Worldwide Sports News

It seems that Chris Sale’s next start will be pushed to Friday after all. The NL East leading Atlanta Braves, who are five games clear in the Division, have made a roster move before tonight’s game with the Washington Nationals.

The Braves have added 20-year-old Didier Fuentes to the active roster. He will be starting tonight’s game. Martin Perez was scheduled to start tonight previously. His start and Chris Sale’s start will be pushed back a day. Didier Fuentes has already made one appearance this year on March 29th. That appearance worked out to be a rare Braves split start, as Grant Holmes pitched five innings, while Fuentes pitched the remaining four with a 4/1 K/BB ratio. This is what we’ve been waiting for since he left. Didier has been tormenting AAA the last two years to the tune of a 11.21 and 10.80 strikeout rate.

Ian (don’t call me Anderson, bro) Hamilton has been designated for assignment. The Braves allowed 12 walks last night, and two of those were Ian’s. He also allowed three earned runs. Last night was the display of the Braves losing-side of the bullpen, and boy howdy was it ever a display. Hamilton was cut loose, but he will likely be back.

By no means has the Washington Nationals rotation been great, but it feels like Foster Griffin is keeping the group above water right now. Last night he had a quality start and went six innings for the first time this season. He did not put up sexy strikeout numbers, but he did his job. That is what we have come to expect from Foster Griffin.

Last night, Foster Griffin had a tough task in front of him. He was tasked with slowing down a Braves lineup that had been on a roll lately. A cerebral pitcher, Griffin knew the challenges that confronted him. However, he made a key adjustment early in the game that let him keep Braves hitters off balance.

While Griffin has a 7 pitch mix, when the chips are down, he usually goes to his cutter. That is his bread and butter, and the pitch he is most comfortable with. However, Braves hitters also knew this, so Griffin had to make an adjustment. For the season, Griffin throws his cutter 30% of the time, but last night, he was only throwing it 22% of the time. He threw 6 pitches at least 10% of the time last night, which is rare to see.

After the game, Griffin told me that he thought the Braves were sitting on the cutter inside early in the game. The way he saw this was that Braves hitters were hitting the ball hard even on cutters off the plate inside. When Griffin saw that, he knew he needed to adjust and become less predictable. 

As the game progressed, Griffin truly gave Braves hitters the kitchen sink. I was impressed by how he was using his changeup and splitter. Seeing guys with two offspeed pitches is rare, and it can be a weapon. In pitching, weird is good, and having those two pitches working at the same time is weird.

As Griffin acknowledged, this Braves lineup is really good, so things were not perfect. He allowed a couple solo shots, on pitches that were not even terrible mistakes. I still cannot believe that the ball Eli White hit left the yard. Drake Baldwin also hit a homer on a pitch at his ankles.

However, Griffin was able to complete six innings. That was only the second time all season that a Nats starter went six and the first time since Cade Cavalli did it on April 1st. As the season goes on, I would expect starters to go deeper into games. You cannot overwork the bullpen, so when guys are throwing the ball well, Blake Butera is likely to ride them longer.

As the season progresses, I expect Griffin in particular to go six on a fairly regular basis. He has established himself as the Nats best starting pitcher. With that distinction under his belt, he will have more trust from Butera. He can also change how he attacks pitchers as he gets deeper into games with his deep mix.

Butera showed Griffin a lot of trust last night. After Griffin walked Austin Riley, Maurico Dubon, who had gone 2/2 came to the plate. Blake Butera came to the mound, and almost everyone thought Griffin was done. I say almost everyone because Luis Garcia Jr. said he could tell by Butera’s walk that Griffin was staying in. 

Before this, whenever Butera went to the mound, it meant the pitcher was done. However, Butera was undecided when he went to the mound. When Griffin told him emphatically that he felt good, that was all Butera needed to hear.

Ironically, Dubon going 2/2 seemed to help Griffin in a way. He told reporters that Dubon’s success gave him an idea of how he was being attacked. Dubon had gotten two hits on two pitches down in the zone. Using that information, Griffin perfectly placed a cutter on the inside corner and got the ground ball he was looking for.

