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After a low-scoring first game in High-A, the other three Dodgers affiliates all engaged in high-scoring affairs on the first day of all four affiliates playing in 2026.

Players of the day

For a second straight night, a Dodgers affiliate got a strong opening day start from a player drafted on the third day in 2023. One day after 17th-rounder Luke Fox shined for Double-A Tulsa, 18th-rounder Sterling Patick struck out seven in five scoreless frames for High-A Great Lakes.

Patick allowed lone singles in the first and fourth innings and walked nobody. Fort Wayne did not put a runner in scoring position off the left-hander until a two-out double in the fifth inning, but Patick got out of his only real jam with a lineout to right field to end his night. He turns 21 in June.

Jesus Tillero didn’t start, but he struck out eight in five scoreless innings, allowing only two singles in Class-A Ontario’s blowout win. An international signing out of Venezuela in 2023, the right-hander did well in his first taste of Class-A last year, posting a 3.09 ERA with Rancho Cucamonga, but with a 12.9-percent walk rate. On Friday night he walked nobody and retired 15 of his 17 batters faced. Tillero doesn’t turn 20 until May.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Comets scored seven runs in the first two innings, and it held up to beat the Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics).

Zach Ehrhard had a two-run triple. Ryan Ward had a two-run single in a three-RBI night, and scored two runs. Hyeseong Kim and Ryan Fitzgerald batted first and second, and each one reached base twice and scored two runs.

Ryder was the first of the Ryan brothers to start for the Comets this weekend, and struck out five in his five innings, allowing one run in the first inning and nothing else.

Double-A Tulsa

Drillers pitchers walked a whopping 15 batters and fell behind early in a loss to the San Antonio Missions (Padres).

Adam Serwinowski was wild in his season debut with six walks, including two of them to open the second inning before a double and home run. In all, the left-hander allowed five runs in his 3 2/3 innings, with three strikeouts.

Maddux Bruns made the first relief appearance of his professional career. The Dodgers’ first-round pick from 2021 started his first 77 minor league games before Friday, when he struck out four in his first two innings scoreless but, keeping with the theme of the night for Drillers pitchers, also walked three, then allowed three hits and three runs in his third inning of work, recording just one out.

Nick Nastrini reached the majors with the Chicago White Sox in 2024 but it’s in question whether he ever makes it back. The 26-year-old right-hander followed Bruns in the seventh inning on Friday and walked all three batters he faced, throwing just one strike. The former fourth-round pick of the Dodgers in 2021 who was sent to Chicago in the Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly trade in 2023, Nastrini last season in Triple-A walked more than he struck out, including 18 walks and 10 strikeouts in his final nine innings in Charlotte and then Jacksonville before re-joining the Dodgers last July on waivers. Nastrini last year with Oklahoma City walked seven of his 10 batters faced and threw three wild pitches.

Kendall George had three infield singles and stole second base after all three hits. Josue De Paula walked three times, singled home a run, and for the second straight night stole a base. Zyhir Hope doubled.

First baseman Joe Vetrano had two hits for Tulsa, including the Drillers’ first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the eighth inning. Once trailing 11-2, Tulsa scored three runs in the seventh, three more in the eighth, and had the tying runs on base in the ninth to make the final score closer.

High-A Great Lakes

The Loons exchanged runs with the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres) in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, with Great Lakes riding the odd innings to a 2-1 victory.

First baseman Cameron Decker hit a solo home run for the Loons’ first run of the season.

Third baseman Logan Wagner led off the seventh with a double, then after an infield single and hit by pitch, catcher Victor Rodrigues walked for the game-winning RBI.

Jacob Frost had a wild ride in his professional debut, with the 2025 10th-round draft pick walking three and allowing a run in his two innings, with his two strikeouts. By the timing of the runs scored, Frost earned the win. Logan Tabeling retired six of his seven batters faced with two strikeouts, closing out the game with a two-inning save.

Class-A Ontario

The Tower Buzzers put up crooked numbers in five different innings in a rout of the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres).

Shortstop Emil Morales had four singles, with three runs scored and three RBI, and also stole a base. Leadoff man Jaron Elkins walked twice, singled, stole two bases, and scored four runs. Joendry Vargas was the designated hitter on Friday and hit an RBI double to go with two walks.

Ontario batters provided a lesson in patience early in facing Kruz Schoolcraft, the San Diego Padres’ first-round draft pick last year making his professional debut. The left-hander retired only three of his 11 batters faced, and was pulled after walking three batters and allowing a single to open the second inning. In all, four Tower Buzzers walked against Schoolcraft and plated six runs against him.

Cam Leiter, drafted by the Dodgers in the second round last year out of Florida State, had a strong professional debut by retiring nine of 10 batters faced with three strikeouts in three scoreless innings. It was the first game for Leiter in two years and a week, as shoulder surgery wiped out his 2025 season.

Matt Lanzendorfer, a 15th-round draft pick last year out of Virginia, retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning to close out the win in his professional debut.

