Worldwide Sports News

Morning, all!

Tuesday was Josh Jung’s first game back after missing two games with a sore shoulder, an injury that “freaked him out”due to a surgery he had for a torn labrum on the same shoulder four years ago.

Jacob deGrom hasn’t missed any starts but maybe he wishes that he had, as he’s been leaving fastballs up in the zone and getting knocked around.

Shawn McFarland’s response to the Rangers getting no hit by some guy was to discuss the dismantling of the roster at the trade deadline.

Skip Schumaker blames himself for the weak performance on Tuesday.

Kennedi Landry’s mailbox column is full of questions about the temperature in the clubhouse with the Rangers’ recent struggles.

Jordan Montgomery was four weeks ahead of schedule in his return from an elbow surgery that has sidelined him since 2024 until his recovery hit a snag last week.

Jack Leiter has the potential to be an ace but is still figuring things out as evidenced by his three faceoffs against Yordan Alvarez last night.

Brandon Nimmo has taken the lead in counseling his teammates on addressing their individual strengths at the plate and kickstarted the biggest run scoring first inning the Rangers have had since 2012 last night.

The team put up eight runs in the first on the way to a 10-7 win over the Astros last night, but if it takes getting no hit to spur that kind of production it’s going to be a frustrating season.

Happy Wednesday A’s Fans!

Over the past few years, the Athletics have built one of the most exciting young offensive cores in baseball, largely comprising players drafted and developed by the team. Guys like Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz did not need much minor league development time, while the likes of Tyler Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler and Zack Gelof spent considerably more time honing their skills in the team’s farm system. Toss in Shea Langeliers, who was acquired in the Matt Olson trade with the Atlanta Braves, and Brent Rooker, who was picked off of waivers after failing to hit with multiple teams, and the A’s have an offense that has the talent to put up multiple runs every game.

However, hitting is only part of the game, as baseball teams also need strong pitching and defense. In the A’s case, those latter two elements are especially important because both their current ballpark in West Sacramento and their future home in Las Vegas are exceptionally hitter-friendly environments.

Through 54 games this season, the A’s pitching staff has mirrored last year’s performance, posting a road ERA nearly two runs lower than its ERA at Sutter Health Park. Out of 30 MLB teams, the A’s have the 23rd-ranked ERA and have allowed the fourth-most home runs. The team’s highest-paid pitcher, Luis Severino, is not complaining as much as he did last year, although he still is struggling to pitch effectively at the minor-league ballpark.

Aware of the team’s need for better pitching to complete its rise from rebuilders to American League playoff contenders, the A’s solution may come from within. The team’s top pitching prospect, left-hander Gage Jump took Civale’s place on the roster and made his MLB debut last night against the Seattle Mariners. Jump pitched his way onto the team’s radar and league-wide prospect lists in his eye-opening first professional season last year. He had a mediocre first outing, allowing four runs on nine hits over five innings. Hopefully, now that he got his feet wet, he can pitch better and pick up his first win in his next start.

Jump could soon be joined by fellow top left-handed pitching prospects Jamie Arnold and Wei-En Lin, both of whom are doing well with the A’s Double-A affiliate. Should Jump stick with the A’s the rest of the season, that would leave a void in the Triple-A rotation, which will likely go to one of these standouts.

While these left-handers receive most of the attention, the A’s do have some noteworthy right-handers. Either Kade Morris and/or Braden Nett could follow in outfielder Henry Bolte’s and Jump’s footsteps by making the leap from Triple-A to MLB.

Right-hander Luis Morales is a big wild card. He showed flashes of promise last season, but has struggled in the majors and the minors this year. Lastly, it would be remiss to leave out right-handers J.T. Ginn and Jack Perkins, who have shown the ability to get MLB hitters out in spades over these past few weeks.

If the Athletics remain in American League West contention once the trade deadline looms, do you want them to trade a couple prospects for pitching help? If so, which pitcher would be the best fit to help this year’s squad?

