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Alex and Maddie sit down and discuss Alex Cora and the five members of his coaching staff's abrupt firing. They dissect Craig Breslow and Sam Kennedy’s Sunday morning press conference and review comments from Trevor Story, Garrett Whitlock, Wilyer Abreu, and Carlos Narváez. They give a brief intro to newcomer Chad Tracy, noting how he’s worked with most of the team’s current roster. Towards the end, they share their thoughts on how they’d like the remaining 134 games to pan out. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox View the full article

Fair or not, the 2026 version of the Chicago Cubs came preloaded with comparisons to the revered 2016 World Series championship club, as the 10th anniversary of their historic accomplishment arrived. The frustrations of the opening weeks of this season made any real comparison between the two versions of the team feel a bit blasphemous. If that felt like an overreaction, though, you were right, as the club has started to look more like the division-winning, postseason-destined outfit they hoped to be. This past week, in myriad ways, they rewarded those who were holding out hope. The Chicago Cubs kicked off the week at 1060 W. Addison, welcoming the Phillies to town for a four-game set. Just a week before that, Craig Counsell's squad took two out of three from this same powerful, yet underachieving, Philadelphia ball club. Crafty depth starter Colin Rea toed the rubber for the North Siders, squaring off with Aaron Nola. Rea's steady hand has helped right the ship for a battered pitching staff that continues to navigate its way through numerous injuries. The Cubs' right-handed starter dazzled through 6 2/3 innings of one-run baseball. The home team used a four-run second inning, highlighted by a three-run bomb from Dansby Swanson, to give them all they needed in a 5-1 victory. Over the course of their 10-game win streak, the Cubs clocked a team ERA of 2.65, and that was in no small part due to the determined, resurgent Shota Imanaga. He was sensational in Game 2 of the Phillies series, surrendering just three hits over seven sparkling innings. Meanwhile, the offense stayed in rhythm, getting key contributions from Nico Hoerner, Seiya Suzuki, and Michael Busch, the latter of whom is ramping up his efficiency at the plate after surviving a harrowing start to the season. His club locked down a 7-4 win and nothing worse than a split in the series. Fresh off the injured list, Matthew Boyd got the nod in Game 3, with their sights set on a third straight series win. While not his sharpest stuff, Boyd got his sea legs back under him, delivering 4 2/3 innings and striking out five. The bullpen slammed the door on this typically imposing lineup. Ben Brown's poise and confidence continued to grow with a solid, scoreless 2 1/3-inning appearance. Chicago maintained its offensive consistency, scoring in four of the first five innings. A three-hit day from third baseman Alex Bregman cemented his arrival as one of the lineup's most trusted sources of production. Securing their second consecutive series sweep, the Cubs got away with a wild extra-innings victory on getaway day. Edward Cabrera, the squad's exciting, hard-throwing new starting pitcher, grinded through seven innings, earning his 500th career strikeout despite a rather pedestrian six-hit performance. While the offense was certainly instrumental in delivering a ninth straight win for the ball club, it was an awe-inspiring outing from the bullpen late in the game that really set the stage for the club's dramatic win. Dansby Swanson tallied his first walk-off hit in a Cubs uniform. With the bases loaded and only one out, Swanson drilled one to right-center. Not only did the "8-7 in 10" triumph evoke even more fond 2016 memories, but it delighted fans who got to witness Clark the Cub brandishing a broom atop the iconic centerfield scoreboard. With the squad landing in Los Angeles, the chatter of a potential Cubs-Dodgers NLCS later this year grew to deafening levels. The Dodgers, despite currently sitting behind the North Siders' next opponent, the San Diego Padres, are the league's gold standard. If success against Dave Roberts's ball club is the litmus test for finding out where your club stands, then the Cubs passed with flying colors in the opener of this three-game set. Under the lights in a highly-anticipated, nationally-televised contest, they showed their talent, but also their resiliency. Using all 27 outs to their advantage, late-game heroics from Bregman and the blisteringly hot Swanson delivered the 6-4 comeback victory. Stretching the win streak to 10 proved that this team can play with the best in baseball. The Dodgers' 12-4 drubbing of the Cubs the next day proved that all good things truly must come to an end. Yet, after the locked-in Suzuki pumped a solo shot over the fence in left-center, it felt for a moment like Chicago might be immune to that saying. The home side's prolific offense, led by the generational Shohei Ohtani, was bound to get going at some point, and unfortunately, it was at the expense of extending the Cubs' streak. Explosive production from Los Angeles in the fourth and sixth innings put them in the driver's seat, and they cruised to victory on an uncharacteristically poor night for Rea and Javier Assad. Opposite a team like the Dodgers, it's tough to say that the North Siders squandered their chance at a series win, but in stranding 12 base runners on Sunday afternoon, it certainly felt like it. In his second start of the week, Imanaga lacked the luster of his previous outing, issuing three walks over 5 1/3 innings. The North Siders' 0-for-8 performance at the plate with RISP sealed the club's fate, as LA's bats stayed hot. One silver lining to take away from the contest was that the squad's battered bullpen made it back to the visitors' locker room unscathed, as it prepares to make its way down the highway to San Diego. For this Chicago Cubs ball club, the prevailing sentiment for the road ahead should be cautious optimism. While injuries have ravaged Craig Counsell's bullpen, reinforcements are on the way: Phil Maton and Daniel Palencia could get back from the IL soon. Next week, the North Siders are slated for a three-game tilt with the Padres, before returning home for their series with Corbin Carroll's Arizona Diamondbacks. The ultimate goal is still far off on the horizon, but the path to get there is starting to look smoother. View the full article

It was not a pretty week for the Brewers, facing some tough pitchers with a battered lineup. How much can we make of their tawdry results? Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View the full article

Somehow, the San Diego Padres are 18-9 and tied for first in the NL West. The reason I say somehow is that their team wRC+ of 95 ranks 23rd out of 30 teams. At the end of the season, no one cares how many games you deserved to win, but usually, you want to earn your wins. While the Padres have done well to overcome a sluggish start at the plate, they’ll no doubt want to turn it around. And of all their surprising underperformances, of which there have been many, Manny Machado’s is the most perplexing. Machado hasn’t just fallen off at the plate; he has completely changed as a hitter, which is an odd thing for a 33-year-old coming off a top-50 wRC+ who has three Silver Sluggers and four top-five MVP finishes to do. The season is still in small sample theater, but the wholesale changes Machado has made are too large to ignore. Before 2026, Machado’s operation at the plate was quite simple. He swung hard, he swung often, and he did damage on contact. Functionally, he went up to the plate looking to get beyond first base, not on it. In fact, the correlation between Machado’s isolated power relative to the league average (ISO) and wRC+ is 0.92 for his career. Obviously, power is a big factor in hitting performance, so a strong correlation is to be expected, but Machado built a Hall of Fame career by putting a charge in the ball. The downside to Machado’s approach was that he never walked much, which made him a bit more susceptible to fluctuations in his batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Now, it wasn’t like Machado’s walk and strikeout figures were awful. He was routinely at or bettered the league average walk rate, and has always struck out less than the league average, but they were never his carrying trait at the plate… until now. It’s still very early, but Machado is walking at an incredible clip to start the season. His 15.5% BB% is almost double his career figure of 8.2% and ranks 19th in the league. The spike in walks isn’t a fluke either. He is currently sporting a 22.9% out-of-zone swing rate and a 66.8% in-zone swing rate. For a player whose career figures in those categories are 29.1% and 66.9%, respectively, Machado’s newfound patience suggests an overhaul in approach. In a vacuum, swinging at fewer balls is almost always a good thing. Walks are good. As are favorable counts. And it’s much easier to drive a strike past an outfielder than a pitch a few inches off the plate. However, baseball is not played in a vacuum, and what is usually a good development may be robbing Machado of what made him a special hitter in the first place. Despite Machado’s newfound discerning eye, he has functionally become a slap hitter. He really boosted his stock with a two-homer day on Sunday, but prior to that, his ISO stood at a career-low of .093, which was the 30th-lowest figure among qualified hitters this season. The culprit for Machado’s power outage is almost certainly varied, but he has earned these career-worst figures. His hard hit percentage is a career low 38.8%, as is his average 9.1 degree launch angle. For a player who has routinely been one of the best high-volume sluggers, this about-face is alarming. One of the first places to look is at swing speed data, and lo and behold, Machado is posting a career low figure. His 73.1 MPH average bat speed is his lowest recorded figure, which continues a consistent downward trend from 2023, the first season we have data. However, while a slightly slower bat is part of the picture, it doesn’t explain the totality of the power outage. Machado’s average bat speed might be down, but it is still well above the MLB average of 71.9 MPH. The problem is that average bat speed isn’t nearly as important as your fast swing rate. A fast swing is a swing that hits or exceeds 75 MPH, and it’s here where Machado has nose dived. In 2023, he had a 66.3% fast swing rate, in 2024 it dropped to 52.6%, then in 2025 it dropped further to 43%, and now in 2026, it’s sitting at 26.5%. While that downward trend is concerning, the league average is still 23.7%. Needless to say, shaving 20% off your fast swing rate isn’t going to do anything positive for your power production, and it comes with another concerning trend. Along with diminished bat speed, Machado’s bat angle has become less advantageous. His attack angle is at a career low of 4 degrees, and his attack direction is now at 4 degrees to the opposite field. The problem is that Machado already had a slightly flatter and less pull-oriented bat path. In 2025, his attack angle was 8 degrees, his attack direction was 0 degrees, and his swing tilt was 26 degrees, against league averages of 10 degrees, 2 degrees to the pull side, and 32 degrees of tilt. So, now, Machado is swinging slower and gearing his contact for less lift, which means way less power. Based on the preponderance of evidence, it appears that Machado’s decision to rein in chase has inadvertently reined in his power stroke. Baseball is played on razor-thin margins, and in the millisecond where your brain decides to swing is delayed even a fraction, it can prevent you from getting your bat to the ball in the most advantageous spot. The benefit might be better counts and more walks, but at the end of the day, the best hitters put a charge in the ball. If Machado wants to recapture his prior form, all he needs to do is get back to his prior approach. He has been one of the best players in baseball for a decade because he went to the plate looking to slug. Hitting is about controlled aggression, and Machado is leaning far too far into the control side of the equation. Simply put, he needs to go up there ready to swing, and if it means he chases a slider off the plate, well, that’s just the cost of being Manny Machado, future Hall of Famer. View the full article

Twins System Recap: Fort Myers recorded the sixth no-hitter in team history Sunday. It was a combined effort from pitchers Merit Jones, Matthew Becker, Eric Hammond, and Jake Murray. Becker was making his pro debut. Nice first impression. Here's some info from that performance and more in tonight's System Recap. View the full article

The future refuses to go dim for the Brewers. While the big-league club navigates the injuries and grind of the 2026 season, a wave of top prospects in the Milwaukee farm system is forcing its way into the conversation with scorching starts across the minors. This next core isn’t just developing; it’s producing. And if these early returns are any indication, the Brewers may not have to wait long for their next impact contributors to arrive at American Family Field. Let’s look at Brewer Fanatic’s top 20 prospect list and dive into who’s performing well. No. 1 – Jesus Made (MLB.com No. 3) Made is proving once again why he's one of the top prospects in the sport. He reached Double-A Biloxi last year and played in only five games, slashing .261/.292/.348 in 24 plate appearances. He has fully arrived for the Shuckers now, though, slashing .295/.398/.489 in 103 plate appearances with the club so far in 2026. Made has showcased his speed as well, stealing 11 bases while being caught once. He's walked more times (15) than he's struck out (14). There isn’t a ton to say here; Made is an exciting prospect who is performing exceptionally well for a 19-year-old in Double-A. He's a big factor in the Brewers' future, and fans should be excited about what Made can bring to the big-league club within the next few years—especially given the shortstop situation in Milwaukee right now. No. 2 – Luis Peña (MLB.com No. 21) It wouldn’t be that crazy to (essentially) copy and paste the paragraph about Made here, as Peña is slashing .372/.462/.512 in 52 plate appearances so far with the Timber Rattlers. He's stolen 6 bases while getting caught twice, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is good, as well (10:8). A notable change for Peña is his swing rate. He is swinging the least he has in his professional career, only 44.4% of the time, down almost 5.0 percentage points from last year. This is likely correlated with his walk rate, and if he is more patient at the plate, his overall offensive outlook will improve in the long term. If that discipline holds, Peña’s blend of contact, speed, and on-base ability could quickly turn him from a top prospect into a household name. No. 6 – Logan Henderson (MLB.com No. 99) Henderson performed well for the Brewers last year in 5 starts, pitching to a 1.78 ERA (3.02 FIP) in 25 1/3 innings, striking out 33 batters. He didn’t fare as well in his lone appearance with the Brewers this year, surrendering two earned runs in two innings against the Royals, but Henderson has pitched extremely well in Nashville to start the year. The 24-year-old has thrown 17 2/3 innings so far with a 1.02 ERA. His whiff rate is in the 78th percentile, and his zone contact percentage is in the 98th percentile, demonstrating his pitches can get the batter to swing and miss even if they are in the zone. Look for Henderson, if he limits the walks, to be up with the Brewers again soon. No. 8 – Andrew Fischer (MLB.com No. 89) Fischer was one of many Brewers who participated in the WBC this year, and the Team Italy third baseman slashed .357/.438/.714 in 16 plate appearances there. Transferring that production into the minor-league season has been an easy task for Fischer, who is raking with the Timber Rattlers. Fischer is slashing .258/.358/.515 with 4 home runs already this season, and a main issue to watch would be strikeouts. He struck out around 25% of the time in a limited 2025 sample and has fanned 30 times in 81 plate appearances this year. As he climbs the ladder, he'll have to show a better feel for consistent contact. If Fischer continues to make developments at the plate, as well as improving his range at third base, he could move through the system quickly. The power will always be his calling card, though, so if the strikeouts go along with that, it’ll be interesting to see how the Brewers feel about that approach at the plate. No. 10 – Marco Dinges A former fourth-round pick in 2024 out of Florida State, Marco Dinges hit well in his first sustained minor-league action in 2025. Now, Dinges is once again mashing, hitting .340/.492/.660 with 4 homers in 65 plate appearances. Dinges has a great strikeout-to-walk ratio (14 to 13), to boot. He'll look to continue producing, as either he or Jefferson Quero pushes to be the future of the position if William Contreras doesn’t sign a long-term deal. Another couple of weeks like this could compel the Brewers to promote Dinges to Biloxi. No. 11 – Luis Lara I wrote about Lara’s hot start last week, and he has kept it up. He's now hitting .347/.439/.561, with 5 home runs, 12 stolen bases, 15 walks and 15 strikeouts. From a power perspective, expect Lara to regress, but that's not his game, anyway. Good bat-to-ball skills, a disciplined approach, great speed and defense—these are his strengths. While the offensive numbers may decline as the season progresses, remember that Lara isn’t built to be a big contributor offensively. He's always been a glove-first prospect, and with his current approach at the plate, the 21-year-old should be a productive Brewer when the time comes. No. 12 - Josh Adamczewski Adamczewski was a 15th-round pick in 2023, and without a defined defensive position, the bat needs to be valuable for Adamczewski to carve out a big-league job. Thankfully, it has been superb so far. Adamczewski struggled in a limited sample at High-A in 2025, but he's dominating the Midwest League in 2026, slashing .362/.516/.723, with as many homers as he had all last season combined. Adamczewski will look to continue growing into a defensive position, which will probably be left field, and as he cuts his groundball rate (down 5 percentage points from ’24 to ’25, down another 5 from ’25 to ’26), he should merit a promotion soon. No. 14 – Blake Burke Burke was one of the Brewers’ first-round picks in 2024, and the former Tennessee Volunteer hit well in 2025 while splitting time between High-A and Double-A. Burke is off to a scorching-hot start from a slugging perspective, hitting 7 homers in 100 plate appearances so far. He's batting .256/.360/.605. He has 22 hits on the year, 15 of which have gone for extra bases. Burke has also swiped 9 bases while being caught once. His power surge from the end of 2025 has most definitely continued, so the next question is: How far can it go? His bat is passing the Double-A test with flying colors; he should get a bump to Nashville fairly soon. No. 17 – Braylon Payne Another first-rounder from 2024, Payne boasts excellent speed, with 41 stolen bases through 96 career games in the minors. Last year was a tough introduction to the rigors of a full professional season, as Payne hit .240/.354/.382 with 8 homers in 342 plate appearances. Payne has appeared to turn over a new leaf in 2026 with the Timber Rattlers, totaling 6 homeruns in only 61 plate appearances while slashing .367/.492/.796. He won't turn 20 until August, and the Brewers will probably be happy to let him spend the whole season in Appleton, but yes, if he keeps hitting quite this ferociously, he might need to be promoted, too, to find a truer test of his talent. It’s still early, and the minor-league season has a way of humbling even the hottest starts, but the underlying theme here is hard to ignore: this wave of talent looks both deep and dynamic. From polished approaches at the plate to emerging power combined with speed, the Brewers’ system is showing signs of producing impact players in bunches. If even a handful of these prospects sustain their growth, the Brewers will be able to keep up their cost-efficient ways by calling up the next Brewers of the future as capable contributors early in their careers. View the full article