Transactions

Triple-A: Jake Eder, acquired from the Washington Nationals by trade on Wednesday, was activated by the Comets on Thursday.

High-A: On Thursday, Great Lakes placed shortstop Jordan Thompson on the 7-day injured list.

Friday scores

• Oklahoma City 7, Las Vegas 3
• San Antonio 11, Tulsa 9
• Great Lakes 2, Fort Wayne 1
• Ontario 16, Lake Elsinore 0

Saturday schedule

• 10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Zach Root) vs. Fort Wayne (Kleiber Olmedo)
• 5 p.m.: Tulsa (Patrick Copen) vs. San Antonio (Ian Koenig)
• 6:35 p.m.: Ontario (TBA) vs. Lake Elsinore (TBA)
• 7:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (River Ryan) at Las Vegas (Mason Barnett)

Friday’s game was rained out, to be made up as a doubleheader on Saturday. Anne Rogers has details.

Saturday’s originally scheduled game will be moved up to 1:10 p.m. CT, with Friday’s makeup game scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CT.

Both games will be available on Royals.TV and Brewers.TV,

Friday’s tickets will be honored for the rescheduled game Saturday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Fans do not have to exchange their original tickets if they elect to attend the rescheduled game.

Craig Brown reacts to the news that Carter Jensen overslept for Thursday’s game.

First, it happens. Second, while it does happen, it’s not a great look, especially at this point in the season. It has an impact on the team. After catching a marathon game on Wednesday, Salvador Perez was due for a day off behind the plate and was in the initial lineup as the DH. Those plans were scuttled when the Royals decided to remove Jensen from the starting lineup. Then, once Perez was out of the DH spot, the Royals moved Jac Caglianone there from his spot in right to DH and inserted Lane Thomas into the lineup. That’s not the kind of matchup you want against the right-hander Taj Bradley. Thomas went 0-4.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep focuses on Jensen’s slow hitting start.

In 18 plate appearances, Jensen is hitting .125 with a .480 OPS. He has a home run, but he is also striking out 44.4% of the time and only walking 5.6% of the time. Furthermore, his wOBA is only .207, and his xwOBA is even worse at .188. For context, the Royals rookie catcher posted a .403 wOBA and .447 xwOBA in 69 plate appearances last season. 

A microcosm of Jensen’s struggles this year can be seen in this plate appearance against Minnesota reliever Kody Funderburk on Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium on March 30th. On a 3-2 count, Funderburk serves him up a fastball right down the middle. It’s a pitch Jensen would’ve mashed a season ago. Unfortunately, Jensen, obviously pressing, watches it for strike three. 

Pete Grathoff wonders why MLB won’t allow games on Apple to be simulcast locally.

The Royals will play the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night and the game will only be available to watch on Apple TV. It’s one of four games this season that will be shown exclusively on Apple TV. Four more will be on Peacock. Ten Royals games that will be simulcast on KCTV (Ch. 5) or KSMO (Ch. 62) this season.

It begs the question: Why can’t (or won’t) Major League Baseball and the Royals simulcast those Peacock and Apple TV games on local TV, whether it’s KCTV or another channel?

The Kansas City Business Journal writes that site control and public financing are the issues with a downtown stadium. [$]

Meanwhile, Kansas City leaders for almost a year have publicly floated available stadium incentives worth hundreds of millions of dollars using tools such as tax increment financing, a sales tax exemption on construction materials and tax-free bonds.

Officials also have suggested that Washington Square Park would be simple in terms of land assembly, at least when it comes to the two main properties containing a stadium. But the Royals also aim to build a mixed-use ballpark district, and it’s not clear whether the team or potential partners have locked down any nearby parcels.

Baseball America updates their top 100 prospect list with Carter Jensen at #9 and Kendry Chourio at #75.

Darin Watson writes about a 1976 spring training blowout against the White Sox.

Konnor Griffin dazzles Pirates fans in his MLB debut.

The Twins home opener is delayed by a power outage.

How the Yankees got off to a hot start.

Masyn Winn is safe after being involved in a one-car accident after a game.

“This Week in Baseball” returns.

The Blue Jays sign pitcher Patrick Corbin.

Ranking the accessibility of each team’s TV broadcasts.

The White Sox will retire Ozzie Guillen’s number.

Baseball America writes about how much minor league ballplayers make. [$]

Almost half of all clubs saw increased TV viewership for Opening Day.

Washington State researchers find that “torpedo bats” fare no different than normal bats.

The NCAA is expected to approve expanding the basketball tournaments to 76 teams.

The NFL approves the Jacksonville Jaguars moving to Orlando for a year during stadium renovations.

How the United States is divided into regions based on commuters.

Chicken tenders over rice has gone viral in France, driving fast food sales.

An Italian court rules Netflix must refund years of price hikes.

Your song of the day is The Beatles with I’ve Just Seen a Face.

