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.

The good people of New York like to consider themselves tough. If you can make it there, as Frank Sinatra crooned, you’ll make it anywhere.

Do not confuse hot takes with sounding tough. Two New York sports talk hosts this week took daft shots at Joe Davis and came off — in the last adjective with which any true New Yorker would want to be described — as soft.

Let’s rewind: Davis is the lead voice of the Dodgers on SportsNet LA. He is also the lead voice of the national baseball broadcasts on Fox. In the latter role, he called last Saturday’s game between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.

At one point, Mets outfielder Carson Benge dropped an easy fly ball. Without missing a beat, Davis said: “Oh, no! Oh, no, the Mets!”

It was the perfect call. The foibles of the Mets are so many and so weird that Mets fans themselves have embraced a term for them: LOLMets. You can learn all about it in a 23-minute YouTube video narrated by a former Mets pitcher.

Firing one manager (Willie Randolph) at midnight in Anaheim? Dumping another manager (Carlos Beltran) before he could manage a game because he was the only player cited in the commissioner’s report on the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal? Opening this season with baseball’s highest payroll and spending some time with baseball’s worst record?

“This year, and in recent years, there have been so many moments where it looks like the Mets are right there, ready to make a run or win the division or win a championship, and then something just tends to go wrong,” Davis said in San Diego Tuesday.

“They were in a stretch right there where every single day, they were getting a stud hurt. They put together a winning streak against the Tigers, then Clay Holmes has the comebacker break his ankle.”

The next day, Benge totally clanked it, and Davis totally nailed it — in the moment, not with some scripted phrase waiting in his pocket.

“You hope that your reactions in those moments — in any moment in this job — are authentic,” Davis said. “You don’t have much time for it to be anything else.”

On Monday, Evan Roberts — a host on WFAN, New York’s top-rated sports station — unloaded on Davis for “mocking” the Mets.

Read more:Shaikin: Pitching injuries are piling up again for Dodgers. Can the starting rotation hold up?

“Joe Davis has become a clown for the Los Angeles Dodgers and we all hear it,” Roberts said, in remarks posted by the Awful Announcing website.

Got anything else?

“I think he’s a Dodger fanboy,” Roberts said. “I think he wants to just make love to Shohei Ohtani every time he talks about him … He’s a great broadcaster, and I’ll admit it. But, for now, I think Joe Davis is a Dodgers shill and it’s obnoxious.

“And I’d give him this advice, not that he cares, he doesn’t care: Don’t go to the Dodger parade and be the emcee. It’s a bad look. It just is. You’re sitting there as the national voice and now you’re pom-pom waving at the Dodger parade. Come on, man.”

Davis works for the Dodgers. When the boss wants you to emcee the World Series championship rally, you do. Would the Mets’ broadcasters do the same? When the Mets win their first World Series championship since 1986, we’ll find out.

Let’s hear from Sal Licata, formerly at WFAN and now working independently: “What’s up with Joe Davis, by the way? You Dodger homer. ‘Oh no, the Mets,’ that’s a national unbiased broadcast? You biased Dodger blue fool.”

Read more:Shaikin: Justin Turner is playing for the Tijuana Toros. Why he 'wouldn't trade it for anything'

There always will be people who claim Davis is biased toward the Dodgers, just as people claimed his predecessor, Joe Buck, was biased toward the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck worked for Fox on weekends and called Cardinals games during the week.

And, for the people who see only what they want to see, Davis is the voice of baseball’s evil empire. Maybe that aggravates New Yorkers, but consider how aggravated we are that we have to fight through hellish traffic to get to Dodger Stadium or a television set by 5 p.m. so we can see our team play in the World Series because the East Coast needs to see the game in prime time.

Or how annoyed we are that we get televised Yankees-Red Sox games shoved down our throats when Red Sox management has opted for irrelevance and the best rivalry in baseball is here, between the Dodgers and Padres.

Better yet, how about we all chill? It’s just a game. We could break bread with New York’s famous bagels, except the New York Times told us we have the better bagels.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Alex Freeland and Cole Irvin headlined a win for the Comets, as only the Loons ended up on the losing side of a full slate of games in the Dodgers minor league system on Tuesday.