Owen and Jesse are back to break down a second straight series win for the Toronto Blue Jays, this time over the Cleveland Guardians. They get the bad news out of the way early, and break down Max Scherzer’s recent struggles and his 2.1 inning, seven-run performance against the Guardians before praising Kevin Gausman and Patrick Corbin. The guys then get to the offensive side of the ball and have compliments for Kazuma Okamoto, Jesús Sánchez, Ernie Clement, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The guys finish by talking about the new “bullpen by committee” and previewing the upcoming series against the Boston Red Sox. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jays-centre-podcast/id1846108462 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bi7SzfpcqMo5xYWnbCeoL Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-jays-centre-podcast-300304824/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2qk9wqxd Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayscentre View the full article

Toledo walked off Omaha 2-1 in the eighth, while Northwest Arkansas split a doubleheader with Wichita on Rudy Martin Jr.'s walk-off homer in Game 1. Tyriq Kemp went 3-for-3 with a triple, a home run, and four runs scored as Quad Cities outslugged Lansing 9-5. Columbia split with Augusta behind Stone Russell's three-hit, one-homer Game 1 effort. Henry Williams allowed one earned run over five innings, and Max Martin tossed two scoreless innings. Royals Transactions No Roster Moves Storm Chasers Drop Pitcher's Duel In Toledo Omaha was held to five hits in a 2-1 loss to the Toledo Mud Hens, with the deciding run coming home on a triple in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Storm Chasers managed only one run in the game and were held scoreless after the second. Omaha's offense came in the second inning. Abraham Toro reached on a single, then scored when Josh Rojas tripled to right field. Rojas finished 1-for-3 with the triple and the lone RBI. Drew Waters added a single and a walk, Luca Tresh contributed a hit and a walk, and Toro and Elih Marrero each chipped in a hit. The team struck out 12 times and stranded five runners. Starter Luinder Avila worked a clean opening inning, walking one without allowing a hit. Ben Sears followed with two scoreless innings of one-hit relief, walking one and striking out one. Shane Panzini was tagged with the run that tied the game in the fifth, allowing one earned run on a hit and two walks across 1 2/3 innings while striking out one. Andrew Pérez turned in 1 1/3 scoreless innings with a strikeout. Chazz Martinez took the loss after 1 1/3 innings in which he allowed one earned run on a hit and a walk while striking out two, with the walk-off triple coming off him in the eighth. Eric Cerantola finished by getting two outs, walking one and striking out one. Player AB R H RBI BB K John Rave 4 0 0 0 0 2 Kevin Newman 4 0 0 0 0 3 Drew Waters 3 0 1 0 1 1 Kameron Misner 4 0 0 0 0 2 Luca Tresh 3 0 1 0 1 0 Abraham Toro 4 1 1 0 0 2 Josh Rojas 3 0 1 1 0 0 Gavin Cross 3 0 0 0 0 1 Elih Marrero 3 0 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Luinder Avila 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Ben Sears 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 Shane Panzini 1 2/3 1 1 1 2 1 0 Andrew Pérez 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 Chazz Martinez 1 1/3 1 1 1 1 2 0 Eric Cerantola 2/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 Martin Walk-Off Homer Caps Naturals' Game 1 Comeback Northwest Arkansas trailed 5-1 entering the bottom of the fifth and rallied for a walk-off, 6-5 win over the Wichita Wind Surge in Game 1 of the doubleheader. Leadoff hitter Rudy Martin Jr. opened the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run to right-center to end it. The Naturals broke through in the third when Dustin Dickerson doubled, advanced to third on a Canyon Brown single, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Justin Johnson. They added two more in the fifth on a sequence that featured a Jorge Alfaro double, a Dickerson double, and a Brown single, with leadoff hitter Carson Roccaforte's sacrifice fly bringing Dickerson home and another run also crossing the plate. Alfaro then tied the game in the sixth with a two-run home run that scored Sam Kulasingam from first. Alfaro finished 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, and two RBI. Dickerson went 2-for-2 with two doubles, two runs scored, and a walk. Brown added two hits, Roccaforte was 1-for-3 with a double and a sacrifice-fly RBI, and Martin Jr.'s walk-off shot capped his 1-for-4 day. Hunter Patteson started but lasted only 3 1/3 innings, surrendering four earned runs on three hits and two walks while giving up two home runs and striking out one. Caden Monke worked 1 2/3 innings of hitless relief, charged with one unearned run on two walks while striking out three. Chase Jessee added 1 2/3 scoreless innings with a strikeout, and Tommy Molsky retired one batter to earn the win. Player AB R H RBI BB K Carson Roccaforte 3 0 1 1 0 1 Rudy Martin Jr. 4 1 1 1 0 1 Sam Kulasingam 1 1 0 0 2 0 Brett Squires 3 0 0 0 0 1 Daniel Vazquez 3 0 0 0 0 1 Jorge Alfaro 3 2 2 2 0 0 Dustin Dickerson 2 2 2 0 1 0 Canyon Brown 3 0 2 0 0 0 Justin Johnson 2 0 0 1 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Hunter Patteson 3 1/3 3 4 4 2 1 2 Caden Monke 1 2/3 0 1 0 2 3 0 Chase Jessee 1 2/3 0 0 0 2 1 0 Tommy Molsky 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 Late Homer Sinks Naturals In Game 2 Northwest Arkansas dropped Game 2 of the doubleheader, 3-2, after a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning broke a 2-1 tie. The Naturals managed only five hits and were held scoreless from the third inning on. Wichita took an early lead with a solo home run in the top of the first. The Naturals answered in the bottom of the second when Dustin Dickerson doubled, and Connor Scott followed with a two-run home run to right-center. That 2-1 edge held until the seventh, when the Wind Surge connected on a two-run shot off Zachary Cawyer to take a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish. Scott finished 1-for-2 with a home run, two RBI, and a walk. Dickerson went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored, Brett Squires, Daniel Vazquez, and Canyon Brown each added a hit, and Vazquez and leadoff hitter Carson Roccaforte each drew a walk. The Naturals struck out seven times and stranded seven runners. Starter Henry Williams turned in the strongest outing of the night, working five innings while allowing one earned run on two hits and a walk, striking out three. Oscar Rayo followed with a scoreless inning of relief. Cawyer took the loss after two-thirds of an inning in which he allowed two earned runs on two hits and a walk, striking out two and giving up the deciding home run. Andrew Morones finished the seventh with a strikeout. Player AB R H RBI BB K Carson Roccaforte 3 0 0 0 1 3 Rudy Martin Jr. 3 0 0 0 1 1 Sam Kulasingam 4 0 0 0 0 2 Brett Squires 3 0 1 0 0 0 Daniel Vazquez 2 0 1 0 1 1 Dustin Dickerson 3 1 1 0 0 0 Connor Scott 2 1 1 2 1 0 Canyon Brown 3 0 1 0 0 0 Omar Hernandez 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colton Becker 2 0 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Henry Williams 5 2 1 1 1 3 1 Oscar Rayo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Zachary Cawyer 2/3 2 2 2 1 2 1 Andrew Morones 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 Kemp Powers River Bandits Past Lansing Tyriq Kemp went 3-for-3 with a home run, a triple, and four runs scored to lead Quad Cities to a 9-5 comeback win over the Lansing Lugnuts. The River Bandits scored five unanswered runs across the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings after surrendering the lead earlier in the sixth. Quad Cities scored first when Kemp homered in the third for a 2-0 lead, then stretched the advantage to 4-0 in the fifth on a Kemp run-scoring single and a Ramon Ramirez sacrifice fly. Lansing answered with five runs in the top of the sixth to take a 5-4 lead. The River Bandits responded in the bottom half: Chris Brito singled, Kemp walked, Nolan Sailors singled, Ramirez was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run, and Luke Pelzer punched a two-run single to right to put Quad Cities back in front 7-5. They tacked on two more in the seventh when Austin Charles reached on an error and Kemp tripled him home, with another run scoring on a groundout. Kemp drove in two and reached four times. Pelzer was 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI, and a stolen base. Ramirez finished 1-for-3 with two RBI, and leadoff hitter Sailors added a hit and a run. The team finished with 11 hits and 9 runs, and stranded nine runners. Starter Josh Hansell worked three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out three. Tanner Jones went four innings and was charged with five earned runs on four hits and two walks, striking out two before earning the win when his team rallied. Hunter Alberini and Nick Conte each tossed a scoreless inning of relief. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nolan Sailors 5 1 1 0 0 2 Ramon Ramirez 3 0 1 2 0 0 Luke Pelzer 5 0 2 2 0 1 Jose Cerice 3 1 1 0 2 1 Derlin Figueroa 2 0 0 0 3 0 Austin Charles 5 1 1 1 0 0 Chris Brito 3 1 1 0 1 1 Erick Torres 4 1 1 0 0 0 Tyriq Kemp 3 4 3 2 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Josh Hansell 3 2 0 0 3 3 0 Tanner Jones 4 4 5 5 2 2 0 Hunter Alberini 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 Nick Conte 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Russell, Vanek Lead Fireflies Past Augusta In Game 1 Columbia opened the doubleheader with a 6-2 win over the Augusta GreenJackets, powered by an 11-hit attack and a three-hit night from Stone Russell. The Fireflies scored in five of seven innings. Columbia struck first in the bottom of the first when Sean Gamble singled and later scored on a single by cleanup hitter Brooks Bryan. Russell led off the second with a solo home run for a 2-0 lead. The Fireflies broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs as leadoff hitter Henry Ramos singled, Gamble doubled him to third, Josh Hammond brought Ramos home with a sacrifice fly, Yandel Ricardo walked, and JC Vanek lined a two-run single to right that scored Ricardo and pushed the lead to 6-2. Russell finished 3-for-3 with a double, a home run, and an RBI. Vanek went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Gamble was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and a stolen base, and Ricardo went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run. Ramos and Bryan each added a hit, with Bryan driving in a run, and Hammond drove in another on his sacrifice fly. The Fireflies struck out three times and stranded six. Starter Jose Gutierrez worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run and one unearned on a single hit while walking four and striking out four. Max Martin earned the win with two scoreless innings, walking two and striking out three. Jhon Reyes recorded the final two outs with two strikeouts and no hits allowed. Player AB R H RBI BB K Henry Ramos 4 1 1 0 0 1 Sean Gamble 4 2 2 0 0 0 Josh Hammond 2 0 0 1 1 0 Brooks Bryan 3 0 1 1 0 0 Yandel Ricardo 2 1 1 0 1 0 JC Vanek 3 1 2 1 0 1 Stone Russell 3 1 3 1 0 0 Roni Cabrera 2 0 0 0 1 0 Jhosmmel Zue 3 0 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jose Gutierrez 4 1/3 1 2 1 4 4 1 Max Martin 2 0 0 0 2 3 0 Jhon Reyes 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 Fireflies Held To One Hit In Game 2 Loss Columbia mustered only one hit and was shut out 4-0 by the Augusta GreenJackets in Game 2 of the doubleheader. The Fireflies' lone hit came from Brooks Bryan, and the team struck out six times. Augusta took an early lead with a solo home run in the top of the first inning. The GreenJackets put the game out of reach in the top of the fourth with a three-run rally that included a fielder's choice that scored a run, a bases-loaded walk, and a sacrifice fly. Columbia threatened with a pair of walks to leadoff hitter Henry Ramos and Yandel Ricardo, who walked twice in the game, and a Daniel Lopez free pass, but the team stranded seven runners and could not push a run across. Bryan was 1-for-3 with two strikeouts. Ramos drew a walk, Ricardo walked twice, and Lopez added a walk. No other Fireflies hitter reached base safely. Starter Shane Van Dam took the loss after 3 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on three hits and two walks while giving up a home run and striking out two. Henson Leal followed with 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out one. Andy Basora capped the night with a scoreless seventh, surrendering two hits and striking out one. Player AB R H RBI BB K Henry Ramos 2 0 0 0 1 0 Sean Gamble 3 0 0 0 0 1 Brooks Bryan 3 0 1 0 0 2 Hyungchan Um 3 0 0 0 0 2 Yandel Ricardo 1 0 0 0 2 0 Stone Russell 3 0 0 0 0 0 Daniel Lopez 2 0 0 0 1 1 Ivan Sosa 2 0 0 0 0 0 Connor Rasmussen 2 0 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Shane Van Dam 3 1/3 3 4 4 2 2 1 Henson Leal 2 2/3 1 0 0 2 1 0 Andy Basora 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Carter Jensen: DNP Blake Mitchell: DNP David Shields: DNP Kendry Chourio: DNP Ben Kudrna: DNP Sean Gamble: 2-for-7, 2B, 2 R, SB, K Josh Hammond: 0-for-2, RBI, BB Ramon Ramirez: 1-for-3, 2 RBI Drew Beam: DNP Asbel Gonzalez: DNP Yandel Ricardo: 1-for-3, R, 3 BB Felix Arronde: DNP Luinder Avila: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K Daniel Vazquez: 1-for-5, BB, 2 K Steven Zobac: DNP Carson Roccaforte: 1-for-6, 2B, RBI, BB, 4 K Blake Wolters: DNP Michael Lombardi: DNP Warren Calcaño: DNP Frank Mozzicato: DNP View the full article

