SPRINGFIELD, MO - APRIL 09: Josue De Paula #55 of the Tulsa Drillers prepares to bat during the game between the Tulsa Drillers and the Springfield Cardinals at Hammons Field on Thursday, April 9, 2026 in Springfield, Missouri. (Photo by Shanna Stafford/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Last week was the busiest week of the season for Dodgers minor league players getting honored, with four different players on Monday named either player of the week or pitcher of the week for their leagues, one at all four affiliate levels.
James Tibbs III was named Pacific Coast League player of the week in Triple-A, Josue De Paula did the same in Double-A in the Texas League, and Ontario outfielder Jaron Elkins won California League player of the week in Class-A. Joining them is pitcher Alex Makarewich, taking home Midwest League pitcher of the week for High-A Great Lakes.
Tibbs put on a power show last week in Sugar Land, Texas, with six home runs and 16 RBI in six games. The Oklahoma City designated hitter had nine hits in 26 at-bats plus two walks, hitting .346/.414/1.038, highlighted by two home runs and six RBI on Thursday night.
TWO-HOMER GAME FOR JAMES TIBBS III☄️
He goes deep against Josh Hader and has driven in a career-high six runs tonight! pic.twitter.com/jem0TvTTcK
Tibbs on the season is hitting .322/.426/.659, and leads the PCL in home runs (17), RBI (51), runs scored (55), slugging percentage, OPS (1.085), extra-base hits (35), and total bases (139).
De Paula had the best power-hitting month of his career and will likely win Texas League player of the month later this week. But for now the Tulsa right fielder can celebrate his weekly honors, after going 12 for 24 in six games against Northwest Arkansas, hitting .500/.538/1.000 with six doubles, two home runs, 11 runs scored, and six RBI.
It’s rare for a reliever to win pitcher of the week, but Makarewich stood out in his two relief appearances for Great Lakes last week. He totaled three scoreless, hitless innings, allowing only a walk, and struck out eight of his 10 batters faced.
Elkins only played in four games last week for Ontario after missing two weeks on the injured list, but made them count, including a home run in each of his last three games. The outfielder had eight hits in 19 at-bats last week, hitting .421/.476/1.105 with eight RBI, seven runs scored, and two total bases.
— Ontario Tower Buzzers (@towerbuzzers) May 30, 2026
Elkins’ best game of the week was the game in which he didn’t homer. On Wednesday he had four hits, including two doubles and a triple, with three runs batted in.
Jun 1, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young (2) receives a sports drink shower from shortstop J.P. Crawford (3) following a walk-off RBI-single against the New York Mets during the tenth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
Good morning! The Mariners secured their seventh win in a row and second-straight walk-off last night, this time with Cole Young as the hero as his single sent Randy Arozarena home from third. Emerson Hancock held the New York Mets to just two hits off two home runs, and a lights out bullpen night helped the Mariners get the win.
Logan Gilbert takes the mound tonight at 6:40 PM for game two against the Mets.
PHOENIX, AZ - JUNE 01: Gabriel Moreno #14 of the Arizona Diamondbacks tags Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers out at home plate during the game at Chase Field on Monday, June 1, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Julia Jacome/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It was not an easy day at the office for Eduardo Rodriguez, but you’d never be able to tell that by his pitching line. The left-hander labored heavily in the early going, fending off base traffic, allowing an earned run in the third inning and scraping his way through with the help of some quality infield defense.
“We made some nice defensive plays behind [Rodriguez], but he pounded the zone. He set his tone with his fastball and then went to work and started pitching from there,” Lovullo said. “Overall, this day was set up by E-Rod and finished by some really heady, smart baseball plays.”
Rodriguez buckled down to throw his seventh Quality Start of the season. He allowed just the one earned run over the course of six innings, striking out three against one walk and five base hits. Two doubles in that troublesome third inning were the only blemish.
If the win showed anything, it was that the current iteration of the club is one that will rely on its veterans, upstart youngsters and stars equally. Eduardo Rodriguez, in his 11th MLB campaign, tossed six innings of one-run ball to stymie a scorching-hot Dodgers offense, but he was backed by third-year outfielder Jorge Barrosa, who made a pair of running grabs that saw him lay out on the center-field turf. Homers from the 24-year-old Tommy Troy (the first career blast from Arizona’s No. 4 prospect), the 35-year-old Nolan Arenado and the 32-year-old Ketel Marte first tied the game, then gave the D-backs the lead and then iced it, respectively.
Once the bullpen door swung open, Taylor Clarke, Brandyn Garcia and Paul Sewald all delivered scoreless frames.
With the Dodgers in town for a four-game series and top of mind, it will mark the first time the clubs meet since former D-backs outfielder Alek Thomas was shipped to L.A.
Carroll and Thomas made their respective MLB debuts within four months of each other in the 2022 season, and the former said he’s had a few conversations with the latter since the May 12 trade.
“Just kind of asked him how he was liking what he was working on, when he was doing his swing stuff. And yeah, he was complimentary. He said he liked what (the Dodgers’ coaching staff) were working on and saw he got into maybe an ACL game the other day, maybe trending towards getting back to really competing,” Carroll said. “I always wish a guy like that you’ve played so long with and had so much, just so many experiences with, you wish him all the best.”
After going 11-2 across four series against the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants, the Snakes couldn’t carry that momentum into their series against the Seattle Mariners. They suffered a three-game sweep, marking the club’s struggles against teams above .500, as they are 8-19 against such opponents.
Facing the defending champions, who are currently 38-21, the challenge only gets tougher.
The first baseman does have strong numbers against Los Angeles, however, hitting .364 with a .409 slugging percentage over seven games (22 at-bats) against the Dodgers last year. Having Smith back could help spark an offense that needs to break out of its slump following the Seattle series.
