ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 11: Osvaldo Bido #70 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the eighth inning during the game against the Cleveland Guardians at Truist Park on April 11, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Pitcher Osvaldo Bido has been claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox. The Atlanta Braves had designated him for assignment on April 16, 2026.
Bido, who pitched last season with the West Sacramento Athletics, has surfed across the waiver wire six times since the end of the 2025 season – including two stints with the Braves. He’s gone from the A’s to the Braves to Tampa Bay Rays to the Miami Marlins to the Los Angeles Angels to the New York Yankees then back to the Braves and now to the White Sox.
The Braves designed Bido for assignment when they brought reliever Ian Hamilton to the big league roster. Bido had pitched in six games for Atlanta, picking up a win and a save cross 10 innings. He allowed seven earned runs but had a respectful 1.20 WHIP.
Bido has started 28 of the 64 career games he’s appeared in since debuting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023.
Apr 14, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Ryan Weathers (40) pitches in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
The Yankees have managed to right the ship a little bit this weekend, taking the first two games of this series versus the Royals. After a bit of a rocky week or so, the way to really get back on track isn’t just to win a series, but to sweep it, and ahead of a road trip that would be exactly the kind of momentum the team could really use. On a more personal level, a nice easy blowout win like yesterday would be welcome for hard-luck starter Ryan Weathers, who hasn’t seen a single run in support in his first four starts as a Yankee.
Weathers has been … interesting to watch in those four starts. In his worst outing, earlier this week against the Angels, he had a 5:1 K:BB ratio that if replicated over a full season would almost guarantee a unanimous Cy Young season. He also gave up five runs in five innings, including back-to-back-to-back homers. Every start made by the triumvirate of Weathers, Will Warren, and Luis Gil seems like a mini-audition to stay in the rotation when Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón return from injury, and if that happened today I’m not sure Weathers wins that contest for the final spot (even if Gil is left out as well, as he was at the start of 2026). Then again, if Weathers replicates that eight-inning, one-run showing against the Athletics two weeks ago, he’ll be back on the inside track, run support or no.
Cole Ragans, meanwhile, has been a pitcher I’ve enjoyed watching for a while, even during his injury-hampered 2025. In some ways he’s a classic crafty lefty, not having a dominant or overwhelming pitch but controlling contact quality and taking advantage of a strong Royals defense. His walk rate has been quite high to start the year, which is one avenue the Yankees could use to gameplan against him.
Ben Rice is your leadoff hitter today, taking over the DH spot while Giancarlo Stanton gets a day off amid a 1-for-22 skid (also allowing one of those back-to-back days off situations since New York doesn’t play tomorrow). Facing a lefty, Paul Goldschmidt will be at first. As Aaron Boone previously hinted, Ryan McMahon is back in the lineup today due in part to Ragans’ reverse splits, but Amed Rosario will start anyway — this time at second as Jazz Chisholm Jr. gets a day to clear his head. His 49 wRC+ ranks fifth-worst among all American League players with at least 80 PA on the young season. Fortunately for the Yankees I suppose, two of those four worse than Jazz are in today’s Royals lineup, Sal Perez (36) and Vinnie Pasquantino (46).
Please be advised the team does not expect to start the game on time.
All Yankee Stadium Gates will open for today’s Yankees-Royals game (Sunday, April 19) to fans with valid tickets at 12:00 p.m.
As of 10:25 a.m., please be advised we do not anticipate starting today's game on time due to the current forecast of inclement weather. We will provide…
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 18: James Wood #29 of the Washington Nationals celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Nationals Park on April 18, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Yesterday’s loss was a real bummer, but the boys have to go again and try to salvage the series this afternoon. The combination of poor pitching, mental mistakes and a lack of situational hitting cost them. Hopefully the boys can be more buttoned up after meeting with Blake Butera about their mistakes.
One player who made a lot of mistakes yesterday was Daylen Lile, who will not be in the lineup today. Instead, James Wood will shift to left and Joey Wiemer will play right field. Curtis Mead will try to redeem himself at first base today. Keibert Ruiz will be behind the plate. The Nats will be creative with their pitching plan. PJ Poulin will be the opener, while Miles Mikolas and the recently called up Andrew Alvarez are also likely to be involved.
The Giants are not making many changes to their lineup. Rafael Devers will DH, while Casey Schmitt will play first base. Other than that, it is mostly the same faces. Luis Arraez has been really impressive this series, as has Heliot Ramos. Robby Ray was actually a Nats draft pick, but never played for the team. Many years later, he will get the ball against the franchise that drafted him.