Triple-A: Memphis (Cardinals) 5, Norfolk Tides 4

One notable thing that happened here is that the Tides stuck with their original plan of having erstwhile Oriole Dean Kremer make the start for this game. That rules him out as an option for when Zach Eflin’s turn next comes up in the MLB rotation. Prior to this, a callup would have taken some roster juggling to manage. If the Orioles wanted to do it, they could have done it. They didn’t.

Kremer did not pitch in such a way that he was demanding an immediate promotion back to MLB. He allowed three runs over a 4.2 inning outing and seems to have been yanked for effectiveness reasons rather than pitch count: He’d only thrown 62 pitches when his day ended. He should have been better than these guys and he wasn’t. Will we see him in a week? Will it be longer? We won’t know til we know. This is one point in the favor of those who thought “let Kremer’s bad April happen in the minors” was a strategy worth following.

The Tides offense was unfortunately putrid against former Oriole Bruce Zimmermann. Two solo home runs were the only damage they could muster in the six innings that he was in the game. Rehabbing Oriole Jackson Holliday had one hit in five at-bats, and also drove in two runs. Other than Holliday, it’s a sad lineup down here to start their season. Norfolk had its share of chances but with 0-6 with RISP they could never get the big hit to really break the game in their favor.

Box score.

Double-A: Hartford (Rockies) 10, Chesapeake Baysox 2

Baysox pitchers issued 11 walks and gave up 12 hits in the game. That’s a tough way to win unless your offense absolutely explodes – as we’ll see for Delmarva in a later section today. Chesapeake, though, did not score until the eighth inning of the game and had just six hits in the game.

Not much consolation for the Baysox, but at least the three most interesting hitting prospects all avoided taking an 0-for in the game. Griff O’Ferrall had a hit and walk out of the leadoff spot. My guy Aron Estrada went 1-4, as did outfielder Thomas Sosa, whose lone hit was an RBI double. Estrada and Sosa are each 21 as they start the year at this level. Interesting guys to follow, and they’ll be more interesting if they’re able to put together some strong results as the season goes along.

Box score.

High-A: Frederick Keys 6, Hub City (Rangers) 0

Those who watched the prospect-oriented Spring Breakout game last month may have remembered the relief appearance of pitching prospect Joseph Dzierwa. The Orioles second round pick from last year didn’t pitch after the draft last year and was assigned straight to High-A this year. He had an absolutely dominant outing, mowing down the Spartanburgers (really) inning after inning.

Dzierwa ultimately struck out nine batters over six innings while allowing just one hit and one walk, and he’d only thrown 78 pitches, so he might well have been pushed deeper if the team was so inclined. That’s a heck of a pro debut. I hope he’s able to keep up something like it in his subsequent outings.

Plenty to like about the offense here too, where fellow high 2025 draftees Ike Irish and Wehiwa Aloy made good things happen. Irish hit a pair of doubles across five at-bats, while Aloy had a triple in three at-bats and also drew a pair of walks. In the leadoff spot, Nate George had a hit, walk, and stolen base, and scored two runs. Pretty good stuff. Not everyone shared in this bounty; spring training fun story Vance Honeycutt went hitless, drawing a walk over four plate appearances.

Box score.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 11, Salem (Red Sox) 10

We’ve got a donnybrook on our hands! The two teams combined for 22 hits, 18 walks, and five errors. The South Atlantic League is a long way from MLB and some games remind one of this much more than others. Many of the players on both teams are making their full-season affiliate debuts as the 2026 campaign begins and, well, it shows.

Let’s focus on the good. Five players in Delmarva’s starting lineup had multi-hit games, led by the three-hit effort by 19-year-old outfielder Junior Aybar. Have I ever in my life thought of this player before right now? No. Now I’ll be paying attention to him for the rest of the year because he drove in five runs the first time I did a minor league recap in 2026. 2024 sixth round pick DJ Layton, also 19, was also making things happen, with two hits and two walks across five plate appearances.

This is a very young team. Not much good has come from young Delmarva teams in the past few years. It’ll be nice if some players in this group can turn that around.

Box score.

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: at Memphis, 2:05. Starter: Levi Wells
• Chesapeake: at Hartford, 1:10. Starter: Luis De León
• Frederick: at Hub City, 4:35. Starter: JT Quinn
• Delmarva: at Salem, 6:35. Starter: Esteban Mejia

That’s an intriguing day of starting pitching. Hopefully tomorrow’s minor league recap has some fun results to share from them.

The Yankees’ hot start to 2026 hummed along yesterday in their home opener. Aaron Judge and Ben Rice brought the lumber as Will Warren outpitched talented young Marlins righty Eury Pérez, and the Yankees woon, 8-6. At 6-1, the Yankees have the best record in baseball. So call the season there! It’s over!

No? Whatever, Manfred. We’ll roll on tonight as the Yankees take on the Marlins again. In the meantime, we’ll catch up on tbe other notable American League action from yesterday.