Shohei Ohtani is making a serious run at winning the NL Cy Young award. Ohtani threw six hitless innings against the Rockies May 27. He has the lowest ERA of any pitcher with 50 innings or more pitched (0.82). He’s allowed one earned run in his last 18 innings and given up seven hits,
Before his 2026 season could ever really get out of the starting blocks, Cristian Mena has seen it likely come to a close. The D-backs’ No. 11 prospect is set to undergo shoulder surgery in the coming days, a procedure that manager Torey Lovullo admitted is likely to knock him out for the rest of the year.
It’s been an arduous road back to the mound for one of the D-backs’ prized pitching prospects. Mena last appeared in game action last June 6, working an inning out of the club’s bullpen, before landing on the injured list with a right shoulder strain the following day. Five days prior — one year ago to the day — he picked up his first Major League win after tossing a pair of scoreless innings against the Nationals.
The Giants and Rockies were the only teams more than seven games out of a playoff spot entering the week, and given the National League’s performance this season — 11 of 15 teams have winning records — it seems unlikely that either San Francisco or Colorado will climb back into the race.
Said Meyer: “We do not accept the premise that there’s some existential crisis going on.”
Even if he did, the MLBPA is adamant that a salary cap won’t fix it. The league is adamant that it would. A middle ground is elusive, and where the two sides go from here is hard to determine. In his statement, Caplin said the league is “ready to listen if the MLBPA wants to counter our proposal at the bargaining table.” Meyer said no meeting is scheduled but would be “in the near future,” adding that the two sides can still bargain on several non-economic issues.
He believes players will remain united against a cap.
“Our union has never been broken and never will be,” Meyer said. “Our players have what they have, including being the only sport that doesn’t have this ultimate restriction, the salary cap, because our players have always been the most unified. And that’s gonna continue.”
Jansen and company certainly share a lot of responsibility for the team’s struggles in one-run games, but Detroit’s biggest problem has been an increasingly decrepit offense that’s scoring a major league-low 3.72 runs per game, with a very respectable March and April followed by an abysmal May:
In their last 19 games, the Tigers have averaged just 2.52 runs, scoring more than four just once; they haven’t scored more than six runs in a game since May 3. While left fielder Riley Greene (.301/.391/.426, 134 wRC+), shortstop/third baseman Kevin McGonigle (.286/.390/.410, 130 wRC+), and catcher Dillon Dingler(.226/.313/.458, 115 wRC+) have been quite effective overall, Greene and Dingler were the team’s only two regulars with a wRC+ of 100 or better in May; everybody else besides McGonigle had a wRC+ of 82 or lower. First baseman Spencer Torkelson (.214/.317/.403, 104 wRC+ overall) has cooled off after a strong start, going from a 123 wRC+ and a 28.3% strikeout rate in March and April to an 82 wRC+ with a 36.3% strikeout rate in May. Third baseman/designated hitter Colt Keith is in the midst of a power outage, batting .280/.324/.342 (88 wRC+) without a homer this season; he sank from a 114 wRC+ in March and April to 57 in May. Beyond that, injuries to Torres, Parker Meadows, Zach McKinstry, Javier Báez, and Kerry Carpenter have been a significant part of the story, costing the team depth in both the infield and outfield.
Arizona added Soroka on a $7.5MM free agent deal. He’s playing on a $6.5MM salary and will collect a $1MM buyout at season’s end. Soroka has already added another $500K in incentives by making 10+ starts and could get up to $2MM in bonuses if he reaches 25 starts.
Soroka has been a surprisingly key piece of Torey Lovullo’s rotation. He carries a 3.25 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate against a tidy 5.5% walk percentage over 61 innings. Durability is an ever present question with the Canadian-born righty, who hasn’t reached 100 frames in a season since 2019. If Soroka can hold anything close to this level over the full schedule, his side will easily pass on the option. He should command at least two years and would have a case for three if he stays healthy, as he’s one of the youngest pitchers (29 in August) in what looks like a bad free agent class.
SURPRISE, AZ - MARCH 20: Sean Gamble #9 of the Kansas City Royals bats during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium on Friday, March 20, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”
Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers (26-30, 8.5 games back)
The Storm Chasers lost 5 of 6 at home to the Memphis Redbirds. On the mound, Mitch Spence had a very rough two starts. In total, he went 8.2 innings, allowing 22 hits, 15 runs, 4 homers, walking 1 and striking out 7. On the positive side of things, Ryan Ramsey had a quality start. The 25-year-old lefty, and 2022 13th round pick by the Royals, went 6.1 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, walking 2 and striking out 6.
At the plate, Brett Squires, who has been a name of discussion the last couple of weeks, went 5-for-20 with two more homers and a double. Kameron Misner was 7-for-22 with a homer and four walks. Abraham Toro went 9-for-17 with three doubles.
— Omaha Storm Chasers (@OMAStormChasers) May 31, 2026
The Storm Chasers hit the road this week to take on the Columbus Clippers. The series runs Tuesday through Sunday.
Northwest Arkansas Naturals (22-28, 9.5 games back)
The Naturals got swept in their 6-game series in Tulsa, against the Drillers. At the plate, it was a tough week for all the hitters. Spencer Nivens was 5-for-13, Colton Becker was 4-for-15 with a homer and a double.
On the bump, Ethan Bosacker had a good start, he went 5 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 run, and a pair of strikeouts. Caden Monke threw 3.1 scoreless innings in two appearances. Justin Lamkin didn’t appear this week, no word on if it was an injury or managing his innings. Hopefully we will know soon, as he is moving quickly through the organization.
— Northwest Arkansas Naturals (@nwanaturals) May 31, 2026
The Naturals are back home this week for the Midland RockHounds, the series runs Tuesday through Sunday.
Quad Cities River Bandits (22-26, 8.5 games back)
The River Bandits split their 6-game series against Cedar Rapids. Jordan Woods and Max Martin were both promoted from Columbia last week. Martin threw a scoreless inning and a third in his only appearance of the week, striking out 3 batters, he also took the win. Woods, went 4 innings, allowing 7 hits, 3 runs in his one start of the week. Both pitchers were dominating in Low-A ball. David Shields threw 5 innings of 2 run ball in his only start of the week. Josh Hansell threw 4 scoreless innings over 2 appearances with 4 strikeouts.