Giants 4/19
W. Adames SS L. Arraez 2B M. Chapman 3B R. Devers DH C. Schmitt 1B J. Lee RF H. Ramos LF D. Gilbert CF P. Bailey C
The Nats have been two different teams on the road and at home. They are 1-7 at home now, and need to get going. This team has shown life, but it has mostly been when the home fans are not watching. Hopefully that can change today. Follow along down below, and let’s go Nats!
CINCINNATI, OHIO - APRIL 14: Robbie Ray #38 of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on April 14, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s series finale time! The San Francisco Giants are wrapping up a nine-game road trip today, and attempting to end it on a high note.
Left-hander Robbie Ray will try to lead them to a happy cross-country flight. Ray makes his fifth start of the season, and is 2-2 with a 2.42 ERA, a 4.69 FIP, and 24 strikeouts against 10 walks in 22.1 innings. In his last start, Ray gave up two runs in five innings against the Cincinnati Reds.
On the other side is veteran righty Miles Mikolas, who makes his fifth appearance of the year, and his fourth start. It’s been a rough year for the 37-year old, as he’s 0-3 with an 11.49 ERA, an 8.47 FIP, and 11 strikeouts against nine walks in 15.2 innings. He’s also allowed six home runs, so there’s an opportunity for the Giants there. In his last game, Mikolas allowed three runs in 3.1 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Apr 8, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Tigers designated hitter Gleyber Torres (25) looks on after striking out during the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images | Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images
Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox
Time/Place: 1:35 p.m., Fenway Park SB Nation Site: Over the Monster Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (1-1, 3.75 ERA) vs. LHP Garrett Crochet (2-2, 7.58 ERA)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 18: Luke Raley #20 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after scoring during the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park on April 18, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Luke Raley sat in front of the assembled media postgame for the first time in this young season after the third game against the Astros, a decisive 6-1 win where Raley fell just a homer short of the cycle. For a split second after sitting down at the podium, he seemed overcome by emotion, maybe struck by how long it had been since he’d last had an opportunity to sit in that spot, after losing most of his 2025 season battling injuries.
Three days later, Raley would record the first four-hit game of his career. Three days after that, he’d add another home run to his season total, already surpassing the number of home runs he hit in all of 2025.
“He’s putting together really good at bats,” said Dan Wilson late this spring, back when Raley began his campaign of terrorizing opposing pitchers. “It’s great to see, especially coming off what he went through last year. It was a difficult year for him with the injuries. But his intent all spring, his intent here in the beginning of the year, is to get back to who he is.”
“And wow, he’s really done it.”
Raley has been showing what he can do as a fully-operational battle station since spring training, where he announced his return to health, slugging his way through the Cactus League. When the bright lights came on, Raley packed his thunderous bat along with him from Arizona. Raley currently ranks in the top 20 in MLB for barrels per plate appearance, right behind Kyle Schwarber and slightly ahead of Bryce Harper.
There’s an argument to be made that not only is Raley set to return to his 2024 form – a campaign where he was worth 2.3 wins – but to improve upon that version of himself. 2024 Luke Raley ranked in the 68th percentile for average exit velocity; currently Raley’s average exit velocity of 93 mph puts him in the 88th percentile. He’s hitting balls harder more regularly, but he’s also hitting balls harder, period. Raley’s second homer of the season, a frozen rope off a Tanner Bibee slider, came off the bat at 113.8 mph, which is currently the twentieth-highest max exit velocity in MLB this season.
That’s just .5 slower than Raley’s max exit velo last season, and 1.6 mph slower than his career-best max exit velocity. As we know from Rob Arthur, for every mile per hour above 108 [maxEV], a hitter is projected to gain about six points of OPS relative to their predicted number. ZiPS projected Raley for an OPS this year of .743; that would create about a thirty-five point push for Raley, to .778, which would put him almost exactly in line with his OPS in 2024. Raley’s current OPS is a robust .971, currently good for fifteenth-best in MLB.
That shiny OPS is due for some dinging. Raley is an imperfect player; those big hits also come with big strikeouts, and he doesn’t walk quite enough to be a real three true outcomes player. But the underlying quality of contact metrics portend a fully-healthy Raley to be at least as good or better than his 2023-24 selves, when he was worth 2.4 and 2.3 fWAR, respectively. Add in Raley’s near-pathological love of getting free passes via hit by pitches and some positive regression in the form of walks returning to his career numbers (can’t walk when you’re hitting dingers) and cromulent outfield defense, and Raley’s pre-season ZiPS projection of 1.2 wins (1.0 WARP at Baseball Prospectus) feels shatteringly low.