The Twins opened the 2026 season with the kind of inconsistent play that leaves everyone searching for answers. Hovering around the .500 mark is not inherently disappointing, especially for a team many projected to be fighting for relevance in the American League Central. In some ways, a middling record at this point in the season should be viewed as acceptable. The bigger issue is how the Twins have arrived at this point. The team can look dominant for a week, only to give those gains right back over the next two weeks. Over the course of a 162-game season, hot streaks and slumps begin to even out, exposing the strengths and weaknesses that define the roster. The early returns for the Twins suggest that some preseason assumptions are correct, while others warrant reconsideration. With that in mind, here's where some of the biggest narratives surrounding the 2026 Twins stand after the opening weeks of the season. Starting Pitching Preseason Narrative: Before Pablo López’s injury, the Twins looked like they had the makings of a top-10 rotation. Once he went down, expectations shifted, and the group looked more like a middle-of-the-pack unit that would need several young pitchers to step forward. Early Season Results: Twins starters rank seventh in fWAR, 11th in xERA, eighth in FIP, and 15th in WPA. That is a very encouraging start for a group that entered the year with major uncertainty. Outside of a rough outing on Friday, Taj Bradley has looked like one of the American League’s best starters and has given the Twins the type of impact arm they desperately needed. Mick Abel was beginning to build momentum with back-to-back strong starts before landing on the injured list, showing flashes of being a playoff-caliber starter. Connor Prielipp’s debut was another reason for optimism. The raw stuff looked every bit as electric as advertised, and he showed signs of developing into a frontline starter if the Twins continue stretching out his workload. Even Joe Ryan has room for improvement. He has not yet pitched at the All-Star level fans have seen from him before, which leaves open the possibility that the rotation could be even better in the coming months. Current Narrative: The Twins have enough young talent and enough upside in this rotation to believe it can remain a strength for the rest of the season. Lineup Preseason Narrative: With Byron Buxton and Luke Keaschall expected to anchor the offense, the Twins needed a handful of post-hype prospects to finally break through and provide stability throughout the lineup. Early Season Results: The Twins' hitters rank 18th in WPA, 20th in fWAR, and 11th in wRC+. Those numbers paint the picture of a lineup that has been productive enough in spurts but not nearly consistent enough to carry the team. Austin Martin has been one of the best stories on the roster. After ending 2025 on a high note, he has carried that momentum into this season and has emerged as one of the Twins’ most valuable hitters. In fact, he leads the team in WAR, giving the lineup a boost few expected entering the year. Trevor Larnach has also made the most of limited opportunities. Even with the Twins facing a heavy dose of left-handed pitching, he's tied with Buxton and Ryan Jeffers for second on the team in WAR, giving the club meaningful production whenever he is in the lineup. The issue is that the rest of the supporting cast has not shown up. Matt Wallner, James Outman, Keaschall, and Kody Clemens have all produced negative WAR so far. That's unsustainable, for a team with little offensive margin for error. The Twins do not have the star power to absorb multiple dead spots in the lineup. If several lineup spots continue to provide little to no value, the offense will eventually crater. Current Narrative: Martin has emerged, but the Twins still need several post-hype bats to start producing, or the offense will drag this team out of the race. Bullpen Preseason Narrative: The expectation entering the season was simple: this bullpen was going to struggle, and it had the potential to be one of the worst units in the league. Early Season Results: The Twins' bullpen ranks 18th in fWAR, 23rd in WPA, 24th in xERA, and 14th in FIP. Those numbers suggest the bullpen has not been a complete disaster, but it remains one of the weakest links on the roster. The most concerning part has been the way the group is being deployed. Justin Topa leads the American League with 15 appearances, making him the most frequently used reliever on the staff. That level of reliance would be understandable if he were a dominant late-inning option, but that has not been the case. Anthony Banda is tied for second on the team with 12 appearances and owns an ERA north of 9.00, yet he continues to receive meaningful innings. Meanwhile, Cole Sands is tied with Eric Orze and Taylor Rogers with 10 appearances despite clearly being the Twins’ best relief arm. Rather than using Sands aggressively in high-leverage situations, the Twins have often held him back, waiting for ideal moments that never develop. For a bullpen with limited dependable options, that strategy makes little sense. The Twins need to be maximizing their best arms, and right now, they are not. Current Narrative: The bullpen remains a major weakness and may ultimately be the factor that keeps the Twins from contending. The early season has not completely changed expectations for the Twins, but it has sharpened the focus on where this team stands. The rotation has looked better than many expected, giving the organization reason to believe it can build around its young arms. The lineup has shown flashes, but too many hitters are underperforming to trust the group as currently constructed. The bullpen, meanwhile, looks every bit like the liability many feared in spring training. That combination explains why the Twins have flirted with a .500 record, but also why they're currently trending away from it, in the wrong direction. There are enough strengths here to remain competitive in the short term, but the weaknesses are obvious and persistent. If the lineup doesn't improve and the bullpen continues to cost the team winnable games, the Twins will slide out of the race, regardless of how well the rotation performs. For now, the preseason narratives are evolving, but not disappearing. The rotation is giving the Twins hope. The lineup is running out of excuses. And the bullpen remains the biggest threat to whatever chance this team has of staying in contention. How do you view the team’s current narratives? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

Weekly Snapshot: Record Last Week: 2-4 (Overall: 14-13) Run Scored Last Week: 26 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 26 Standing: 5th in NL Central Game 22 (4/21) | MIL 12, DET 4 Game 23 (4/22) | DET 5, MIL 2 Game 24 (4/23) | DET 5, MIL 4 Game 25 (4/24) | PIT 6, MIL 0 Game 26 (4/25) | PIT 6, MIL 3 Game 27 (4/26) | MIL 5, PIT 0 Game 22 | Brewers 12 Tigers 4 MIL Starter: Kyle Harrison (3.0 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 3 K) Top Performers: David Hamilton (4 H) Brice Turang (2 H, 4 RBI) Garett Mitchell (2 H, 3B, RBI) Kyle Harrison’s return to the mound kicked off the week, and his start was a tumultuous one, as he labored through his 3 innings of work against Detroit. In the end, though, it was the Milwaukee offense that eliminated any need for perfect pitching, as the Brewers' offense notched 16 hits and scored 12 runs, seven of which came in the 8th inning. Garett Mitchell’s RBI Triple WU9WWWVfWGw0TUFRPT1fQndKUlVsMVNWd1lBREFCUUFnQUhVQUJXQUZnREFGQUFWRlJUQ0ZJTkFnc0FCUUJU.mp4 Game 23 | Tigers 5, Brewers 2 MIL Starter: DL Hall (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) Top Performers: Brandon Lockridge (2 H) Casey Mize was able to quiet the Brewers offense the following day, while the Brewers' Chad Patrick struggled in the bulk role behind DL Hall, coughing up 4 runs in his four innings of work to the Tiger offense. That was all that was needed for the team from Motor City; they closed out the game 5-2 to set up the rubber match on Thursday. Jake Bauers knocks in a run d2V3ME5fWGw0TUFRPT1fVjFKWFZRWlZVRllBV2djQkJRQUhVQTRFQUFBTUFsa0FCZ0VNQjFjR1VBcFFWRlpW.mp4 Game 24 | Tigers 5, Brewers 4 MIL Starter: Brandon Sproat (5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 4 K) Top Performers: Gary Sánchez (2 H, 2B, RBI) David Hamilton (2 H, RBI) Trevor Megill (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R) It looked as if the Brewers were going to steal the series from reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and the Tigers on Thursday, as the Brewers chased Skubal with the lead. But the Tigers roared back, tagging both Abner Uribe and Ángel Zerpa for solo home runs in the 8th and 9th innings, which flipped the scoreboard and series in the Tigers' favor. Blake Perkins’ RBI double MTZORHJfWGw0TUFRPT1fQmdJQVhWUUZCQVlBQVZOVUFBQUhDUUVBQUZsVEIxUUFDMUFEQ0ZFREIxWUJBZ0ZY.mp4 Game 25 | Pirates 6, Brewers 0 MIL Starter: Brandon Woodruff (5.0 IP, 5 H, 2BB, 3 ER, 3 K) Top Performers: Shane Drohan (4.0 IP, 4 H, BB, 1 ER, 2 K) Paul Skenes and the Pirates strolled into Milwaukee to continue to lay the hurt on a struggling Milwaukee offense, as the NL’s reigning Cy Young Award winner took a perfect game into the 7th inning, and eventually, closed the door on an utterly forgettable 6-0 Brewers loss. Jake Bauers breaks up the perfecto MTZOYjNfWGw0TUFRPT1fQUFOV1hGRUJYMUFBVzFBQkFnQUhWd1pWQUZsUkFBTUFWbEJVVWdVQ0NRb0RBVlJT.mp4 Game 26 | Pirates 6, Brewers 3 MIL Starter: Jacob Misiorowski (6.0 IP, 6 H, BB, ER, 9 K) Top Performers: Tyler Black (2 H, 2B) Aaron Ashby (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K) Jake Bauers (2 H) Another tough loss felled the Brewers to open the weekend. It saw strong outings from starters Jacob Misiorowski and Mitch Keller, who eventually gave way to the bullpens, and to extra innings. There, the struggling Zerpa gave up the lead and then some. The depleted Brewers offense went quietly to give them their 4th straight loss. Misiorowski cuts down Cruz TUFYMjFfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkZOVFV3QlZWMVFBWGxFS1ZBQUhCMVZRQUZoUkJnTUFVUUZSQ0ZGUUFGVURVd2RV.mp4 Game 27 | Brewers 5, Pirates 0 MIL Starter: Kyle Harrison (6.0 IP, H, BB, 0 ER, 12 K) Top Performers: Jake Bauers (2 H, 2 2B) Brandon Lockridge (H, BB, 2 RBI) It was Kyle Harrison's turn to throw a gem, as his 11th career start on Sunday was not only a bounce-back from his previous appearance, but undoubtedly his best. He got the run support, too, as the Brewers plated five in the fourth inning to chase Carmen Mlodzinski, highlighted by a Brandon Lockridge two-run single. The bullpen behind Harrison was shaky, but they did close the door without allowing any runs. Brice Turnag's leaping grab Transactions: 04/24/26 - Designated RF Luis Matos for assignment. 04/24/26 - Recalled OF/1B Tyler Black from Nashville Sounds. 04/24/26 - Recalled LHP Shane Drohan from Nashville Sounds. 04/24/26 - Optioned RHP Carlos Rodriguez to Nashville Sounds. 04/23/26 - Activated RHP Craig Yoho from the 15-day injured list. 04/23/26 - Optioned RHP Craig Yoho to Nashville Sounds. 04/22/26 - Signed free agent OF Mark Coley II to a minor league contract. 04/22/26 - Sent RHP Quinn Priester on a rehab assignment to Nashville Sounds. Looking Ahead: Tuesday, 4/29 - Diamondbacks @ Brewers - 6:40 PM CDT Wednesday, 4/30 - Diamondbacks @ Brewers - 6:40 PM CDT Thursday, 4/30 - Diamondbacks @ Brewers - 12:40 PM CDT Friday, 5/1 - Brewers @ Nationals - 5:45 PM CDT Saturday, 5/2 - Brewers @ Nationals - 3:05 PM CDT Sunday, 5/3 - Brewers @ Nationals - 12:35 PM CDT View the full article