A’s Coverage:

• A’s lose to Mariners 4-1, Kurtz Streak ends with O-fer
• Is A Jump In Talent Nigh?
• What to expect when A’s Jump makes leap to MLB
• What The Mariners’ Slow First 1/3 Means For The AL West
• Wilson takes swings in next step toward return from IL
• After facing Miller for first time, how is blockbuster trade looking for A’s?
• Athletics Drop Series Opener to Mariners 9-2
• A’s Win In San Diego, Beat Padres 5-2
• “State Of The Rotation”: A Projected Weakness, An Actual…?
• Big Amish, meet Man of Steal: Kurtz ties Henderson’s 46-game on-base streak
• Jump, A’s No. 3 prospect, dazzles to extend scoreless streak
• Guerrero touts West Sacramento’s MLB experience as expansion looms large
• Fans embrace ‘Sacramento A’s’ as Athletics lean into second season at Sutter Health Park
• ’Gut-wrenching’: Ginn takes no-no into ninth only to give up walk-off home run
• Kurtz in rarefied air through 162 career games

MLB News and Interest:

• MLB Power Rankings: What’s in your team’s first-half future? We’ve got some predictions
• Astros combine on MLB’s 1st no-hitter since 2024, 18th in club history
• Angels fan protests are becoming too loud to ignore, but team leadership is doing so anyway
• Blue Jays Place Dylan Cease On 15-Day IL
• Bob Horner, former No. 1 pick who had a 4-HR game, dies at 68
• Miz raises bar for 100+ mph pitches: ‘That’s what I do, I throw hard’
• Wander Franco found criminally responsible, but no charges
• MLB going all-out to celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial
• Inside the rise of Pokémon card collecting in MLB clubhouses
• Rays hope veteran Kimbrel can benefit struggling bullpen
• Dodgers Reinstate Kiké Hernández, Designate Santiago Espinal
• Rockies Place José Quintana On 15-Day IL With Sprained Elbow
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

The Athletics are shaking up their rotation, likely due to the Mariners’ team-wide struggles against left-handed pitching.

What an amazing catch by A’s Double-A Midland outfielder Carlos Pacheco in his game this past Sunday!

Outfielder Cade Marlowe is performing well with the A’s Triple-A affiliate. Should he get an opportunity to contribute at the major-league level, especially given Lawrence Butler’s offensive struggles?

The A’s continuing to show that community impact matters just as much as what happens on the field:

Good morning friends! Happy Wednesday to you all.

Last night, the Mariners triumphed over the A’s 4-1 thanks to another strong outing from Emerson Hancock, who kept it rolling even in the hitter-friendly Sacramento confines.

The M’s have a chance to slide back into first place in the AL West with a win today in the series finale. At this stage, which AL West rival do you see as the biggest threat to the M’s chances of winning the division?

In Mariners news…

• Cal Raleigh resumed baseball activity for the first time since hitting the injured list with an oblique issue. He remains without a clear timetable for return.
• Eric Sanford likened the players of the Seattle Mariners to characters from Breaking Bad.
• Jeff Passan gave his take on the Mariners’ starting rotation logjam and what he thinks they should do about it.

Around the league…

• Rays shortstop Wander Franco was found guilty of sexual and psychological abuse of a minor, but he will not serve time in prison.
• Former Braves All-Star Bob Horner passed away yesterday at the age of 68.
• The Chicago Cubs can’t catch a break, dropping their 10th straight ballgame last night in a 12-1 walloping at the hands of the Pirates.
• A day after being no-hit by the Astros, the Rangers put up eight runs in the first inning of a 10-7 victory.
• Davy Andrews at Fangraphs dug into the metrics behind the Astros’ combined no-hitter to determine just how improbable it was.
• Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce purchased a minority ownership stake in the Cleveland Guardians. Though he works in Royals country, Kelce is a native of the Cleveland area.
• Matt Gelb at The Athletic wonders what the Phillies will do in the outfield with both Adolis García and Nick Castellanos struggling. ($)
• Don’t love to see Cal at the top of this list…

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Please, Lord, get me out of this home-run cooler. I have some of the best bats in some of the best matchups for dingers and MLB player props, at great prices.

I am not giving up on dingers in Sacramento, as it's the best park by far for home runs today, while the Cincinnati Reds will get a heavy dose of HR-friendly right-handed arms with winds aiding left-handed bats.