Player of the day

For only the second time this season and the first one in front of his home crowd in Oklahoma City, left-handed starter Cole Irvin had a scoreless start. The veteran starter was able to hold the Aces silent through six innings, allowing but just one extra-base hit and no free passes.

After starting the year with a 1-3 record, Irvin has managed to secure the W in three of his last four starts, with the six strikeouts he secured against the Aces representing a season high.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

One rally that started with the bottom of the order had the Comets scoring half a dozen runs on their way to beating the Aces 6-3 at home, also in large part thanks to a standout performance from Cole Irvin. The veteran left-hander was rewarded for delivering six innings by seeing his offense break through in time to earn him the victory.

Ever since he was sent down to make room for Mookie Betts’ return to the big league club, Alex Freeland has played with a point to prove in Triple-A. In this home win, the Comets’ leadoff bat recorded his fifth straight multi-hit performance in the minors, reaching base safely in three of his four plate appearances.

Continuing to work his way back, Kiké Hernández had one hit in four at-bats, responsible for two of the five strikeouts from Comets hitters.

Double-A Tulsa

Despite trailing big early on, as starter Patrick Copen couldn’t find his footing, the Drillers overcame a 3-0 deficit thanks to an outstanding effort from Josue De Paula. At just twenty years of age, De Paula is delivering quite a campaign in the minors’ second-highest level—a key piece of this Drillers team that’s now 23-17 after a 7-5 victory.

For the sixth time in his last seven games, De Paula netted at least one RBI, this time tallying four thanks to a double and a home run, his sixth of the year.

That top of the order with De Paula and Kendall George continues to be a problem for Double-A pitchers, both hitting and on the base paths—each of them stole a bag and combined have now 31 stolen bases in 2026, 20 for George and 11 for De Paula.

High-A Great Lakes

When you get out-homered by your opponent four to zero, a loss is virtually guaranteed. All things considered, the Loons did a decent enough job of making this a competitive game late with a four-run rally in the eighth, as they ultimately fell by a score of 6-4.

Reaching base three times with a double and a pair of walks, also stealing two bases successfully, Eduardo Quintero was the Loons’ standout performer offensively. Quintero was one of the few hitters shining for a team that suffered early on against opposing starter Wande Torres, responsible for six shutout innings.

Single-A Ontario

The Tower Buzzers put on a very peculiar display, blowing out the 66ers 12-4 and doing so with an absurd 17 strikeouts from its lineup—that included a golden sombrero for third baseman and cleanup hitter Chase Harlan, who certainly represented his first name well in this performance.

It should be noted that two-thirds of those 12 runs came in the ninth inning, with the Tower Buzzers padding a lead. Easton Shelton, who had already homered in the sixth, finished his game with four RBI, the most he has had this season.

Interestingly, with starter Cam Leiter completing just 2.1 innings, each of the six Tower Buzzers pitchers who took the mound for this one struck out exactly two hitters.

Transactions

The biggest moves were Mike Sirota’s call-up to Double-A and right-handed pitcher Wyatt Mills getting sent down to Triple-A, with plenty of shuffling between all minor league affiliates for the Dodgers this Tuesday.

Tuesday’s scores

• Oklahoma City 6, Reno 3
• Wichita 5, Tulsa 7
• Great Lakes 4, Wisconsin 6
• Inland Empire 4, Ontario 12

Wednesday’s schedule

• 3:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Zach Root) vs. Wisconsin (Braylon Owens)
• 4:35 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Christian Romero) vs. Reno (Tommy Henry)
• 4:35 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Wyatt Crowell) at Wichita (Ty Langenberg)
• 5:00 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at Inland Empire (Aiden Butler)
• game 2: Ontario (TBD) at Inland Empire (Scott House)

Mason Miller walked Max Muncy on a borderline pitch that was initially called a strike, but was challenged by Muncy and overturned, resulting in ball four. Muncy was replaced by pinch runner Alex Call and that proved to be a game-winning decision by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Miller faced Andy Pages with one out and Call at first base. The pinch runner left the base early attempting to steal second and should have been thrown out. Instead, Miller threw the ball to first base, and it tipped off the glove of San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France and rolled into foul territory up the right field line. By the time the ball got back to the infield Call was standing on third base. Pages won a nine-pitch at-bat against Miller and hit a fly ball into right field which allowed Call to tag up and score on the play to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. Miller was replaced by Ron Marinaccio and he struck out the following batter to end the inning.