At the plate, Blake Mitchell was 5-for-20 on the week, with a double and two homers. On the season, Mitchell is slashing .201/.424/439. Tyriq Kemp was 4-for-21 with 5 stolen bases. Outfielder Nolan Sailors hit a pair of doubles and triples and stole 5 bases as well.
A son of a son of a Sailors crashed Margaritaville Night in Cedar Rapids! ⛵️
— Quad Cities River Bandits (@QCRiverBandits) May 30, 2026
The River Bandits play a seven-game series at home against the South Bend Cubs, with a doubleheader on Friday because of an earlier season rain out.
Columbia Fireflies (23-28, 6 games back)
The Fireflies split their 6-game series against the Charleston RiverDogs. Right hander Luis Valdez got promoted last week. The 21-year-old from Nizao, Dominican Republic came up from rookie ball in Arizona. In his one appearance last week, he allowed 2 hits and 2 runs in just 2/3 of an inning. Kendry Chourio went 5 innings, allowing 1 run and 6 hits, while striking out 3 in his lone start of the week. Michael Lombardi threw 3 scoreless innings as well.
Yandel Ricardo was smashing the ball all week, hitting .471, with two doubles and a homer, while stealing 4 bases. Sean Gamble continues to heat up, going 4-for-16 on the week, with a homer and triple. After a brutal start to the season, the 19-year-old outfielder is starting to find a rhythm the last two weeks. Josh Hammond went 6-for-22 with a double.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JUNE 01: Dillon Dingler #13 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring in the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on June 01, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees were on the couch on Monday, alongside most of the league, but there were still a couple of notable teams on the docket for them to scoreboard watch. Their biggest challenger for the AL East in the Rays were one of those two, and boy did they get into a barn burner of a game.
Detroit Tigers (23-38) 10, Tampa Bay Rays (36-21) 9
The Tigers have been unequivocably the biggest disappointment of the league in 2026, falling off of a cliff the moment that Tarik Skubal went down with an injury, but they played up to their competition against Tampa. They started out with a bang in the first inning, getting two singles ahead of Riley Greene’s double to bring them both home for a 2-0 lead, and they tripled that advantage in the third when Dillon Dingler, Kerry Carpenter, and Greene went back-to-back-to-back off of Griffin Jax. Jax lasted until the fourth, and his ERA spiked by over a run after getting hammered in this one.
The Rays had plenty of fight in them still though, and they started clawing back in the fourth inning when Junior Caminero launched a two-run shot to get them on the board. The Tigers tacked on two additional runs in the fifth and sixth via solo homers from Dingler and Hao-Yu Lee, but Tampa answered back with three more in the bottom of the sixth. Brenan Hanifee was brought in to start the frame, but issued back-to-back walks to lead off and then coughed up a slider over the middle to Ryan Vilade who crushed a three-run blast.
Two more pitchers would enter before Detroit got out of that inning, but they came away without any more damage to hold onto an 8-5 lead. After the seventh saw minimal action from both sides for once, Detroit was back at it in the eighth with RBI doubles from Dingler and Carpenter to push the lead back to five. Even here the Rays had an answer, working the bases loaded on three walks in the bottom of the eighth before Nick Fortes doubled home two and Ben Williamson drove home another two on a single — all with just one out. They were then gifted another baserunner with an error on a fielder’s choice, but Jonathan Aranda and Richie Palacios couldn’t come up with the game tying hit.
After rallying this far to pull within a single run, the Rays ran out of gas right near the finish line. Caminero grounded out to start the ninth, and then two straight strikeouts closed the game out. The Tigers walked away with a wild win, and the Yankees moved to within a game of Tampa in the process.
Other Games
Seattle Mariners (32-29) 3, New York Mets (26-34) 2 (10 innings)
Due to the light schedule, the Mariners are our only other team that we care about with a game on Monday, so why not give them the full-game treatment? The Mariners and Mets treated us to the polar opposite of the Tigers-Rays game, featuring low scoring and some quality pitching performances.
The Mets rolled out an opener in Austin Warren to start the game and he got through his first inning swimmingly, but after hitting the first batter of the second passed the baton over to bulk pitcher Sean Manaea. Manaea needed a double play to get out of the second, and Colt Emerson smashed a solo shot in the third inning to put Seattle ahead early, but Manaea settled down from there to give New York five innings of work with just the one long ball blemishing his line.
On the other end, Emerson Hancock got the start for Seattle and was cutting right through the Mets for the first four innings. Not a single Met managed to get on base, but his perfect game bid came to a close in the fifth as Jared Young launched a home run to lead off. Hancock rebounded to strike out the next two batters and get a flyout to end the inning, but he must’ve felt déjà vu in the sixth as Marcus Semien greeted him with another leadoff blast. That made it 2-1 New York, and despite rounding out his night well with three straight outs those two mistake pitches had Hancock on the line for a loss all of a sudden.
The Mariners went to work bailing out their starter though, with Josh Naylor adding to the leadoff damage with a solo shot in the seventh inning. Neither side could get any momentum for a rally in the eighth or ninth, leading us to extra innings. Gabe Speier took the ball with the Manfred runner on board and proceeded to strike out Juan Soto and Mark Vientos to put the pressure on A.J. Ewing to do something. Ewing couldn’t get the job done, popping up to short and giving Seattle the chance to walk this thing off with ease. Patrick Wisdom struck out to make it a little more difficult, but Cole Young lined a single out to left to bring the runner in and start the celebration in T-Mobile Park.
Competitive baseball—what a thought! It’s been a beautiful stretch for the O’s, who, after getting swept by the AL East-leading Rays the week before, returned the favor in emphatic fashion, then pulled off a series split against the Blue Jays. They started May by losing five of six series and ended it with a 7-3 homestand. They’ll look to carry that energy to Boston, where the opposition is in considerably worse shape.
