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Happy Wednesday Athletics fans!

After several consecutive losing seasons, the A’s entered 2026 with renewed expectations, aiming to finish above .500 and remain in playoff contention late in the season. Through nearly 50 games, the A’s have played like a .500 team, yet they still sit atop an underwhelming American League West in which no team has consistently separated itself from the pack. Even the Seattle Mariners, preseason favorites to win the division, entered play today below .500.

Mark Kotsay’s team has handled adversity better this season, avoiding extended losing streaks like the nine-game skid it suffered last May. The A’s have fluctuated between playing strong, winning baseball and enduring sloppy stretches marked by costly losses, but inconsistency is part of the grind of MLB’s 162-game season.

Currently, the A’s miss Jacob Wilson, who is on the injured list with a left shoulder subluxation and sprain. Wilson was heating up offensively before the injury, but his improved defense at shortstop may have been even more encouraging for the A’s. In the wake of Wilson joining fellow infielder Max Muncy on the injured list, Darell Hernáiz has received everyday playing time at shortstop. While Hernáiz can hold his own defensively, Wilson offers more consistency at the plate.

Like last season, the A’s offense was expected to lead the way this year. At the moment, however, the unit has struggled aside from outfielder Carlos Cortes, catcher Shea Langeliers and first baseman Nick Kurtz. Designated hitter Brent Rooker and outfielders Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler are all batting around the Mendoza Line, with the latter two left-handed hitters mired in prolonged slumps that kept them out of last night’s starting lineup against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers.

Kurtz has drawn 44 walks, the second-most in MLB, in large part due to his keen eye and strike-zone awareness, but also because opposing teams would rather avoid him and take their chances with the hitters behind him, including Rooker and Soderstrom. The A’s have also received limited offensive production from their backup catcher, a spot that was previously held by Austin Wynns and is now Jonah Heim’s.

Entering last night’s game, the Athletics ranked near the middle of the pack in runs scored and home runs, despite playing home games at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park. They proceeded to tag the woeful Los Angeles Angels’ pitching staff for a season-high 14 runs. That will surely boost the team’s offensive confidence. Time will tell whether last night’s offensive explosion was a breakthrough or an anomaly.

The A’s need daily contributions from their offense to offset any pitching concerns if the team wants to remain competitive this season. Wilson and Muncy will return at some point and Soderstrom and Butler have too much talent to keep playing this poorly offensively. Down on the farm, shortstop Leo De Vries remains an intriguing late-season call-up possibility, while left-handers Jamie Arnold and Gage Jump could provide reinforcements for an Athletics’ pitching staff that has been respectable this year.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s clobber Angels 14-6 in Anaheim
• A’s Suffer Heartbreaker to Open Road Trip
• ’Gut-wrenching’: Ginn takes no-no into ninth only to give up walk-off home run
• Michael Stefanic Elects Free Agency
• A’s Bullpen, Defense Collapse in Series-Deciding Loss to Giants
• How John Fisher betrayed Oakland (again) by finally spending on the Athletics
• Kurtz in rarefied air through 162 career games
• The Giants-A’s rivalry is officially dead
• A’s get lefty reliever Suarez in trade with Mariners
• Bolte Flashes In Athletics’ Win Over Cardinals
• A’s roster moves: Bolte, Stefanic recalled; Wilson to IL; Harris optioned, Nuñez DFA’d
• There’s Forcing Your Way Up And There’s Bolte — Is There A Spot For Him?
• May Roster Shuffle Could Help The A’s — But They’d Have To Want It
• Athletics’ Wei-En Lin Continues Rising The Ranks
• Now that we’ve seen a two-way player, what about a three-way player?
• A Walk In The Park Is Nice…To A Point
• Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In May

MLB News and Interest:

• Where all 30 MLB teams stand and their trade deadline outlook at the quarter mark
• Dodgers’ Glasnow has setback; Snell set for NanoScope procedure
• Cole to make season debut for Yankees Friday vs. MLB-best Rays
• Seager placed on injured list with lower back inflammation
• Shirtless LA Angels fans’ ‘sell the team’ chant rocks stadium as team slides with worst record in baseball
• Twins option former top pick Lewis; Jeffers out with hamate fracture
• Braves catcher Drake Baldwin to IL with oblique injury
• Houston Astros Activate Star Shortstop Jeremy Peña
• Jake Fraley To Undergo Sports Hernia Procedure
• Rangers’ MacKenzie Gore leaves with muscle tightness in back
• Kyle Teel Shut Down With LCL Sprain
• Nationals To Recall Dylan Crews
• 2026 MLB draft rankings: Updated top 150 prospects
• Mets achieve rare extra-inning feat not seen in 43 years
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Here is the Athletics‘ updated minor league transaction log. Should outfielder Denzel Clarke remain at Triple-A after his rehab assignment or return to the big-league club?

Which player do you think has the best nickname in Minor League Baseball?