That cerebral sequence is what makes Foster Griffin effective. He may not have one elite pitch, but he has so many different weapons he can use in different situations. While the Braves may have been sitting on the cutter inside early in the game, he had shown them enough of his mix to come back to that pitch when it mattered most.

With the way Griffin is pitching, he could be in demand at this deadline. I am just going to enjoy him as long as I can as a Nat. He is such a smart pitcher and a student of the game. It is refreshing to see a guy excel while not throwing upper 90’s gas. Sometimes a good game plan and a bunch of different weapons is enough to get the job done.

You also have to credit Paul Toboni for taking a chance on a 30 year old who had spent the last three seasons in Japan. He thought Griffin’s deep mix and pitching IQ would translate, and so far it has in a big way. While Griffin is not an ace, you know that he will be solid every time he takes the mound.

Good morning everyone!

The Mariners fell yet again to the A’s last night, dropping the contest 6-2 as the offense struggles to find its footing.

Where is your level of concern as we enter the late stages of April? Do you still think the team can turn it around and return to the caliber of play we expected them to during the preseason, or have you adjusted your expectations?

In Mariners news…

• ICYMI: The Mariners called up right-handed reliever Alex Hoppe for his big league debut. The team DFA’d Casey Legumina in a corresponding move. We wish you all the best, Bean Man!
• We also say farewell to righty Blas Castaño, who was claimed off waivers by the Rockies.
• Cal Raleigh maintains faith in the Mariners after a rough 25 games to open the season.
• Eric Sanford ranked all of your hot takes for his first-ever Lookout Landing reverse mailbag. Keep your eyes on The Feed for the next call for submissions!
• The Lookout Landing staff debated the Mariners’ decision to call up Will Wilson to replace Brendan Donovan instead of Colt Emerson.
• Eva Walker at The Stranger wrote about falling in love with the Mariners again.
• Make sure to get yours!

Around the league…

• The stumbling Mets lost their 12th ballgame in a row last night, but at least they’re expected to reinstate star outfielder Juan Soto from the injured list today.
• The Phillies, who are also struggling mightily, will welcome Zack Wheeler back from the injured list on Saturday.
• Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford will undergo an MRI on his forearm after he was removed from last night’s game against the Pirates.
• The Braves placed closer Raisel Iglesias on the injured list with shoulder inflammation — an ailment he seemingly exacerbated by sleeping on it wrong.
• The Phillies unveiled the All-Star weekend schedule of festivities for 2026.
• Joshua Rodrigues wrote about how runners are getting bigger leads than before, and how first basemen have made the adjustment.
• Bradley Woodrum at Baseball Prospectus explained what makes Padres closer Mason Miller so dominant. ($)

The week started off with a wild set of games on the Atlanta Braves farm system. The Gwinnett Stripers, led by the rehabbing Spencer Strider, managed to get no-hit but still come out with a win in the game. Meanwhile Rome took the opposite path, obliterating a good Greensboro pitching staff with six home runs on the way to a blowout win. Leading the charge there was Eric Hartman, who broke a streak of games without an extra base hit by totalling three home runs as part of a 5-5 performance.

(14-8) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (11-11) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 0

Box Score

Statcast

• Jim Jarvis, SS: 0-2, HBP, BB, .380/.495/.532
• Nacho Alvarez, DH: 0-2, RBI, .204/.313/.241
• Spencer Strider, SP: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.00 ERA
• Rolddy Munoz, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA

Miami’s Braxton Garrett is still looking to earn his way back into the Marlins rotation after missing all of last season, and so far in four Triple-A games he has been making his best case. He carried early season dominance into another ridiculous start against the Gwinnett Stripers, throwing a complete game with no hits allowed. However, Garrett had a single rough inning where he got wild and as a result took the loss despite eight brilliant frames. Gwinnett had no real answer for the entire game on offense, but Brewer Hicklen and Kim Jarvis were both hit by pitches to open up the sixth inning, and that opened a narrow opportunity in a game that scoreless. Garrett then uncorked a slider that somehow narrowly missed hitting Sean Murphy, but did skip all the way to the backstop for a wild pitch. As the ball settled near the wall Garrett failed to cover home, and Hicklen never stopped running and was able to sprint home and score from second base for the first run of the game. Garrett would fight back to strike Murphy out, but in that time also made an errant throw to second base on a pickoff attempt that allowed Jarvis to move to third. This gave just enough opportunity for a Nacho Alvarez sacrifice fly to bring home a second run, and the Gwinnett pitching staff dominated en route to a one-hit shutout. This was helped by having Sean Murphy behind the dish, who caught six innings and went 0-3 at the plate.