The Boston Red Sox enter this series at 25-33, last in the American League East. The 2026 Red Sox offense has been called by longtime observers the worst they can remember in nearly 50 years of following the team, with serious concerns about the lack of power production up and down the lineup. The rotation, heavily upgraded over the offseason with the additions of Ranger Suárez and Sonny Gray, has been a relative bright spot — meaning the O’s will need to be sharp at the plate to take advantage of Boston’s overall mediocrity.
Adding to the notes of organizational chaos, the Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora on April 25, after a 10-17 start to the season, replacing him with Worcester Red Sox skipper Chad Tracy on an interim basis. The vibes are not immaculate in Boston these days, which is totally fine by me.
Game 1: Tuesday, June 3, 6:45 PM RHP Shane Baz (2-5, 4.48 ERA, 57 SO) vs. LHP Connelly Early (5-2, 2.95 ERA, 57 SO)
Through his first eight starts, Baz carried a 5.48 ERA and a 1-5 record while failing to locate his offspeed pitches and giving up tons of contact. But like the team in general, something has changed for him over the last three weeks. In those three starts, he’s allowed just five runs in 20 innings with 19 strikeouts. His best start of the bunch came against his former employer: a season-high nine strikeouts with just one run allowed over seven innings against the Rays, to bring his ERA down to 4.48. Baz, who signed a five-year, $68 million extension before throwing a pitch for Baltimore, looks like he may finally be settling in.
Connelly Early had a remarkable rookie debut in 2025: four dominant regular-season starts and a crackling postseason appearance against the Yankees, raising him up to another planet in terms of visibility. In 2026, the nice surface ERA of 2.95 masks some messier underlying numbers: his FIP has risen to 4.46, his strikeout rate is way down (from 13.5 to 8.4 per nine), his walk rate is up, and he’s allowed nine home runs in 60-plus innings. Early was a fifth-round pick for Boston out of the University of Virginia in 2023. Like his name suggests, the Orioles will want to test him early (heh) before he settles in.
Game 2: Wednesday, June 4, 6:45 PM RHP Chris Bassitt (4-3, 5.06 ERA, 36 SO) vs. LHP Payton Tolle (2-2, 2.61 ERA, 46 SO)
Chris Bassitt’s struggles were another recurring theme in the first two months of this season, but there’s reason for optimism: the Orioles gave him six days of rest last time out, and he showed glimpses of his old self with six innings of one-run ball against Toronto. His upward trend is not as clear as Baz’s, though: over his last five, he’s interspersed two starts of one run or less with three or three runs allowed or more. Which version of Bassitt shows up against a Boston team desperate for a win could be of the more interesting questions of this series.
Another Red Sox starter in his second year of pro ball, the expertly mustachioed Payton Tolle is a product of Stillwater, OK, just like the Orioles’ second baseman Jackson Holliday. I couldn’t find proof that the two know each other, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t. Tolle electrified Fenway in his 2026 season debut against the Yankees, striking out the first five batters he faced and finishing with 11 K’s over six innings. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick by the Red Sox in the 2024 draft out of TCU, where he was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. Statcast loves him: his xBA allowed sits at .183 and his barrel rate against is just 5.8%—e.g., he’s not just getting lucky. This is the kind of matchup that could get uncomfortable quickly for the Orioles offense if they fall behind early.
Game 3: Thursday, June 5, 6:45 PM LHP Trevor Rogers (2-6, 6.84 ERA) vs. TBD (probably RHP Brayan Bello (2-5, 5.62 ERA, 40 SO))
It’s mysterious and frustrating that the guy who lit pitching on fire last season with a franchise record 1.81 ERA in 18 starts now has an ERA above six. But after an Opening Day seven-inning shutout against Minnesota, Trevor Rogers has just stunk, allowing four runs or more in six of ten appearances. Is it health? Is it pitch tipping? Bad luck? None of the above? It’s great to have Baz and Kyle Bradish back in the fold, but a competitive Orioles run will take more than this from their once and presumptive ace.
Brayan Bello is a tale of two seasons. In games he’s started, he has a 9.68 ERA; coming in behind an opener, he has a 0.71 ERA in 25 1/3 innings. It’s unclear what’s going on, and whether Boston will use an opener ahead of him here, but overall, his numbers work out to hittable. His xBA against is a concerning (for Boston, appealing for Baltimore) .307 and his hard-hit rate is 42%. He’s not striking out many hitters, either, especially in his starter version: just 18 in 30 2/3 innings. The Orioles need to take advantage.
There’s the matchups. The Orioles have a chance to keep stacking wins here against a club in genuine disarray. Boston’s pitching can keep them in games, but their hitters ain’t helping. If Baltimore keeps swinging the bats the way they did against Tampa Bay and Toronto, this is a very winnable series.
How many games do you think the O’s take? Let us know in the comments.
Welcome back to A Pod of Their Own, an all-women led Home Run Applesauce podcast where we talk all things Mets, social justice issues in baseball, and normalize female voices in the sports podcasting space.
This week, we begin by discussing the Mets’ up and down month of May, which at least ended on a positive note. We talk about whether the Mets can turn things around in June despite their tough schedule with help from the returning injured players. We also chat about the shifting sands of the rotation and congratulate Lee Mazzilli and Bobby Valentine for being inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame.
Finally, we wrap things up with Walk-off Wins, where each of us talks about what’s making us happy this week, baseball-related or otherwise.
You can listen or subscribe to all of our wonderful Home Run Applesauce podcasts through Apple Podcasts, where we encourage you to leave a review if you enjoy the show. It really helps! And you can find us on the Stitcher app, Spotify, or listen wherever you get podcasts. You can also support our work by subscribing to our Patreon, which will get you bonus episodes, access to our Discord server, livestream experiences, an exclusive monthly playlist, and more!
You can follow A Pod of Their Own on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky (@apodoftheirown) and you can follow Home Run Applesauce on Twitter and Instagram (@HRApplesauce). You can also follow our co-hosts on Twitter and Bluesky: Allison McCague (@PetitePhD), Maggie Wiggin (@maggie162), and LindaSurovich (@LindaSurovich). You can also email the show at aa.apodoftheirown@gmail.com.