The American League West has arguably been the weakest division in MLB this season, which makes it even more disappointing that the A’s have been unable to separate themselves from their division rivals.

The A’s offense was at its best with two-outs last night.

In our 17th installment of our Legends Series we sit down with Ty Gainey, whose debut with the Astros in 1985 was brief and memorable.   

Q:  What do you remember about being called up in April of 1985 ?   

A:  It was shocking because one day I’m down in the minors and then next thing I know, Yogi comes over and tells me that I better get loose around the 6th or 7th inning because I might be used as a pinch runner or possibly even pinch hit that night.  That really stuck with me because he took the time to come tell me that.     

Yogi was a funny guy.  My first day at the dome he told me that they put the grass down before they put the top on.  I just looked at him.  He was funny.

Q:  When I say Houston Astrodome, what comes to mind?    

A:  You know, I actually tripped in center field and fell.  I had toe turf or something (laughs).  The turf got me, crept up on me.     

Q:  You only appeared in 13 games.  When you look back on it, do you feel they rushed you out too quickly?   

A:  They changed course and decided to go with the older players before the younger ones, so I just had a courtesy glance.  Keep in mind, Terry Puhl, Jose Cruz, and a lot of talented guys were there, but what really happened was Kevin Bass came along, and Hal Lanier became manager and that was the end for me. 

Q:  And yet your one career home run, you hit off one of the very best in Orel Hershiser.  What do you remember about that?   

A:  I was a little nervous the first pitch he threw me but then I felt okay.  I started fouling balls off.  I had studied Orel from the bench, so I knew what his pitches were and what he liked to go with.  I knew he was going to throw me a fastball and when he did, I drove it to left field.    

Q:  What was it like playing all of those years in Asia after your stint in the majors?   

A:  It was fun.  I played with Ichiro.  He was a rookie when I got there and had a 30-game hitting streak even in spring training that year.  Believe it or not, some of the coaches didn’t think he was ready (laughs).  He stayed there longer than he should’ve and even with that, (when he joined the Mariners) he still easily got over 200 hits that rookie season with Seattle.     

Good morning everyone, and happy Wednesday!

The Mariner bats couldn’t string together hits at the right time in last night’s 2-1 loss to the White Sox. People will surely be arguing about Dan Wilson’s decision to leave Luis Castillo in for the ninth for weeks to come, too.

Generally speaking, are you more worried about the team’s offense or their pitching long-term? While there are some frustrating injuries to the lineup, we have multiple key arms that are underperforming. It’s hard to know which will be a sticking point for longer.

In Mariners news…

• Max Ellingsen checked in on the state of the top prospects in the Mariners system.
• In the latest edition of the Lookout Landing reverse mailbag, Eric Sanford graded your takes on what the team should do in the absence of Cal Raleigh.
• Ryan Divish at The Seattle Times spoke to Jarred Kelenic about his feelings coming back to Seattle as a visiting player, and how he’s changed since his trade to Atlanta.
• A Mariners fan went viral when she recorded herself being hit in the head by a foul ball — which led to her being taken to the ER. Then, people started lashing out against her and her friends on social media.

Around the league…

• Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore left his start on Monday with lat tightness, though he quickly downplayed the severity of the injury.
• In Houston, Lance McCullers, Jr. was placed on the injured list once again with right shoulder inflammation.
• Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole is set to make his season debut on Friday. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the end of the 2024 campaign.
• Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was fined after getting into a verbal altercation with a fan on Monday.
• In a surprising move, the Twins optioned former top prospect Royce Lewis to the minor leagues. In the same announcement, Minnesota also placed catcher Ryan Jeffers on the injured list with a hamate bone fracture.
• The Braves have placed stud catcher Drake Baldwin on the injured list with a strained oblique.
• Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez has seemingly unlocked yet another gear. Ben Clemens at Fangraphs dug into the changes he’s made in 2026.
• Phillip Michaels at Awful Announcing crunched the numbers on how much you can expect to spend as a sports fan in the streaming era.

The Alex Verdugo experiment ended for the San Diego Padres last week when the former major leaguer underwent surgery on his injured shoulder and was released by the Friars. He had been in Arizona for extended Spring Training and then began playing with the ACL Padres. The announcement this past week indicates the end of the 2026 season for Verdugo and his attempt to resurrect his career.

Right-hander Triston McKenzie was sent to the developmental list from the El Paso Chihuahuas. McKenzie signed with the Padres in an attempt to revitalize his career, but his inability to command his pitches has led to a 14.95 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched. Left-hander Fernando Sanchez was promoted to El Paso to replace McKenzie on the roster. He had three starts for Double-A San Antonio and five relief appearances in 20 innings pitched with a 4.50 ERA.

Catcher Colton Vincent was sent from the Chihuahuas to the development list, and he was replaced by Victor Duarte, who was promoted from Lake Elsinore.

Catcher Ty Harvey was activated from his rehab with the ACL Padres and rejoined Low-A Lake Elsinore.