Much was said over the offseason about the Chicago Cubs adding more strikeouts to their pitching staff. A lot of this even came from president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer himself: “I felt like we had a very contact oriented pitching staff. Our defense helps that, but, you know, we don’t have that kind of stuff in our rotation other than Cade Horton,” Hoyer said on The Show podcast about the acquisition of Edward Cabrera. We’re now officially about one month into the season, and I hate to tell you this, but the pitching staff is the same as it ever was. Year ERA FIP K% 2025 3.81 4.16 21.4% 2026 3.79 4.16 21.8% I promise, I quadruple-checked those numbers to make sure I wasn’t mixing my years up when creating that table, because having the same FIP seems like an astronomically crazy coincidence. What’s the difference between those two pitching staffs? Nothing. As Pam Beesly says in The Office, they’re the same picture. Or, in our case, they’re the same pitchers. The thing is, they’re not the same pitchers. Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga are both, suddenly, strikeout machines. Some of that is probably offset by the loss of Cade Horton, Daniel Palencia, Hunter Harvey, and Phil Maton to injury, though the latter three will be back eventually. The team’s biggest addition, Cabrera, has certainly contributed to the respectable ERA and FIP that the pitching staff is posting. Despite this, his strikeout numbers are down, and they are down considerably. After striking out 25.8 percent of hitters last year, the righty is now striking out just 18.5 percent of hitters. He has gone from the 74th percentile to the 28th. Last season, Cabrera struck out 24.4 percent of left-handed hitters, and 27.5 percent of right-handed hitters. This season, he is still striking out righties at an elite rate of 28.6 percent. It’s his strikeout rate against lefties that has really plummeted, all the way down to a paltry 11.4 percent. The Dominican pitcher attacks lefties with, primarily, his changeup, while also sprinkling in a healthy bit of his four-seam fastball, sinker, and curveball. He likes to get outs with the curve, and typically, he is very successful in doing so. Per Baseball Savant, 90 pitchers threw at least 100 curveballs to left-handed hitters last season. Hitters swung and missed with 48.5 percent of their swings against Cabrera’s curveball, which was seventh among that group of pitchers. This year, though, the story is different. In 2026, 74 pitchers have thrown at least 25 curveballs to lefties. Cabrera now has the third-lowest whiff rate on those pitchers at 11.8 percent. To begin to understand what is wrong with the curveball, let’s take a look at where Cabrera is throwing the pitch. The chart on the left is a heat map for all of his curveballs thrown to lefties last year, while the one on the right is all of them thrown to lefties this season. Charts are courtesy of FanGraphs Labs: Cabrera is suddenly burying a whole lot of curveballs down near the back foot of left-handed hitters. In fact, he has thrown 22 two-strike curveballs to lefties in 2026. Six of them have been thrown to the back foot of the hitter. He only did that 10 times all of last season. For better context: Last season, 8.8 percent of his two-strike curves to lefties were thrown that far low and in. In 2026, he is doing it 27.3 percent of the time, or about three times more often. That is a really difficult place to get swings and misses. Perhaps one reason for the struggle in commanding the curveball; the former Marlin is seeing a pretty significant change in movement on a lot of his pitches to this point in 2026, namely his four-seam fastball and his curve. Between those two pitches, though, the breaking ball really stands out considering its drop in performance. Year Curveball Vertical Drop Curveball Horizontal Break 2025 50.0” 10.9” to the glove-side 2026 45.9” 7.1” to the glove-side This might not seem like a big difference, however, it is the difference between this pitch to Nolan Schanuel from a month ago that started at his knees and inside and only broke further down and more inside: Cabrera 1.mp4 ... and this pitch to Yoan Moncada last May in a game in which he struck out 10 Angels and allowed no runs in 5.2 innings: Cabrera 2.mp4 By starting the pitch that much higher and that much more over the plate, it looks like a strike for longer, and thus, Cabrera is much more likely to get those whiffs that Jed Hoyer so covets. Also note where the pitch to Moncada finishes relative to where the pitch to Schanuel finished. The pitch to Moncada, while very much out of the strike zone, was at least in the same zip code. The pitch to Schanuel almost hit him in the foot, and you don’t often induce swings that way, no matter how nasty the pitch is. It’s important to note that the sky is not falling here. Cabrera has a 2.73 ERA and a 3.66 FIP to this point. He’s just getting there in a radically different way than we all imagined, and if it continues, we’re probably about a month or so away from teams stacking their lineup with left-handed hitters when he takes the bump. View the full article

It's been a rough start for Cole Ragans to begin the 2026 season, and that's putting it kindly. After posting a 4.67 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in just 13 starts and 61.2 IP, the 28-year-old Royals lefty was determined to show that he was not just healthy, but could once again show the profile that made him a Cy Young finalist in 2024 (he finished 4th in AL Cy Young voting). Overall, this season, the results haven't quite been there for Ragans. In six starts and 27 IP, he has a 5.00 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 6.03 FIP, and 13% K-BB%. He's still striking out batters at a good clip (28.7% K%), but his walk rate has been brutal (15.7% BB%). In addition, he has struggled with hard contact allowed, as illustrated by his Statcast percentiles via TJ Stats, as shown below. In addition to ranking in the 2nd percentile in BB%, he also ranks in the 5th percentile in barrel rate allowed and 21st in groundball rate. While the whiffs (94th percentile), strikeouts (88th percentile K%), and strike-generating (80th percentile CSW%) have been strong, hitters have hit the ball hard and in the air when they've made contact, and that's not a recipe for success. However, despite the slow start, Ragans finally showed signs of life on Saturday in the Royals' 12-1 victory over the Angels. In six innings of work, Ragans struck out 11, allowed only five hits, one run, and had no walks. The lone hit was a home run by Jo Adell. However, beyond the Adell home run, the Angels struggled against Ragans, as evidenced by not just the strikeouts, but the 27 whiffs Ragans induced, which tied a career-high. For the Royals to get back into the postseason race, especially in the AL Central, they will need a healthy and locked-in Ragans for the remainder of the season. Was Saturday's start a step in the right direction? Or was it an outlier against an Angels team that has struggled with offensive consistency this season? (They rank 4th in home runs and 8th in runs scored, but 27th in batting average.) The Four-Seamer Was in Full Force Against the Angels When looking at Ragans' performance, I figured it would be good to look at his TJ Stuff+ summary from Saturday's game. Here's what it looked like below. There's a lot to like from this Ragans TJ Stuff+ summary. First off, the stuff looked amazing from Ragans in his most recent outing. Not only did he post a 104 overall TJ Stuff+, but all four of his pitches had TJ Stuff+ over 100 and grades over 50 (three over 60). As a result, he not only generated a ton of whiffs (46.6% whiff rate) but also chases (40.8%). The chase rate has been a struggle for him this year, as his 27% O-Swing% ranks in the 23rd percentile. Thus, to see some improvement in this area on Saturday was encouraging. However, what stuck out most from this pitching performance was that Ragans relied heavily on the four-seamer, and it worked for him. It was a "bully ball" performance in which he challenged Angels hitters with his four-seamer, dared them to hit it, and simply overwhelmed them with the offering for six innings. Ragans not only threw the four-seamer 53.5% of the time, but he threw it in the zone a lot (54.7%) and generated a lot of whiffs with it, as evidenced by his 51.4% whiff rate on the four-seamer. What's even more impressive is that he produced a lot of whiffs and strikes in the zone, as illustrated in his four-seam pitch description chart via Savant. It's interesting to see that Ragans wasn't particularly pinpoint with his four-seamer command on Saturday. While he definitely had an approach to locate it up, he also left a lot of four-seamers in the strike zone, especially in areas where they could've been belted for base hits. However, Ragans' "flood the zone" approach with the four-seamer seemed to be productive, as illustrated by not just his high whiff and chase rates, but solid .351 xwOBACON allowed on the pitch. That showed that Ragans' four-seamer had the Angels off balance. They not only whiffed on the pitch but also didn't make good contact when they connected. The latter aspect is something that we haven't seen much from Ragans this year with his four-seamer. That is demonstrated in the four-seam heatmap below from this year, via TJ Stats. For the year, Ragans is actually producing strong whiff rates against lefties (22.5%) and righties (34.6%), as well as excellent CSW rates against lefties (29.6%) and righties (32.1%). That said, he has been a bit subpar in chase against both sides of the plate, with a 24% O-Swing% against lefties and 25.9% O-Swing% against righties. His xwOBACON marks are even worse, with a .482 xwOBACON allowed against lefties and .396 xwOBACON against righties. For comparison, let's look at his four-seamer heatmap data from 2025. His four-seam command was less erratic a season ago, as illustrated by the heatmap that is centered around the upper edges of the strike zone against both lefties and righties. He's generating better CSW and whiff rates against lefties this year than in 2025, but lefties are hitting the four-seamer much better. Conversely, the CSW and whiff rates against righties with the four-seamer are around the same, but Ragans is doing a better job limiting hard contact this year than a season ago (.517 xwOBACON). When Ragans is able to flood the strike zone with the four-seamer, positive results have followed this year. When looking at his TJ Stuff+ summary from his start against the Yankees, the zone rate was far lower on the four-seamer than the one he showed against the Angels. Against the Yankees, Ragans had a 104 TJ Stuff+ on the four-seamer, but his zone rate was 42.6%. That was 12.1% worse than his four-seam zone rate against the Angels. Hence, while Ragans was able to generate decent whiffs with the four-seamer (27.3%), the lack of control and command with the four-seamer resulted in a low amount of chase (22.9%) and a lot of walks (eight) as a result. I would expect that Ragans will make it a priority in his upcoming starts to ensure that he's flooding the strike zone with his four-seamer. Better Extension on the Knuckle Curve? The knuckle curve has been an interesting breaking offering this season for Ragans. He utilizes it (8.9% usage) more than his slider (14%). That said, he didn't throw the slider AT ALL in his last start and threw the curveball 12.1% against the Angels. That is eight percent higher than his knuckle curve usage against the Yankees. What's interesting about the pitch is that it isn't necessarily a "plus" pitch by any means. It's one of his lowest-rated pitches on a TJ Stuff+ end, as seen below via his TJ Stuff+ season summary for the season. Ragans' knuckle curve has a 100 TJ Stuff+ and 45 grade with a 16% chase rate, 16.7% whiff rate, and 1.076 xwOBACON allowed. Even against the Angels, he had only a 25 percent chase and whiff rate, as well as a 2.032 xwOBACON allowed. In fact, his home run allowed to Adell came on a poorly commanded knuckle curve. Still, the knuckle curve seems to be an offering that can be useful when commanded effectively. Last year, Ragans generated a 32.4% whiff rate, 22.2% put-away rate, and .284 xwOBA allowed on the knuckle curve. Here's how it looked last season, based on his TJ Stats heatmap data. Here's Ragans last May, inducing a strikeout of Trevor Story on a knuckle curve in an 0-2 count. R0I2TGpfWGw0TUFRPT1fQndjRFVGY0FVZ01BWEZzTFZ3QUhWd1ZXQUFNRVZRTUFCQU1IQmdkUkFWSlZCZ1Jm.mp4 This year, the metrics on his knuckle curve have trended in the wrong direction. His knuckle curve is generating a 16.7% whiff rate, a 0.0% put-away rate, and a 1.093 xwOBA. Not only is Ragans' knuckle curve not generating the strikes needed, but it's also getting mashed. In addition to Addell's home run, Aaron Judge also smoked a home run off Ragans on a first-pitch knuckle curve that was located poorly as well. ek13R1pfVjBZQUhRPT1fRHdGWFYxWlJVd0lBREFCV0J3QUhWd1JmQUFOUlVRQUFDbFVIQUZjTlVnUlhCd3NB.mp4 Judge absolutely jumped on it and launched it over the center field wall. Thus, one has to ask the question: How is Ragans locating his knuckle curve this year? Based on the heatmap data below, it hasn't been good, as he's been leaving it far too often in the middle of the zone. He's locating it in a similar and ideal area to lefties, though he's only thrown it 3.7% of the time against southpaw hitters. Against righties, the CSW% is strong at 32.4%, but he has only generated a 16.7% whiff rate, 20% O-Swing%, and is allowing a 1.076 xwOBACON with the curve. Thus, the command of the curve has been poor this year, especially against righties. What could be contributing to that? Extension could be the difference between this year and last. For those unfamiliar with extension, it is how far off the mound, in feet, a pitcher releases the pitch. It is important for the following reasons, per Google's AI overview: Ragans' extension this year on the knuckle curve is 5.9 feet, which is 0.2 feet less than his extension on the pitch a season ago. While that seems like a minute difference, that subtle change in extension could be why he's not locating the knuckle curve down like he wants, especially against righties. That said, his extension has been much better in recent starts, especially against the Angels, which had a 6.0 mark. Furthermore, he's been trending up in extension with each start after an initial decline, as illustrated in his extension rolling chart via Savant. Thus, with better extension, Ragans may develop a better feel for the knuckle curve. If that happens, not only will he miss less in the middle of the zone, but he will also generate more swing-and-miss on the pitch, something he did in 2025 and 2024 with the breaking offering. Final Thoughts On Ragans It's just one start, but on Saturday, Ragans demonstrated why he has been the Royals' Opening Day starter for the last three years. When his command and velocity are clicking, as they were on Saturday, there's not a better starting pitcher in the Royals' rotation, which says something considering this starting pitching staff ranks sixth in ERA and ninth in WHIP (though that may go up after Seth Lugo's rough outing on Sunday). For Ragans to build on this promising start, he will need to focus on two things: his four-seam command and knuckle curve extension. The four-seamer has all the characteristics of a premier pitch, and he throws it more than enough (53.6% usage). However, when he's missing on the edges or up, hitters don't chase, which forces him to rely on other pitches that aren't as effective or as impressive. On Saturday, he didn't worry about being too fine with the pitch. He just threw it hard and in the zone, and the approach paid off. In terms of the extension, it's obvious that his decline in extension on the knuckle curve is negatively affecting his command on the pitch. When he got back to his normal knuckle curve extension, the results were much better. A 0.1 foot difference in knuckle curve extension from the Yankees to the Angels start resulted in a three-point improvement in TJ Stuff+ and 25% increase in chase and whiff rate. Thus, keeping a consistent extension on his knuckle curve should be a priority for Ragans in order to improve his knuckle curve command, which hasn't been good this year. Ragans can't gain better command of the curve if the extension isn't there. If those two things happen, Ragans will once again look like his "ace" self, regardless of the competition. Hopefully, he can continue to make progress in those two areas in his next scheduled start in Seattle, which profiles more as a pitcher's park, and against a Mariners lineup that is dangerous but has been inconsistent to begin 2026 (they rank 21st in average, 20th in runs scored, and 15th in home runs). View the full article