Look for A Pod of Their Own in your feeds every week and don’t forget: there’s no crying in podcasting!
Last week, in our most recent edition of Rangers Reacts, we asked a simple question: have you given up on the 2026 season?
Over half of you — 53%, to be exact — said yes, you have given up already.
I will note that the timing of when this question went out probably had an impact — the Rangers had just gotten swept in Anaheim, and were losing three of four at home to the Astros, including being no hit.
Still, after a pair of middling seasons, its understandable to see what the Rangers have done so far in 2026 and assume it is more of the same.
On the national front, the question was posed as to who the best healthy pitcher in baseball is right now.
Jacob Misiorowski captured almost a third of the vote, with Paul Skenes second.
On the question of which team has been the biggest disappointment, the Mets were the clear “winner,” getting almost half the vote.
And finally, as to the team that has been the most pleasant surprise, the Rays and the ChiSox were the top picks.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - MAY 30: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs celebrates with Stephon Castle #5 and De'aaron Fox #4 after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder with a score of 111 to 103 to win Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center on May 30, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I began writing for Pounding the Rock in October 2014 in the soft autumn afterglow of the Redemption Finals in June of that year. No one predicted that would be the Spurs’ last trip to the NBA Finals for over a decade.
Because I am both a Spurs fan in particular and a basketball fan in general, I would still watch the NBA finals each season, even without the Spurs involved. Long-time readers know that I cannot watch a sporting event without rooting for one team or the other. Those parts of my personality led me to write an annual column about which team Spurs fans should root for in each of the Finals which did not once include the Spurs after 2014.
Last year, the Finals were between OKC and Indiana. In my June 5, 2025 piece, I gave six reasons to choose the Indiana Pacers over OKC, and concluded with:
Like that Warriors team, this Thunder will be a massive problem for the league, and the Spurs, for many seasons to come. As a result, even if they aren’t already doing so, Spurs fan might as well start rooting against the Thunder. We certainly will be doing exactly that for the foreseeable future. Go Pacers!
When I wrote that nearly a year ago, no one (including mylsef) knew that our Spurs, not the Thunder, would become “the massive problem for the league” this season. As a result, for this season at least, I can retire my annual analysis of which team Spurs fans should root for in the NBA Finals. I have some more thoughts to share, but if you are reading this to determine who I think Spurs fans should root for in the 2026 NBA Finals, I don’t need to provide a lengthy analysis or a list of reasons to root for one team or another. Go Spurs Go!
Other thoughts
In my piece from last year, I explored the English derivation of the word “juggernaut”. I assumed it was Germanic. (Try saying “juggernaut” with a German accent. Very Germanic, right?) It turns out that the word comes from India, not Germany:
“An idea, custom, fashion, etc., that demands either blind devotion or merciless sacrifice,” 1854, a figurative use of Juggernaut, 1630s (Iaggernat), “huge wagon bearing an image of the god Krishna,” especially at the town of Puri, drawn annually in procession during which (apocryphally) devotees allowed themselves to be crushed under its wheels in sacrifice. Altered from Jaggernaut, a title of Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu), from Hindi Jagannath, literally “lord of the world.”
I raise this word again this year because after the Spurs established themselves as true contenders this season, many pundits began describing the Spurs and Thunder as the two true juggernauts in the league. Many assumed that the winner of the Western Conference Finals — assumed by all to be either OKC or San Antonio — would crush the Eastern Conference winner like the Krishna devotees under the massive wheels of his huge wagon. It turns out that we may have a third juggernaut — the New York Knicks. Although their competition was not up to Western Conference standards, the Knicks smote their playoff competition in a truly historic manner. From The Athletic:
“The Knicks enter as the hottest team in the history of the NBA playoffs. They have won 11 games in a row, against the Hawks, 76ers and Cavaliers. In running up a 12-2 playoff record, the average score of their games has been Knicks 120, Opponents 101. New York’s 19.4-point margin per game is, for the moment, six points ahead of any other postseason team since the NBA-ABA merger.”
Despite this historic dominance, and the Knicks’ massive rest advantage, the Knicks are 2-1 underdogs to a team who was picked as a possible Play-In Tournament participant at the start of the season. Of course, the Knicks have had a spotty history in the 50+ years since their last title, while the Spurs won a crown or two (or five) while the Knicks were flaming out each year. And the Spurs have several perimeter defenders a little bit better that the Harden/Mitchell backcourt that the Knicks’ guards torched in the Eastern Conference Finals. That being said, 2 t0 1 still seems a bit high.
The player of the game for the Spurs in Game 7 was Julian Champagnie. He went 6 for 10 from three, scored 20 points on 11 shots, and was a game-leading +16 during his 38 minutes on the floor. For much of the time down the stretch of an absolute must-win Game Seven on the road, Mitch Johnson went with his four top-5 lottery picks, and Julian Champagnie.
In a related note, the absolute play of the game was Luke Kornet’s block of Isaiah Hartenstein’s breakaway dunk attempt.
That play happened with just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Spurs up 97-91. Absent that block, OKC would have cut the lead to four, probably forcing a Spurs time-out with the OKC fans making it impossible for anyone to hear. Instead, the Spurs got the ball back and scored, turning the game into a much more comfortable (and quiet) 99-91 eight-point lead. During the six minutes he played, Kornet had the same number of blocks as Victor Wembanyama (1), and two more offensive rebounds (3 to 1) — and hustled into the key play of the game that sent the Spurs into the NBA Finals.
Why do I mention Champagnie and Kornet together? Each of them were undrafted out of college. Very Spursian. They join other key Spurs from the past who were either undrafted or second round picks: Avery Johnson, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, DannyGreen! and many others. The Spurs’ proud franchise was built not only on top picks like the Admiral, the Great Duncan and Victor, but also on players other NBA teams decided were not good enough to play in the league.