Outfielder Justin DeCriscio was promoted from Lake Elsinore to High-A Fort Wayne after consistently hitting over .300 with a .907 OPS. He hit 3 homers and had 18 RBI. DeCriscio was drafted in the 10th round of the 2025 draft and is 23 years old.

El Paso Chihuahuas (21-24 record, 3rd in Pacific Coast League, East)

The Chihuahuas lost their series against the Salt Lake Bees but didn’t drop in the standings.

OF/IF Nick Solak has been consistently good for El Paso this year. His .339 average leads the team, and his .442 OBP is also tops for the Chihuahuas. Outfielder Jase Bowen continues to lead in slug with a .588 average, and his 10 home runs are tops as well. Outfielder Samad Taylor has a .949 OPS with the most walks at 20 to go with a .319 average.

The newly promoted righty starter Fernando Sanchez has one start with a 2.25 ERA. RHP Evan Fitterer has eight starts in 10 game appearances with 33.1 innings pitched and a 2.43 ERA. Fitterer was a minor league free agent signed during the offseason after leaving the Marlins organization. He was originally drafted in 2019 and is 25 years old.

Right-handed reliever Ethan Routzahn has five saves for El Paso in 23 innings pitched and a 3.91 ERA. JP Sears, who had a difficult start to the season, has had two starts in May and 10 innings pitched with a 1.80 ERA. He has 13 strikeouts to six walks.

San Antonio Missions (14-25 record, last in Texas League, South)

The Missions split their series versus the Wichita Wind Surge. This team features Ethan Salas’ brother Jose, as their shortstop. This is their first time playing against each other professionally.

Infielder Carson Tucker, 24, has continued his career resurgence since joining the Padres organization. He leads the team in batting average at .352 with nine doubles and a triple. He has nine steals without being caught and boasts an .885 OPS. 1B/DH Leandro Cedeno has a .421 OBP with five doubles, a triple, four homers, and 14 RBI to give him a .528 slug and .949 OPS.

Catcher Ethan Salas has been consistent with his offense, hitting .297/.373/.508 and a .882 OPS. He has seven doubles, six homers, 21 RBI, and has nine stolen bases with one caught stealing. When not catching, Salas frequently acts as the DH for the Missions. With the newly released prospect ranking updates, Salas has moved into the top 100 at No. 52 in the MLB Pipeline list.

Right-handed pitcher Jhony Brito moved from the ACL Padres to the Missions to continue his rehab from last season’s UCL repair. He has started one game with four innings pitched and didn’t allow a run. Miguel Mendez has returned from the injured list after recovering from a neck strain and started May 12. He threw two innings with a hit and two strikeouts, no runs allowed. He has a 3.24 ERA overall in 16.2 innings pitched.

Righty Francis Peña has a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings pitched while Andrew Moore has a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings pitched for the Missions.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (19-20 record, 3rd in Midwest League, East)

The TinCaps split their series with the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

Outfielder Jake Cunningham has the best batting average on the team at .304, and he also leads with a .933 OPS. Newly arrived Justin DeCriscio has a .417 OBP in his five games played and is followed closely by outfielder Kasen Wells at .414. Outfielder Alex McCoy continues to slug at a high rate, even after a down May. His .563 slugging percentage is only slightly better than Cunningham at .559. McCoy still leads with seven homers and 22 RBI, and his 12 doubles are also tops on the TinCaps.

Closer Clay Edmondson has eight saves in 14 game appearances and 17 innings pitched with a 0.53 ERA. He has struck out 24 to four walks. Drafted last year in the 14th round, Edmondson made a handful of appearances after being drafted last year, but has dominated so far this season.

Righty starter Carson Montgomery has impressed in his first full season as a prospect. He was drafted in the 11th round of the 2023 draft but had Tommy John surgery and missed all of last season until a quick cameo in the Fall League. So far, he has six starts and 27 innings pitched with a 1.33 ERA and 22 strikeouts to 11 walks.

Lefty starter Kash Mayfield has a 1.52 ERA in 7 starts and 29.2 innings pitched with 35 strikeouts to 13 walks. Mayfield features a devastating changeup to complement his mid-90’s fastball. He also throws a slider but it is mostly a show pitch at this point.

Reliever Javier Chacon was promoted to Fort Wayne from Lake Elsinore and has pitched in three games and four innings with a 2.25 ERA.

Lake Elsinore Storm (23-16 record, 1st in California League, South)

The Storm went 4-2 in their series against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and keep a strong hold on their first place status.

Outfielder Ryan Wideman has a .322/.405/.521 stat line with a .925 OPS to start the season. He leads in slug and is second in OPS for qualifying players. His 29 stolen bases in 35 attempts are tops in all of pro ball. He is tops with three homers and 29 RBI for the Storm.

Infielder Luke Cantwell leads the team in average at .325, OBP at .481, and OPS at .931 among qualifying players. Undrafted free agents Bradley Frye and Connor Westenburg have cooled off slightly but are both still hitting over .300 and have 21 and 18 RBI, respectively.