Welcome back to Blue Jays Clutch Plays, a recurring post that highlights the six most pivotal plays (three pitching, three hitting) from the past week of Blue Jays baseball, according to MLB's win probability model. Click here to read last week's edition. At long last, the Blue Jays finally started to look like themselves again this week, finishing off their lengthy road trip with a series win in Anaheim and then taking two of three from the Guardians at home. This is despite their nightmarish injury bug refusing to go away, as Nathan Lukes wound up on the IL after pulling his hamstring running out of the box on Friday. Still, they fought through it and have been getting consistent timely hitting for about a week now, a good sign ahead of their upcoming matchup against the Red Sox. Here are the moments that mattered most from this past week. Pitching 3. Louis Varland: Brayan Rocchio Strikeout, Top 9, 4/25 (+12.6% wPA) In his first inning of work since Jeff Hoffman was officially removed from the closer role, Louis Varland found himself in an immensely precarious situation. Toronto led 5-2 when he entered the game, but a string of great at-bats by Cleveland brought the Guardians to within two runs with the bases loaded and just 1 out. Varland struck out Bo Naylor, and then, with the count at 2-2, he dialed it up to 98 to put Brayan Rocchio away and seal the win. 2. Patrick Corbin: Steven Kwan GIDP, Top 5, 4/26 (+14.8% wPA) Unfortunately, Angel Martínez would double in the tying run immediately after this, but the things that Patrick Corbin has done for this team over the past few weeks shouldn't be discounted. In the fifth inning on Sunday, he got Steven Kwan, one of the best bat-to-ball and line drive hitters in the game, to roll a perfectly placed front-door sinker directly to Davis Schneider at second base for the twin killing. Corbin failed to finish the frame, but the bullpen luckily picked him up on the way to a series win. 1. Louis Varland: Nolan Schanuel GIDP, Bot 9, 4/21 (+34.0% wPA) We have a new frontrunner for Clutch Pitching Play of the Season. With the winning run on first base and one out in the ninth inning, Varland came into a bases-loaded situation and promptly induced a game-ending double play from Nolan Schanuel. Soon after, Leo Morgenstern put out a great piece that emphasizes just how rare and impressive a one-pitch, two-out save is, especially for Varland, who had essentially no experience closing games before last week. According to win probability added, this would've been the second-most pivotal play of 2025 for the Jays' pitching staff. Hitting 3. Ernie Clement: RBI Single, Top 7, 4/22 (+18.6% wPA) This at-bat beautifully personifies the essence of Ernie Clement as a hitter. With two strikes against him, he reached for a well-located sweeper just off the corner down and away and snuck it up the middle to tie the game. The Blue Jays would give up four runs in the bottom half, but this was a huge hit at the time. They entered the top of the seventh down 3-0 and tied it against the bullpen after Angels ace José Soriano was removed following yet another quality start. 2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: 2-run HR, Top 3, 4/20 (+19.4% wPA) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been on fire lately, but he hasn't quite tapped into his home run power on a consistent basis. Last Monday, though, he got a changeup from Reid Detmers that caught a little too much of the plate and walloped it deep into the southern California sky. The pitch, the swing, and the result were quite reminiscent of his moonshot off Carlos Rodón in Game 3 of the 2025 ALDS. This one propelled the Jays to a series-opening win that would set the tone for the week ahead. 1. Lenyn Sosa: 2-RBI Double, Top 8, 4/21 (+30.7% wPA) The newcomer Lenyn Sosa made his mark in the Angels series, slamming a pinch-hit double off the wall in right to break a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning on Tuesday. This is exactly what the coaching staff hopes he'll be able to do at the plate: come up with a big hit off the other team's best lefty reliever. Sosa is a very aggressive hitter, and Drew Pomeranz probably wanted this fastball to end up a little more outside than it did. The former White Sox were all over this game, as Eloy Jiménez later singled Sosa home to make it a three-run inning. View the full article

New York Mets star infielder Bo Bichette has gotten plenty of criticism for failing to produce the numbers that a $126 million player should. Coming over as one of the star offseason signings of the team, he has slumped to a 61 wRC+ in 28 games and 123 plate appearances. That performance is not worthy of a man who hit .311 last year with a 134 wRC+. However, and even though it may not feel like it at times, Bichette has actually improved a bit in recent games. He has hit safely in five of his last six games, and in nine of his last 11. Bichette had just two hits and one walk in his first five games, covering 24 plate appearances, but since the calendar flipped to April, he hasn’t been as bad as you might think, as his .276 batting average, 92 wRC+, and .332 xwOBA (prior to the doubleheader against the Rockies) are all passable. That’s certainly not vintage Bichette, but not the disaster it might seem sometimes. Bo Bichette's Shocking Power Outage There are a few problems with Bichette’s play up to this point, though. The first and most obvious one is that the power hasn’t been there this year, with just one homer in 123 trips to the plate. A career-high 54.8 percent groundball rate might help explain this; it’s hard to hit the ball out of the park if more than half of your batted balls are to the ground. Bichette is not exactly a pull-heavy slugger, but he is running a six percent pull AIR %, one of the lowest figures in the league. That may also be contributing to the power drought. On top of the power outage, Bichette is also striking out significantly more often than last year. His 22.0-percent strikeout rate is not exactly alarming, but for a guy with little power to speak of, it’s definitely noisy. It’s only slightly higher than his career 19.5 percent mark, but considerably worse than last year’s 14.5 percent. Why Bo Bichette Could Be About To Turn His Season Around Even if the totals and the season-long rate stats don’t look good, Bichette might be on the verge of putting together a strong run if the Mets are patient. He is still consistently hitting the ball hard, with a 45.2 percent mark that ranks in the 69th percentile, which is pumping up his expected batting average to .288 (85th percentile). His 76th percentile average exit velocity is also promising. The best thing of all is that the production is starting to match the underlying stats, even if the sample is tiny. Over his last four games prior to Sunday's doubleheader, Bichette slashed a strong .353/.353/.471 with a 133 wRC+. Over that span, he had two doubles, four runs scored, three RBI, and a stolen base. On Thursday, he had this incredibly clutch bases-clearing, go-ahead double that helped the Mets win their second game in a row after their 12-game losing streak. Of course, you could see in the celebration that he cares. To put it simply: Bichette needs to start pulling some balls and hitting them in the air with authority, whether they are line drives or fly balls. He is not fully out of the woods until we see him sustain a nice run over a significant stretch, but he has started to show some signs of life, which is more than we can say about a Mets team that just got swept by the Rockies. Don’t expect him to knock 30 balls out of the park, but this is still a 20-homer, .300-batting average type of hitter in his prime. Expect the numbers to start resembling that player in due time. View the full article

Boston Red Sox Weekly Snapshot Record Last Week: 3-4 Runs Scored Last Week: 36 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 32 Standings: 5th in AL East 7.5 GB First Place Transactions: 04/21/26: Red Sox recalled LHP Tyler Samaniego from Worcester Red Sox. 04/21/26: Red Sox placed RHP Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list. Right hamstring strain. 04/22/26: Red Sox selected the contract of LHP Eduardo Rivera from Worcester Red Sox. 04/22/26: Red Sox optioned RHP Jack Anderson to Worcester Red Sox. 04/22/26: Red Sox transferred 1B Triston Casas from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Recovery from left patellar tendon repair. 04/23/26: Red Sox optioned LHP Eduardo Rivera to Worcester Red Sox. 04/23/26: Red Sox recalled LHP Payton Tolle from Worcester Red Sox. Scores: Game 22 (4/20): BOS 8, DET 6 Game 23 (4/21): BOS 0, NYY 4 Game 24 (4/22): BOS 1, NYY 4 Game 25 (4/23): BOS 2, NYY 4 Game 25 (4/24): BOS 3, BAL 10 Game 26 (4/25): BOS 17, BAL 1 Game 27 (4/26): BOS 5, BAL 3 Series Breakdown/Highlights Yankees Series: Not a lot went right during the first homestand against the Yankees. The offense looked listless and failed to show up for the first two games. At least in the third game, things started to seem different. The team recalled Payton Tolle to make the start in the final game of the homestand, pushing back both Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet’s next scheduled starts, and he lit Fenway Park on fire. He began the game with five straight strikeouts and went on to strikeout 11 on the night while surrendering only one walk and one earned run on a Jazz Chisholm home run. He induced 18 whiffs, thanks in large part to his arsenal of high-velocity fastballs and his power curve He pitched his way into a couple of jams, and then turned right around and pitched his way back out of them. It was an absolute shame that the bullpen let him down in his first game this season, but if he keeps pitching like he did against the Yankees, then he’s going to have ample opportunities to earn wins for the Red Sox. Carlos Narvaez also took Cam Schlittler deep over the Green Monster for his first home run of the season. Orioles Series: This series was completely boring and offered no newsworthy, drastic changes to the coaching staff. Game one started off much like the entire Yankees series—just uninspired baseball from the entire team. Brayan Bello looked like he has for much of 2026—lost on the mound. His frustrations grew with each pitch and he let it show on his face for much of his outing. The Orioles ran out of fireworks due to the amount of home runs they hit in the game. That’s never a good thing when you’re the visiting club. Game two thankfully, sang a much different tune. Garrett Crochet looked every bit of the ace that the Red Sox expected him to be again this season. He tossed 90 pitches over six innings with 57 of them going for strikes. He allowed three hits, zero runs, two walks, seven strikeouts, and had 12 whiffs. He topped out at 97.5 MPH and almost doubled the use of his four-seam fastball, kicking it up to 59% of the time from 28.3% in prior outings. Andruw Monasterio hit a grand slam, Caleb Durbin got his first home run in a Red Sox uniform, and Willson Contreras looked like a true middle-of-the-order slugger. Shockingly, following that contest, the team parted ways with manager Alex Cora, hitting coach Pete Fatse, bench coach Ramon Vazquez, game manager Jason Varitek, and hitting instructor Dillon Lawson. At least they went out with a blowout win. In game three, the Red Sox became demons on the basepaths under the new management style of interim manager Chad Tracy, swiping four bags. Contreras continued his hot streak and Monasterio was again a spark in the lineup. Arguably most impressive, though, was Ceddanne Rafaela throughout the entire series. He’s shown a new plate approach that is paying dividends for him. He’s quickly becoming a star caliber player right in front of our eyes and it’s been incredible to witness. Connelly Early turned in his best start of the season in the series finale, tossing 6 ⅔ innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, one walk, and four strikeouts. Website Highlights Red Sox Fire Alex Cora, Most of MLB Coaching Staff in Shocking Pivot by Nick John The Red Sox Can’t Hit Baseball’s Most Fundamental Pitch by Jack Lindsay Carlos Narvaez is Getting Eaten Alive by Fastballs, but the Red Sox Shouldn’t Lose Hope by Gottie Chavez Jarren Duran’s Struggles are a Bitter Reminder of the Red Sox’s Poor Roster Construction by Alex Mayes Looking Ahead April 27: Red Sox (Ranger Suarez) @ Blue Jays (Dylan Cease): 7:07 PM EDT April 28: Red Sox (Payton Tolle) @ Blue Jays (Trey Yesavage): 7:07 PM EDT April 29: Red Sox (Brayan Bello) @ Blue Jays (Max Scherzer): 3:07 PM EDT May 1: Astros @ Red Sox: 7:10 PM EDT May 2: Astros @ Red Sox: 4:10 PM EDT May 3: Astros @ Red Sox: 1:35 PM EDT View the full article

The Miami Marlins didn't exactly attack the 2025-26 offseason with an urgency to turn themselves into contenders. Should the team take a step forward and qualify for the playoffs, it will be largely because their youngest players improved organically. Meanwhile, the acquisitions from outside the organization lacked both imagination and quality. You could argue that the Marlins would've been better off retaining an even higher percentage of last year's squad. It begins with the starting rotation. Anticipating the 2026 debuts of top pitching prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling, the Marlins traded away Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers to the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees, respectively. Infuriatingly, Cabrera would seemingly open every season with some kind of injury. This has been an exception. Through five starts with the Cubs, he's been available and consistent. Cabrera has posted a 2.73 ERA and 3.63 FIP while averaging six innings per outing. The Cubs have won all but one of his starts. The 28-year-old right-hander is also uncharacteristically controlling the running game to an extent. Two would-be base-stealers have been thrown out on six attempts, compared to only four on 39 attempts last season. The Marlins did their best to spoil Weathers' home debut as a Yankee on April 4 (3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). However, the left-hander wriggled off the hook thanks to offensive support from his teammates. Weathers has turned the page on that to help propel the Yanks to the American League's best record. He owns a 3.21 ERA and 3.39 FIP in six starts with 33 ⅔ innings pitched. He's on pace for career-bests in both strikeout rate (29.2%) and walk rate (5.8 %). It's easy to project how the Marlins would be better off had they kept either Cabrera or Weathers. They'd be occupying the rotation spot that currently belongs to free agent signing Chris Paddack (6.38 ERA and 4.63 FIP with losses in all four of his starts). Those trades brought back a total of seven prospects to Miami. Only one of them, Owen Caissie, is expected to have a significant major league impact this season. Thus far, that impact has been negative—Caissie has been MLB's most strikeout-prone hitter, with overall contributions that are slightly below replacement level. Caissie is five years younger than Troy Johnston with significantly more raw power. His long-term ceiling is higher, but that does not guarantee he'll ever reach it, and there's no comparison between them production-wise right now. Waived by the Marlins following the conclusion of the 2025 season, Johnston has settled in nicely with the Colorado Rockies. Splitting time between right field and first base, he's slashing .315/.371/.449 with a 119 wRC+ and 16 runs batted in. The most eye-popping rate stats among former Fish belong to Joey Wiemer. Discarded for cash considerations in November, he's slashing .320/.414/.580 through 22 games with the Washington Nationals, generating 0.9 fWAR to practically match his career total from the 2023-25 seasons. Wiemer is running circles around the right-handed-hitting outfielders that the Marlins have used instead, Heriberto Hernández and Austin Slater. Here are quick hits on each of the other players who finished the 2025 regular season on the Marlins 40-man roster and wound up with different organizations: - Dane Myers (Cincinnati Reds) is on the small side of a center field platoon. Facing predominantly lefties, he has slashed .263/.404/.341 (118 wRC+). An encouraging sign moving forward: he is chasing pitches outside of the strike zone at approximately half of his career rate. - Working as a middle reliever, George Soriano (St. Louis Cardinals) has a 4.76 ERA and 4.54 FIP through 12 appearances (11.1 IP). He's done well in terms of limiting hard contact, surrendering only one home run for his new club. - Freddy Tarnok asked out of his contract to pursue a rotation job with Japan's Hiroshima Carp. He has logged 28 innings pitched in five starts with a 3.86 ERA and 23.3 K%. - Valente Bellozo (Colorado Rockies), Victor Mesa Jr. (Tampa Bay Rays), Christian Roa (Minnesota Twins), Josh Simpson (Seattle Mariners), Eric Wagaman (Twins) and Jack Winkler (Houston Astros) are playing at the Triple-A level. The best performer of the bunch has been Mesa (.323/.417/.565, 2 HR and 157 wRC+ in 16 G), though he is currently injured, as was the case all too often in recent seasons. View the full article