It’s been a long journey for Raley, who spent last year fighting his body at seemingly every turn, first with a right oblique strain, and then with related back spasms. For Raley, the specific nature of the injury was irritating, as obliques are notoriously difficult to rehab, as Bryce Miller could tell you (Raley did offer Miller some advice on rehabbing his own oblique injury). An oblique injury can feel fine up until it doesn’t.
“I was always like, is it going to hurt me on this swing?” said Raley. “It was just no fun to deal with. I’d never dealt with it before, and it’s just one of those things that, until you actually go through with it, you don’t know what it feels like.”
The impact of the injury can have knock-on effects, too, explained Raley.
“You lose a little bit of your bat speed or whatever the case may be, and then your contact point changes, and it just means you’re basically relearning how to hit a baseball at this point. So it just becomes really tough.”
Raley did lose some of his bat speed as he tried to return from his oblique injury last season – from 75 mph down to 73 – but moreover, he just never looked fully comfortable and connected in the box. Really, he never got a chance – he was back from a two-month-long IL stint for about a month in July and then went back on the IL with back spasms for most of August.
But Raley’s comeback season isn’t fueled just by reps in the weight room to increase his core strength (although he’s done that) or hours on the Trajekt machine (although he’s done that too).
“I feel like more than anything, the biggest thing is just changing my mindset. We talk about it a lot, myself and the coaching staff. I’m really hard on myself. And sometimes it’s not a great thing to be so hard on yourself in a 162 game season.”
Raley, who isn’t satisfied with his effort in a game until his uniform is more dirty than it is clean, has had to learn to balance his intense style of play with the demands of the long season. Never a showcase star or D1 top-rated prospect, Raley decided early in his career that his path to being a professional player would be to give unrivaled effort in all phases of the game, literally putting his body on the line by wearing pitches to earn free passes (he ranked third in baseball in HBPs in 2024, with the same number as his jersey number: 20). But that grinder mindset took a mental toll, as well as the physical one.
While he was on the IL in 2025, Raley spent significant time talking with Mariners mental skills coach Adam Bernero about how to respond when effort failed him.
“Just being better about letting a bad game go in the past, and showing up the next day as the same person I came in as the day before. Good or bad, just trying to stay the same.”
Raley said it’s been helpful to have a role models of that mindset in his clubhouse: one in his skipper, Dan Wilson, and the other in first baseman Josh Naylor. Naylor, especially, has been a model of consistency, even throughout some early-season struggles.
“I’m sure Naylz would tell you that he’s not overly happy with the start of his season,” said Raley. “But the way he shows up and continues to grind and play and jokes around, having a good time, it’s a reminder how blessed we are to play this game, and you can’t take it for granted.”
“I’ve actually thought about that a lot with this team. Everyone pulls for each other so hard, it’s so easy to be—you know, however you do doesn’t necessarily matter, as long as the team’s doing well. That’s what you want, teammates that are there for you through good and bad, and you feel like their success is your success, and vice-versa.”
“We spend so much time together. These are all my brothers in here, and you have to pull for one another. You never forget, whether you’re doing good or bad, just how hard this game is, and you just have to keep backing each other and support each other day in and day out.”
Luke Raley is healthy now—mind and body—and it is going to be everybody’s problem, because in this clubhouse, everybody’s problem is also everybody’s solution. Right now it’s Raley leading the charge, pouring back into his teammates all the support they gave him when he was struggling last season. Soon it will be someone else – but hopefully not too soon for Raley, who has certainly earned this moment in the sun.
The San Antonio Spurs play host to the underdog Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference playoffs, and we're looking at NBA player prop projections ahead of tonight's Game 1 clash.
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Trail Blazers Game 1 computer picks
Scoot Henderson Over 9.5 points (+100)
Projection: 11.39 points
The player prop projected to offer the most EV (23.3%) on the slate is Scoot Henderson to go Over 9.5 points at even money.
This year, opposing starting PGs have averaged 50.2% on shots from the field (best in the league) vs. the San Antonio Spurs, creating a positive matchup.