I haven’t done a Fun with Box Scores edition in quite a while, largely because Pounding the Rock has a guy who does it much better than I can. But Game Seven’s box score has some notable items. For instance, both teams shot 45% from the field, but the Spurs went 17/40 from three, while OKC was 12/35. Put another way, the Spurs shot five more threes — and made all of them.
Also, Stephon Castle had the devil of a game: 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 turnovers. The Spurs’ nuns still forgave him because he had 16 points and 4 offensive rebounds. Ryan Harper had 3 offensive rebounds, meaning the two young Spurs guards combined for 7 offensive rebounds.
Another cool stat — after OKC got 9 offensive rebounds in the first half, they had only 1 in the entire second half. You think the Spurs coaching staff may have emphasized that at halftime? Yeah, me too. The Spurs got 5 more offensive rebounds for the game (15-10), and had 1 fewer turnover (13-12), which means 6 extra opportunities to score in a game decided by 8 points. By the way, the 111-103 final was the second closest game of the series. A very odd series, with two excellent games bookending five contests which were not in doubt in the fourth quarter.
One final question: why does ESPN always have Dylan Harper listed last on the Spurs box score? It is certainly not alphabetical, or based on his uniform number. Maybe because he went to Rutgers?? If anyone has a logical answer, please drop it in the comments.
One last stat: this one from halftime of Game Seven. The Spurs were up 3 points, 46-43. In the first half, the Spurs were 7 for 8 from the free throw line, while the Thunder were 4 for 8. Which means that with all the shooting and rebounding and steals and defense in the first half, the Spurs were ahead because they made three more free throws than OKC on their eight attempts.
That also made it odd that OKC’s coach chose to replace two of his starters to start the second half. I thought that sent an unusual message to a team that had the best record in the league the past two seasons. It might have been better to tell his guys “we got this”, “we are at home and we weathered the storm”, and yes, “we are the defending champs, let’s go out and show the world.” Instead, OKC benched two starters.
In contrast, when Stephon Castle got his 4th foul in the third quarter, and Victor got his 5th foul with over seven minutes left in the game, Mitch Johnson subbed them out for less than two minutes each, and then sent them back into the game. He trusted his guys to play without fouling, and switched Castle off SGA for much of the remaining game. (During Victor’s minute-long rest, Kornet has his chase down block — and then immediately subbed out to much adulation from the Spurs’ bench.) Johnson knew that the team needed Castle and Victor on the court for the Spurs to win Game Seven on the road, and he was right. Nice job by the Spurs’ head coach — also a rookie in his first playoffs.
Several good quotes to mention. First, Anthony Edwards said this about the Spurs, and in particular their offense when Victor was not in the game: “It made it hard on us because now everybody (on the Spurs) was playing free,” Edwards said. “They play egoless basketball anyway, but they made it a little tougher.”
As a coach, I want opposing players to describe my team’s offense as “egoless”. Love it. The second quote was from Reggie Miller after Keldon Johnson, who lives on a farm, drained two key threes in the fourth quarter: “His goats are very happy.”
Finally, my buddy Ferg dropped this dime describing Chet Holmgren’s four point, four rebound performance in Game Seven. “He Chet the bed”.
Because this is my “rooting for” post, I end by pointing out that the Spurs were clearly the fan favorites in the Western Conference Finals. Other than people from Oklahoma, or the OKC players’ close relatives, it seems that everyone was either rooting for the Spurs or against the Thunder. I don’t know if that will carry over to the Finals. There are an awful lot of New York Knicks fans out there, and I mean awful when describing Knicks’ fans. (To my Knicks fan buddies, sorry for the cheap shot.)
Anyway, because I traditionally root against teams from New York, my choice is doubly easy. I just don’t believe the series will be.
Stephen Curry's season-long sneaker free agency is over with the international star announcing on social media a deal to take his Curry Brand to Chinese show powerhouse Li-Ning.
"The future of Curry Brand will be powered by a company truly rooted in sports and innovation," Curry said in his post and open letter announcing the deal. "A partner dedicated to creating quality products with sneakers that I believe in that will continue to deliver at the highest level...
"Together, we will continue the Curry Brand mission with stories, platforms and products that will inspire the next generation around the globe."
Curry becomes the biggest basketball star signed to Li-Ning, which also has contracts with Jimmy Butler (Curry's teammate on the Warriors) and De'Angelo Russell, as well as former NBA player and Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade.
A 10-year deal means Curry and Li-Ning are thinking about how to continue and grow the brand beyond his NBA playing days. Curry, 38, has played 17 seasons in the NBA and has talked about being much closer to the end of his career than the start.
Curry had been with Under Armour for a dozen years, but last November the two sides announced they had parted ways. That led to a long season of sneaker free agency, during which Curry paid tribute to the legends of the game by wearing their shoes on the court. At the end of the season, Curry auctioned off those shoes to raise money for his Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, and they raised $1.7 million.
Curry's split with Under Armour allowed him to take the Curry Brand with him, and his brand can sign players to endorsement contracts (the way a player can sign with the Jordan brand rather than directly with Nike). This deal also shows Curry is thinking globally about growing his brand.
Li-Ning plans to build Curry Brand stores in the coming years in both the United States and China.
The Chicago Blackhawks came in 31st place this season. They had the 2nd best odds of winning the draft lottery and fell to fourth. It wasn't an ideal year for those reasons, but there was some significant development that took place for certain players on the team.
Now, the team is focused on what they need to do in order to start coming out of their current rebuild, which began as we know it in 2022.
In the meantime, there are a couple of former Blackhawks who will be competing in the Stanley Cup Final starting on Tuesday night. Last week, the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes clinched their berths in the Final as the Western Conference and Eastern Conference champions, respectively.
There is one former Blackhawk who will play in every game unless he gets seriously hurt, and one who may or may not draw in depending on how things shake out for his team.
Taylor Hall - Carolina Hurricanes
The Chicago Blackhawks had Taylor Hall on their team for parts of two seasons. The idea behind acquiring the former Hart Trophy winner was that he'd be a great wingman for Connor Bedard. After all, Hall had lots of experience helping first overall picks get their feet wet in the NHL.