Right-handed starter Winyer Chourio has started six games in his seven appearances with 26 innings pitched and a 2.42 ERA. He has 42 strikeouts to 12 walks. The 22-year-old features a 95-mph fastball and has a .185 average against this season.

Righty Ethan Long has three saves and a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings as a reliever. He has assumed closer duties from Will Koger, who has a 3.60 ERA. Righty Nick Falter has a 1.82 ERA in 24.2 innings pitched in his 13 appearances with 23 strikeouts and seven walks.

ACL Padres (5-7 record, 3rd in Arizona Complex League, West)

C/1B Jhojan Downer has played in nine games and 27 at-bats with a .389 average, .593 OBP, and .444 slug. His OPS sits at 1.037. Infielder Yimy Tovar has played in 12 games with a .325/.404/.575 line and .979 OPS. IF/DH Santiago Vargas has 8 RBI with two doubles, a triple, and a home run.

Reliever Ty Adcock and lefty reliever Adler Cecil are on rehab assignments with Arizona. Cecil, 21, was drafted in 2023 in the 19th round and had Tommy John surgery during spring training of 2025. This is the start of his rehab. Adcock injured his oblique during the start of spring training after signing as a free agent during the offseason.

Padres Taiwanese pitching prospect Lan-Hong Su had his first professional start on May 16, going two innings with four strikeouts and two walks without allowing a run. Su, 19, features a mid-90’s fastball, a plus slider, a changeup, and has a new splitter in his repertoire. He started the season with blisters on his pitching hand (per MadFriars.com)

Padres prospect Michael Salina has made two starts with Arizona for 1.1 innings. He will be brought back slowly in his return from Tommy John surgery. He had four strikeouts and two walks while allowing four earned runs in those two starts.

It’s heart attack hotel with this Yankees relief corps, but the bullpen managed to survive another ninth inning comeback attempt to secure consecutive one-run victories over the Blue Jays. It’s made all the more important that they managed to win on a day when Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease was starting, Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice supplying a pair of clutch home runs.

Tampa Bay Rays (32-15) 4, Baltimore Orioles (21-28) 1

It might have gone dormant for the last two seasons, but it looks like the Tampa Bay devil magic is back in the air at the Trop. For years lauded as one of the premier pitching factories in the league the Rays are back at it again producing impact starters out of nowhere. First, they transformed 35-year-old swingman Nick Martinez into a run suppressing beast. Now, they’ve gone and metamorphosed multi-inning relief ace Griffin Jax into their latest dominant starter. He held the Orioles to a run on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts in five innings, Jax now the owner of a shiny 1.42 ERA in his last five games — all starts after performing below replacement level in a relief role in his first 11 appearances. The lone damage came on the second pitch of the game, Taylor Ward leading off the contest with a home run before Jax went on to pitch five scoreless innings.

Jax’s offense answered right back in the bottom half of the frame. Jonathan Aranda drew a two out walk and scored all the way from first on a Yandy Díaz bullet double to the wall just left of center to make it 1-1. It was all Rays from that point forward, though Orioles starter Kyle Bradish would hold them to just one further run over the next 4.1 innings. That run came in the sixth, Díaz striking again this time with a mammoth 439-foot solo shot to dead center on a center-cut hanging 1-0 slider (though Díaz would have to exit the game after getting hit on the hand by a 94 mph fastball in the eighth).

Tampa Bay wrapped up the scoring by plating a pair in the eighth. Carson Williams replaced Díaz after the hit-by-pitch and raced around to score on a Richie Palacios double. Palacios was then driven home on a bloop single from Jonny DeLuca. With the win, the Rays maintain their three game lead over the Yankees for first and go for the sweep of the Orioles tomorrow afternoon.

Other Games

Cleveland Guardians (28-22) 4, Detroit Tigers (20-29) 3

Parker Messick and Keider Montero had almost identical lines, both allowing three runs in five innings. Cleveland opened the scoring in the second, Kyle Manzardo singling to lead off, Travis Bazzana drawing a walk, Angel Martínez moving the pair into scoring position with a sac bunt and Steven Kwan plating Manzardo with a sac fly. Detroit responded in the bottom-half, Riley Greene drawing a one out walk to set up a two-run blast from Spencer Torkelson. Bazzana restored the Guardians’ lead with a two-run homer in the fourth after Manzardo drew a leadoff walk, the second home run in the MLB career of the first overall pick from 2024. Once again, the Tigers responded immediately, Greene and Hao-Yu Lee reaching on a pair of singles before an errant pickoff attempt at second from catcher Austin Hedges sailed into center allowing Greene to score the tying run. Kwan scored the go-ahead run in the seventh, leading off with a double before advancing to third on a sac bunt and scoring on a soft grounder. Detroit loaded the bases in the eighth and put a pair on in the ninth, but failed to score any either time.

