this San Francisco lineup to a .178 average across 73 at-bats. The right-hander gave up a mere one earned run in his most recent game against the Rockies at hitter heaven, Coors Field. 

The Phillies are in a great position to take the series finale in the Bay Area.

COVERS INTEL: Mahle has already allowed two home runs, and opponents are hitting .351 against him in two appearances.

Phillies vs Giants Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-108)

Oracle Park is a pitcher-friendly stadium, and I don’t expect Nola to allow many runs. Plus, even when the Giants get to the Philadelphia bullpen, that doesn’t mean they’re going to magically wake up. 

San Francisco is struggling at the dish, ranking 29th in runs scored, 29th in OBP, and 28th in slugging. While I believe the Phillies will do some damage against Mahle, there’s still value in the Under in a ballpark like Oracle, which is huge. 

Two of the last four meetings have cashed the Under as well.

Phillies vs Giants odds

• Moneyline: Phillies -127 | Giants +122
• Run line: Phillies -15 (+127) | Giants +1.5 (-138)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+100) | Under 8.5 (-104)

Phillies vs Giants trend

The Philadelphia Phillies have hit the Moneyline in 27 of their last 45 games (+2.90 Units / 4% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Phillies vs. Giants.

How to watch Phillies vs Giants and game info

Phillies vs Giants latest injuries

Phillies vs Giants weather

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Jeff McNeil found himself floated in trade rumors throughout his seven years with the Mets, but the infielder was still a little surprised when he was finally moved this offseason. 

McNeil, of course, was one of several long-time members shipped out of town as the front office decided to shake things up with the teams core over the winter. 

“That’s the way the organization wanted to go,” he said Tuesday in the Bronx. “There’s a lot of us that were there for a long time that are no longer there, it was a little crazy to see, but it is what it is.”

Just a few months later, McNeil is already set to return to the Big Apple. 

Him and the Athletics kicked off a three-game set with the Yankees on Tuesday night, but it’s the one later this weekend at Citi Field that he’s had circled on his calendar. 

“When I got traded I saw this pretty early on the schedule,” he said. “These three games are like normal road games for me, but when we go to Citi Field it will be a little different, there will be a bit more emotion there.

“Seven years with the Mets, I enjoyed my time and have nothing but great things to say about the organization, but I got traded and I love it here -- we have a great group and we’re having a lot of fun, so it’s been nice.”

The A’s have gotten off to a bit of a rough start, sitting in the basement of the AL West with three losses in 10 games, but McNeil has begun finding his footing at the plate. 

After starting the season in a 1-for-13 funk with six strikeouts, the 34-year-old slugger now has knocks in four straight games following a two-hit effort in in Tuesday’s loss to the Yankees.

While he is yet to pick up an extra base-hit, he’ll certainly be looking to do damage this weekend against his old club.

When 19-year-old Konnor Griffin laced an RBI double to left-center field in his first MLB at-bat, it was a sign of hope for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and their future.

Thanks to a contract announced on Wednesday morning, Pirates fans now have almost a decade of hope and promise to look forward to.

Griffin put pen to paper on a massive nine-year contract with Pittsburgh worth $140 million, the biggest deal in Pirates’ history. That contract eclipses the $106.75 million deal that Bryan Reynolds signed back in 2023, and keeps Griffin in Pittsburgh through 2034.

It also continues Griffin’s meteoric rise through the professional ranks.

Pittsburgh selected the infielder with the ninth-overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft, and Griffin did not waste any time impressing his new team. He started in Single-A with Bradenton for the 2025 season, where he slashed .338/.396/.536 over 50 games with nine home runs, earning a promotion to Greensboro, Pittsburgh’s High-A affiliate. Over 51 games with the Grasshoppers in 2025, Griffin slashed .325/.432/.510, belting seven home runs.

Then it was a promotion to Double-A, where over 21 more games he slashed .337/.418/.542 with another five home runs.

Griffin began the 2026 season with the big club for Spring Training, and was listed as the top prospect in all of baseball. He turned heads early in the spring with a pair of home runs against the Boston Red Sox, including this mammoth blast:

There was speculation that Griffin would make Pittsburgh’s Opening Day roster, but after slashing just .171/.261/.488 during Spring Training, the team assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate to begin the year. During a short stint in Indianapolis — just five games — Griffin began the year on a tear, slashing .438/.571/.625 along with three doubles.

That was enough to earn his promotion to the big club, where the 19-year-old made his debut against the Baltimore Orioles last week.