These are my favorite MLB home run predictions for Wednesday, May 27.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Shea Langeliers	+346
Nathaniel Lowe	+610

Home run pick: Shea Langeliers (+346)

Let's roll with the best +EV home run prop, per the projections at Covers, in the best HR environment on the slate, according to Ballpark Pal. This is once again a great spot for dingers, with both starters ranking in the bottom 35 among starting pitchers in HR/FB rate.

Logan Gilbert has been giving up plenty of fly balls lately, carrying just a 39% groundball rate over his last five starts. His 21% HR/FB rate also ranks in the bottom 15 among starters.

Shea Langeliers has already gone yard in this series and brings a strong fly-ball profile of his own, posting a 51% fly-ball rate over the last 30 days along with the team’s best Ideal Attack Angle, per FanGraphs bat-tracking metrics.

His arrow has been pointing up all season, and now he gets a great pitching matchup, an elite hitting environment, and a home run price sitting roughly 50 points above the fair number.

• Time: 3:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCSCA, Mariners.TV

Home run pick: Nathaniel Lowe (+610)

The projections love the Cincinnati Reds to go deep today, and Nathaniel Lowe at +500 or better is the bat I want from this visiting lineup.

He’ll likely see an opener before facing bulk reliever Jonah Tong, who allowed eight home runs in 38 Triple-A innings this year while posting a 5.68 ERA. It sets up as a favorable matchup for Cincinnati hitters, who have already gotten a look at this New York bullpen.

Lowe carries a fair price around +500. Over the last 14 days, he has led the team in bat speed at 75.1 mph while also posting a 25% HR/FB rate and a .645 slugging percentage.

He has been even hotter over the last week and gets the lefty-righty edge with 9-mph winds blowing out to right field. He sat yesterday against a lefty, but now gets a right-handed opener followed by a right-handed bulk arm with home-run issues. The Mets also appear to have only one available left-hander in the bullpen today.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SNY, Reds.TV

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.

Okay, this isn’t even a “daily question” in the sense of “a question that fosters discussion.” I’m going to tell you the answer, eventually.

Last night, Michael Harris II went 4-for-4 with a homer and a double. That’s a pretty great batting line, but given that we saw a game last year where he went 4-for-4 and finished a single shy of the cycle because he had two triples, it wasn’t a career-best day or whatever. (He also had a two-homer game late last year that I bet no one remembers that nominally yielded a higher wRC+ than last night’s contest.)

But, he also did something else that was kind of amazing. Here’s a plot of the pitch locations and types that led to his four hits:

Three of those are not very close to the zone… and one is maybe a ball, maybe not — at least in our brave (ly awesome) new ABS strike zone world.

Baseball Savant lets us query the most hits a player has had outside the zone in a game, based on MLB’s pitch-tracking technology all the way back to 2009. The leader of the query is Charlie Blackmon, who somehow managed to do it five times in a 9-3 loss to the Twins at Coors Field back in 2014. So, Harris didn’t quite a set a record for the pitch tracking era. But, say what you will about Pitch F/X and MLB’s 2009-2014 data, but it wasn’t quite the level of… precision, I guess, that we expect from the Hawkeye cameras and Statcast that went into effect in 2015.

If we limit the group to 2015-onward, then we get a set of five players that have had four hits on pitches outside the “rulebook” (or, I guess, Hawkeye/Statcast-defined) strike zone. The most recent was Gavin Lux in April 2025. Before that, no one else had done it since 2019. Braves legend Eddie Rosario did it back in 2017.

So, does Harris join this… illustrious group?

Apparently not. You see, that one changeup apparently juuuuuust clipped the ABS zone. So, Harris has to settle for four hits, only three of which came on not-defined-strikes.

But, wait. That hit on the “higher” changeup was a single. Harris had two extra-base hits, on pitches further away. Is that some kind of record?

Alas, no. There are four players in the Statcast era with three extra-base hits on pitches outside the zone. One of them is Eddie Rosario, again, who — very bizarrely — did it in a different game than the game in which he had four hits on pitches outside the zone.

So, in conclusion, Harris did not tie a quirky record last night. He did come close. But, in the land of getting hits on pitches that aren’t strikes, he hasn’t quite dethroned Rosario. At least, not yet.

If you want just a little bit more substance, I’ll throw this out there. Back during his Rookie of the Year season, I noted a few things that amounted, in part, to “Boy, Harris hits non-strikes really well.”