For as good as Garrett was he was matched by the output of the Gwinnett Stripers staff, especially Spencer Strider who turned in a terrific rehab outing. Strider dominated with 15 whiffs and eight strikeouts on 44 swings, and save for a single in the fourth inning he was untouchable. The Jumbo Shrimp were aggressive out of the zone in this game and Strider made them pay for that, and though his command wasn’t pinpoint he did a solid job of elevating his fastball and keeping his slider down and glove side. He checked all of the boxes for this stage of his rehab assignment until his velocity started to slip a bit in his final inning of work.

Following Strider’s outing the rest of the bullpen was just a shade short of perfection. Victor Mederos walked the first batter he faced in relief, then he and the rest of the bullpen retired 14 of the last 15 hitters with only an error allowing another runner to reach base. Rolddy Munoz kept his sensational start to the season with his first save, striking out the side in order in a perfect ninth. It’s only been seven outings but Munoz has thrown more strikes during this stretch of play than he has in nearly any other span of his career, and hitters are not able to handle his plus slider. He got whiffs on all four swings at the slider in this outing, and was helped by the Jumbo Shrimp continuing to go after breaking balls below the zone.

Swing and Misses

Spencer Strider – 15

Rolddy Munoz – 4

Victor Mederos – 4

Javy Guerra – 1

(9-7) Columbus Clingstones 5, (7-9) Birmingham Barons 8

Box Score

• Patrick Clohisy, LF-CF: 3-5, 2B, 3B, .348/.400/.565
• David McCabe, DH: 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, .265/.419/.653
• Owen Murphy, SP: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 5 BB, 2 K, 7/31 ERA
• Luis Vargas, RP: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 3.38 ERA

It’s been two very disappointing starts out of the past three for Owen Murphy this season as he has not been able to command the ball well. Between 2024 and 2025 Murphy walked only 18 batters in 71 1/3 innings, but has now walked 14 in 16 innings this season. This has come with a small boom in home runs — he allowed two in this game — and he seems to be in need of a reset already. All of his pitches are all over the place, and though he shows flashes of hitting the top of the zone with his fastball he is just not consistent enough to get outs. On the positive end of the spectrum his breaking balls are showing improved shape and bite over last season on the occasions he does land them, and if/when he can dial in his location they should add more dimension to what was an extreme fastball-heavy approach in prior seasons.

David McCabe continued his insane production this season with another long ball, tagging a fastball the opposite way for a two run home run. McCabe was a bit behind the sinker in the bottom of the zone, but had the pure pop to muscle one out for his third home run in the past four games and sixth overall this season. All six of McCabe’s home runs this season have come from the left side, continuing the trend of power output that matches his swing characteristics.

We’ve also seen great play from Patrick Clohisy since missing a couple of series early in the season. He has hit safely in all five games since returning to the lineup last series, and had by far his best game of the season with a couple of extra base hits and three total in this game. Clohisy has really turned into an interesting player to watch since his swing adjustments last season, showing much more gap power in his time in Double-A while also not seeing a significant increase in swing-and-miss. He is another in a line of outfielders the Braves have done a great job scouting and developing as defensive center fielders, and so far has hit all of the markers to trend towards a bench bat ceiling. A few extra walks would really help the profile out at the moment, though it’s still just a 46 game sample at Double-A split across an offseason. Lizandro Espinoza suffered an injury early in this game, and though he stayed in on the defensive end he would eventually have to leave the game. Espinoza made a great play to track down a fly ball near the wall, but crashed hard into the padding and appeared to injure his right leg in the process. He was slow and limped away from the wall, allowing the tagging runner to score from second base, and went down on the outfield grass holding that leg. While he did finish out the inning defensively he did not come out in the third inning, and his status moving forward is unclear. While it’s never good to see a player injured it would be especially unfortunate for Espinoza, who has really come into his own this season. His contact and approach is finally catching up to the athletic attributes and he has been fantastic at the plate this season, showing off with power, speed, and defense to put himself in some real prospect conversations. He’ll be one to keep a close eye on whether he hits the injured list or stays active to see how the injury affects what has been great progress over the last season and some change since the Braves grab him in the Rule 5 draft.

