Los Angeles Dodgers (30-19) at San Diego Padres (29-19), May 20, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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The addition of some thump in the offseason hasn’t helped the Orioles avoid a dud early this season.

And one of their television broadcasters put his feelings about the state of the last-place team on full display after Baltimore’s third straight loss to the rival Rays on Wednesday afternoon.

MASN analyst Ben McDonald used the postgame show after a 5-3 loss — one in which the Orioles allowed four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning — to discuss what he believes is wrong with the team.

In short, he couldn’t care less about any expected stats or analytics, but that at the end of the day, the team is 21-29 and in the basement of the American League East.

“We can talk about analytics and what could happen and what should happen if you hit the ball hard. But I don’t care if you hit the ball hard. Like, I don’t care if you hit it hard and you hit it to somebody. You’re out. I don’t care how hard you throw ball four. I don’t care what your spin rate was on your breaking ball if you bounce it three feet in front of home plate. I don’t care,” McDonald said, via the Baltimore Banner.

“What I care about is, do you make plays? Do you make pitches? Do you get hits when it matters? And that’s what the Orioles are struggling to do right now. They are struggling to complete ball games. They are struggling to have all phases of the game go right at the same time. That’s where the struggle is. So, all this nonsense is eyewash to me about all this analytical stuff. You either do or you don’t. And right now, the Orioles don’t. They are not doing it and they’re not playing well right now. That’s the bottom line.”

The Orioles and president of baseball operations Mike Elias made some splashes in the offseason, signing former Mets All-Star Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract and trading for right-hander Shane Baz, who later inked a five-year extension.

Alonso, who went deep Wednesday, now has nine homers through May 20, but his .744 OPS is well below his career norms and over 100 points lower than his total (.871) from last year in New York. Baz had one of his best starts of the year on Wednesday (six innings, one run), but has a 4.87 ERA and 1.45 WHIP this year.

As a team, the Orioles offense ranks 18th in OPS (.700) while the pitching staff is 26th in ERA (4.97).

In the three-game sweep at the hands of the Rays, the Orioles were outscored 25-10. Manager Craig Albernaz didn’t mince words about the latest loss.

“It’s a big-time gut punch, for sure,” Albernaz told reporters after Baltimore lost for the fifth time in six games.

The latest defeat was particularly crushing after the Orioles brought a 3-1 lead into the eighth before reliever Anthony Nunez imploded, allowing four earned runs to score. Closer Ryan Helsley is out with an elbow injury.

McDonald said he doesn’t even know what the Orioles’ next move is.

“They are having trouble finishing ball games. Where do they go from here?” the analyst said. “I can’t tell you where they go from here. I don’t know where the Orioles go from here other than that they have to start playing more consistent baseball. That’s the bottom line.”

Roughly 60 days into the MLB season, the Dodgers still look like the team baseball expected them to be. They remain near the top of the National League standings, project as a World Series favorite, and continue operating with one of the deepest rosters in baseball.

But beneath the standings, another market has been moving just as aggressively.

Inside the sports card world, the Dodgers are no longer functioning as one team. They are multiple collectible economies operating simultaneously. Some players are accelerating rapidly. Some are flattening despite elite production. Some are being repriced downward because uncertainty became visible. Others have evolved into historical assets that now trade more on legacy and scarcity than week-to-week statistics.

That distinction matters because baseball and sports card markets reward different things. Baseball rewards wins. The card market rewards belief, visibility, and future demand.

Shohei Ohtani Is Trading Like a Historical Asset

Shohei Ohtani’s market has moved beyond the traditional superstar cycle.

His offensive production remains elite, but the larger shift has come from the possibility of meaningful pitching innings returning later this season. Once Cy Young conversations re-entered the picture, collectors stopped evaluating Ohtani as simply the best hitter in baseball and started evaluating the possibility of another historically unprecedented two-way season.

That distinction changes the market entirely.

An MVP-caliber hitter is valuable. An MVP-caliber hitter who can simultaneously compete for Cy Young consideration becomes historically scarce. Ohtani’s OPS, power production, and hard-hit profile continue reinforcing elite offensive consistency, but the card market is reacting less to the baseline numbers themselves and more to the expanding ceiling around them.

That change is visible directly in pricing behavior. Ohtani’s market has risen more than 53% over the last 90 days, with demand concentrating into BBM rookies, Japanese-exclusive releases, low-population PSA 10s, and high-end autos. His buyer pool has also expanded globally, pulling in traditional collectors, Japanese buyers, and alternative asset participants simultaneously.