The Portland Trail Blazers check in as the second-best offensive rebounding team in the league (offensive rebounds maintain possession and may therefore provide added opportunities for scoring and assists).
span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Henderson Now at bet365!/span
Deni Avdija Under 6.5 assists (-105)
Projection: 5.48 assists
The Blazers have the sixth-most sluggish pace-of-play offense in the NBA over the last five games, and Deni Avdija has only dished out seven-plus assists five times in his last 10.
One of those recent Unders came against the Spurs.
span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Avdija Now at bet365!/span
Jrue Holiday Over 14.5 points (-112)
Projection: 17.45 points
The computer is projecting Jrue Holiday to clear his scoring prop by nearly a full three points, and it expects him to have a strong matchup from beyond the arc.
The matchup against the Spurs is a strong one for 3-point shots; the opposing team's starting SGs have posted the eighth-highest 3-point percentage in the NBA this year (37.5%).
If you like the risk, Over 2.5 made threes is available at +115, but the computer is only projecting 2.74.
span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Holiday Now at bet365!/span
Spurs Game 1 computer picks
Dylan Harper Over 8.5 points (-110)
Projection: 10.55 points
Dylan Harper has scored at least nine points in 12 straight games and in 16 of his last 17.
Offensive rebounds preserve possession and generate additional scoring opportunities, and the Spurs rank sixth-best in the league with 12.4 offensive boards per game over the last 15 games.
span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Harper Now at bet365!/span
Devin Vassell Over 12.5 points (+100)
Projection: 13.30 points
Devin Vassell has averaged 13.9 points per game this season and has cleared this line in four of his last six games.
span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Vassell Now at bet365!/span
De'Aaron Fox Over 17.5 points (-105)
Projection: 18.60 points
De'Aaron Fox has averaged 22.5 points per game over the last eight home games, 3.6 points higher than his full-season average at home.
He's also cleared this prop in three straight and in four of six.
span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet fox Now at bet365!/span
How to watch Trail Blazers vs Spurs Game 1
Location
Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
Date
Sunday, April 19, 2026
Tip-off
9:00 p.m. ET
TV
Peacock
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Nov 29, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) dunks the ball over Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) during the third quarter at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Today’s prompt for the staff was easy: what’s your favorite moment from the season?
Bryan: December 23, 2025. Denver comes to town on national tv as the Mavs are at the peak of annoying me by going on that brief winning streak earlier in the month, just to go right back to being a dreadful watch soon after. The worries with Cooper’s jumpshot are still a prominent topic of conversation and, and with his brother sitting courtside, Coop delivers maybe his best overall performance of the season against the multiple-time MVP, Nikola Jokic and crew. 33 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, a steal, and a block on 14 of 21 from the field and 4 of 6 for three. He only attempted 1 free throw in that game and had 2 turnovers; it was an offensive clinic by Cooper punctuated by a tomahawk slam right on top of fellow rookie Spencer Jones’ head midway through the game. They won that game too, but I couldn’t bring myself to mind it much.
Tyler: When it ended.
Chris: I’m sorry, I’m gonna say it. For me, it has to be when they traded Anthony Davis. That move signaled the official end of the Nico Harrison era, and the Mavs re-shifted the focus to building around Cooper Flagg. The return was never going to be anything close to the true value of Luka Doncic, but Dallas now has a new star and doesn’t have to operate on two different timelines. And even if you were in the camp of wanting to keep Davis, the idea of paying a mid to upper 30’s guy, who cannot stay on the court, $70 million a year on an extension is so outrageously insane, my brain cannot process it. Good job Fin-Cardi.
Josh: When it ended.
Damn, Tyler stole my bit or more like I stole Tyler’s bit.
Jordan: November 10 against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Mavs had a predictably rough start to the season. The long-term direction of the team is muddied. Cooper Flagg was thrust into a role no rookie should have been in — especially one who’d never played the position he’d been asked to play. His answer was an impressive showing against one of the league’s superstars. All of that culminated in this moment with less than a minute left, straight up against Giannis Antetokounmpo:
The most electric moment of the season. It said everything about what Flagg was about, and why it mattered that the organization fully embrace a new era. It took time, no doubt. But this was the moment that sealed it. It is likely coincidence that the next morning Patrick Dumont, after sitting courtside for this game, fired the general manager; putting in motion where the team is today. When I think of the very few true bright in-game moments from a dark season, this is the one I automatically remember.
Kirk: Jordan took the moment I wanted. Crap. Hold on. But man, yeah, that’s a good one.
Brent: The kid in the Luka jersey sitting next to Dumont – because it confirmed the Dallas Mavericks are the ongoing Black Mirror episode of the NBA since the team was sold.