Swing and Misses

Owen Murphy – 8

Samuel Strickland – 5

(7-9) Rome Emperors 15, (11-5) Greensboro Grasshoppers 6

Box Score

• Isaiah Drake, LF: 2-4, HR, 2 BB, .233/.324/.400
• John Gil, SS: 3-6, HR, .208/.317/.377
• Eric Hartman, CF: 5-5, 3 HR, BB, 5 RBI, .310/.365/.724
• Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 5.84 ERA
• Logan Samuels, RP, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 5.87 ERA

It’s hard to have a much better evening than Eric Hartman had on Tuesday. In the top of the first inning Hartman hit a tank down the right field line, turning on an high fastball and crushing one that just snuck fair down the line for his fourth home run of the year. This gave Rome an early lead, but the offense was not even close to slowing down for Hartman. The next prospect to make an impact was John Gil, who led off in the third inning with a missile of a home run to center field. Gil got a sinker right over the heart of the plate on the very first pitch and was sitting back on it, and he made ear-rattling contact on the ball as it got way out of the park in a hurry. One pitch later and Hartman was right back up to his old tricks. He saw another sinker out over the plate and it took about three steps for the right fielder to give up on the ball. With that hit Hartman tied his 2025 total with his fifth home run in only 14 games, but with an entire game left to go there was no reason for him or the Emperors to slow down their production. The Emperors really put it away with a five run explosion in the fourth inning, an inning led off by the fifth team home run of the game.

Isaiah Drake turned on a high fastball and launched another home run out to left field, breaking up a rough stretch at the plate for him. Since hitting two home runs in the opening series Drake has only gotten one extra base hit in the past two weeks, and was 2 for his last 16 at the plate entering this game. He put the slump to bed with two hits and two walks in this game, and turned around after a really disappointing end to last week’s games. He has been cutting back slowly on the strikeouts and if he can make more impact with his contact like he did in this game the path back to a great numbers is well in play. His swing this season has continued to improve and the pop on the pull side is coming along nicely, making him one of the breakout players to watch as the season drifts towards May. Hartman didn’t have another nuke up his sleeve for his third at bat, but he did sneak a single into center field which was followed by another hit from Dixon Williams. Cody Miller officially made it a route with an opposite field bomb off of the scoreboard, his second home run of the season, driving in three runs and making it 10-3 in favor of the Emperors. The offense slowed down quite significantly after that point, with the next big inning resulting from a bevy of walks to the top of the order, until Hartman got one more turn at the dish in the ninth inning. To this point Hartman had put up an incredible statline with four hits, two home runs, and a walk, but just for kicks he had one more exciting moment up his sleeve. This time Hartman got a slider in the strike zone, and even though he was a bit out on his front foot he showed off his tremendous strength. He turned it around and carried it out to right center field and just over the top of the wall for his third home run of the game and now career high sixth of the season.

An up and down start to the season for Cedric De Grandpre continued as he failed to get out of the first inning in this game. He really struggled to command the ball and walked three batters, eventually eclipsing the 30 pitch mark and getting yanked with the bases loaded. Jacob Kroeger had the task of escaping the trouble and he immediately issued a walk, though he was able to get a strikeout to keep the game tied. Kroeger had a solid outing, but it was really Logan Samuels who was the active pitcher in getting Rome over the hump. Samuels pitched three brilliant innings in the middle frames with four strikeouts and no walks or runs allowed, allowing the Emperors to cruise down the stretch and never worry about their big early lead.