Boston Red Sox (21-27) 7, Kansas City Royals (20-29) 1

This was actually a close game until the ninth when Royals reliever Eli Morgan imploded for four runs, seven of the Red Sox’s 15 hits coming in that frame alone. Ranger Suarez gave the Red Sox 4.1 innings of one-run ball whereas the Royals went with a bullpen game. Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa all had multi-hit days for the Red Sox. Duran slugged a home run and drove in three, Contreras also drove in three, and IKF went 3-for-3.

Texas Rangers (23-25) 10, Colorado Rockies (19-30) 0

Kumar Rocker authored easily the best outing of his big league career, though it is curious to note that it came as the bulk man after opener Tyler Alexander pitched a scoreless first. Rocker twirled 7.2 shutout innings allowing three hits and three walks against seven strikeouts, racking up 19 swings and misses including a gaudy 57-percent whiff rate on the slider. The Rockies also went with a bullpen game to the polar opposite outcome, opener Sammy Peralta and bulk guy Tanner Gordon combining to give up nine runs on 14 hits and three walks in seven innings. Joc Pederson pinch-hit for Andrew McCutchen in the second and went on to go 4-for-5. Brandon Nimmo went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Ezequiel Duran slugged a pair of doubles and drove in four.

Chicago White Sox (25-23) 2,Seattle Mariners (23-27) 1

Dan Wilson’s decision to demote Luis Castillo from the rotation and have him piggyback off of Bryce Miller’s abbreviated starts as the latter works his way back from an oblique strain backfired spectacularly. In his first ever game pitching out of the bullpen in the majors, Castillo spoiled Miller’s dominant start — 5.2 scoreless innings allowing a hit and a walk against seven strikeouts — by walking Munetaka Murakami followed by a Miguel Vargas HBP. This forced Wilson to call on closer Andrés Muñoz, who promptly yielded consecutive singles to the first two hitters he faced to turn Seattle’s 1-0 lead into a 2-1 deficit, the Mariners scoring their only run in the first on a Patrick Wisdom RBI ground out with the bases loaded.

When guessing who we thought the most consistent pitcher for any affiliate would be this season, few, if anyone, would have guess 18th round pick Aiven Cabral would anchor the Augusta pitching staff. Even as a reliever he has been the player they can rely on for consistent innings, and so far he has recorded the win in six of his seven starts this season. Augusta had a big offensive explosion led by two hits and five stolen bases from Tate Southisene, who has 12 stolen bases in his last eight games.

(26-20) Gwinnett Stripers 4, (23-23) Charlotte Knights 5

Box Score

Statcast

• Jim Jarvis, SS: 1-5, 2B, RBI, .296/.401/.415
• Nacho Alvarez Jr., 3B: 2-4, 2B, BB, RBI, .238/.327/.329
• Rowdy Tellez, DH: 2-4, 2B, RBI, .248/.346/.504
• Austin Gomber, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 9.00 ERA
• Rolddy Munoz, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0.47 ERA

The Stripers trailed for most of this game, and Austin Gomber could not stop giving up home runs to the Charlotte Knights. A Jacob Gonzalez long ball off of the CoolRay Field berm opened up the scoring for the game in the second inning, and piece-by-piece the Knights kept putting up runs by putting balls over the wall. Gomber allowed the only non-home run run off of a Braden Montgomery double the next inning, then went right back to giving up nukes. The Knights went back-to-back off of Gomber in the next inning, the latter of those home runs full clearing the bullpen and sailing into the apartments. The fifth inning got started with another no doubt shot to right field, the fourth Knights home run of the game and a 5-0 lead that would seal the game in favor of Charlotte. The Gwinnett bullpen had loads more success than Gomber and split four scoreless frames between Javy Guerra and Rolddy Munoz, and Munoz had a strong day on the mound. He was able to throw tons of strikes and the Knights were having trouble with his slider, and though he only struck out one batter he got tons of weak contact and stayed ahead in the count.

The Stripers weren’t snoozing at the plate while Charlotte was going off, but without the aid of home runs they came up empty in the early innings. They didn’t have any extra base hits and had a couple of double play balls, so despite getting runners on base in every inning it took until the fifth for them to finally come up with some life. Luke Williams tripled to spark the first Gwinnett run of the game, and slowly they would start creeping back and play their way into the contest. Rowdy Tellez opened up in the sixth inning with a double and was advanced on a single from Brewer Hicklen, giving the Stripers their first inning with multiple hits and a big chance to rally with no outs. Brett Wisely chased the left fielder back to the warning track to give Tellez enough time to come and score on a sacrifice fly, but they failed the score further runs that inning. In the seventh they kept it rolling with doubles from Williams and Nacho Alvarez, and when Tellez snuck a single up the middle to score Alvarez from second base the Stripers found themselves with a huge chance to tie the game. An infield single would move Ben Gamel, pinch-running, up to second base with still only one out in the inning, but the rally fizzled out from there. Two fly outs failed to advance any runners further, but Gwinnett wasn’t out of time to score just yet. With two outs a single from Williams opened a glimmer of eighth inning hope, and when Jim Jarvis made an appearance and shot a double into the corner the chance grew bigger still. Alvarez was walked intentionally to load the bases, putting Gamel in the biggest spot of the game where he would strike out. In the ninth inning Aaron Schunk stood at second base after a Wisely hit, a force out, and a wild pitch, and with two outs Dashawn Keirsey Jr. was the final hope for Gwinnett. Keirsey was able to punch a line into shallow left field for a hit, but Jacob Gonzalez made a scoop off of the hop and fired home where Schunk was out by a mile on the throw to end the game.