That’s when this happened:

Just five pitches into his MLB career, Griffin had both his first extra-base hit, and his first RBI.

But what followed is testament to his resilience, and why the Pirates likely felt comfortable with the contract announced on Wednesday. Following his 1-for-4 debut against Baltimore, Griffin went 0-for-4 in each of his next four games. Then came Tuesday night’s 2-for-4 outing against the San Diego Padres, including this two-run single that came off the bat at 113 miles per hour:

With the contract came praise from the organization.

“Signing Konnor is a meaningful commitment to this team, this city and our fans,” said Pirates chairman Bob Nutting. “It reflects our belief in Konnor, in this season’s club and in the future of our organization.

“Konnor represents everything we value in a player: exceptional talent, strong character, a team-first mentality and a maturity that stood out to all of us from the beginning. He is the right person, from the right family, and this is another important step in the work we have been doing to build something lasting.”

“Since joining the organization, Konnor has consistently demonstrated the traits we want in a Pirate: a daily commitment to improvement, a team-first mindset and a strong desire to win,” said Pirates general manager Ben Cherington. “He has met every challenge in front of him, and we are excited to watch him continue that growth alongside his teammates in Pittsburgh. We are thrilled he will be a Pirate for a long time.”

Ahead of the 2026 MLB season we made the case that the Pirates might be the most fascinating team in all of baseball, given the presence of young talent such as Griffin and Paul Skenes.

Which is why the Pirates fan in your life might feel a little more hope today.

If you stopped watching the San Diego Padres against the Pittsburgh Pirates after Nick Pivetta and Paul Skenes were replaced on the mound, you would wake up today looking to see if the Padres were able to scratch out a run or two against the Pittsburgh bullpen to come back and win the game. They did not, but things got much worse.

Pivetta delivered five innings of well-pitched baseball. He allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. It is the type of performance Padres fans should expect from a frontline starter. It is also the type of performance that those same fans would expect to see their offense produce enough runs to win a game. Against most pitchers that may be the case, but Skenes is not most pitchers. As good as Pivetta was, Skenes was better. The Pittsburgh ace completed 6.1 innings allowing one run on two hits with two walks and six strikeouts. His one mistake – a one-out 2-2 pitch in the top of the seventh inning to Xander Bogaerts that went 383 feet to left field for a solo home run.

The Padres were unable to do much, but the pitching kept the score, 2-1 until the bottom of the eight inning when Adrian Morejon entered the game. On most nights it is a quick 1-2-3 and the San Diego batters are getting ready to tie the game in the top of the ninth. That was not the case on Wednesday. Morejon lasted 1/3 of an inning and allowed five runs, four of which were earned, on five hits with the one out in his appearance coming on a strikeout.

The Padres stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth inning trailing 7-1 and went down in order to end the game with Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado striking out before Bogaerts grounded out to end the game. San Diego will look to win the series in Pittsburgh this morning at 9:35 a.m. PST.

Padres News:

• The Padres pitchers are doing what they can with Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish not in the rotation. The likes of Walker Buehler and German Marquez are trying fill the back of the rotation roles until reinforcements arrive, resulting in some tough decisions for Stammen and the San Deigo front office. The hope is the offense can start producing that will allow the pitching staff to compete without having to be perfect.

• Stammen stepped in to the role of manager with no managerial experience at the major league level – at any level for that matter. After three-and-two-thirds series in, how would Gaslamp Ball readers grade his performance so far?

• Joe Musgrove is trying to get back to the San Deigo rotation and that cannot come soon enough for a team that needs a boost to kickstart its season.

• Kyle Hart made some adjustments during his time in the San Diego minor league system last season and it appears to be paying dividends at the MLB level this season.

• Dennis Lin of The Athleticput together his first piece since soliciting information rom Padres fans and it would lead anyone to believe he has more to come in future articles.

Baseball News:

• Fans in Los Angeles went to see a baseball game between the Angels and the Atlanta Braves and what they got was a boxing match that resulted in ejections for both sides.

• Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominated the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Toronto manager did not stick around to see it.

• Amed Rosario hit two home runs to help the New York Yankees earn yet another win.

• Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley struck out 10 Detroit Tigers batters and outdueled Tarik Skubal en route to the win.