Joe: My favorite Mavs moment was the Dumont-Luka kid thing. Just a bizarre and hilarious way of ending the dumb 10 months that was the Anthony Davis era in Dallas. Obviously, he didn’t get traded till later, but that was when it ended.
Michael: I’m torn between two and will name them both because one is macro and one is micro.
The macro-level moment was the Anthony Davis trade. I have no problem with Davis, didn’t blame him for the Doncic trade, etc. – no animosity to the players involved, but that trade so desperately needed to happen. It truly marked the end of the Nico Harrison era, but more importantly, gave the franchise their second dose of real hope since the ill-fated Doncic trade (the #1 pick/Cooper Flagg being the first dose, of course). It often feels as though other teams have gone from second apron team to under the cap through some manner of instant sorcery, so my hope had long been the Mavs could do the same. The fact they managed to move on from the Harrison era, move away from the oft-injured Davis to officially make it Flagg’s team, come off the financial burden of multiple contracts, and give the team off season flexibility for the first time in a long time – all in one fell swoop, and all despite Davis being injured at the time – cannot be overstated enough. It was the first real Mavs-related “thrill” since lotto/draft night.
The micro-level moment was Flagg’s 51-point game. 19-for-30 overall, 6-for-9 from deep, 7-for-7 from the free throw line, all in 33 minutes of play, was just an outrageous beast-mode moment. It wasn’t a farce like some high-scoring games can be, and from relatively early in the game, it grabbed hold of me and had me guessing just how special it would be. Ultimately, it had me shouting “next point is 50!” to everyone within earshot so they could stop multitasking and focus only on the game to see something amazing.
Both moments ultimately contributed to a feeling of hope for the future that was elusive for large parts of the last 18 months.
Kirk: I think it has to be the Cooper Flagg dunk over Zubac. I knew our guy had hops, by my goodness this is athleticism we’ve not seen often while in Dallas.
Sep 28, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Justin Wrobleski (70) reacts in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The Dodgers finish off their long weekend series against the Colorado Rockies with one more game on Monday night at Coors Field, the only wraparound series of the season for Los Angeles.
Justin Wrobleski is coming off the best start of his career, on six days rest after throwing eight scoreless innings last Monday against the New York Mets. He’s done pretty well in his previous three appearances at Coors Field, with a 2.89 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings, but those were all in relief. This will be his first start in Denver.
Left-hander Jose Quintana starts the series finale for the Rockies.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 08: Cole Henry #99 of the Washington Nationals is relieved by manager Blake Butera #10 in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park on April 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As we all know, the Nationals pitching staff has been a major problem. The team ERA is nearing 6, and the Nats have a real shortage of reliable arms. Sometimes stats can get inflated one way or the other in April, but it does not feel like the Nats are suffering from bad luck. The Nats 5.92 team ERA does not seem very inflated.
One way to see if pitchers are getting unlucky is to look at the underlying numbers. Numbers like FIP and xERA are a good way to measure a pitcher’s true skill level. The Nats FIP of 5.75 and xERA of 5.52 are the worst in baseball. While the Astros have a worse team ERA, their FIP is 5.41 and xERA is 4.49. That suggests they should improve a bit. The Nats are not really in line for that improvement.
Another number that is really poor is their fWAR. Nats pitchers have combined for -2.2 fWAR, which is by far the worst in the league. Back in 2022, Nats pitchers had a 0 WAR for the season. That was the worst mark of this decade. Do not be surprised if this group is in the negatives.
When I said the Nationals had "quite possibly the worst pitching staff of the decade", I may have been too nice. They look worse than the Washington's pitching in 2022 that put up 0.0 fWAR
It is tough to blame too much of this on coaching either. The Nats are just at a real talent deficit on the mound. They just do not have many pitchers who are even average big leaguers. The Nats are filled with young guys trying to prove themselves, journeymen trying to find a home in the big leagues, and arms who are over the hill.
For me, the two biggest problems are walks and home runs. Lately, the walks have not been as bad, but the home runs are out of control. Nats pitchers have allowed 39 home runs, which is five more than the next closest team and 12 more than the team in third place. It is tough to be effective as a staff when you are allowing 1.85 home runs per 9 innings.
I don't know the exact number of relievers since 2022 who have either walked or given up a homer to their very first batter faced as a member of the Nationals, but it's high. Very high.