For the week, Wisconsin (5-1) and Biloxi (4-2) were series winners, while Nashville (3-4) and Wilson (2-4) fell a bit short. Transactions: N/A Game Action: Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Nashville 5, Charlotte (White Sox) 1 Box Score and Game Log Via extracts from the Sounds’ postgame notes which we’re able to share, plus some nuggets of our own: First Triple-A Home Run for Cooper Pratt Highlights Sounds Win over Knights Charlotte, NC - The Sounds will head back to Nashville with a 5-1 win over the Charlotte Knights in Sunday's series finale from Truist Field. A trio of home runs provided all five Nashville runs, including the first Triple-A home run for Brewers no. 4-rated prospect, Cooper Pratt. Rehabbing Quinn Priester pitched a scoreless outing to start the game, and Logan Henderson finished the afternoon on the mound with five strong innings of relief. With two on and two out in the top of the second, Pratt worked a full count off Jake Curtis. The right-hander was making his Triple-A debut after being added to Charlotte's roster prior to Sunday's finale. Curtis left too much of his 91 MPH fastball over the plate for Pratt, who sent it over the left field wall to give Nashville a 3-0 lead. Pratt's first home run of the season proved to be all the run support the Sounds would need for the day. After walking three and hitting a batter in the first inning of his season debut on Wednesday, Priester started Sunday's ballgame off with a leadoff walk to Jarred Kelenic. He got fellow rehabber Austin Hays to strike out but issued a second walk in the inning and was forced to navigate runners on the corners following a couple of stolen bases for Kelenic. Priester induced an inning-ending double play to escape the first unscathed. He worked around another walk and a hit batter in the second inning with a ground out, pop out, and his second strikeouts of the day. Jacob Waguespack took over with one out in the third and allowed just one baserunner over his 1.2 IP. Ramon Rodriguez extended Nashville's lead with a solo homer in the sixth, and Luis Lara made it back-to-back games with a round tripper to set a new single-season career-high with his fifth home run of the season to make it 5-0. Logan Henderson took over on the mound in the fifth and tossed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts despite allowing a single in each of his first three frames. The first time Henderson allowed consecutive Knights to reach base came in the bottom of the eighth following a leadoff single and walk. Henderson responded with back-to-back strikeouts before a two-out RBI single ended Nashville's shutout bid. Henderson added his third strikeout of the inning - seventh overall on the day - to leave two aboard. Back out for the ninth, Henderson struck out Dru Baker to start the inning and Kelenic to end the ballgame with the help of an ABS challenge initiated by his battery mate, Rodriguez. Henderson's nine strikeouts over his five innings helped set a new single-game high for his Triple-A career. OFF THE PRATT: Cooper Pratt launched his first career Triple-A home run in the top of the second inning in Sunday's series finale against Charlotte. It was his first home run since August 16, 2025, with Double-A Biloxi and ended a 38-game home run drought for the 21-year-old, and no. 4-ranked prospect in the Brewers farm system. Pratt had a slow start to the season, including the first 13 games in April where he hit just .122 (6-for-49) with a double, two RBI, 10 walks, and four runs scored. He was 0-for-14 through the first three games of the series against Charlotte but finished off the week hitting .429 (6-for-14) with a triple, home run, four RBI, four walks, and five runs scored over the final four games. POWER HOUR: Luis Lara hit just two home runs in 136 games played with Double-A Biloxi during the 2025 season. The Brewers no. 11-rated prospect matched that total through his first five games of this season with Nashville. He entered Sunday's finale sitting on four home runs through his first 25 Triple-A games after hitting a solo homer on Saturday night to match his previous single-season career-high that he hit with High-A Wisconsin during the 2024 season in 110 games. His solo home run in Sunday's finale not only helped set a new single-season career-high, but it was also the first time in his professional career with a home run in back-to-back games. He entered the season with just 10 total professional home runs over his first four seasons (391 games) and sits here at the end of April with five home runs through his first 26 games in Triple-A. GOTTA HEND IT TO YA: Logan Henderson worked a season-high 5.0 IP on the mound and allowed one run on five hits. It was just the second run the Brewers no. 6-rated prospect has allowed this season in Triple-A. He now owns a 1.02 ERA through his first 17.2 IP. The nine strikeouts from Henderson set a new Triple-A career-high and were his most in a game since he struck out nine during his Major League debut on April 20, 2025, vs. the Athletics. Sunday's relief appearance was just the third of his professional career, and he is now 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA over 12.0 IP out of the bullpen with 19 strikeouts and two walks allowed. Next week’s outlook: The Sounds (14-13) return home to play 6 games against Orioles’ affiliate Norfolk (10-17). LHP Thomas Pannone and RHP Carlos Rodriguez are the most likely options to start the Tuesday series opener. Biloxi Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Biloxi 8, Rocket City (Angels) 7 Box Score and Game Log Via the Shuckers’ website, game details and we encourage readers to review affiliate write-ups as part of their Link Report routine: Wood's Three-Run Blast Leads Shuckers to Series Win Relentless Biloxi hitters came back from deficits of 3-0, 5-2 and 6-4 to eventually get over the hump in Sunday’s battle. Wood’s 3-run homer in the 5th inning was the big highlight, sandwiched between two key defensive plays which Wood was also part of: Thwarting a 1st and 3rd steal attempt via a Wood-Made-Wood caught stealing to get the lead runner at home to end the top of the 5th inning trailing 6-4. Getting a strike ‘em out (by RHP Ryan Bichard), thrown ‘em out (caught stealing at 2nd base) to end the top of the 6th inning with an 8-6 advantage. Starting RHP Brett Wichrowski (4 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 6 H, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 5 Ks) had a throwing error on the first play of the game, then allowed 4 of the next 5 batters to reach base as well (3 singles, 1 HBP) as the Shuckers found themselves in an early 3-0 hole. He then retired 4 straight batters, conceded 2 runs on 3 consecutive hits and finished his afternoon by retiring the final 7 batters he faced in order. Before Wood’s big blast, it was 1B Blake Burke (2-for-5, triple, RBI) and OF Damon Keith (3-for-3, double, walk, 2 RBIs) who kept pace with the Trash Pandas, producing 4 hits and 3 RBIs over the first 3 innings to keep the game close at 5-3. RHP Ryan Birchard earned the comeback Win, allowing just one hit (an 8th inning solo homer) in 4 innings of work, although the walks (4 in this game) continue to be a challenge. RHP Tanner Gillis’s 1-inning, 11-pitch effort was his shortest outing in 26 career minor league games, helped out by a Burke-Made-Gillis 3-6-1 ground ball double play and earning him a Save: Shuckers’ Extras: DH Darrien Miller was hit-by-pitch in the 2nd, 4th and 5th innings, exiting for a pinch runner after the 3rd HBP. We hope that it was only precautionary. SS Jesus Made had a rare 0-for-5 day, but he didn’t strike out and also made key defensive contributions. OF Dasan Brown’s 2-out RBI double closed the gap to 6-5 and extended the inning just before Wood’s big hit: Next week’s outlook: Biloxi (11-10) travel to face Marlins’ affiliate Pensacola (8-13) for 6 games, commencing on Tuesday. Although an opening game starter has not yet been announced, RHP Bishop Letson is the most likely option for the team. Wisconsin Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Wisconsin 8, Fort Wayne 0 Box Score and Game Log Via the Timber Rattlers’ website, game details: Rattlers Close Out Series at Fort Wayne with Shutout Win Having OF Braylon Payne (2-for-5, HR, double, 2 RBIs) and C Marco Dinges (3-for-5, HR, double, 3 RBIs) atop the order is a luxury that 6,875 Fort Wayne fans might not have enjoyed on Sunday, though they might appreciate it more when these gentleman are mashing in the Major Leagues one day. The linked game report captures the fireworks in video and text, as well as OF Luis Castillo’s solo shot to open the Sunday scoring. On the mound, starting RHP Jason Woodward (1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K) was on a short leash (32 pitches, 19 strikes), keeping his 2026 ERA at 0.00: RHP Travis Smith did the heavy lifting on 4 days’ rest, entering with a 3-0 advantage and facing the minimum 15 batters over 5 innings of solid work (one single erased by a 1-6-3 ground ball double play that he initiated), requiring just 49 pitches (30 strikes) to do so. OF Josh Adamczewski (2-for-4, walk, SB) grounded out his first 2 times up before getting to work: 2 singles, a walk and a steal of home to finish the afternoon (season OPS 1.239). 3B Andrew Fischer wasn’t able to add to his hit or RBI totals this time, going 0-for-5 with 3 Ks. He exited for a substitute in the 9th inning, pushing Eric Bitonti over to play 3rd base in the final frame. Next week’s outlook: Wisconsin (13-6) comes home to battle Royals’ affiliate Quad Cities (10-8), with RHP Ethan Dorchies set to start the opening game on Tuesday. Wilson Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Wilson 6, Delmarva 3 Box Score and Game Log Via the Warbirds’ website, game details: Wilson Snaps Skid with Win at Delmarva In a wonderful deviation from their first 20 games, Wilson hitters put the ball in play early and often, striking out only once in their first 15 plate appearances to put pressure on the Delmarva defense and grab a 3-0 lead by the 3rd inning. 1B Frederi Montero (3-for-5, RBI) led the way by singling in the 1st inning (stranded), singling to load the bases in Wilson’s 2-run 3rd frame, delivering an RBI groundout in the 4th inning to push the advantage to 5-1 and later singling and scoring in the 9th inning. Starting 19-year old RHP Miqueas Mercedes (5 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks) impressed once again, lowering his season ERA to 2.66 and earning his first Win at the Low-A level, helped out by a 5-4-3 ground ball double play to end the first inning. Another 5-4-3 GIDP helped RHP Joshua Quezada get out of the 6th inning. The Warbirds played a clean game, with no errors, wild pitches, passed balls or balks vs. 2 errors, 2 wild pitches and a balk for their opponents. The contest had tightened to 5-3, with a man on second and the potential game-tying batter up against RHP Thomas Conrad with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th inning, but he bore down to notch a swinging strikeout. We’re grateful for additional video highlights: Encarnacion RBI single Ebel RBI single Warbirds’ Extras: All 12 Wilson hits were singles, including a 3-for-4 day, 1 walk day by 3B Filippo Di Turi and 2-for-3 afternoon for 2B Juan Ortuno. The 3 Wilson batters who didn’t manage to record a base knock still contributed offensively with 1 RBI each, including sacrifice flies by OFs Jose Anderson and Jadyn Fielder. RHP Jose Meneses (1 IP, 0 R, 2 Ks) continues to baffle hitters, earning the Save and pushing his season strikeout total to 17 in just 10 1/3 IP. Next week’s outlook: Wilson (8-13) return home to face Red Sox affiliate Salem (10-11) this week. LHP Enderson Mercado and RHP Peyton Niksch are likely to tag-team the first game of the series on Tuesday. We hope that you enjoy the Minor League Link Report. Monday is a travel day for all affiliates and the Milwaukee Brewers as well, who host the Diamondbacks from Tuesday. Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View the full article

Over his two seasons with the Florida Marlins, outfielder Eric Owens hit just nine home runs. Three of those, however, came in his first month with the club. On this day 25 years ago, Owens had perhaps his biggest blast with the Fish. His solo shot in the 10th inning off future Hall of Fame closer Billy Wagner lifted the Marlins to a thrilling 9-8 win over the Houston Astros. The Marlins had raced to a 5-0 lead at Enron Park on April 27, 2001. By the end of the fifth inning, however, that advantage had become an 8-5 deficit, thanks in part to a grand slam by Houston infielder Julio Lugo. Scoreless for four innings, the Florida bats came back to life in the seventh inning. Álex González’s RBI double cut the deficit to 8-6 before Cliff Floyd tied things up with a two-run home run off Mike Jackson an inning later. On the mound, Braden Looper and Antonio Alfonseca were able to work around errors in the eighth and ninth innings to keep the score tied. As the contest went to extra innings, Houston turned to Wagner. To open the 10th inning, the hard-throwing lefty got Luis Castillo to fly out. That brought Owens to the plate. With the count 2-2, Owens was able to drive Wagner’s fastball to right field and over the wall for the go-ahead home run. Wagner bounced back to retire Floyd and Preston Wilson, but the damage was done. In the bottom of the 10th, Alfonseca sealed the win with a 1-2-3 frame, striking out former Florida World Series hero Moisés Alou and Richard Hidalgo. On a night where the teams combined for 17 runs, they also combined for 23 hits. Owens had five of those, finishing with four runs scored. Floyd added three hits and three runs scored in the win. Mike Lowell drove in three runs. Hidalgo had a nice night for Houston, going 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Alou was 2-for-5 with two runs. Over nine seasons in the big leagues, Owens hit just 26 career home runs. His lone blast in extra innings came off a Hall of Famer and as a member of the Marlins. It happened on this day a quarter-century ago. View the full article