Toronto Blue Jays (4-3) 4, Chicago White Sox (2-5) 5 (10 innings)

The defending AL champions got to start off 2026 with a cushy nine-game slate before their April 6-8 rematch with the Dodgers, and they seemeed on track to take care of business by sweeping the A’s in their Opening Day series. Since then, though? They inexplicably dropped two of three to the rebuilding Rockies at Rogers Centre, where they rarely lost in 2025, and now they’ve begun their first road series of the year by falling to the White Sox, who have lost 324 games across the last three seasons. Yikes.

The afternoon both began and ended with sloppy plays from Toronto that proved costly. Chicago grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Dylan Cease dropped a throw from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base, allowing Chase Meidroth to score. Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk responded with back-to-back doubles in the second to tie it up, but from there, bulk guy Sean Burke stymied Toronto on two hits, no walks, and seven strikeouts while tossing six innings.

On the strength of a two-run double off Cease from newcomer Austin Hays, the White Sox carried a 3-1 lead into the eighth. But one of Toronto’s lightest hitters, Andrés Giménez, silenced the excited South Side crowd:

Both sides had a chance to push across the go-ahead run to break the tie in the ninth. But after Daulton Varsho’s two-out double, White Sox skipper Will Venable called upon free-agent signing Seranthony Domínguez to strand him, and he did by fanning Kazuma Okamoto. The Pale Hose missed their first shot at walking off despite having the winning run at second with one down in the ninth. Tyler Rogers got Meidroth to fly out, intentionally walked Munetaka Murakami, and then got Miguel Vargas to ground out.

Vargas would compound his problems in the top of the 10th, as his two-out throw from third on a grounder ever-so-slightly pulled Murakami off the bag, bringing home the zombie runner. So Toronto handed a 4-3 lead to closer Jeff Hoffman, and it seemed like a done deal when Colson Montgomery grounded out and Hays went down swinging. During the Hays at-bat, however, a foul ball might’ve changed the course of the final result, as it went straight off Kirk’s thumb behind the plate. He was immediately in pain and had to leave (X-rays were still pending as of the time I write /this), forcing Toronto to put in backup Tyler Heineman.

Down to their last out, Derek Hill made the bold call to surprise the defense by dropping down a bunt, and Heineman was quickly tested. His throw to Guerrero went down the right-field line to score their zombie runner and give 26-year-old rookie Tristan Peters—purchased from the Rays in December—a chance to win the game. Peters did just that, roping a single to right to make the White Sox winners in their home opener.

Boston Red Sox (2-5) 5, San Diego Padres (2-5) 2

Both San Diego and Boston were off to shaky starts to 2026, but since they squared off against each other on Friday, someone had to get back on the right track. It would be the Red Sox, as the fans at Fenway for their home opener went home happy. It was a pitching matchup of former Yankees, with Michael King squaring off against Sonny Gray (who only overlapped in 2018 spring training), and the latter trade acquisition had the edge early with four scoreless while King allowed RBI hits to Ceddanne Rafaela and Caleb Durbin.

The erstwhile Baby Bomber Durbin had been 0-for-18 to start the season after coming over from Milwaukee and got booed early on, but his single scored Jarren Duran to make it 2-0, Red Sox.

The parade of old friends making an impact on this game continued in the fifth, when Miguel Andujar tripled off his former teammate Gray on a ball that Rafaela seemingly lost in the sun. He scored on a Gavin Sheets single, and Sheets came around himself on a Luis Campusano double.

The 2-2 tie held until the home half of the sixth, when Boston knocked King out of the game and took the lead for good. Willson Contreras delivered his first homer in a Red Sox uniform, a 423-foot blast to put Boston up, and after Wandy Peralta (hey, another former Yankee) relieved King, 2021 fourth-overall pick Marcelo Mayer went yard for a decisive two-run blow.

Although Ron Marinaccio (another!) pitched a scoreless frame after Peralta left, the Padres never chipped away. With Carlos Narváez (another!!) behind the plate, the Boston bullpen trio of Greg Weissert (another!!!), Justin Slaten, and Aroldis Chapman (one more for the road) closed it out with three hitless innings.

Seattle Mariners (4-4) 3, Los Angeles Angels (3-5) 1 (10 innings)

Offense was hard to come by during the first game of 2026 from “The Big A,” as Bryan Woo and Reid Detmers engaged in a pitchers’ duel. On paper, it was no contest. The 2025 M’s ace was nearly perfect, permitting just three baserunners across his seven innings of work with the lone hit coming on a measly infield single from Oswald Peraza (bonus!) in the third. Mike Trout was the only Angels to reach twice against Woo, via a plunking in a walk. Peraza and Trout reached in separate innings, and the Halos went down on five strikeouts across a perfect eighth and ninth from Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz.