The bullpen has drawn most of the fans ire, but they have been showing more signs of life lately. I think the bullpen is a slightly easier problem to solve. Guys like Cionel Perez, Gus Varland and PJ Poulin have been throwing the ball better lately. We also saw good things from Richard Lovelady last night.
I have a little bit of faith that the Nats can cobble together a bullpen that is not as bad as last year still. In the past couple weeks, the unit has been better. Even though they blew a 5-2 lead, the unit was good besides Mitchell Parker. My bigger concerns are with the starting rotation.
A Nats starter has only gone 6 innings once this season. That was Cade Cavalli against the Phillies a few weeks ago. Length has been a real issue for this staff. They are struggling to even get through five innings. The quality is also poor with a starter ERA over 6.
Outside of Foster Griffin, the whole unit has been really disappointing. Miles Mikolas was supposed to be an innings eater, but he barely even goes three innings anymore. Zack Littell has just been too hittable so far. Jake Irvin’s stuff looks better, and I think he could improve, but his ERA is still over 6.
For me, Cade Cavalli has been the biggest disappointment. He was supposed to be the staff ace, but has only completed five innings once. The stuff is sharp, but his command and pitch selection leaves so much to be desired. He should get the season to try and figure things out, but eventually, he might have to be moved to the bullpen.
Unfortunately, help is not really on the way. Andrew Alvarez is decent, and just got called up. However, he is a 5 and dive guy who’s pure stuff is not great. Maybe he could be like Foster Griffin, but I am not as high on him as some. Riley Cornelio could be a solution, but he is not very proven. Luis Perales has a lot of pedigree, but I think he is a reliever.
The Nats offense has really been carrying the load right now, yet the team is still 9-12. I worry about what could happen if the offense cools off. Things could get really ugly. This pitching staff has been very bad, and there are not many reasons to believe things will get better. Hopefully this staff can help improve guys, but they do not have a lot to work with.
DENVER , CO - APRIL 18: Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets handles as Rudy Gobert (27) of the Minnesota Timberwolves defends during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 116-105 win at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, April 18, 2026. The Nuggets took a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty Images
The Minnesota Timberwolves lost Game 1 of their first-round NBA Playoff series to the Denver Nuggets, 116-105, in a game reminiscent of so many of the Wolves’ shortcomings.
There were gorgeous stretches of basketball, especially early in the game, but those pockets of solid play did not last. The Wolves consistently reverted back to the team that underachieved during the regular season. The phrase “flip the switch” had been used to describe the Wolves coming into the playoffs, and at least for one game, that did not occur.
With the game now in the rear-view mirror, let’s take a second look at what went right, and more often what went wrong for the Timberwolves in Game 1 against the Nuggets.
The Good: Rudy Gobert on Offense
The best aspect of the Timberwolves’ Game 1 came from Rudy Gobert on offense. Gobert struggled mightily on that side of the ball last postseason, but did exactly what the team needed him to do on Saturday afternoon in Denver.
The best offensive action the Timberwolves had all night was the pick-and-rolls with Gobert as the screener. Many ball handlers found Rudy rolling to the rim, with Anthony Edwards specifically finding Gobert early and often with the defense tilted to stop the Wolves’ superstar guard.
Gobert himself caught each pass thrown his way and either made the correct next pass or made a move to the rim for a bucket.
“Both ends he did a good job,” Jaden McDaniels said. “He keep doing that, we’re going to win.”
When asked if this performance is repeatable, Gobert answered, “I think we shall see.”
Rudy Gobert was outstanding on both ends in Game 1. The Offense specifically stood out and I think the Wolves are going to need multiple games like this from Rudy to win the series
Ant and others made the correct pass often and Gobert was great catching and making the next play pic.twitter.com/DQMEBtOPZR
The ball movement that drove the Timberwolves toward a double-digit lead in the first quarter dried up in the second and third quarters. As it so often has this season, the Wolves reverted to isolation basketball and took many ill-advised shots.
One of the main culprits was Edwards, who, after consistently finding Gobert and other teammates in the first quarter, settled for far too many bad shots the rest of the game.
“I don’t know,” Edwards said when asked about the lack of ball movement. “Yeah, I gotta go watch the film. I don’t know. I thought the ball was still kind of moving, but Finchy said the same thing. The ball stopped kind of moving, but I gotta go look at it.”
The ball movement dried up after the first quarter for the Wolves in Game 1. I thought was as big a reason as anyone as to why
The Wolves offense looked great when Ant was making the fight pass to Rudy and others while attacking the rim himself. I thought too often he settled pic.twitter.com/I09vLbWWUV
The player who suffers most due to the lack of ball movement is probably Jaden McDaniels.