Once again in 2026, I will be monitoring Miami Marlins predictions from our valued SuperSubs, Fish On First staffers and livestream guests. Individual article pages like this one will be created prior to every Marlins series and featured prominently on the FOF site. Consistent participation is key if you want to win this annual contest. Submissions only take a few seconds. Scoring system A "perfect" series is worth three points: Earn one point for predicting which team will win the upcoming series Earn one point for predicting the precise number of victories for each team Earn one point for predicting the “Series MVP” who accumulated the highest win probability added (WPA) during the series as calculated by FanGraphs (could pick a player from either team) Here is a reminder of what the 2025 season leaderboard looked like. FOF SuperSub Sean Millerick currently sit atop the 2026 leaderboard, which will be updated between every Marlins series. If you are a SuperSub, leave a comment with your Prediction Time picks on this page, or join the Marlins Discord Server and submit there. We'll feature them on the upcoming Fish On First LIVE episode and track your points throughout the season! Any picks submitted prior to the first pitch of the series opener will be counted. If you are not a SuperSub, please consider signing up here to support the FOF staff. Series preview notes Probable starting pitchers: RHP Chris Paddack (MIA) vs. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (SF) on Monday RHP Janson Junk (MIA) on RHP Shohei Ohtani (LAD) Tuesday RHP Sandy Alcantara (MIA) vs. RHP Tyler Glasnow (SF) on Wednesday The Marlins rank ninth in MLB with a 104 wRC+ and 13th in MLB with a 4.02 FIP. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have a 3-9 record on the road this season. The following Marlins players are on the injured list: Griffin Conine (10-day IL), Ronny Henriquez (60-day IL), Adam Mazur (60-day IL) and Christopher Morel (10-day IL). Out for the past month due to an oblique strain, Morel could potentially be reinstated during this series. The Dodgers rank first in MLB with a 130 wRC+ and fourth in MLB with a 3.57 FIP. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and have an 11-4 record at home this season. The following Dodgers players are on the injured list: Mookie Betts (10-day IL), Ben Casparius (15-day IL), Jake Cousins (60-day IL), Edwin Díaz (15-day IL), Tommy Edman (10-day IL), Brusdar Graterol (60-day IL), Kiké Hernández (60-day IL), Gavin Knack (15-day IL), Bobby Miller (60-day IL), Evan Phillips (60-day IL), Blake Snell (15-day IL), Brock Stewart (15-day IL) and Gavin Stone (60-day IL). View the full article

Congratulations to pitchers Merit Jones, Matthew Becker, Eric Hammond, and Jake Murray, and catchers Ryan Sprock and Irvin Nunez, and the entire Fort Myers Mighty Mussels team. On Sunday, the team posted its sixth no-hitter in franchise history. I looked back at the five previous no-hitters which was fun to remember, and yes, I am old enough, and have been blogging long enough, to remember all of them. Some fun names to remember. In addition, I chatted with Mussel's play-by-play voice Andrew Pawling about today’s game, the pitchers and catchers, and several of the players on the roster. You can find that at the bottom of the Mussels section below or on Twins Daily’s YouTube page. May 12, 2007 Yohan Pino tossed a complete game no-hitter for the Miracle. It was the first no-hitter for the Twins affiliate since moving to Fort Myers in 1991. He walked two and had six strikeouts in seven innings (part of a doubleheader). Miracle won the game 2-0 over Lakeland. August 14, 2011 Alex Wimmers had been struggling with his control. The former top pick had been fighting a case of the yips all season. But with the season coming toward its end, Wimmers struck out nine and walked three in this seven-inning no-hitter. Miracle won 1-0 over Bradenton. September 18, 2021 Four pitches combined to toss a seven-inning no-hitter, the first under the Mighty Mussels name. Regi Grace, Landon Leach and Bradley Hanner each threw two hitless innings. Matthew Swain pitched the seventh inning to complete the no-hitter. They combined for one walk and eight strikeouts. The Mussels won 7-0 over Tampa. May 10, 2022 Here was the first nine-inning no-hitter in franchise history as the Mussels topped Palm Beach 3-0. David Festa started and went the first six innings. He had two walks but also struck out 11 batters. He reached 99.1 mph in that game. Jaylen Nowlin struck out three batters over two no-hit innings. Hunter McMahon got the final three outs to complete the no-no. July 23, 2024 It’s not officially a no-hitter by the rules, but in July 2024, the Mussels combined for a rain-shortened no-hitter (also against the Blue Jays). Lefty Ross Dunn, a rehabbing Justin Topa, and WIlker Reyes combined for six, no-hit innings. The Jays starter, Ryan Watson, was perfect through 17 hitters. Angel Del Rosario singled. Walker Jenkins doubled him to third, and then Chourio’s double. TRANSACTIONS SS Yilber Herrera was assigned to the FCL Twins from the Mussels. Moving in the other direction was LHP Matthew Becker. The southpaw was the team’s 19th round pick in 2025 out of South Carolina. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Indianapolis 1 Box Score This was just a well-played ballgame, and it starts with the pitching. Zebby Matthews was the Zebby Matthews we enjoyed watching when he was at his finest. The right-hander tossed five shutout innings. He gave up one hit and one walk. He had six strikeouts. 46 of his 67 pitches were strikes (68.7%). He also had seven ground outs to zero fly outs. Kendry Rojas made his first appearance since returning to St. Paul. The hard-throwing lefty gave up just two hits over three scoreless innings. He hit one batter, walked none, and struck out five batters. 35 of his 44 pitches were strikes, a remarkable 79.5% strike rate! Luis Garcia gave up a run on two hits in the ninth inning. The Saints took the lead right away in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Ryan Kreidler hit his second Saints homer, his first since rejoining the team early this week. They carried the 2-0 lead until the top of the sixth. Gabriel Gonzalez led off the inning with a single. With two outs, Orlando Arcia drove him in with a single. Kyler Fedko went 2-for-4 with his second double. WIND SURGE WISDOM Game 1: Wichita 5, NW Arkansas 6 Box Score The Surge scored early. The Naturals scored late and had the last at-bat. Billy Amick led off the top of the second inning with a walk. Ricardo Olivar followed with his fifth home run. Two innings later, the Surge had a 2-1 lead. Kala’i Rosario led off with a walk. Amick followed with his fifth home run of the season. Kyle DeBarge scored on a wild pitch to give Wichita a 5-1 lead. Sam Armstrong made the start and gave up one run on three hits and a walk in four innings. He had one strikeout. Jarret Whorff worked the fifth inning. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and a passed ball. Alejandro Hidalgo started the sixth. He gave up two runs on one hit and two walks in just 2/3 of an inning. Luis Quinones came on and kept the game tied through six innings. He came back out for the bottom of the seventh inning. He struck out the first two batters, but Rudy Martin walked it off with a home run. Game 2: Wichita 3, NW Arkansas 2 Box Score Garrett Spain, who hit his fifth double of the season in the first game, led off Game 2 with his fifth home run of the season. Ty Langenberg gave up two runs on four hits and two walks over the first four innings. He struck out four batters. Kyle Bischoff worked the next two innings. He gave up only a walk and had two strikeouts over his two innings. Down 2-1 going into the seventh inning, Hendry Mendez led off with a walk. With one out, Kala’i Rosario drilled his fifth home run of the season to give Wichita a 3-2 lead. Darren Bowen came in for the bottom of the second. He gave up a run and a single but kept the Naturals from scoring to record his first save of the season. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 16 Box Score It was a rough week for the Kernels in Peoria. Eduardo Tait had a couple of home runs and big hits, and Marek Houston started the week with five straight multi-hit games. On Sunday, he was 0-for-1 with a walk and drove in the team’s first run with a sacrifice fly. The Kernels were outscored 51-33 over the six games and won just one game. This was a tough one. Through four innings, the Kernels were down 10-1. However, in the top of the seventh, Cedar Rapids started a comeback. Miguel Briceno led off with a single. Jay Thomason followed with another single. After a line out and a pitching change, Jaime Ferrer drove in Briceno to make it 10-2. Andy Lugo pinch hit for Houston and walked to load the bases. Thomason scored on a groundout by Tait. Brandon Winokur then hit his second home run of the season, a three-run shot to cut the deficit to 10-6. That’s as close as it got as Peoria scored six runs over their final two innings. Michael Ross made the start. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on one hit and three walks over two innings. He had two strikeouts. Nick McAuliffe made his pro debut and gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits and two walks. Christian Becerra gave up two runs on three hits in the fourth inning. Eston Stull gave up a hit and two walks over two scoreless innings. Yehizon Sanchez gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and three walks in an inning. Sam Rochard gave up four runs on three hits and a walk in the eighth inning. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Dunedin 0 Box Score You might have heard this already. The Mighty Mussels used four pitchers to complete a nine-inning no-hitter. It was far from a perfect game, to be sure, but the pitchers kept the Blue Jays off the scoreboard and without a hit. Merit Jones started and went 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and hit a batter. He needed just 34 pitches to record 10 outs. Matt Becker came on for his professional debut. He went 3 2/3 innings and had three strikeouts. Two of the Mussels four errors came while Becker was pitching. Eric Hammond recorded five outs. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, manager Jordan Smith made one more pitching change. He turned to lefty Jake Murray who walked a batter before getting a strikeout to end the game and complete the no hitter. The team did need to score runs to win the game. In the bottom of the third inning, a Yasser Mercedes single drove in Bryan Acuna to make it 1-0. In the bottom of thmake it 1-0e sixth, Ryan Sprock drove in Mercedes with a single to make it 2-0. Quentin Young drove in Byron Chourio with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eight to close out scoring. In every no-hitter, it seems like there is at least one great defensive play that helps save the day. In this game, that play may have come in the fifth inning when Eduardo Beltre covered some ground to make a sliding catch. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Garrett Spain (Wichita): 2-for-7, 2B(5), HR(5), R, RBI, K Pitcher of the Day Merit Jones, Matt Becker, Eric Hammonds, Jake Murray (Fort Myers): 9 IP, 0H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 104 pitches, 66 strikes (63.5%) Zebby Matthews, Kendry Rojas (St. Paul): 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K, 111 pitches, 81 strikes (73.0%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - Did Not Play. #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, R, 2 K (batted first, played SS) #3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, K (Batted second, played CF). #4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, RBI, K (batted second, played DH) #5 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch #7 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, 2 K (batted fourth, played RF) #8 - LHP Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 44 pitches, 35 strikes (79.5%) #9 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, BB, SF RBI, K (batted leadoff, played DH) #10 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #11 - RHP Riley Quick (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #13 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, HR(2), R, 3 RBI, 2 K, E(6) (batted third, played SS) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-1, 2 BB, SF RBI, E (batted fifth, played SS) #15 - RHP Marco Raya (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch. #16 - OF Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - Game 1: 0-for-3, BB (batted third, played LF), Game 2: 0-for-2, BB, R (batted second, played LF) #17 - 2B/OF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - Game 1: 0-for-3, BB, R, K (batted second, played SS), Game 2: 1-for-3, K (batted third, played SS) #18 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch. #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K, E(2) (batted fourth, played CF) #20 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 IL (right elbow sprain) UPCOMING PROBABLES Tuesday: Iowa @ St. Paul (11:07 am CT) - RHP John Klein (1-1, 7.64 ERA) Arkansas @ Wichita (6:05 pm CT) - TBD West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (6:05 pm CT) - TBD Ft. Myers @ Daytona (5:35 pm CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 12-16 St. Paul Saints: 11-15 Wichita Wind Surge: 12-9 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 8-13 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 14-7 FCL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, May 4) DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View the full article

Fish On First staffers react to the latest Miami Marlins series and prepare you for what lies ahead. Sunday's show was hosted by Jeremiah Geiger and featured panelists Ely Sussman, Alex Carver and Isaac Azout. The following topics were covered: Max Meyer receiving an early hook on Sunday Potential Marlins roster moves to address the bullpen A deflating end to Eury Pérez's outing Fish On First Top 30 risers, fallers and takeaways Previewing and predicting the next series against the Los Angeles Dodgers You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. The first FOF Top 30 update since January includes the additions of Double-A infielder Payton Green and Low-A Jupiter left-hander Nate Payne. Marlins outfielder Owen Caissie (previously ranked No. 4) has graduated from prospect eligibility. Our next FOF LIVE episode will be Wednesday at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET following the Marlins-Dodgers series finale. View the full article