Swing and Misses 

Isaac Gallegos – 9

Logan Samuels – 7

Cedric De Grandpre – 5

(10-6) Augusta GreenJackets 7, (8-8) Columbia Fireflies 6

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, 2B: 1-3, 2B, 3 BB, .246/.434/.456
• Nick Montgomery, C: 0-3, 2 BB, .323/.463/.581
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 2-4, RBI, .357/.371/.536
• Logan Forsythe, SP: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1.08 ERA
• Aiven Cabral, RP: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 3.21 ERA

Augusta and Columbia played tug-of-war in this game, trading the lead back and forth until the GreenJackets were able to lock up in extra innings. They trailed 2-0 and didn’t have a hit after three innings, but in the fourth inning had the top of the lineup up to bat with a chance to get things started. Tate Southisene jumped on a first pitch fastball and hit a liner down into the left field corner for a leadoff double, sparking the first scoring chance for Augusta. Luis Guanipa turned the opportunity dial up with one out, waiting out a slow breaking ball and shooting it the other way for a base hit. Guanipa got picked off at first base, but stayed alive on the bases long enough for Southisene to score from third base and cut the deficit in half. The next inning Dalton McIntyre and Juan Mateo led off with singles, and while Augusta couldn’t turn that into a bigger inning they did manage a run on a fielder’s choice. Southisene was once again a spark for the offense in the sixth inning when he led off the inning by drawing a walk. He stole second base and advanced on a wild pitch, putting him in position to come home to score on a sacrifice fly from Guanipa.

Augusta had their first lead of the game, but it was a short-lived experience for them. The pitching staff had an unspectacular day, starting with Logan Forsythe on the mound. While Forsythe managed to limit damage to one earned run on a home run thanks to him getting five ground outs, overall he had a bit of a busy day allowing baserunners and his control never quite settled in. Aiven Cabral had an opportunity for a long relief appearance and he did cover five innings for Augusta, but he didn’t miss bats and a lot of the contact against him turned into hits and runs. He allowed a tying home run to the first batter he faced after getting the lead, and he settled into a pattern of never managing that shutdown inning. Augusta was gifted a run in the top of the seventh thanks to poor control from Fireflies reliever Kyle DeGroat, but Cabral came right back and allowed three hits and two runs in the bottom of the inning to swing the lead over to the home side. Dalton McIntyre’s two run home run in the eighth inning was a huge boost that swung the momentum over to the Augusta side, but Cabral gave up a leadoff single in the next inning.

That turned into a stolen base and a game-tying single, and the 6-6 score would last for both sides until extra innings. Caden Merritt was the hero for Augusta as he netted a go-ahead single in the top of the tenth inning, but Augusta was once again in need of a shutdown inning with Jaylen Paden relieving Cabral. Paden made things tighter immediately by issuing a walk, putting the winning run on with no outs in the inning. Paden gave up a grounder over to first base, too slow for Cooper McMurray to turn it into a double play, and the tying run moved over to third base with two chances for Columbia to tie the game. Paden gave up a sharp liner to right field that was medium deep, a position that should have allowed the speedy pinch runner at third base to score, but the runner made a mistake and didn’t tag properly, rescuing the GreenJackets for the moment. Paden forced a lazy fly out to right field from the next hitter, and Augusta escaped with a narrow win in extra innings.

Swing and Misses

Logan Forsythe – 7

Aiven Cabral – 5

Happy Wednesday A’s fans! Today the team vies for the sweep against the Seattle Mariners, aiming to extend its road winning streak to eight games.

Entering this season, the Athletics offense was expected to be a potent bunch capable of striking for multiple runs at any point in the game and erasing early deficits created by bad pitching performances. Through 23 games, that has been the case, especially late in games. In the team’s lone victory in its three-game series this past weekend against the Chicago White Sox, the A’s fell behind 5-0 early only to chip away with a run every inning and eventually tie the game on first baseman Nick Kurtz’s two-run home run in the seventh inning. The A’s wound up completing the comeback and winning that dramatic game in the 11th inning on Max Muncy’s game-winning sacrifice fly.