Swing and Misses

Austin Gomber – 12

Javy Guerra – 6

Rolddy Munoz – 5

(19-20) Columbus Clingstones 1, (20-20) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3

Box Score

• Lizandro Espinoza, CF: 1-3, BB, .297/.420/.550
• Patrick Clohisy, RF: 1-4, 2B, .266/.333/.422
• Jack Dashwood, SP: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 7.61 ERA
• Luis Vargas, RP: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4.44 ERA

It’s tough to find a whole lot to say about this one, where the Clingstones offense took the day off and the pitching staff even with a solid collective effort didn’t really run out any particularly interesting prospects. Columbus did hold a lead early in this game, and of course it was Lizandro Espinoza getting it done at the plate and on the bases which made that possible. Espinoza drew a walk and then stole his way around to third, putting him in position where a Luke Waddell double broke the seal with two outs in the top of the first inning. That was the high point of the game. Espinoza still had a good day, adding a hit and another stolen base in the third inning, but Columbus was stifled in the series opener and only had one hit after the third inning. In total the team struck out eight times in four innings against the Blue Wahoos bullpen, sealing a quiet loss.

After a stretch of rough outings Jack Dashwood was due for a good day on the mound, and even though he didn’t have great control he was able to fill innings effectively and keep Columbus in position to win the game. Unfortunately for him the offense had different plans, but Dashwood did his job well. Luis Vargas came in to replace Dashwood with a runner on base in the fifth inning, and a stroke of good fortune got his outing off on the right food. With a runner on second Vargas gave up a liner up the middle, but Cal Conley was shifted over made a terrific leaping play to snag the liner and save a run. Conley was able to turn that into an inning-ending unassisted double play, and Vargas found himself quickly out of a scoring chance. Vargas pitched quite well in his inning in the sixth inning. His stuff was sharp and he was locating fairly well, striking out two batters in the inning. Unfortunately for him a bloop single and an inside out grounder down the right field line turned into a run against him and charged him with a loss for the game.

Swing and Misses

Jack Dashwood – 5

Luis Vargas – 4

(22-18) Rome Emperors 0, (22-17) Hub City Spartanburgers

Box Score

• Isaiah Drake, RF: 0-3, BB, .284/.362/.477
• John Gil, SS: 1-3, BB, .275/.376/.444
• Eric Hartman, CF: 0-4, .308/.390/.643
• Colin Daniel, SP: 6.2 IP,7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 4.66 ERA

The Emperors were flailing against Hickory starter Aidan Curry, swinging and missing 23 times and striking out nine times in six scoreless innings. Three walks drawn sort of salvaged some decency from the game, especially from Isaiah Drake and John Gil at the top of the order, but it was really not a great game at all. Drake struck out in all three of his non-walk plate appearances, and Eric Hartman added an 0-4 with two strikeouts. In addition Rome went 0-3 on stolen base attempts, capping off a lousy day. Gil did have a hit and a walk to give one of the big bats a good performance for the series opener, but Gil is still on a pretty ugly slump since his two home runs game. Gil is 3 for his last 24 with eight strikeouts, which is as bad a stretch as we’ve ever seen him have making contact.

For Colin Daniel, it had to be a frustrating day to pitch so well and not have any shot of winning. Daniel kept Hub City pounding the ball into the ground, and worked an efficient 6 2/3 innings in which he only allowed one earned run with no walks. Daniel did give up a long home run to Malcolm Moore in the sixth inning after matching Curry for the first five, but otherwise hard contact was hard for the Spartanburgers to come by. Unfortunately for Daniel an error in the seventh inning prolonged the frame long enough for Hub City to notch two more unearned runs, burying this game and settling that he would end up with a loss despite a good line. Leading into this game Riley Frey had been phenomenal out of the bullpen for Rome, posting a 1.42 ERA with one walk to 12 strikeouts and no home runs allowed. Those numbers took a major hit when he allowed four runs to Hub City in this one, pushing his ERA to 3.86 on the season.