Hall's first season in Chicago was mostly missed due to injury. He only played in 10 games during 2023-24. In 2024-25, he played 46 games with Chicago before being traded to the Hurricanes. It was clear that he wanted a chance to win during the late stages of his career.
Now, he's in the Stanley Cup Final, and he's been one of the key pieces for a Carolina team that's been looking to get over the hump for years.
With his 16 points in 13 playoff games, he is tied for third in postseason scoring and leading the Hurricanes. The two NHL players he's tied with have already been eliminated: Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens.
If the Hurricanes win the Cup, he has a legitimate chance to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs.
Hall's line with Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven has been Carolina's most dominant, scoring roughly half of their even-strength goals since the playoffs began, and that is something to watch out for heading into the series.
Against the Golden Knights, there will be more chess-style matchups for the Hurricanes to deal with, and that is where Hall's line can make them even more dangerous if they stay as dominant as they've been since mid-April.
Brandon Saad - Vegas Golden Knights
Everyone in Chicago remembers Brandon Saad. He was a major part of the Blackhawks winning their second and third of three Stanley Cups in the 2010s.
Now, in the later years of his career, Saad has a mixed role with the Golden Knights. He still has a high-end motor, but their roster is so deep that they don't need him every night.
During the regular season, he played in 49 games for Vegas while scoring 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points. When they have injuries or inconsistencies amongst their forwards, he's a great veteran to plug and play.
Saad didn't play against the Utah Mammoth in the first round, but he suited up for three games against the Anaheim Ducks in the second round. In the Western Conference Finals, he played in two of their four games as they swept the Colorado Avalanche.
Four of Saad's five playoff appearances have come on the road, which could play into Vegas' matchup strategy, or it could just be a coincidence.
If Vegas wins the Cup, Saad's name will go on it for the third time no matter how much he plays in this series because he played in over half of their regular season games.
Other Notes
Jaycob Megna also played 44 games for the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2023-24 season. He played only four games with the Vegas Golden Knights this season and is a black ace in the playoffs for them this year.
If the Knights win, that would mean that Megna was a black ace on the Stanley Cup champion for the second year in a row, as he was a part of the Florida Panthers organization in 2024-25.
Hall and Saad's team can be seen fighting for the Stanley Cup in Game One on Tuesday night. On ABC, the festivities will kick off at 7 PM CT.
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On today’s episode, Jack Borman of Locked on Timberwolves joins the show to break down what the Minnesota Timberwolves’ offseason could look like:
— The Timberwolves will have re-signing Ayo Dosunmu at the top of their offseason priority list. The question is how long it will take to re-sign Dosunmu and how that will affect the rest of the roster.
— The Wolves will be able to offer Dosunmu more money and years than other teams, which puts them in the driver’s seat to retain the 26-year-old guard.
— Could the Timberwolves look to trade Donte DiVincenzo this offseason? It would be a difficult decision to trade an injured player set to miss most or all of the season, but the Wolves might value using his $12.5 million contract to help match salary in a potential trade.
— There is value in having DiVincenzo on the roster even if he does not play many games on the court. If his contract expires on the Wolves’ book, it would make it much easier for the team to re-sign him next offseason.
— The NBA announced a new draft lottery system that makes it so that the bottom three records in the league receive fewer ping-pong balls than the teams above them in the standings. Could this increase the value for Julius Randle or Rudy Gobert in a trade?
— If the Wolves decide to move on from Randle, a team at the bottom of the standings might have interest in Randle as he could help them avoid finishing with one of the three worst records, which would maximize their chance of winning the draft lottery.
Mirra Andreeva routed Sorana Cirstea, Marta Kostyuk overpowered Elina Svitolina and Alexander Zverev saw off Rafael Jodar, all three winners moving into the last four
A majestic, mature performance from Andreeva, locked-in from the start and ruthless to the end, a forehand winner to the corner securing the win. She’s into her second grand slam semi and will face the winner of our next match between Svitolina and Kostyuk.
Cirstea knows the jig is bust, going for everything because what else can she do. But an error hands over 15-30 and a backhand winner down the line raises two match points.
On a team that has won back-to-back World Series with a veteran MLB roster, and continues to boast one of the most highly-touted farm systems in the entire sport, big-league roster spots can be scarce, and MLB opportunities hard to come by.
Right now, that dynamic is applying to two young standouts in particular.
River Ryan (a right-handed starting pitcher ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline) and James Tibbs III (a left-handed-hitting outfielder ranked 10th) are having to wait their turns.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryan River (77) throws during a Spring Training workout at Camelback Ranch. Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
A former two-way prospect in the Padres system who was acquired to little fanfare in exchange for the then-DFA’d Matt Beaty in 2022, the right-hander blossomed into one of the most talented pitchers in the Dodgers’ highly ranked pipeline, rising quickly to make his MLB debut in 2024 –– when he had a 1.33 ERA in four tantalizing starts.
That rookie campaign, however, was cut short because of Tommy John surgery.
And after spending all of last year recovering from the procedure, Ryan is still waiting to make his return to the big leagues.
The Dodgers were always going to be cautious with Ryan’s workload this year, especially early in the season, given the limited number of innings he will likely be able to pitch in 2026. That became even more true after he suffered a hamstring injury in April that sidelined him for a month.
Team officials have said repeatedly they want him to build a “foundation” in triple-A Oklahoma City before bringing him up to the big-league roster.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher River Ryan #77, poses for a photo on a back field at Camelback Ranch Glendale, the Los Angeles Dodgers Spring Training complex in Phoenix, Arizona. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
But, since returning to action three weeks ago, the 27-year-old has looked dominant.
He has given up just one earned run in his last three starts. He has built up from four innings to five to –– for the first time in his professional career –– six in his most recent outing last Thursday. He also racked up eight strikeouts in that latter game while –– for the first time this season –– not issuing a walk or hit batter.
“It was great to see him get to six innings,” Gomes said. “The stuff coming out of hand is awesome.”
Whether it has nudged him closer to a long-awaited call-up remains less clear.