San Diego needed a base runner and some of their late-inning magic if the Padres were going to avoid the loss. It was not to be as France struck out on a check swing and Freddy Fermin grounded out to shortstop for the first two outs of the ninth. Fernando Tatis Jr. stepped in looking to extend the game and the Friar Faithful were hoping he would launch his first home run of the season and tie the game, but Tatis grounded out to third base to end the game and the Padres suffered a 5-4 loss at Petco Park.

Griffin Canning started on the mound for San Diego and allowed a two-run home run in the top of the first inning to Freddy Freeman. The Padres were in a hole when they came to the plate in the bottom half of the inning and Manny Machado tied the game with his own two-run home run. The game remained tied until the bottom of the third inning when Miguel Andujar hit a two-run home run to make the score 4-2. The Dodgers were able to get a run in the fifth and tied the game in the sixth inning when Freeman hit his second home run of the game to make the score, 4-4. That set the stage for the top of the ninth.

San Diego will try to win the series against Los Angeles today at 5:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Fernando Tatis Jr. is not the first Padres slugger to struggle. He added that fans should not expect it to continue.

• Rodolfo Duran waited a long time to get his shot at the MLB level and he does not appear to be willing to give it up any time soon.

• The big three of Tatis Jr., Machado and Jackson Merrill are still looking for offensive consistency, but the rest of the lineup is picking them up and that has resulted in a winning record.

Baseball News:

• The New York Yankees were on the losing end of two challenges – at least that is how the umpires ruled it – and that was enough to send Yankees manager Aaron Boone over the top in their 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

• Ivan Herrera hit a 10th inning home run to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a walk-off win.

• Washington Nationals slugger James Wood hit his first career grand slam, and it never cleared the wall.

• Jacob Misiorowski dominated the Chicago Cubs and helped the Milwaukee Brewers take over as the leader in the NL Central.

• Yandy Diaz helped the Tampa Bay Rays get their 20th win in their last 24 games.

• Jackson Holliday returned to the Baltimore Orioles roster on Tuesday and may be making a position change.

• Martin Perez recorded 10 strikeouts and helped the Padres eat the Dodgers.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

It's another busy day across the majors, which means lots of value in my MLB player props.

I'm keying in on big days from Corbin Carroll, Chris Sale, and Cam Schlittler. 

Read more for my MLB picks for Wednesday, May 20. 

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Corbin Carroll	Over 1.5 total bases	+124
Chris Sale	Under 1.5 earned runs	+100
Cam Schlittler	Over 5.5 strikeouts	-147

Corbin Carroll Over 1.5 total bases (+124)

Corbin Carroll is having another impressive season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. While the power numbers aren't huge, the outfielder is still batting .285, and he's raking lately. Carroll is hitting .429 over the last week with two doubles, two triples, and two home runs. Six of his nine hits during that span have been for extra bases. 

Carroll has cashed the Over in total bases in six straight contests heading into the finale against the San Francisco Giants this afternoon. Although he's never faced Tyler Mahle, the righty has an ERA north of eight on the road, and owns chase and whiff rates in the 26th percentile or worse. 

• Time: 3:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: DBACKS.TV, NBCS Bay Area

Chris Sale Under 1.5 earned runs (+100)

Chris Sale looks primed to be in the NL Cy Young conversation again. The Atlanta Braves ace is dominating, compiling a 6-3 record and 1.96 ERA through nine starts.

Opponents are hitting only .183 against the left-hander. Sale has allowed Under 1.5 earned runs in five of his last six appearances, and he tossed six scoreless frames last time out against a solid Cubs team. 

Sale will face the Miami Marlins tonight, who are around the middle of the pack offensively. He's truly looked unhittable this season, and all signs point to Sale tossing another gem as he continues to strengthen his Cy Young odds case.

• Time: 5:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Braves.Vision, Marlins.TV

Cam Schlittler Over 5.5 strikeouts (-147)

Shifting over to another Cy Young candidate in the American League, as Cam Schlittler takes the mound tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays. The New York Yankees righty is one of the breakout stars of the 2026 season, leading the Majors with a mind-boggling 1.35 ERA. He's also sixth in strikeouts with 68 in just 60 innings of work. 