However, the Angels’ own surprisingly good pitching also shut out Seattle through nine. Detmers walked four and allowed three hits, but he did match Woo in zeroes across 6.2 innings because the Mariners just couldn’t push a run across. They stranded at least one baserunner in almost every frame — most egregiously in the fourth, when Brendan Donovan grounded out with two on and one out before Detmers fanned J.P. Crawford—and the eighth, when another two-on, one-out jam went by the wayside at the hands of veteran reliever Drew Pomeranz. Cal Raleigh had walked and Julio Rodríguez singled to set it up for Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena who … popped up and hit a comebacker, respectively.

Mercifully for Mariners fans, the trend came to a halt once Seattle inherited its zombie runner in the 10th. Cole Young led off with a triple into the right-field corner off Brent Suter.

That was nice, but since Rob Refsnyder and Cal Raleigh followed with unproductive outs, there was a chance that Seattle would have to settle for one and hold on for dear life in the home half of the 10th. However, Suter intentionally walked J-Rod and he moved to second on a ball in the dirt. Naylor came through this time with a two-run single and Seattle had a more comfortable 3-0 lead.

Gabe Speier entered to close it out in the Halos’ half of the 10th, and Naylor’s insurance proved to be valuable. The zombie runner Trout scored on a groundout and a sacrifice fly, but at that point, Seattle was happy to trade him for outs. Yoán Moncada struck out to end it, completing a combined extra-inning one-hitter for the Mariners.

Houston Astros (5-3) 4, Athletics (2-5)11

The A’s second home opener as West Sacramento tenants turned into a whooping of the Astros in a hurry. Cristian Javier quite plainly didn’t have it for Houston, as he got waxed for six runs on six hits and five (!) walks while recording just 11 outs. The A’s scored three in the third to go ahead 4-1 and then doubled that inning’s output in the fourth, knocking out Javier and beating up reliever Roddery Muñoz for six more runs.

Lawrence Butler and Max Muncy the Younger were the stars of those two frames, with both contributing RBIknocks in the former, then muscling up in the latter for homers on back-to-back offerings from Muñoz.

Jeffrey Springs was superb on the A’s pitching side, firing six innings of two-hit ball with seven K’s, a third-inning sacrifice fly the only damage on his record. By the time Muncy’s homer landed, this one felt all but over since the A’s were into double digits, and the Astros—who had long since pulled Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Christian Walker—merely mustered a few garbage-time runs at the end to make the final score at least a smidge closer.

Detroit Tigers (3-4) 4, St. Louis Cardinals (4-3) 0

The Tigers began their 2026 slate at Comerica Park with an efficient 4-0 shutout of St. Louis. Big free-agent signing Framber Valdez got to make his first start in the Old English D, and he turned away the Cards with six shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks while fanning five to earn his first win with Detroit.

Batterymate Dillon Dingler helped out his pitcher too, getting the scoring started in Detroit with a 433-foot shot for a two-run homer against Michael McGreevy. The Tigers tacked on insurance runs in the fifth and sixth via RBI knocks from 2025 All-Stars Riley Greene and Javy Báez, and three scoreless from the ’pen locked in the shutout.

Good morning everyone and welcome to the weekend!

The Mariners notched their first extra-innings win of the season yesterday in a 3-1 victory over the Angels thanks to strong pitching performances from Bryan Woo, Matt Brash, Andrés Muñoz, and Gabe Speier.

It really is incredible to watch this M’s bullpen in action. Do you have a favorite member of that bunch? We all know that fellow Lookout Landing author Zach Mason is the president of the Speier Choir, and I’m personally partial to Muñoz.

In Mariners news…

• Farah Jordan at King 5 interviewed Leo Rivas to help fans get to know him a bit better.
• Thursday’s Tacoma Rainiers game included some fun history, with both starting pitchers in the contest being primary knuckleballers.

Around the league…

• We’ve got a scare in Queens as Mets outfielder Juan Soto was pulled from yesterday’s game with a right calf issue. He will undergo an MRI.
• The White Sox will retire the jersey No. 13 in honor of longtime player, manager, and broadcaster Ozzie Guillen.
• The Blue Jays have agreed to a one-year, $1M contract with former ace Patrick Corbin.
• Young Cubs righty Cade Horton is undergoing testing after being pulled from a recent start for right forearm discomfort.
• Diamondbacks infielder Jordan Lawlar is set to miss 6-to-8 weeks with a broken wrist.
• D-Backs star Ketel Marte reached his 10th full year of service time, granting him complete no-trade rights.
• Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin made an impression with his glove and his bat in a Pittsburgh victory last night.
• Thomas Nestico broke down some pitchers he has been impressed with since Opening Day, highlighting Emerson Hancock as a standout.
• Some teams are off to unexpectedly rough starts to the season. Dan Szymborski put their poor performances into context and looked at how a team’s playoff odds can change after one bad April.
• Ben Clemens at Fangraphs tried to make sense of Mike Trout’s hot start to the season.
• Baseball America published its first in-season update to it’s top 100 prospects list. Mariners starter Ryan Sloan made the biggest jump in the sport, going from No. 60 to No. 22.
• Don’t look now, but Cole Young has been the most valuable defender in baseball so far.