The market is no longer pricing short-term production alone. It is pricing historical significance.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki Are Moving in Opposite Directions

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s market has spent the first two months of the season moving from projection toward validation.

Entering the year, collectors were still pricing upside tied to his transition from Japan to MLB. But despite stretches of early ERA volatility, Yamamoto’s strikeout-to-walk profile, command metrics, and pitch efficiency remained strong beneath the surface. Just as importantly, the Dodgers continued treating him like a frontline postseason arm, signaling organizational trust before the broader market fully caught up.

That combination matters because the card market tends to follow visible role stability almost as much as raw production. Once collectors believe a player’s role is secure, confidence begins consolidating into fewer, more liquid assets.

His market has responded accordingly, climbing roughly 27% as demand concentrates into PSA 10 rookies, Topps Chrome parallels, and autograph formats.

Roki Sasaki’s market has moved in the opposite direction.

Sasaki entered the season carrying one of the most aggressively priced projection markets in baseball. Velocity, strikeout upside, and international hype created enormous demand before sustained MLB production had fully materialized. But uneven command, fluctuating velocity consistency, and workload caution introduced visible instability into what had previously been a pure upside narrative.

His market has fallen roughly 18% during the same stretch the broader baseball card market rose more than 12%.

That divergence reveals one of the central realities of modern sports card pricing: the market loves projection while uncertainty remains abstract. Once instability becomes measurable instead of theoretical, repricing happens quickly.

Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim Show How Visibility Creates Demand

The Dodgers have also produced one of the clearest examples of how opportunity converts into card market demand.

Andy Pages has become one of the fastest-rising baseball card markets in the sport, with prices climbing more than 70% over the last 90 days. Increased lineup trust, improving offensive production, and everyday at-bats pushed him into national visibility, but the market move started before the highlights became constant.

The signals appeared earlier through playing time, lineup confidence, and improving production quality. The narrative formed afterward.

That sequencing sits at the center of how modern sports card markets operate. Visibility accelerates once performance becomes easy for the broader market to recognize and simplify.

Hyeseong Kim represents a similar dynamic. Mookie Betts landing on the injured list created immediate opportunity on baseball’s most visible roster, accelerating Kim’s relevance almost overnight. Increased playing time, defensive versatility, and growing visibility helped push his market higher as Korean collector demand expanded alongside mainstream hobby attention.

Performance created the opening. Exposure amplified the demand.

Mookie Betts Illustrates the Problem With Established Greatness

Mookie Betts presents the opposite dynamic.

Despite recently returning from the injured list, his market has remained relatively flat compared to other Dodgers stars. That is not because the market doubts him. It is because the market already fully understands him.

His greatness is efficiently priced.

Championship pedigree, Hall of Fame trajectory, elite production, and long-term consistency are already embedded into his market structure. There is very little discovery left. Modern sports card markets reward acceleration more aggressively than stability because emerging narratives create urgency while established greatness creates consistency.

For Betts’ market to materially accelerate again, it likely requires another MVP-level stretch, postseason dominance, or historically significant milestones. Sustained excellence alone rarely creates explosive repricing once a player becomes fully understood.

Blake Snell and Edwin Díaz Reflect the Volatility of Pitcher Markets

Pitchers continue to operate at a structural disadvantage inside the sports card market.

Blake Snell’s injuries and interrupted workload softened demand because pitcher markets rely heavily on continuity and visibility to maintain momentum. Edwin Díaz reflects a different version of the same issue. Despite elite stretches as a closer and a massive contract, his hobby market has remained relatively thin outside a handful of recognizable releases like Topps Heritage. Recent controversy tied to cockfighting allegations in Puerto Rico only complicated the narrative further.

Even elite pitchers often struggle to sustain hitter-level demand because they generate fewer culturally dominant moments, carry greater injury volatility, and rely more heavily on sustained performance to maintain visibility.

What the Dodgers Reveal About the Modern Sports Card Market

The Dodgers are not simply one of baseball’s best rosters. They are one of the clearest real-time demonstrations of how modern sports card markets actually function.

Inside one team, the market is simultaneously pricing historical legacy, breakout acceleration, international demand, uncertainty, narrative momentum, and long-term preservation.

Shohei Ohtani trades like a global historical asset. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is moving from projection toward validation. Roki Sasaki shows how quickly uncertainty can reprice upside. Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim demonstrate how visibility accelerates demand. Mookie Betts reflects the ceiling of established greatness, where consistency matters less than new narrative momentum.