Following a loss on Sunday, the team regrouped and opened its three-game series at the Seattle Mariners with another comeback victory on Monday night. Once again, the team fell behind early, yet did not panic. They hit three solo home runs to tie the game and then took the lead for good with a three-run eighth inning.

If the A’s are able to complete the road sweep today, that would send a loud early-season statement to the defending American League West champions.

Kurtz is starting to heat up at the plate when he gets the chance to hit. The reigning American League Rookie of the Year has recorded a walk in 12-straight games. He is three games shy of tying all-time great Rickey Henderson atop that team record. Shortstop Jacob Wilson is also starting to collect more hits, although he still gets himself out too much by attempting to hit every pitch he sees whether it’s above his head or below his knees.

In the bullpen, relievers Joel Kuhnel and Jack Perkins have performed well since their call-ups. Given Perkins’ injury history and the team’s multitude of young pitchers and nearly MLB ready top prospects, it may behoove the team to keep him in relief, possibly as the A’s new closer. Escaping that 11th inning bases-loaded no-outs situation against the White Sox on Saturday and then his two-inning save yesterday against the Mariners shows that Perkins has the stuff and moxie to succeed in this stressful role.

What do you want to see out of the Athletics during the last week of April? What does the team have to do to continue this early-season success into May?

A’s Coverage:

• Athletics take down Mariners 5-2
• It Might Be Time For Some Crosby Love
• Lawrence Butler’s Rough Start Comes With a Big Asterisk
• Lawrence Butler Says He Wants Mariners Fans to “Go Home Sad”
• A’s roster moves: Basso recalled, Barnett optioned
• Do-Overs For (Almost) Everyone In The AL West
• Today Is A Day Of Special Meaning — For More Than One Reason
• A’s Top Pitching Prospects Are Dominating to Start 2026
• A’s top prospect Leo De Vries pops his first two homers of the season at Double-A
• Armchair 101: The Challenge Of Judging Decisions In Real Time
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Observes The Wild Denzelope In Its Natural Habitat
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Toes The Rubber With Pitching Coach Scott Emerson
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Catches Up With Starting Pitcher Jacob Lopez

MLB News and Interest:

• Early MLB 2026 trade deadline preview for all 30 teams
• Former Ohio substitute teacher makes first appearance in front of hometown crowd
• Taiwanese fans go out of their way to thank Fairchild for epic Classic
• 2026 MLB draft rankings: Top 85 prospects, mini-mock draft
• MLB 2026: Inside the rise of 100 mph pitching velocity
• Small market MLB teams are outperforming big payrolls
• Giants place red-hot rookie Susac on IL with elbow injury
• Ohtani extends on-base streak to 53, tying for longest in LA history
• Cubs’ Craig Counsell Calls Out ‘Bizarre’ MLB Rule That Helps Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
• Phillies’ Zack Wheeler set to return Saturday vs. Braves
• To the moon! Murakami homers in 4th straight game in historic start
• Aaron Boone: Cole needs more rehab outings
• Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier Projected To Return In 5-7 Weeks
• Guardians’ Austin Hedges gets engaged on field following game
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Athletics prospects Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and Jamie Arnold played well with the Double-A Midland Rockhounds last night. Flashing more power potential has Kuroda-Grauer’s stock on the rise within the team’s farm system.

Meanwhile, Arnold may earn a promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas sooner than later if the left-hander continues pitching as well as he did yesterday.

The A’s ability to continue their road success could prove pivotal given how challenging it is to win games at the hitter’s paradise that is Sutter Health Park.

Morning, all!

Jordan Montgomery is throwing bullpen sessions and is on pace to return to the rotation in July after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. Cody Bradford, on the other hand, hasn’t thrown in two weeks after experiencing tightness in his surgically repaired elbow.

Wyatt Langford left yesterday’s game against the Pirates in the fifth with a forearm strain.

Langford will be getting an MRI after he described what he felt as something he’s never felt before.

Kumar Rocker threw a season high six innings, retiring 12 of 13 batters faced after giving up a run with no outs in the first.