• Congratulations, Braylen!

If you watched yesterday’s game, one thing stuck out like a sore thumb, and that was the ineffectiveness of Miles Mikolas. After two great innings to start the game, the veteran got tattooed, allowing a club record 11 earned runs. That begs the question, how long will Blake Butera and Paul Toboni stick with the veteran right hander?

Hopes were not very high when the Nats signed Mikolas on a one-year deal. Over the last three seasons, Mikolas had posted a 4.98 ERA in 98 starts. Now, the right hander was a year older and playing in front of a worse infield defense. The signing was a bit curious, but hey it was just a one-year deal and Mikolas has been a known innings eater.

Nats fans knew Mikolas would have some outings that weren’t great, but the hope was that he could deliver some quality starts and go five to six innings each time. So far, we have only seen the bad. In Mikolas’ defense, he has faced two high powered lineups that have owned him in the past. I also did not think he was that bad in his first outing, he was just hurt by his defense.

However, the overall results have been ugly so far. Mikolas has allowed 17 runs and 15 earned runs in his first 9.1 innings. There are innings where Mikolas hits his spots and looks good, but the margin for error is so small for the veteran. When he misses his spots, he gets absolutely clobbered.

That is due to a lack of pure stuff. Mikolas has never had great stuff, but in his first two starts this year, the stuff looks diminished. At 37 years old, this should not be much of a surprise. His already hittable 4-seam fastball went from 93 MPH to 91.9 MPH so far this season. Mikolas does not have the secondary pitches or deception to make up for this velocity loss. He is just a sitting duck when he is not perfect with his command.

In 2026, the average fastball from a righty starter is over 95 MPH. Stuff is better than ever, which makes Mikolas an easy target for these hitters so used to high velocity heaters. When Mikolas was at his best in 2018 and 2022, his 4-seam fastball averaged 94.1 and 93.5 MPH respectively. He has never been a guy with put away secondary pitches, so he has needed to rely on the fastball.

Right now, the fastball just is not there. While Blake Butera heavily indicated that Mikolas will be making his next start, if this continues much longer, it will be time for uncomfortable conversations. The Nats do not have a shortage of options at the AAA level right now.

One guy I would like to see back in the big leagues is Andrew Alvarez. Since coming up in September of last year, he has been very impressive. He posted a 2.31 ERA in 5 starts last year, and looked good this spring. After a shaky first start in Rochester, he dominated last time out, throwing five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts.

Like Mikolas, Alvarez does not have a power fastball. However, he does have the kind of sharp secondary pitches that Mikolas does not possess. It is also a little easier to be a soft tosser as a lefty. Southpaws just tend to create more awkward angles and deception with hitters. With Mikolas, you are not getting any of that deception.

It seems like the Nats will give Mikolas some time to try and figure it out. However, I think the leash should be short. They did not commit much to him financially, and the results have been catastrophic so far. If the results don’t turn around in the next couple starts, the Nats need to pull the plug. Admitting when you mess up is a sign of an intelligent front office. No GM bats 1.000, and it looks like the Mikolas signing will be a miss.

I get giving the veteran some time. Mikolas has accomplished a lot in his career, so pulling the plug after two starts would be rough, especially on a rebuilding team. However, it really seems like the writing is on the wall with this experiment. Hopefully, Mikolas turns it around, but I do not have faith.

Miles Mikolas made two All-Star teams and had some great years in St. Louis. However, father time is undefeated. It really seems like Miles Mikolas is at the end of the line here. He better bounce back next time out, or the pressure will really ramp up on the Nats new regime to solve this problem.

Konnor Griffin’s debut was one of the most anticipated debuts we have seen in the league in a long time, and it’s safe to say his debut lived up to those high expectations. 

Griffin Batted seventh and started at shortstop in front of a sellout crowd of 38,986 at PNC Park. The rookie provided the highlight moment of the Bucs’ 5-4 win against the Baltimore Orioles when he smashed an RBI double in the first at-bat of his Major League career, opening the scoring in the Bucs four-run second inning. Griffin would score in the very next at bat thanks to an RBI single by Jared Triolo.

Pittsburgh had four straight hits in that second inning that all resulted in RBIs. Henry Davis hit an RBI double that scored Triolo, then Oneil Cruz hit an RBI single to score Davis and give the Pirates a four run lead. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ryan O’Hearn hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Bryan Reynolds and give the Bucs a 5-2 lead. 

Griffin slashed .438/.571/.625 in his five games this season with Triple-A Indianapolis before getting called up. In 122 games last year, he hit .333 with 21 home runs, 94 RBIs and 65 stolen bases en route to being named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year. The shortstop was the ninth overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Griffin, who doesn’t turn 20 years old until April 24, is the first teenaged position player in MLB since Juan Soto debuted with Washington in 2018. He’s also the first teenager to debut for Pittsburgh since Aramis Ramirez in 1998. Griffin is also the first teen to hit an extra base hit in his first major league game since Soto did it in 2018.