The standings measure wins. The card market measures future attention.

That difference explains why some players rise faster than their statistics suggest, while others remain flat despite elite production. The market is not reacting to performance alone. It is reacting to how performance gets interpreted, amplified, and believed.

For the Dodgers, the opportunity is obvious. Another postseason run, continued growth from Pages and Kim, and full validation from Yamamoto could push multiple segments of the Dodgers card market substantially higher by October.

But the risks are equally visible. Pitching volatility, injuries, workload concerns, and the pressure of sustaining expectations over a full season can quickly reshape both narrative and demand.

Sixty days into the season, the Dodgers are still winning games.

The card market is now trying to determine which players, and which assets tied to them, will still look undervalued by the time October arrives.

What team should we look at next. Let us know on Mantel.

It’s game 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals barrage of games against NL Central rivals Wednesday as Michael McGreevy will try to dominate the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs will counter with Carmen Mlodzinski on the mound for Pittsburgh. First pitch scheduled for 6:45pm at Busch Stadium and game viewable on Cardinals.tv.

Mariners 5, White Sox 4

Enjoying a baseball game with your family: Jhonny Pereda, +0.24 WPA
A drunk 20-something whipping you in the back of his head with a sweaty shirt: Josh Naylor, -0.15 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

The weather changed throughout Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field, and the game kept moving with it.

One day after being shut out in a 10-0 loss to the Texas Rangers, the Colorado Rockies gave themselves a chance to take the series. They grabbed an early lead, lost it when Texas went back-to-back in the fourth, then fought back with pressure, patience, and timely contact to carry a one-run lead into the ninth.

But when Texas played its late hand, Colorado could not match it and lost the third game, 5-4.

Homers hurt Freeland before traffic ends his day

Kyle Freeland is still searching for consistency since returning from the IL, and Wednesday brought more of the same: traffic on the bases and hard contact in key spots.

He handled it early.

Freeland worked a clean first inning and faced the minimum through two after Josh Jung’s leadoff single in the second was erased by a Kyle Karros-to-Edouard Julien-to-TJ Rumfield double play. In the third, he gave up a two-out double to Sam Haggerty and walked Andrew McCutchen, but got Justin Foscue looking to keep the Rangers off the board.

The fourth inning brought the damage.

After Jung singled with one out, Ezequiel Duran jumped a knuckle curve and sent it 373 feet at 106.2 mph for a two-run homer. One batter later, Jake Burger crushed a changeup 409 feet at 108.4 mph to give Texas back-to-back home runs and a 3-1 lead.

Freeland came back out for the fifth and got the first two outs, but he could not finish the inning. Foscue singled, Brandon Nimmo followed with a hard-hit single, and Freeland walked Jung to load the bases. His afternoon was done.

Jaden Hill entered and got Duran to ground out, stranding all three inherited runners.

Freeland finished with three runs allowed on seven hits over 4.2 innings. He walked two, struck out four, and threw 89 pitches, 56 for strikes.

Rockies make Leiter work

The Rockies did not match Texas’ power, but they did enough against Jack Leiter.

Leiter had velocity, with his four-seam fastball averaging 95.4 mph, but Colorado made him work in the fourth and fifth innings. The Rockies put the ball in play, forced traffic, and took advantage when his command slipped.

The key at-bat came in the fourth.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Karros was called out on strikes. He challenged the pitch, the call was overturned, and the Rockies had a bases-loaded walk instead of an inning-ending strikeout. That made it 3-2.

Colorado took the lead in the fifth. Jake McCarthy tripled to center, Tyler Freeman singled him home, and Troy Johnston added a two-out RBI single to put the Rockies ahead.

The Rockies did not homer against Leiter, but they found runs through McCarthy’s speed, Karros’ plate discipline, Freeman’s contact, and Johnston’s two-out hit. Leiter finished with four runs allowed on seven hits over five innings. He walked two, struck out five, and threw 83 pitches, 55 for strikes.

Bullpen holds until the ninth

After stranding the bases loaded in the fifth, Hill stayed in for the sixth and worked around a two-out single to post another zero. He finished with 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks, and was helped by a nice play from Rumfield, one of several solid defensive plays by the Rockies on the day.

Antonio Senzatela followed with two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. He allowed two hits, struck out one, and lowered his season ERA to 1.19 while getting the Rockies to the ninth with a 4-3 lead.