Here are Harris’ values in wOBA and xwOBA when making contact with a pitch outside the zone, over the years, among players with 50+ balls hit toward the field of play that came on pitches out of the zone:

• 2022: .426 wOBA (2nd of 230) | .322 xwOBA (38th of 230)
• 2023: .311 (83rd of 209) | .308 (72nd of 230)
• 2024: .231 (178th of 211) | .285 (102nd of 211)
• 2025: .218 (171st of 188) | .303 (64th of 188)
• 2026 so far, for players with 20+ such balls: .482 (12th of 208) | .344 (50th of 208)

I think this tells a bit of a twee story about the Braves changing Harris’ approach to not do so much of what he was doing in 2022, and focus on max damage on stuff he didn’t quite have to reach. Harris is chasing more than ever this year, and he’s missing more than ever when he chases, too. When he hits it, though — it’s not quite as feeble as it was before. Will he or the Braves rein it in again? Maybe. But after last year’s disaster in approach change, maybe they’ll let Harris be Harris from here on out. (If he wants to do the stuff he was doing in 2023-2024, that’d be cool too.)

When Blake Butera was hired as Nationals manager, there was plenty of optimism, but there was also some skepticism mixed in. Sure, Butera seemed like a sharp guy and had the endorsement of a Hall of Famer in Mike Piazza. However, he was going to be the youngest manager in over 50 years and had been a player development guy rather than a manager the past few years.

For goodness sakes, Butera is younger than Aaron Judge. He was going to coach a young team, so his age was not as much of an issue. Through the first two months of the season, Butera has shattered all expectations as manager of the Nats. He has this team sitting at 29-27, and playing the best baseball we have seen from a Nats team since 2019.

Even a week ago, there were people whispering about Butera being a Manager of the Year candidate. This was when the team had just gotten to that .500 mark on May 20th. At that point, the Nats were shattering expectations. Since then though, things have only gotten better, and the Butera Manager of the Year candidacy is getting louder.

If the season ended today, Butera would certainly be in the mix for that award. The Nats are one of the surprises of all of baseball. This was supposed to be a tough rebuild year where 100 losses was not out of the question. Now, Butera and this team have Nats fans believing. For crying out loud, the folks at 106.7 The Fan threw a parade yesterday. That was not happening before Butera.

Of course, the lion’s share of the credit goes to the players, especially this elite offense. However, the coaching staff also plays a huge role. I think a big part of being a great manager is finding the right staff. Butera absolutely hit his staff hires out of the park.

The hiring of Matt Borgschulte as hitting coach has genuinely changed the direction of this franchise. Simon Mathews has also done a nice job helping some of his pitchers right the ship. Veteran arms Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell looked absolutely cooked at the start of the season. However, after working with Mathews, who is younger than them, these two guys have righted the ship. Cade Cavalli also seems to be getting better with every start.

The hitting coach and the pitching coach get the most press, but those are not the only hires that Butera has nailed. This is mostly a pretty young and inexperienced staff, but Butera added experience in the right spots. Bobby Wilson is a great example of that. He had a 10 year big league career as a glove first backup. After that, he was a catching coach with the Rangers, where he helped Jonah Heim a lot. In DC, the seasoned catching mind has helped turn around Keibert Ruiz’s defense.

Butera’s staff hiring genuinely gets an A+ to this point. I also think he does a solid job managing the games. There are times where I do not agree with what he does, like any manager. As a whole, I think he is good most of the time. Last night, he made a move that I was upset with at the moment, but looking back, it was pretty cool.

When Mitchell Parker was in trouble in the 9th, he did not have anyone warming up in the bullpen. He let Parker work his way out of the mess. I bet that felt really good for Parker. It showed that his manager believes in him. Sure, if the Nats had not gotten the insurance runs in the top of the inning, things may have been different. However, with the lead in a fairly comfortable spot, Butera wanted to show Parker he trusted him.

That is a good example of Butera showing feel and trusting his players. With a full bullpen, he could have easily yanked Parker after 2.1 innings of work. However, he wanted the lefty to try and finish the game himself. That sends a positive message to the locker room.