Griffin reached base for the second time when he led off the fourth inning with a five-pitch walk. He advanced to second base on another single to right by Triolo, but he was later forced out at third after Davis grounded into a double play. 

In his last two at bats, the 19 year old would strike out and ground out to finish his day. Even though he only had one hit, it was clear he made an impact in front of the home crowd.  

The sellout crowd on hand kept its energy up for the entire game, there were four moments, during Griffin’s at-bats, where the noise came to a halt, with more than 38,000 fans hanging onto every pitch in anticipation for what their city’s newest star was going to do next. It was the kind of energetic environment that Kelly believes his team will have to get used to playing in front of as they hope to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2015.

Griffin was impressive in his debut. He showed confidence and made a couple of nice defensive plays. If he can continue to play like that he will play an important part of this time for the whole season. 

With the 5-4 win the Bucs now improve to 4-3 on the season. The Pirates play the Orioles at 4:05 back at home on Saturday afternoon with Carmen Mlodzinski on the mound. 

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Friday, in case you missed it...

• In San Fran, Nolan McLean was perfect through five, and the Mets pounded out 10 runs in a win over the Giants
• McLean admitted he had just one working pitch, but was able to "piece it together"
• After the game, Marcus Semien and Francisco Alvarez spoke about the offense busting out
• Friday's win wasn't perfect: Juan Soto exited early with calf tightness and will undergo an MRI
• Also on the injury front, Jorge Polanco was out of the lineup as he continues to deal with Achilles tendinitis
• Down on the farm, Christian Scottgot touched up in his first start at Triple-A Syracuse
• In his stateside debut, prospect Elian Peñadoubled, reached base three times
• Also, the Mets are reportedly signing veteran reliever Luke Jackson to a minor league deal

The San Diego Padres have developed a disturbing trend after the first seven games of the 2026 season. In each of their five losses, the Padres have scored three runs or less. The three runs in a loss happened once. The other four losses were by two runs, which included the series opener against the Boston Red Sox Friday afternoon. It should come as no surprise that the San Diego offense flummoxed by Boston starter Sonny Gray for most of the day. The veteran right-hander, who joined the Red Sox following an offseason trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. As bewildered as the lineup was facing Gray, it was worse against the Boston bullpen. Three relievers combined to pitch three scoreless innings without allowing a hit. There was one walk allowed, in the top of the ninth by closer Aroldis Chapman, and three combined strikeouts to hand the Padres a 5-2 loss to open their road trip.

Gavin Sheets was the lone bright spot in the San Diego lineup, finishing 2-for-3 with two singles, an RBI and a run scored. Miguel Andujar was gifted a triple when centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela misplayed a ball in center and Luis Campusano ended his hitless streak with an RBI-double off the Green Monster, which tied the game 2-2 in the top of the fifth inning. The top five in the lineup for San Diego (Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill, Manny Machado and Ramon Laureano) combined to go 0-for-19 on the day with one walk.

Michael King did his part but got nothing to show for it – in fact, he took the loss. King allowed four runs on seven hits over 5.2 innings. The line reads worse than the outing appeared. After the Padres tied the game in the top of the fifth, King faced just three batters in the bottom half of the inning, thanks in large part to a stellar play by Jake Croenworth at second base.

He took the mound in the bottom of sixth and recorded an out but then surrendered a solo home run to Willson Contreras to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. King then allowed a single and recorded a strikeout before manager Craig Stammen took him out of the game in favor of Wandy Peralta who came in to face left-hander Marcelo Mayer. The move backfired as Mayer hit a two-run home run on the first pitch from Peralta that just squeaked past the glove of Tatis Jr. in right field to put Boston ahead 5-2.

San Diego will try to break out of its offensive funk with Game 2 against the Red Sox at 1:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball put it best with her headline that read “Opening week was a bit of a mess.” Throughout the week there were strange decisions from the dugout, miscommunication in the field, lapses in fundamentals and uninspired approaches as the plate. Maybe the road trip will allow the Padres to get away and start fresh.

• Jase Bowen had a productive spring and was with the team until the final roster decisions were made. Ultimately, Bryce Johnson made the team as the fourth outfielder, but that has not slowed Bowen. The outfielder helped the El Paso Chihuahuas earn a win Friday night by hitting for the cycle.

Baseball News:

• Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Konnor Griffin made an instant impact with an RBI-double in his MLB debut to help the Pirates earn a win.

• Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees continued their hot start with a win in their home opener at Yankee Stadium.

• Nolan McLean had a dominant start and took a perfect game into the sixth inning, which helped the New York Mets top the San Francisco Giants in the road. Mets star Juan Soto departed early in the contest with calf tightness.

• Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run of the season, and the Los Angeles Dodgers slugged their way past the Washington Nationals with five home runs in the game, including the first from Kyle Tucker as a Dodger.