In the first quarter and a half of Game 1, the Wolves used the defensive attention toward Edwards with the ball and Gobert rolling to the rim to generate open looks and driving lanes for McDaniels, which led to either open looks at the rim or free throw opportunities with Nikola Jokić guarding the rim.
All of that dried up later in the game as the ball got sticky, and isolation possessions were the primary action of the Wolves’ offense.
The Timberwolves need to get more looks for Jaden McDaniels in the flow of the offense
I think these three plays are a perfect example of how to do that. Use Gobert's roller gravity and the shifted defense toward Edwards to open up driving lanes pic.twitter.com/I1dnJhgPUv
The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 15 points in the third quarter but clawed back into the game. The Denver lead got as small as two points before the Wolves’ poor late-game execution prevented them from shrinking the deficit any further.
“Just key mistakes,” Randle explained. “Just little things, we put them on the free throw line. A bunch of little things at certain moments. We’d get it to five, and they’d go on a 4-0 run, 6-0 run, stuff like that. We just gotta limit our mistakes down the stretch and try not to put ourselves in that position by having a better third quarter.”
Late in the game, Gobert and Julius Randle each had awful turnovers, there were a pair of missed defensive rebounds that led to second-chance points for the Nuggets, and a pair of fouls from Randle that gave Aaron Gordon three free throws before Denver even had to run a play.
“We’ve got to make smarter, more solid plays,” Finch said about the plays late in the game. “We had two turnovers right in the middle of one run back. One in the paint, which was a tough pass for Rudy to handle, and then Rudy does a wraparound DHO, they poke away, and then we get the away from the play foul, and it just wasn’t very smart. We’ve got to be more composed.”
The Wolves kept the game close late, but were unable to execute with a number of mistakes
Turnovers, missed rebounds, and bad fouls all played a role in the 11-point loss pic.twitter.com/18Fx69GPuy
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 4: Konnor Griffin #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during batting practice before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park on April 4, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home today against the Pittsburgh Pirates looking to grab a win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
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We waited all year for this? The 76ers opened their 2026 postseason with one of the ugliest playoff losses in franchise history. The Celtics beat the 76ers 123-91 at TD Garden, a 32-point loss in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference 1st-round series.
In the last 30 years, there have only been two worse losses in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference 1st-round series – the Pistons lost by 35 to the Bucks in 2019 and the Knicks lost by 33 to the Heat in 2012.
The good news? Last time the 76ers lost a Game 1 in any playoff series by at least 30 points they came back to win the series.
Feeling optimistic now?
With a hat-tip to Stathead, here’s our five-best stats off the 76ers’ 2026 playoff opener.
HOW BAD WAS IT? The 32-point loss matched the 7th-worst playoff loss in 76ers history. They’ve lost nine postseason games by 30 or more points and five have been against the Celtics, including the last two. It was the 76ers’ worst Game 1 loss in any playoff series in 44 years, since a 121-81 loss to the Celtics at Boston Garden in 1982 – the so-called Mother’s Day Massacre – in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Finals series. The 76ers came back to win that series before losing to the Lakers in the NBA Finals. The 32-point loss was the 76ers’ 5th-worst this year, including the regular season. The 32-point loss was also the 76ers’ worst ever in their first postseason game of any season. The previous worst was a 25-point loss to Oscar Robertson and the Cincinnati Royals in Game 1 of their 1964 Eastern Division Semifinal series, a 127-102 loss at Cincinnati Gardens. The win was the Celtics’ biggest in 41 years in a Game 1, since they beat the Lakers by 34 (148-114) in Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals at Boston Garden.
HEY, THEY JUST MISSED ANOTHER 3: The76ers shot just 4-for-23 from 3 for 17.4 percent. That’s their 2nd-worst ever in a playoff game in which they attempted at least 20 3’s. The only worst performance came in a 111-102 loss to the Nets in 1999 at the Wells Fargo Center, where they were 3-for-25 for 12 percent. This was the first time in 76ers postseason history they made four or fewer 3’s while allowing 16 or more. It’s only the eighth time in NBA history a team has allowed 16 3’s in a playoff game while making four or fewer. The last five teams that have done that have done it against the Celtics. The 76ers haven’t had a regular-season game with four or fewer 3’s while allowing 16 or more in 12 years, since a 114-93 loss to the Trail Blazers at Moda Center in 2014.