• The Boston Red Sox sent their ace Garrett Crochet up against the Milwaukee Brewers and their young fireballer Jacob Misiorowski and the veteran propelled the Red Sox to victory.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have completely transformed their lineup for the 2026 season, but there is still a debate as to who should be playing third base for the club between Jared Triolo and Nick Gonzales. While neither one of these players will likely be long term answers to fill this vacancy, the Pirates should prioritize playing Gonzales over Triolo.

The way that the roster is currently constructed there is an emphasis on having a strong offense to support a stellar pitching staff. To build this lineup the Pirates did take some liberties with sacrificing overall team defense to compensate for what was the worst offense in baseball a year ago. With that in mind it’s clear that Gonzales has more of a roll on a team that is willing to sacrifice some defense with the goal of scoring more runs and being able to frustrate opposing pitchers from top to bottom in a lineup.

Over the last couple of seasons, there has been few utility defenders as versatile as Triolo. He was the first utility man recipient of the Gold Glove Award in 2024 and can play nearly anywhere in the field. With the departure of fellow Gold Glover Ke’Bryan Hayes, Triolo was the incumbent at the hot corner. Triolo also regularly played at third when Hayes was injured or out of the lineup, so there is definitely a case to be made for him to be the Pirates’ regular third baseman.

Even with his credentials however, the positives do not outweigh the negatives in the case of Triolo. The 28-year-old Houston alum is absolutely the best defender on Pittsburgh’s roster, but offensively, he is mostly dead weight in the team’s lineup. His power is inconsistent and he doesn’t get on base at a very high rate. Before he was placed on the ten-day IL Triolo had a batting average of .217 and is only a career .236 hitter. He has just one extra base hit in 2026 and just one RBI.

Gonzales on the other hand would not be considered an elite defender. While capable he certainly does not have the range and versatility that Triolo has. However, Gonzales has gotten off to a red hot start this year at the plate. In nine games the New Mexico State product is slashing .297/.350/.351 with a .701 OPS, 11 hits and seven RBIs. Gonzales has the third most RBIs on the team and this season seems to always find a way to deliver a clutch base hit when the Pirates absolutely need a spark. In Pittsburgh’s most recent contest against San Diego Gonzales deliver with a bases loaded two-run single in the eighth inning to stretch the Pirates’ lead and ignited a five run inning for the Buccos. He’s far from an offensive superstar, but he does find a way to clutch up with consistent contact.

While neither of these players are consistent power threats the consistency that Gonzales has over Triolo for pure contact is still very valuable to this lineup. It was only six years ago when Gonzales was one of the best hitters in college baseball, and now really seems to be coming into his own at the major league level. He fits in perfectly between power threats like Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe as more of a small ball type of player who can consistently get on base and keep runners moving on the base pads.

To reiterate, neither one of these players are likely long term answers to be Pittsburgh’s every day third baseman, but for the time being Gonzales and his play style are more complimentary to the Pirates’ lineup than Triolo.

What do yinz think? Who would you want to see be the Pirates’ third baseman? Let us know in the comments!

Good morning! The Red Sox won a baseball game last night, which is something we haven’t gotten to say much this year. It was a close one, and another game where the bullpen played a key role. Holding onto leads has been tough for the Sox so far. Like, real tough:

But Zack Kelly of all people got the job done last night, so how are you feeling about the bullpen now that Garrett Whitlock’s back? The Red Sox front office treated it like it wasn’t much of a concern this offseason, but bullpens have a way of luring you into a false sense of security.

Talk about the pen or whatever else you want in this space and, as always, be good to one another.

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It's a getaway day in the MLB schedule, with plenty of early-afternoon games and the latest first pitch just 7:40 p.m. ET.

We've got MLB best bets for today spanning the entire slate, with the best prices available at Polymarket — a prediction market that allows users from coast-to-coast to join in on the baseball action.

Read on to see what our expert's MLB picks are today, along with more best bets from the Covers staff as they're submitted.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: LAD/TOR u7.5	+108
Jon Metler: TEX ML	+117
Joe Osborne: NYY -1.5	+100

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Dodgers/Blue Jays Under 7.5

Price: 48¢ (+108) at Polymarket

Back to the Under in this Dodgers vs. Blue Jays matchup on getaway Wednesday afternoon. It’s a strong pitching duel between Shohei Ohtani and Dylan Cease, which is baked into the number... but there are additional factors supporting the Under: Toronto is off tomorrow and can lean on its top bullpen arms, plus its offense is in the worst of slumps — while LA could rest key bats with travel ahead of a Friday series. This sets up as a quick-paced game with limited run production.