I wonder what the Nats would have to do for Butera to be in Manager of the Year contention. Obviously, if the Nats somehow make the playoffs, Butera would be a lock, but would he get the award if the Nats won 80 games? The Nats over/under for wins this year was 65.5, so 80 wins would be a massive overperformance. Butera still would probably get snubbed for a team that made the playoffs though.

Honestly, the .500 mark could be the magic number. If Butera’s Nats finish the season at or above .500, his candidacy would be tough to deny. These Nats were supposed to be basement dwellers, but now they are showing serious spunk and are rising up the NL East.

The faith that Butera has in his players is awesome. He set the tone early in Spring Training, when he talked about how CJ Abrams could be one of the best players in baseball. The Nats shortstop is making Butera look like a sage right now, having a career year so far.

It is wild how much a new coaching staff can change things. We got on Davey and Darnell Coles over the years, but maybe we were not harsh enough. Was the talent always there and just getting wasted? It is a new day now, and the Nats are led by their 33 year old wonderkid manager Blake Butera, who is impressing fans every day.

Mets first baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco took a big step in his recovery, as the veteran began a rehab assignment with Double-A Binghamton on Wednesday morning. 

In his first taste of game action with the Rumble Ponies, Polanco went 1-for-2 with a single and a strikeout looking.

Jorge Polanco lines a base hit in the first at-bat of his rehab assignment pic.twitter.com/UzK4Jy8iB7

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) May 27, 2026

Polanco, who signed a two-year deal with the Mets this offseason, has not played since April 14 due to Achilles bursitis and a wrist issue.

Manager Carlos Mendoza said on Tuesday that the hope was that Polanco could begin a rehab assignment this week, and that whenever he does return to the lineup, it will likely be more as a DH than a first baseman.

"The way we see it is gonna be a lot of DH, to be honest with you," Mendoza said. "Hopefully we can get him a game or two at first base, but try to keep him off his feet as much as possible. He'll play some first base once he starts going through his rehab assignment, but probably looking more like DH and try to keep his bat in the lineup as much as possible."

Mendoza has previously said that Polanco's availability will come down to how well he manages his Achilles pain, as it's unlikely to heal completely this season.

In just 14 games this season, Polanco is hitting .179 with one home run and two RBI.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Randy Vasquez allowed solo home runs in the first, second and third inning. All three came with two outs in the inning. The Padres found themselves trailing 4-0 after three innings and would have been down by another run in the fourth inning if not for a home run robbery by Jackson Merrill in center field that ended the top half of the frame. With the San Diego offense struggling to find consistency, the deficit proved to be too much for the team to overcome as Philadelphia squeaked out a 4-3 win at Petco Park on Tuesday night.

The Padres offense could not find its footing against Phillies starter Aaron Nola who retired the first nine batters he faced. Gavin Sheets got San Diego on the board in the hit column with a two-out infield single in the bottom of the fourth. He was followed by Manny Machado with a two-run homer to left to make the score, 4-2. Nola completed six innings and allowed two runs on three hits with no walks and five strikeouts. The Padres tacked on a third run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Ramon Laureano hit a solo home run off reliever Brad Keller to lead off the inning. San Diego was unable to add to its total in the eighth after the Laureano home run despite having two on with two outs.

The Padres came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth still trailing by a run, but Phillies closer Jhoan Duran got a groundout from Miguel Andujar and back-to-back strikeouts from Merrill and Ty France to hand San Diego its third consecutive loss, which also secured the series for Philadelphia. The Padres will try to avoid a sweep in the final game of the homestand today at 1:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• Freddy Fermin has struggled in his first season as the fulltime catcher and the hope, at least for the Friar Faithful, is that he can become productive sooner than later. To Fermin’s credit he is not making excuses for his poor play — especially at the plate.

• Joe Musgrove is set to begin his throwing program with hopes that he can return for the second half of the season.

Baseball News:

• Los Angeles Dodgers have a rough night on the injury front as both Shohei Ohtani and Kike Hernandez exit their game early.

• A night after being no-hit by the Houston Astros, the Texas Rangers scored eight runs in the first inning and earned a 10-7 win.

• The New York Yankees pummeled the Kansas City Royals, 15-1.

• Shane Baz led the Baltimore Orioles to a win over the Tampa Bay Rays with a nine-strikeout outing.

• The Atlanta Braves beat the Boston Red Sox by a run thanks to four hits from Michael Harris II.