• Chase DeLauter of the Cleveland Guardians may not have gotten the memo that he is a rookie playing his first week in the MLB. He has hit five home runs in the first seven games of the 2026 season.

Breathe.

It’s a rough day to be a Cub fan. Don’t borrow trouble. You don’t know. First and foremost, you don’t know the extent of Cade Horton’s situation. Yes, they said elbow and forearm. Those are dirty words when a pitcher leaves abruptly. Cade has had Tommy John surgery once before. So we all can certainly understand his concern. We all understand the caution. The injured list stint is obvious, The caution is obvious. But we don’t know.

Don’t borrow that trouble. You have to have it scanned. You have to treat that young man carefully. But don’t give up today. There hasn’t been a bell. No one’s thrown in the towel. The fight isn’t over.

Breathe.

Give this a minute to play out. You’re assuming the worst. Almost exactly a year ago, the Cubs lost Justin Steele to an elbow injury. Steele had to have his UCL repaired just under a year ago. After that injury, the Cubs recovered and went on to be one of the best teams in the National League. They won a playoff series. They pushed the Brewers to the brink in the Division Series.

To be fair, Cade Horton emerging helped get them to that point. It’s not fair to assume that Jaxon Wiggins might emerge that way this year. Each season is unique. Maybe it’s Steele himself who emerges. We can’t know. We know that Colin Rea was generally up to the task when asked in 2025. Or Javier Assad in 2024. There are options. It isn’t over.

Horton left early. The Cubs did eventually lead. But they couldn’t hold it. The bullpen, asked to throw eight innings in this one, came up short. The end result? Four runs in seven innings by the pen. Not good enough. But the bigger story is nine innings and just one run for the offense. Eight total runs across four losses in the seven games. Just two runs per game. Not good enough. Yet 23 runs across three wins. Nearly eight runs per game.

It’s early. 28 runs across seven games. That’s what they’ve allowed. It’s high. You likely aren’t going to reach the playoffs at four runs per game. 31 runs scored over seven games. That’s pretty good. Let’s not draw conclusions yet.

The reasons for nervousness. They are there.

Breathe.

This isn’t great. But it isn’t over yet. It’s far too soon. There are 155 games left to play. This is a deep and talented roster. If Cade is somehow done for 2026, the team is undoubtedly less good than we thought it would be. No sane person can just wave off a loss like that. Also, the season doesn’t hinge on one player. Certainly, he is one of the more valuable pieces on this team. But there are redundancies.

The margin is slimmer. But it isn’t over. And it isn’t even known just how bad the situation is.

Breathe.

It’s going to be okay. Promise.

Three Positives:

1. Hoby Milner has been fun in the early going, no? He came into this one with runners on second and third and one out, the Cubs leading by one. He did yield the lead. But also got a pop out, nearly escaping the inning. Thenm threw another scoreless behind it. Milner is a really interesting left-handed weapon.
2. Carson Kelly had a couple of hits against a left-handed starter.
3. Colin Rea was pressed into emergency action. He faced 14 batters, allowing four hits and a walk. He was charged with one run. He struck out four. I presume he’ll slide into Horton’s spot until we know more.

Game 7, April 3: Cleveland 4, Chicago 1 (3-4)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Hoby Milner (.117). 1.2 IP, 6 BF, 2 H
• Hero: Colin Rea (.076). 3.1 IP, 14 BF, 4 H, BB, ER, 4 K
• Sidekick: Alex Bregman (.072). 1-4

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Hunter Harvey (-.350). 0.2 IP, 5 BF, 2 H, BB, 3 ER (L 0-1)
• Goat: Michael Busch (-.192). 0-4
• Kid: Ian Happ (-.154). 0-4

WPA Play of the Game: Gabriel Arias faced Hunter Harvey with one out in the seventh, the game tied at one. He homers, giving Cleveland the lead. (.227)

*Cubs Play of the Game: Alex Bregman batted with a runner on first and no outs in the sixth, the game tied at one. He singled, sending the runner to third. (.135)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 6 Winner: Matthew Boyd received 153 of 189 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 3/Bottom 3)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Hoby Milner +4
• Miguel Amaya/Edward Cabrera/Jameson Taillon +3
• Shōta Imanaga/Phil Maton/Alex Bregman -3
• Matt Shaw -5

Up Next: Game two in Cleveland. Shōta Imanaga (0-1, 7.20) starts for the Cubs. Slade Cecconi (0-1, 12.46) stars for Cleveland. Cecconi is right handed. At least until Seiya Suzuki returns to the Cubs, the Cubs are much better against right handed pitching. Cleveland is yet to face a lefty this season. They were 22-24 against lefty starters a year ago, on their way to an 88-win season overall. Did they adequately address that issue? The Cubs were 73-47 against righty starters on the way to 92 wins. So generally, the Cubs are better against righties.

I think this matchup favors the Cubs. So I’ll lean into the pattern continuing one more day, at least.

Breathe my friend. Breathe. It’s going to be okay.