Josh Smith had a decent night at the plate yesterday but those have been few and far between for him this season.

Evan Carter had the play of the game when he robbed the Pirates of a home run in the fifth.

Carter’s highlight reel catch kept three Pirate runs off the board and the Rangers in the lead.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

This afternoon's matchup features the league's ERA leader in Jose Soriano and hits leader in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and I’m expecting the Toronto Blue Jays slugger to win the best-on-best battle.

Read more in my Blue Jays vs. Angels predictions and MLB picks below. 

Blue Jays vs Angels predictions

Blue Jays vs Angels best bet: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases (+135)

You’re getting great value on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at +135 to go Over his bases total tonight against a pitcher with a 0.28 ERA. 

Vladdy is 2-for-2 with a walk in three plate appearances against Jose Soriano, and Soriano's most-used pitch is a sinker-ball, a pitch that Guerrero owns a .444 batting average with a 55% hard-hit rate against.

I’m expecting Guerrero Jr. to continue this trend as he's one of baseball’s best hitters.

Vladdy is hitting an MLB-best .353 this season, while riding a 12-game hitting streak, averaging 2.41 bases per contest in that stretch. 

COVERS INTEL: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. owns a 1.117 OPS during this current 12-game hitting streak.

Blue Jays vs Angels same-game parlay (SGP)

I’ll continue to bank on the Toronto Blue Jays bats this afternoon. For the second leg of my SGP, I’ll take Daulton Varsho to go Over 0.5 hits. He’s 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI against Soriano throughout his career and has recorded a hit in eight of his last 10 games.

Lastly, I’ll also bet on Ernie Clement to record a hit as well. Clement has been a hitting machine, going Over his 0.5 total in 19 of 23 games this season, totaling 29 hits this year, which is only one shy of the league lead.

Additionally, he has recorded one hit against Soriano and three at-bats against him.

Blue Jays vs Angels SGP

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases
• Daulton Varsho Over 0.5 hits
• Ernie Clement Over 0.5 hits

Blue Jays vs Angels home run pick: Daulton Varsho (+510)

I’ll make this a half-unit wager. Varsho brings a lot of pop from the left side of the plate, and Soriano has given up a little bit more power to lefties than righties this season.

Albeit, it’s still not a whole lot of power as Soriano doesn’t slow for hard contact, allowing just one home run on the year.

However, Varsho does seem to see the sinker well out of the pitcher's hand, which is the most used pitch Soriano throws against lefties. The Jays outfielder owns a .438 batting average and a .688 slugging percentage against the pitch.

Blue Jays vs Angels odds

• Moneyline: Toronto +135 | Los Angeles -160
• Run line: Toronto +1.5 (-160) | Los Angeles -1.5 (+135)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5

Blue Jays vs Angels trend

The Blue Jays have cashed the first five innings team total Under in nine of their last 11 road games for +7.55 units and a 55% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Angels.

How to watch Blue Jays vs Angels and game info

Blue Jays vs Angels latest injuries

Blue Jays vs Angels weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Detroit Tigers returned to Comerica Park — where they had won eight of their first nine games — on Tuesday night to open up a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers. Unfortunately, things did not go quite as planned, as the visitors spanked the Ole English D to the tune of a 12-4 defeat.

Keider Montero was not awful, but his defense and the bullpen failed him — well, except for Jake Rogers, who was the only hurler to not allow a run. But that game is over and in the books, and it is time for the Tigers to turn the page.

On Wednesday, right-hander Casey Mize will take the mound for the Motor City Kitties while fellow righty Chad Patrick gets the call for the Brew Crew. The former has not faced Milwaukee since 2024, when he nearly matched Montero’s line from last night to take the loss in a 5-4 final; this will be the first time that the latter has ever thrown against Detroit.

Take a look below at how they match up.

Detroit Tigers (12-12) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (13-9)

Time (ET): 6:40 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:Brew Crew Ball
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 25: RHP Casey Mize (1-1, 2.78 ERA) vs. RHP Chad Patrick (1-0, 0.95 ERA)

MIZE

PATRICK