Swing and Misses 

Colin Daniel – 8

Riley Frey – 3

(22-18) Augusta GreenJackets 8, (18-22) Columbia Fireflies 1

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, 2B: 2-4, BB, 5 SB, .276/.418/.483
• Alex Lodise, SS: 1-4, BB, RBI, .251/.330/.395
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 1-5, RBI, .313/.357/.520
• Logan Forsythe, SP: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 4.96 ERA
• Aiven Cabral, RP: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 2.06 ERA

This is the game we have been waiting for, the matchup with by far the biggest intrigue out of Tuesday’s slate. Columbia and Augusta played a tight battle throughout that was marked by dominant pitching, until suddenly the GreenJackets broke out and lapped the Fireflies in the late innings. For the second straight week Logan Forsythe was chased from the game early due to poor command and an inflated pitch count, but he managed to escape the first inning with only a single run allowed and that is where the game would stay. Jaylen Paden pitched two scoreless innings of relief before turning the ball over to Aiven Cabral, who came into this outing having earned the win for each of his past five appearances on the season. All Cabral did was put up his best performance to date, carving through the Fireflies offense to the tune of six one-hit innings and eight strikeouts. Unfortunately for Cabral the offense couldn’t come up with anything major, so for the first half of his outing he still tended to a 1-0 deficit. However the bats woke up late, obviously, and Cabral once again was the pitcher of record taking his sixth win in a row. In this span Cabral has pitched all but one game in relief, but paired with the inconsistent Forsythe he has taken on a huge onus and responded. In these six wins he has 32 innings pitches and a 1.97 ERA to go along with 29 strikeouts and only seven walks.

Tate Southisene was the man to help lead the offense, and he took advantage each of the three times he reached base in this game. Southisene had two hits and a walk and everytime he got out there he ran wild, going 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts in the game and scoring two runs. Southisene has been efficient on the basepaths on his way to 32 stolen bases already this season, and in his past eight games he is 12-for-13 on stolen base attempts. With one out in the seventh inning Southisene struck out, but even when he made an out he was able to reach on the wild pitch then advance on a walk and steal third base. This allowed him to tie the game by scoring on a Luis Guanipa ground out, and Alex Lodise followed closely behind on a Juan Mateo single to give Augusta their first lead. In the next inning he got the rally started with a stinging two-out single into center field, then stole second and third base before scoring on a swinging bunt single from Lodise. Finally in the eighth inning Augusta officially broke the game open, with a Dallas Macias home run doing major damage and ballooning the lead to 6-1. Michael Martinez’s first hit as a GreenJacket went for two, scoring a runner on a line drive into the left field corner for the fourth run of the inning. Martinez would then score on an error, capping off the big inning for Augusta.

Swing and Misses

Aiven Cabral – 17

Jaylen Paden – 5

There’s been more than a few songs written about baseball.  I wrote a more expansive piece several years ago, but for this essay, I’ll just concentrate on a few selections.

There are classics like “Take me out to the ballgame” which has been a 7^th inning staple for decades.  Some ballparks have taken to playing “God bless America” while the Red Sox have made “Sweet Caroline” their 8^th inning staple. 

Most players have a walk-up song, and many relievers have a walk-in song.  My favorite was Trevor Hoffman entering a game to “Hells Bells”.   I mean, who doesn’t love ACDC?  I’m thinking about having my kids play this at my funeral.  If they won’t, I’m getting up and walking out.

The mid-1980’s were a fruitful, and cringe worthy, time for baseball songs with John Fogerty’s 1985 hit “Centerfield” and Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 “Glory Days”.  Peter Paul and Mary got into the act in 1986 with their song “Right Field”.   I never cared for that trio of songs, but like anything else, someone, somewhere surely liked them.  An old-timer once said to me, “Kid, there’s an ass for every seat”.   Yes, there is. And there’s a song for every set of ears.

One baseball song I did like was Section 36’s 1980 regional hit, “Go Joe Charboneau” a paean to Cleveland’s irrepressible rookie star.  Everyone liked Joe Charboneau. How could you not like him?  The guy drank beer through his nose.  He did his own dental work and fixed his broken nose with a pair of pliers.  Before the 1980 season, a crazed Mexican fan stabbed him with a pen knife.  The blow was stopped when it hit a rib.  The assailant was arrested and fined 50 peso’s, to which Charboneau replied, “that’s $2.27 for stabbing a person”.  He captivated Cleveland and the baseball world by hitting home runs and doing outrageous things.  He was a runaway winner of the Rookie of The Year.  Then injuries and hard living took hold and by 1983, he was out of baseball.

Those really were the days, back before the internet, cable TV and the 24/7 news cycle.  A time when you had to rely on various sources of information, often outdated, to hear what the latest phenom was doing.  That lack of information allowed players like Fernando Valenzuela, Charboneau and Mark Fidrych to develop reputations that whetted the appetite of baseball fans anxious to get a glimpse of said player.  We relied on daily newspaper box scores, radio sports reports, The Sporting News and 30 second clips on the evening news to catch a glimpse of them.  If we were lucky, you’d see them in the Baseball Game of the Week.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s great today, to be able to watch any game, any time of the day.  It’s great to have advanced stats at your fingertips, updated with each at-bat or pitch.  But it does take away from some of the suspense and the myth building.  We gained something and we’ve lost something.