Then Texas went all in . . . .

Brennan Bernardino got the first out in the ninth, but Joc Pederson reached on catcher interference, Justin Foscue singled, and Alejandro Osuna loaded the bases with an infield single. Juan Mejia entered, but a passed ball tied the game before Jung singled through the left side to put Texas ahead.

Bernardino was charged with two runs, one earned, over one-third of an inning. Mejia kept the deficit at one by striking out Duran and getting Burger to hit a hard grounder to Willi Castro at second.

Can’t ante up

With the rain coming down in the bottom of the ninth, the Rockies had a chance to answer but went in order. Karros flew out, Braxton Fulford struck out as a pinch-hitter, and McCarthy grounded out to end a 5-4 loss after Colorado had led entering the ninth.

The loss dropped the Rockies to 19-31, while Texas improved to 24-25. Colorado gave itself a real chance to win, but folded in the ninth and let the game slip away.

Up Next

The Rockies head to Phoenix to open a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday at Chase Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. MDT.

Colorado has not announced a starter. Arizona is scheduled to start left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who enters at 4-1 with a 2.53 ERA and 39 strikeouts.

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A scintillating starting pitching matchup is on tap in the Bronx tonight, as young phenoms Cam Schlittler and Trey Yesavage are supposed to go toe-to-toe. Both right-handers broke out late in 2025, with Schlittler earning a rotation spot down the stretch for the Yankees and then dominating the Red Sox in his playoff debut to help New York punch its ticket to an ALDS matchup against Toronto … who had their own sensation in Yesavage. Despite just three regular-season starts to his name, the 22-year-old no-hit the Yankees over 5.1 innings in Game 2 to help the Blue Jays establish a 2-0 series lead that proved to be insurmountable. It was the beginning of a magical postseason for Yesavage and the Jays, who fell two outs shy of a World Series title.

Needless to say, there was a lot of hype for this Wednesday rumble at Yankee Stadium, as they had not previously squared off against each other. The Yankees have scrapped out the first two contests of this four-game set against a Jays team they struggled against last year, and they were hoping to nail down the series win tonight behind Schlittler, who has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball early on in 2026. Yesavage began the year on the IL with a right shoulder impingement, but he’s posted a 1.40 ERA through four starts since returning.

Alas, an ugly weather forecast is forcing us to wait. At 6:17pm ET, the Yankees announced that they do not expect to begin the game on time. There’s a severe thunderstorm watch in the Bronx, and we could be waiting awhile for baseball — if indeed we get it at all. Because Schlittler and Yesavage are so important to their teams, neither club wants to risk having a game begin, only to quickly enter a rain delay that might render each arm unable to return. So we’re getting it early and seeing what happens.

AccuWeather indicates that the storms should begin to subside sometime after 9pm ET. Hang in there and we’ll see if we get baseball tonight!

Update

We have a start time! First pitch from Schlittler will come in to George Springer at 9:10pm ET.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals, May 20, 2026, 7:45 p.m. ET

Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet-PIT

Pitching Matchup: Carmen Mlodzinski (3-3, 4.40 ERA) vs. Michael McGreevy (3-2, 2.10 ERA)

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road today against the St. Louis Cardinals looking to grab a win.

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BD community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!

We talked about today’s new already, so all I have to say is please win.

They are already saying the game will be delayed.

Today’s lineup:

Go Jays Go

Stop me if you have heard this one before. The Royals are going into the game tonight looking to avoid getting swept. For the third series in a row, Kansas City is just hoping to salvage one win going into the third game. They cannot fix all of their problems in one game on a Wednesday night, but it would be nice to see them get one from a Boston team that has mostly struggled their way through 2026 as well.

The Royals will send Michael Wacha to the mound to try and get the job done. The 4-2 record and 2.83 ERA are easily the best of any Royals starter so far this season. With all of the pitching injuries that the team has sustained, they need him to have continued success.

Unfortunately, Kansas City is facing yet another left handed starter tonight in Connelly Early. He is a 24 year old rookie with a solid ERA, but peripheral statistics that say he is more a back-end starter. Over his minor league career and last season’s cup of coffee, he routinely had very high strike out rates that have not shown up in early 2026 and are making him more pedestrian. Let’s hope that continues tonight.

The solution to the lineup issues is evidently to give Vinnie Pasquantino a day off and move Salvador Perez up to the three hole? Elias Diaz will be behind the dish with Perez at first.

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Here’s the Tigers lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!