Jon Metler's expert pick: Rangers moneyline

Price: 46¢ (+117) at Polymarket

The Rangers are listed as 46% underdogs against Bryan Woo and the Seattle Mariners, and I’m definitely hitting that number — I believe the Rangers should be closer to 53% favorites in this spot. MacKenzie Gore has adjusted his release point since joining Texas, making it even more difficult for left-handed hitters to square him up. With Brendan Donovan setting the table at the top of the lineup and Josh Naylor hitting in the middle — both left-handed bats — it’s fair to question how Seattle will generate offense, especially with Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez struggling at the plate as their primary right-handed threats. On the other side, Corey Seager and Jake Burger both profile well against Woo’s high-velocity, high-spin four-seam fastball.

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Yankees -1.5

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

The Yankees have won eight games this season, covering the run line in every one of them, and that trend should continue tonight given the clear pitching edge here. Their lineup has dominated Luis Severino, posting a .963 OPS across 65 at-bats, and he was obliterated for 13 earned runs with 19 baserunners allowed in two starts against them last season. Will Warren was far more effective at home last year, while New York’s bullpen ranks first in FIP. Meanwhile, the A’s bullpen owns an 8.06 ERA over the past week — including four runs allowed to New York yesterday — and the Yankees have scored 5+ runs in six straight games.

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Admittedly, there is nothing more challenging than doing analysis on the fly. All numbers that appear in the lab during the regular season are a snapshot in time. In April, the impacts of one or two games can have quite an effect on the overall numbers. However, we are trying to look at things holistically and when that happens the numbers have a little more value.

Coming into play the Rockies, the Astros had the number one offense in MLB. They were number one in almost every category. The most telling category is walks. It seems foolish to say, but nothing gets more giddy and excited than walks. It is the single most underappreciated stat in baseball. Certainly, the season is only two weeks old, but the change has been noticeable.

Before I dive into the numbers I should make a few admissions. First, my username for SBNation is “VBallretired”. I took that name because I am a retired volleyball coach. Admittedly, my career as a coach was short. I quit coaching when my daughter was very young because I wanted to see her grow up. I’ll never regret that decision. I say all that to say that I know how difficult coaching is. I also know that what happens on the field or court is not always a reflection of the message you are giving to the players.

Alex Cintron and Troy Snitker were the guys for the last several years (since 2018 for Cintron). I am not in the clubhouse. I am not an insider. I don’t know the message that was being communicated. I can only see the results. The results were pretty clear. The Astros were less selective overall, more aggressive early in counts, and not particularly effective in situational hitting situations with men on base. Those are the facts. Whether they were coached to do those things or not is unknown.

As a former coach, I can attest to the fact that some teams take to your core message and resemble the kind of team you envision. Some teams don’t. I definitely get it. So, I will not completely crap on Cintron and Snitker except to say that the team was not effective offensively and it was time for a new voice (or voices). Sometimes people’s voices get drowned out for whatever reason. However, the numbers below are a testament to the idea that coaches can have an effect. A number of fans and analysts didn’t think it mattered. Players are who they are. That is certainly true to a certain extent, but it is not universally true.

We are looking at three process numbers do demonstrate what has been happening in the early going. The first number is chase rate. As a reminder, 30 percent tends to be around the league average. We are comparing each player’s 2025 rate with the 2026 rate. So, league norms are not necessarily relevant. The second number is swing percentage. it is followed by zone percentage which is the percentage of pitches that actually wind up in the zone. 50 percent tends to be average on both counts. Again, we are more interested in 2025 versus 2026. Numbers are accurate through the end of the Athletics series.

I should start with the usual caveats and disclaimers. I use the word aggregate because it is the numerical average of all of the numbers. It doesn’t represent differences in who actually gets the plate appearances. It also doesn’t represent the actual roster employed last season. In particular, Nick Allen is much more patient than Mauricio Dubon, so we included Allen because coaches have to be graded based on what they do with what they have and not based on what they have.

Dans Brown’s job is to give Joe Espada the very best roster he can. Espada’s job is to employ that roster to maximum effect. From there, the hitting and pitching coaches are charged with getting as many of their charges to hit or pitch their very best. Given all of those caveats we can begin to digest these numbers to figure out what they might mean long-term.

We will start on the right hand side of the ledger. The zone percentage represents the percentage of pitches that hitters see in the zone. Clearly, teams are not challenging Astros hitters very much. Of course, there are multiple reasons for that. On the one hand, it could be a bigger trend based on past performance. If I were coaching against the Astros, I would probably tell me pitchers to test the Astros hitters and their strike zone judgment. In particular, Diaz, Altuve, and Pena have been free swingers. Why give them a lot to hit?