GRUESOME PLUS-MINUS NUMBERS: For only the second time in franchise history, the 76ers had eight players at minus-10 or worse in a playoff game: Tyrese Maxey (minus-29), V.J. Edgecombe (minus-26), Justin Edwards (minus-21), Kelly Oubre (minus-21), Andre Drummond (minus-19), Dominick Barlow (minus-15), Quentin Grimes (minus-13) and Paul George (minus-10). They also had eight at minus-10 or worse in that 2023 loss to the Celtics (Joel Embiid, Danny Green, James Harden, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle and Maxey). Edwards somehow managed to be minus-21 despite playing just 17 minutes. Only four 76ers have had a worse plus-minus in a playoff game in which they played 17 or fewer minutes: Eric Snow was minus-21 in 13 minutes vs. the Bucks in 2001, Elton Brand was minus-23 in 15 minutes vs. the Celtics in 2012, DeAndre Jordan was minus-22 in 17 minutes vs. the Heat in 2022 and Paul Reed was minus-21 in just 11 minutes vs. the Knicks in 2024.
NOT ONE BUT TWO GUYS SHOOTING BLANKS: Kelly Oubre and V.J. Edgecombe were both 0-for-5 from 3, making this the first playoff game in 76ers history where two guys took five or more 3’s and didn’t make any. They both tied the 6th-most 3-point attempts in a playoff game without a make.
IT WAS NEVER CLOSE: The 76ers’ 15-point deficit through the first quarter was the 6th-largest in franchise postseason history and largest since an 18-point deficit against the Pistons in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference 1st-round series in 2008. The 18-point halftime deficit was 9th-largest in 76ers postseason history. And the 24-point deficit after the third quarter was 11th-largest.
IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING: With their win yesterday, the Cubs now are exactly .500 — 9,199 wins, 9,199 losses and 81 ties — since Opening Day of 1908! (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
IT’S BEEN A WHILE (NOT AS LONG AS ABOVE, THOUGH): The Cubs have not won five consecutive games since March 31-April 5 of last year. Today’s game will be their 162nd, a full season, since then. They have won 96 and lost 65. Their current streak is their fifth of four wins since their last five-game streak. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
AND ABOUT TIME TO DO THIS AGAIN: The Cubs have not swept a series at home against the Mets since they won three games April 20-22, 2021. They had gone 5-8 in four series since then. They swept three at New York in 2022. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
BEAT THE METS: The Mets’ current 10-game losing streak is the longest April losing streak in their franchise history. (Previous record: They lost the first nine games they played as a franchise in April 1962.)
Javier Assad has made one really good start and one really bad one so far this year.
He has not faced the Mets since April 30, 2024 and a lot of those guys aren’t on the Mets anymore.
No current Met has more than seven career at-bats against Assad (Francisco Lindor, 3-for-7, a home run).
Hopefully, this afternoon is a good one for Javier.
Originally, David Peterson was going to make this start for the Mets, but since he’s posted an 8.79 ERA and 1.954 WHIP and allowed eight walks and 14 earned runs in his last 14.1 innings, the Mets decided to pivot to Tobias Myers.
We’re familiar with Myers from his time with the Brewers. In fact, he came to the Mets in the same deal that brought Freddy Peralta to New York.
Myers is not really stretched out to start and this article from The Athletic says the Mets hope to get around 30 pitches from him and once through the batting order. After that, the article says, Peterson might be available out of the bullpen.
Myers made two relief appearances against the Cubs last year, throwing three scoreless innings.
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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 27: Cole Ragans #55 of the Kansas City Royals pitches against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning of the home opener at Truist Park on March 27, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Another afternoon tilt in New York for the Royals today as they try to salvage one win on what has been a truly demoralizing road trip. Two new faces have joined the team for today’s game. Elias Diaz will be catching; the veteran has been in the big leagues since 2015 but has never played for Kansas City. Joining him will be Mason Black in the bullpen as the team continues to cycle arms through there to see if anyone can stick.
Cole Ragans gets to try and play stopper and will hopefully end the losing streak at six. After the scary exit in the first inning at Cleveland, his start on Tuesday went well, but was uncharacteristic with very few strike outs and several walks. This is a situation for the ace of the staff to show why he gets that moniker.
Opposite Ragans will be Ryan Weathers who is 0-2 with a 4.29 ERA through his first four starts. He has allowed a decent number of base runners so far this season, so the Royals will attempt to take advantage of lefty. Here are the lineups for today:
Trail Blazers
Spurs