With the Dodgers in the midst of a 19-games-in-20-days stretch right now, it’s possible that the need for an extra starter may arise at some point in the next couple weeks. But the team also currently has a locked-in six-man rotation, including newly-acquired veteran Eric Lauer. As long as that remains the case, it could be difficult to recall Ryan, as it would force them to play an arm short in the bullpen.
“We’re gonna keep building him up and try to build a nice foundation,” Gomes reiterated this week, “before we look to do anything there.”
Thus, Ryan might have to remain patient right now, even as he flashes a six-pitch mix headlined by a fastball that has touched 100 mph of late.
James Tibbs III #98, poses for a photo on a back field at Camelback Ranch Glendale, the Los Angeles Dodgers Spring Training complex in Phoenix, Arizona. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“I think the good thing about River, and what we try to tell our guys, is part of the benefit of being in our organization is that you’re gonna have really good resources, and the small downside is that there’s a lot of really good players,” Gomes said. “So I think it’s, keep your feet where they’re at and continue to perform. I think River also knows, when we optioned him out of camp, a lot of this is this is a guy that’s coming off Tommy John. We have to be mindful of his innings and workload, and not just be short-sighted, of like, ‘Oh, well, he’s pitching great now.’”
A similar dynamic is playing out with Tibbs.
A former first-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants who was tried twice in a two-month span last year, Tibbs has found an obvious comfort level in the Dodgers’ organization.
Last year, he impressed with double-A Tulsa, posting a .900 OPS with seven home runs and 32 RBIs in 36 games after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline.
This year, the 23-year-old has elevated his game to a different level in Oklahoma City, batting .322 with a Pacific Coast League-leading 17 home runs –– including five over his last four games.
The start of that homer streak coincided with Teoscar Hernández’s hamstring strain last week, an injury that created an opening on the Dodgers’ big-league roster for a left-handed-hitting outfielder.
The club, however, opted to call up long-time prospect Ryan Ward, giving the once-overlooked slugger his first extended runway at the MLB level.
“I just think Ward-o has done this for a while and he’s certainly earned [this opportunity],” Gomes said. “It’s good to get him back up and into the mix and hopefully get a really opportunity here.”
Something working against Tibbs right now: He hasn’t played the outfield since May 7, while battling what The Athletic first reported is a minor forearm injury to his throwing arm. Instead, he has spent the last weeks exclusively as a designated hitter.
Still, just like Ryan, Tibbs’ time will come at some point.
“He’s performing great, obviously,” Gomes said. “The numbers are fantastic.”
For the Dodgers, it’s a good problem to have.
For their two most standout prospects so far this year, it means being patient a little bit longer.
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The hottest topic in Mariners-ville the last two weeks has been the decision by the Mariners front office to combine the starts of Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller into a “piggyback” start. Both pitchers have had their struggles so far in 2026, so the idea of letting each pitcher throw 4-5 innings at most using maximum effort seems like a pretty good solution on paper. In execution, it seems it could have been communicated a bit better to the players themselves who both expressed confusion after the first two starts, but have now seemed to accept this method into their lives and the Mariners have gone 2-1 in these piggyback starts. Rick Rizzs has been calling it “the twirling tandem” which rolls off the tongue better.
So I hit y’all with a bunch of pitching-related questions in the FEED last week, so let’s tally them up and throw some rankings on them using my patented and very scientific Mariners Hot Take Ranking System:
FIRST QUESTION
Do you like the concept of piggybacking starting pitchers IN THEORY? (Y/N)
The Noes have it, and I’m kind of surprised since this site has historically supported advanced stats and new approaches but maybe this one was a bridge too far. Rating this take as BRASH because all takes on this subject are heaters it seems.
SECOND QUESTION
Do you like the concept of piggybacking starting pitchers IN PRACTICE (Y/N)
The Noes once again have it, but this one is less surprising given the resulting drama and speculation about this decision causing a rift in the clubhouse. We saw Castillo visibly upset in the dugout after being pulled while still pitching well with a lead and we heard Miller’s initial version of “I’m just here to help the team win” said through gritted teeth and clenched fists. So I rate this one a BEAVAN because it’s to be expected.
THIRD QUESTION
Are the results so far good enough to override player/clubhouse vibes concerns? (Y/N)
The Yeses have this one by quite a bit. RESULTS BASED ANALYSIS, OH YEAAAAHHH. Now we’re cookin’. Wins are wins, babyyyy. Since RBA is the antithesis of advanced metrics/SABR in baseball, which is the approach LL was built upon, I have to give this a CLIFF LEE for this surprising heel turn into traditional baseball analysis. They don’t ask how, they ask how many.
FOURTH QUESTION
Would you prefer a 6-pitcher rotation instead of piggybacking? (Y/N)
The Noes have this one nearly unanimously. The six-pitcher rotation is officially dead in the dirt. I give this one a BOSIO because it’s the more conventional option when a team has this many viable starters, but it clearly impacts the rhythm of every starter instead of just the “twirling tandem.”
Finally, we did a quick poll:
Given how questions one and two went, these results are not surprising. The peopLLe have spoken and in spite of the positive results through three starts, y’all do not like the piggyback approach. Once again I must slap a BRASH rating here because of the lack of willingness to accept a new idea founded on getting the best result possible from two struggling pitchers. I get it, no one wanted to see Miller and Castillo upset and even though things appear to have been smoothed over PR-wise, the initial bad feelings could certainly linger and we’d all be the last to know about it.
Finally, I’ll just add that from a fan perspective, attending Sunday’s game for the third piggyback start was very fun to witness. When Miller is dealing like he was on Sunday, he is a true thrill to watch. And then knowing that around halfway through the game we’d get to watch Castillo in closer mode? Also thrilling! So purely from the spectator perspective, I find it very entertaining.
All right, folks, thanks for chiming in with your opinions and takes in the FEED. We’ll see where the twirling tandem takes us next or perhaps there will be a new drama bomb of some sort next week. Keep tabs on the FEED for more prompts and polls like this one.