Another baseball hit during the 1980’s was Terry Cashman’s “Talkin’ baseball”.   Cashman is a prolific writer who had several modest hits prior to Talkin’ Baseball. 

I didn’t care much for the song when it first came out.  One of our local radio stations, probably KSAL, would play it a couple times a day that summer, but I wrote it off as a hokey novelty song.  Plus, it didn’t fit my genre, which arced more towards deafening hard rock.  ACDC, Molly Hatchett, The Outlaws, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen.  You get the idea.

I stumbled back upon “Talkin’ Baseball” a few weeks ago, gave it another listen to, and you know what, it’s not bad.  In fact, it’s a bit of a rhyming masterpiece, how Cashman gets all the names to fit together.  Writing a song is a very special skill, getting the music and lyrics to fit.  I admire those who have the ability to do that.  Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I liked the song this time around. 

The Royals are featured prominently in the song.  George Brett gets a nice line, “and Brett is the greatest”.  Dan Quisenberry gets a mention:

“I’m talkin’ baseball, like Reggie, Quisenberry

 talkin’ baseball

Carew and Gaylord Perry”.

The structure of the song reminds me a bit of Dave Frishberg’s 1969 song, “Van Lingle Mungo”, in which Frishberg recites the names of various ballplayers in a rhyming fashion set to a Bossa Nova beat.  Frishberg was a terrific jazz pianist whose name may ring a bell for some of you who had small children that watched Schoolhouse Rock.  He wrote the children’s classic, “I’m just a bill”.   

I can remember my father, a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, talking about Mungo.  I thought he was pulling my leg with the name.  Van Lingle Mungo?

Mungo was a flamethrowing, albeit wild, righthanded pitcher who won 120 games over a 14-year career that was worth almost 33 WAR.  He was also a colorful character, who often clashed with his teammates, managers and a few disgruntled husbands. 

Mungo and Frishberg appeared together on the Dick Cavett show, where Frishberg sang the song.  Before the taping, Mungo asked Frishberg if there was any money in it for him.  Frishberg replied with this zinger, “No, but you might make some money if you wrote a song called Dave Frishberg”.   Roy Campanella is the only player mentioned in both songs.

Baseball remains a fertile ground for musicians.  What are some of your favorites?

Morning, all!

Mackenzie Gore left Monday’s game against the Rockies with Kat tightness but isn’t expected to miss another start, and Wyatt Langford may start back on a hitting progression by Friday.

Chris Martin has been activated from the IL.

Kumar Rocker has over an 11.00 ERA in the first inning of games this year and the Rangers have decided to do something about it.

The decision to go with an opener Tuesday night against the Rockies paid off, with Kumar Rocker pitching 7.2 innings of shutout out ball on the way to a 10-0 win.

Nobody knows why Rocker has been having so many problems in the first inning, and maybe the opener didn’t change anything about the outcome of the game.

Skip Schumaker also went with a new lineup and saw it put up a season high 10 runs, so maybe the Rangers should try new things more often.

Rangers prospect Malcolm Moore has been lighting the South Atlantic League on fire.

The Tampa Bay Rays have made a flurry of roster moves ahead of Wednesday’s series finale against the Baltimore Orioles.

Prior to Tuesday’s game, Kevin Cash advised reporters that infielder Ben Williamson was dealing with a stiff back. Then following the Rays 4-1 victory over Baltimore, the team acquired infielder Oliver Dunn from the Chicago White Sox for minor league pitcher Joe Rock.

This morning, the Rays officially activated Dunn and placed Williamson on the Injured List with a back strain. The Rays also activated starting pitcher Steven Matz and optioned Chase Solesky to Triple-A Durham.

Dunn is a 28-year old versatile defender that is capable of playing in both the infield and outfield. This season, he has primarily been a third baseman but has spent time at shortstop, left field, and second base. Over 183 plate appearances in Triple-A for the White Sox this season, Dunn was hitting .295/.393/.545 with 9 HR and 9 SB, registerin ga 132 wRC+.

Originally drafted by the New York Yankees in the 11th round of the 2019 draft, Dunn has bounced around the league having already played within the systems of the Yankees, Phillies, Brewers, and White Sox. In 2024 he made his big league debut while with Milwaukee and over parts of two seasons he hit .206/.261/.290 with 1 HR over 145 plate appearances.

Joe Rock’s tenure with the Rays comes to an end during his third season with the team. The Rays originally acquired Rock at the end of spring training in 2024 for former first round draft pick Greg Jones. Rock was primarily a starting pitcher but made his big league debut in 2025 with three relief appearances. Thus far in 2026, Rock has been a full-time reliever, and has seen a vast increase in his strikeout numbers but also a significant spike in walks.

Meanwhile, there has not been update for Yandy Diaz, who was removed from last night’s game after being hit on the fingers by a 93mph splitter.