Schlittler has hit the Over in Ks in three of his last four, and he just registered nine punchouts in his most recent appearance against the struggling Mets.

Toronto doesn't typically strike out a lot, but they've been worse lately, averaging 8.33 Ks across their last three games. Schlittler also has all the confidence in the world right now, and ranks among baseball's elite in chase, whiff, and strikeout rates. 

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Sportsnet, YES

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

It has been a long time coming, but it finally feels like the Washington Nationals have an identity as a team. They are a young and hungry group that can mash and play the game hard. This is also one of those teams that is never out of a game, no matter the deficit.

In the past week, the Nats have erased two 5-0 deficits and have come back to win both games. That never say die attitude has become a staple for this team. Sure, the pitching can be rough at times and they can make some frustrating mistakes in the field, but they can always make up for it with the bat. They are also a hard charging and aggressive team on the bases.

If an opponent is not on their A game, the Nats can make team’s lives miserable. We saw that last night against the Mets. The Nats aggression and tenacity caused the Mets to make multiple mistakes in the field. Nats base runners and hitters were putting pressure on the Mets defense, and eventually they cracked. On another night, the Nats aggression could have bit them and been seen as reckless, but that is just who they are as a team.

After the stench of last season, it is fun to have an identity again. There were times in 2023 and 2024 where it felt like the Nats were beginning to build an identity, but it never stuck. I have faith that this identity can stick. The Nats have a whole new staff and braintrust now. Also, those other teams were never leading baseball in runs scored.

It is wild that we are sitting here on May 20th and the Washington Nationals are leading baseball in runs, and it is not even close. The Nats have scored 271 runs, and the next closest team only has 258. These Nats are scoring over 5.5 runs per game, which is absolutely bonkers.

I remember worrying about the Nats offense when they hit .194 in Spring Training. Little did I know that there was absolutely nothing to worry about with this offense. The duo of James Wood and CJ Abrams has been one of the best in the league and the two youngsters have been the engines of this elite offense.

Speaking of Wood, he had a monster night at the plate. Of course, his signature moment was when he hit an inside the park grand slam in the second inning. That was the moment where the game turned. The game went from a comfortable 5-0 lead for the Mets to a 5-4 ball game. It felt like the Mets clenched up after the Nats immediately erased their big lead. This was Wood’s first grand slam, and he made it an exciting one.

Wood tends to be a pretty even keeled guy, but he was all smiles after that. You could tell when talking to him at his locker that he was in a great mood. He was smiling ear to ear talking about his inside the park grand slam. Wood does not show emotion too much, so it is very exciting when he does come out of his shell like he did last night.

While Wood is not the most emotional guy, part of the Nats identity is based on emotion. You saw it when Richard Lovelady closed out the game. Another time you saw it was when Daylen Lile hit a go ahead homer in Cincinnati last week. This team is young, hungry and having a great time right now. Last season, especially in the second half, this was not a team having a lot of fun. They were beat down after a long season, but they have been rejuvenated by this new staff.

Another part of the Nats offensive identity is their power hitting. They are in the top 10 in home runs after ranking towards the bottom of the league the last few years. Obviously, Wood and Abrams are leading the way there, but it is not just them. Jacob Young is showing power we have not seen from him before. Curtis Mead and Keibert Ruiz are also showing increased pop. Jose Tena is another guy who has been hitting lasers, and we saw that tonight when he went deep.

Despite having that home run power, this is not a home run reliant offense either. This team has mastered the art of the double this season. They have 98 doubles this season, which is the most in all of baseball. Under new hitting coach Matt Borgschulte, Nats hitters have loved shooting gaps and driving guys in via the double.

Obviously, they lost due to a 12th inning implosion the other night, but that was a great example of the Nats double heavy offense. They were able to score plenty of runs without homering. This was able to happen because the Nats hit six doubles, all from different players. James Wood, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and Keibert Ruiz all have at least 10 doubles on the season.

For a young, fast team, it is fitting that doubles are a part of their identity. The Nats play such an exciting brand of baseball. Obviously it is not a perfect brand of baseball, and as this team matures, they need to clean some things up. However, as a Nats fan, all I could ask for this year is a team that is fun to watch. That is what we have been given in Blake Butera’s first year as manager. They are not a great, or even good team yet, but the Washington Nationals are an exciting team to watch and have a clear identity.