On the other hand, they have gone up against three teams so far. Even if we include the Rockies, we would see four teams expected to be near the bottom of the standings. The Red Sox might be the notable exception to that rule, but no one has high hopes for the Athletics, Angels, or Rockies pitchers. So, maybe they are just incapable of getting it in the zone consistently.

Either way, the Astros have responded by swinging less often and chasing less often. I’m certain that the actual 2025 numbers would be worse than what we see above. So, the difference is that much more stark. It clearly reflects the messaging going to hitters. Of course, only those inside the clubhouse would know whether the message has changed considerably. Often the key to good coaching is not the message itself, but in how it is communicated. Clearly, the message is the right one and so far it is being communicated in a way most of the hitters can digest. From here, Joe Espada will need to manipulate the lineups to take fuller advantage of those performing and Brown will need to shape the roster by possibly moving some of these guys not performing. That is the way this whole thing works. Of course, the rubber will meet the road when the Astros finally see a good pitching staff in Seattle.

1963
On this date, one of the biggest “what if’s” in franchise history took place.

As per the rules at the time, the White Sox had to choose between two pitchers signed to “bonus baby” contracts, as only one player signed to a deal for more than a certain amount of money could remain in the organization; the other would have to be waived.

With that in mind, rookies Bruce Howard and Denny McLain square off in an intrasquad game to see who would be released and who got promoted to Double-A Lynchburg. Howard won, 2-1. McLain got his walking papers and was claimed by Detroit the following week. He’d go on to win 131 big league games, including 31 in 1968.  

Howard won 26 in his career, and never could find consistent success. He was traded to the Orioles in November 1967. 

1984
After 559 starts in the National League, Tom Seaver made his American League debut in a 7-3 mauling by the Tigers at Comiskey Park. The loss came a day after the South Siders were no-hit by a Detroit team that got out the gate hot and didn’t stop until they won the 1984 World Series. Seaver lasted just 4 1⁄3 innings, surrendering five earned runs, including a solo homer to Kirk Gibson.

After his debut loss, Seaver was defeated again, and took a 7.71 ERA into his third start. The future Hall-of-Famer corrected himself on the season, however, ending up with a 15-11 record and 3.95 ERA/105 ERA+/4.1 WAR. At age 39, he led the White Sox pitchers in wins and was second in WAR.

1991
It was always a “House of Horrors” for the White Sox, but on this day they got the last laugh.

The Sox spoiled the last Orioles home opener in Memorial Stadium by ripping Baltimore, 9-1. Sammy Sosa clubbed homers in the second and eighth innings to lead the rout, driving in five runs on the afternoon. Jack McDowell went the distance for the win, striking out 10.

1995
With teams ramping up quickly to fill out rosters as the labor impasse that cancelled the 1994 World Series ended, the White Sox signed free agent outfielder Mike Devereaux and southpaw starter Jim Abbott for the season.

Devereaux was signed for $1,350,000 and served as the team’s primary right fielder (1.8 WAR, .306/.352/.465, 115 OPS+) before being dealt to contending Atlanta for minor league center fielder Andre King on August 25.

Abbott, famously a star hurler with just one hand, signed for $2 million and had a renaissance season, going 6-4 with a 3.36 ERA and 2.6 WAR in just 17 starts. He was dealt back to his original club, the California Angels, on July 27. Abbott also would mount a comeback with the White Sox in 1998, after sitting out 1997.

2014
The White Sox hit six home runs, including the first two of José Abreu’s career, in a 15-3 rout of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Avisaíl García adds two homers, with Tyler Flowers and Alexei Ramírez getting one apiece. The White Sox scored 11 times in the final three frames, turning a 4-3 squeaker into a 15-3 romp. Jim Margalus covered the rout for South Side Sox.

2021
The Legend of Yermín Mercedes grew, as he clubbed the third-longest home run ever at new Sox Park. Coming against Brad Keller of the Royals, the 485-foot clout was hit in the rain, and in Yermín’s very first 2021 at-bat in front of his home fans.

2025
In just his second career start, Shane Smith threw a no hitter for 5 ⅔ innings, becoming the first MLB pitcher with a least 11 ⅔ innings pitched in his first two starts to allow no more than four total bases. The last pitcher to accomplish this stingy feat was also a South Side hurler: Shovel Hodge, in 1920.