Samad Taylor had three hits, four RBIs, and a home run as the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas beat Reno 9-5, with Jackson Wolf working five innings and Yuki Matsui adding two scoreless. Carson Tucker's tying 10th-inning triple wasn't enough as Double-A San Antonio fell 3-2 in 11, despite three scoreless innings from Ian Koenig. Wisconsin shut out High-A Fort Wayne 8-0, though Abraham Parra struck out seven. Carlos Medina led Low-A Lake Elsinore past Visalia 5-2 with three strikeouts as the Storm won their sixth straight. Chihuahuas Pound Out 11 Hits, Hold On To Beat Aces The El Paso Chihuahuas used an early flurry for a 9-5 home win over the Reno Aces, scoring eight of their nine runs across the first three innings. Samad Taylor led the 11-hit attack, going 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, and four RBIs. Nick Schnell scored three runs and drove in another. Jase Bowen added two hits, and Carlos Rodríguez and Nate Mondou each drove in a run. After Reno took an early 1-0 lead, El Paso answered in the bottom of the first when Rodríguez singled home Taylor, who had doubled, and Rodolfo Durán reached on a fielding error that allowed Nick Solak to score. Reno reclaimed the lead in the second, but Taylor responded with a three-run homer to left-center, scoring Schnell and Bowen for a 5-3 cushion. The Chihuahuas tacked on three more in the third, when Schnell reached on a fielder's choice that scored Durán, Bowen singled home Mason McCoy, and Taylor singled in Schnell to push the lead to 8-4. Starter Jackson Wolf worked five innings, allowing four hits, four runs (three earned), including a home run, while striking out three without issuing a walk. Eli Villalobos and Yuki Matsui combined for three scoreless relief innings with four strikeouts before Alek Jacob gave up a solo home run in the ninth. For Matsui, it was his longest outing during his rehab assignment, perhaps a signal his return to the Padres is close. The only thing he hasn't done is go back-to-back. EP_0426.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Jase Bowen 4 1 2 1 1 0 Samad Taylor 5 2 3 4 0 0 Nick Solak 3 1 0 0 1 0 Nate Mondou 1 0 1 1 0 0 Jose Miranda 5 0 0 0 0 1 Carlos Rodríguez 4 0 1 1 0 0 Rodolfo Durán 4 1 1 0 0 0 Clay Dungan 4 0 1 0 0 0 Mason McCoy 4 1 1 0 0 1 Nick Schnell 3 3 1 1 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jackson Wolf 5 4 4 3 0 3 1 Eli Villalobos 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Yuki Matsui 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 Alek Jacob 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 Missions Drop Extra-Innings Heartbreaker To Amarillo After a tight first nine innings, the San Antonio Missions lost a back-and-forth game 3-2 in 11 innings to Amarillo. Carson Tucker provided the offensive highlight with a tying triple leading off the bottom of the 10th to score the zombie runner, but the Missions were unable to bring him home despite loading the bases on a pair of walks. Romeo Sanabria worked three walks, Tirso Ornelas scored a run and doubled, and Chris Sargent added a single. San Antonio scored its first run in the second when Ornelas doubled with one out, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Braedon Karpathios sacrifice fly. The score held until the eighth, when Amarillo tied it on a solo home run off reliever Michael Flynn. In the 10th, Amarillo plated its zombie runner on a sacrifice fly. In the 11th, Amarillo's zombie runner went to third on a fielder's choice and then thrown out at the plate on a grounder to second baseman Francisco Acuna. With runners at first and second, Missions reliever Francis Pena got a fly ball for the second out, but the next batter doubled for the go-ahead run, with the second runner thrown out at the plate. Right-hander Ian Koenig opened with three scoreless innings, giving up three hits and a walk while striking out three. SA_0426.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Kai Roberts 4 0 0 0 0 3 Ryan Jackson 4 0 0 0 1 1 Romeo Sanabria 2 0 0 0 3 0 Leandro Cedeño 5 0 1 0 0 1 Kai Murphy 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tirso Ornelas 5 1 1 0 0 1 Francisco Acuna 3 0 0 0 1 3 Albert Fabian 1 0 0 0 0 0 Braedon Karpathios 4 1 0 1 0 0 Carson Tucker 3 0 1 1 1 2 Chris Sargent 4 0 1 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Ian Koenig 3 3 0 0 1 3 0 Omar Cruz 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 Sadrac Franco 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Michael Flynn 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 Harry Gustin 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Francis Peña 2 1 2 0 1 1 0 TinCaps Shut Out At Home By Wisconsin The Fort Wayne TinCaps were shut out at home 8-0 by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, who pounded out three home runs. The TinCaps managed only five hits and three walks and struck out 13 times. Jake Cunningham, Jack Costello, and Lamar King Jr. each contributed a hit, with Cunningham and Costello getting doubles. Kasen Wells went 1-for-3 with a walk. Wisconsin took control in the third inning. With the game tied 0-0, the Timber Rattlers ripped a solo home run, then drew two walks before stringing together back-to-back doubles that drove in two more runs to make it 3-0. They tacked on another run in the fifth on a single, manufactured a fifth run in the sixth, and pulled away with a two-homer outburst in the seventh that pushed the score to 7-0. A run in the ninth completed the scoring. Right-hander Abraham Parra struck out seven, but unable to limit the damage, working 4⅔ innings. He allowed four hits, four runs (three earned), two walks, and one home run. Player AB R H RBI BB K Jake Cunningham 4 0 1 0 0 0 Kasen Wells 3 0 1 0 1 0 Carlos Rodriguez 3 0 0 0 1 1 Lamar King Jr. 4 0 1 0 0 1 Zach Evans 4 0 1 0 0 1 Rosman Verdugo 4 0 0 0 0 0 Jack Costello 3 0 1 0 0 0 Kavares Tears 2 0 0 0 1 0 Dylan Grego 3 0 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Abraham Parra 4 2/3 4 4 3 2 7 1 Bernard Jose 1 1/3 3 3 3 2 2 2 Will Varmette 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 Luis Germán 2 1 1 1 3 3 0 Storm Roll Sweep 6 From Visalia Behind Frye, Quintana The Lake Elsinore Storm capped a six-game sweep of the visiting Visalia Rawhide with a 5-2 win, getting a productive night from the top of the order and timely contributions through the lineup. Jose Verdugo had two hits with an RBI and a stolen base. Bradley Frye tripled and drove in two runs. Jorge Quintana hit his first home run of the year. Qrey Lott contributed a double and an RBI, and Ryan Wideman went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and a run scored. After Visalia opened with a solo home run in the second, Quintana evened the score in the home half with a solo shot to center. The Storm broke the game open in the third inning. Yoiber Ocopio walked, came around to score on a Qrey Lott double. One out later, Lott scored on Bradley Frye's triple, and Frye in turn came home on a Jose Verdugo bunt that pushed Lake Elsinore in front 4-1. The Storm added an insurance run in the eighth when Frye's sacrifice fly brought home Wideman. Right-hander Carlos Medina turned in four innings, giving up two hits, one run and a walk while striking out three. Javier Chacon followed with two scoreless innings, Daichi Moriki struck out two in a scoreless inning, Sean Barnett yielded a run in the eighth, and Vicarte Domingo closed the night with a scoreless ninth. LE_0426.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ryan Wideman 3 1 1 0 0 0 Bradley Frye 3 1 1 2 0 2 Jose Verdugo 3 0 2 1 0 1 Justin DeCriscio 4 0 0 0 0 0 Victor Duarte 3 0 0 0 1 0 Jorge Quintana 3 1 1 1 0 1 George Bilecki 3 0 0 0 0 2 Yoiber Ocopio 2 1 0 0 1 0 Qrey Lott 3 1 1 1 0 0 Conner Westenburg 0 0 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Carlos Medina 4 2 1 1 1 3 1 Javier Chacon 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 Daichi Moriki 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Sean Barnett 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 Vicarte Domingo 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Padres Minor-League Transactions San Antonio Missions activated RHP Ian Koenig from the 7-day injured list. Top-20 Prospect Performance Kash Mayfield: DNP Ethan Salas: DNP Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Bradgley Rodriguez: DNP Humberto Cruz: DNP Miguel Mendez: DNP Ty Harvey: DNP Jorge Quintana: 1-for-3, HR, RBI, K Kale Fountain: DNP Ryan Wideman: 1-for-3, R, 2 SB Jagger Haynes: DNP Lamar King Jr.: 1-for-4, K Romeo Sanabria: 0-for-2, 3 BB Truitt Madonna: DNP Michael Salina: DNP Garrett Hawkins: DNP Kavares Tears: 0-for-2, BB Deivid Coronil: DNP Francis Pena: 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, BB, K Bryan Balzer: DNP View the full article

The Tommy Pham spark never materialized. Now, the New York Mets are moving on. Pham will be designated for assignment as the Mets are signing fellow outfielder Austin Slater, who was just DFA'd by the Miami Marlins and opted to become a free agent, MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported Sunday. Pham was called up April 13 as the Mets had lost five in a row and the offense had just been shut out twice by the Athletics. That streak would extend to 12 games before the Mets won back-to-back, only to be swept in a three-game series by the Colorado Rockies, including both ends of a doubleheader Sunday. For his part, the 38-year-old Pham went 0-for-13 with a run scored, one walk and seven strikeouts in nine games. The 33-year-old Slater was off to a 4-for-23 with a run scored, an RBI, four walks and nine strikeouts in 12 games with the Marlins. He was DFA'd by the Marlins and went unclaimed off waivers before being outrighted to Triple-A on Saturday. But Slater had the option of choosing free agency and he landed an opportunity to remain in the majors with the Mets. In his career, which started in 2017 and was mostly spent with the San Francisco Giants, Slater has a slash line of .247/.335/.381. View the full article

The Weekly Nutshell: The week opened on a positive note, with the Twins pulling off an impressive comeback win over Nolan McLean and the Mets. From there, it was all downhill. Minnesota dropped the next five straight, scoring two or fewer runs in four of the losses as the bullpen and defense repeatedly let them down. Any lingering good vibes from their surprising 8-1 hot streak were quickly erased by a counterbalancing 1-9 cold spell, and sadly the latest sample feels a lot more reflective of who this team is — for now, at least. On the bright side, we did get some previews of a more favorable future during this rough road trip, and hopefully there's more of that to come soon. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 4/20 through Sun, 4/26 *** Record Last Week: 1-5 (Overall: 12-16) Run Differential Last Week: -12 (Overall: +0) Standing: 3rd Place in AL Central (2.5 GB) Latest Game Results Game 23 | MIN 5, NYM 3: Twins Break Through Against McLean, Top Spiraling Mets Twins bullpen: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 6 K Game 24 | NYM 3, MIN 2: Mets End Skid Despite Strong Debuts from Prielipp, Rojas Prielipp: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Game 25 | NYM 10, MIN 8: Exciting Comeback Falls Short as Bullpen Erases Momentum Jeffers: Game-tying GS Game 26 | TB 6, MIN 2: Bradley Gives Up Four Home Runs in Return to Tropicana Field Bradley: 6.1 IP, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 4 HR Game 27 | TB 6, MIN 1: Familiar Story as Pitchers, Bats Struggle in Fourth Straight Loss Rogers: 0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 ER Game 28 | TB 4, MIN 2: Rays Complete Sweep in Series Where Twins Never Held Lead Woods Richardson: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN GET IT IN AUDIO FORM! FIND THE LATEST EPISODE ON OUR PODCAST PAGE, AS WELL AS ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNELS SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT! NEWS & NOTES The week opened with a flurry of roster moves, including a couple of high-profile prospect promotions. On Tuesday, left-hander Kendry Rojas was called up from Triple-A, and a day later he was joined by fellow southpaw Connor Prielipp. Ranked eighth and fifth respectively on Twins Daily's top prospects list, these are the two top arms in the high minors for the Twins. Both pitchers debuted on Wednesday against the Mets. The exciting promotions came at a cost. Mick Abel, coming off back-to-back excellent starts, was placed on the injured list Monday with right elbow inflammation, which flared up during his latest bullpen session. Fortunately, an MRI showed no structural damage and the team is viewing it as a best-case scenario for the emerging young righty. Hopefully he won't be sidelined for too long, but every precaution should be taken with this hopeful rotation staple. With the Abel IL move opening up one spot on the pitching staff, Kody Funderburk's transfer to the paternity list (congrats!) opened the other, at least for a few days. Funderburk was reinstated on Friday, sending Rojas back to the minors, but Prielipp remains on the roster and in the rotation for the time being. Royce Lewis returned from the IL after the minimum 10 days, confirming that his knee sprain indeed proved to be very minor. Ryan Kreidler returned to Triple-A in (essentially) a corresponding action. I'd have rather seen James Outman shipped out personally, but for now the Twins are keen to avoid exposing him and his .115 batting average to waivers. A few other quick roster notes: The Twins claimed reliever Christian Roa off waivers from the Astros, designating first baseman Eric Wagaman for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. Roa has a similar profile to Garrett Acton: 27-year-old righty who's barely played in the majors but has posted big strikeout numbers in Triple-A. Wagaman, acquired from the Marlins during the offseason, was basically a flop, missing out on the Opening Day roster and then posting a .538 OPS in Triple-A before being cut from the 40-man. Travis Adams, who's been out since spring due to an elbow issue, moved his rehab up to St. Paul on Wednesday and is in line to become a bullpen option very soon. He appeared twice for the Saints, allowing three earned runs with five strikeouts and a walk over 3 ⅔ innings. The Twins signed veteran reliever Luis García, a 39-year-old righty with more than 600 appearances in the majors, to a minor-league contact. He also could factor into the bullpen depth equation pretty quickly, given his experience. A final unfortunate note: outfielder Alan Roden suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and will be sidelined for at least the next month. The hope is that he won't need surgery but as we're all aware, shoulder injuries are pesky and pernicious. It's a big downer for Roden after a thumb injury knocked him out down the stretch last year. HIGHLIGHTS While the Twins have flirted with competitiveness during the first month, this season was always going to be about getting a real glimpse of the future and ushering in the next wave of talent. That's why games like Wednesday's against the Mets are so invigorating, even if that one ultimately turned out to be a tough 3-2 loss. Prielipp was as advertised in his MLB debut, piling up whiffs with a power slide en route to six strikeouts with no walks over four innings. An exciting preview of things to come. Prielipp is going to be a force on this staff for some time as long as he can stay healthy. Rojas was not nearly as sharp when he made his own first MLB appearance, entering as a reliever later in the same game. He got through two scoreless frames but issued three walks with no strikeouts and labored a bit at times. That said, he was touching 98 with his fastball and got through the outing cleanly, so all in all it was far from a disastrous first impression. He was optioned back to Triple-A after one appearance but we'll surely see Rojas again soon. On offense, Austin Martin has been the clear standout and it's earning him more trust from his manager. This was best demonstrated on Friday when Martin found himself starting in right field and batting third against a right-handed starter in Drew Rasmussen. Martin still isn't quite starting every day, but he's moving well beyond the strict platoon role, and it's well deserved as he keeps getting on base in literally half of his plate appearances. Four hits and four walks in the past week leave Martin sitting with a .327/.500/.455 slash line, and he leads the team with 0.9 fWAR despite ranking eighth in plate appearances. He's also making far more of a defensive impact than we've seen in the past as he appears to grow comfortable and confident in the outfield. LOWLIGHTS There were some poor individual hitting and pitching performances over the course of the week, but what continues to really stick out as a negative for this team is the defense. Just excruciating to watch, night after night. Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) shared on Friday a list of the best and worst defenders in the major leagues, per Defensive Runs Saved. The Twins had three different players ranked as the least valuable fielder at his position: Ryan Jeffers at catcher, Brooks Lee at shortstop, Matt Wallner in right field. As a team the Twins have the third-worst defense in the majors by DRS. Jeffers is probably being underrated a little by defensive metrics that aren't fully accounting for the impact of his ABS challenging proficiency, and his bat is definitely adding value on the other side (he hit a big grand slam to briefly tie Thursday's game in the eighth), but the rough patches in his game have been evident. Earlier in Thursday's game he let a passed ball get by him in the second, costing Joe Ryan a strikeout and leading to three unearned runs scoring. Opposing baserunners are 15-for-19 on steals against Jeffers. He's been very good overall, but there are warts. The defensive metrics definitely check out on Lee, who is constantly letting grounders sneak past him at short. Statcast pegs his fielding range in the 3rd percentile. He was at least able to get his bat going to pull out of his latest slump, posting back-to-back three-hit games on Thursday and Friday. He's going to need to bring a lot more of that to be a useful player because he lacks the skills to be anything more than a liability at short. Wallner, at negative-5 DRS, is one of the worst overall defenders in all of baseball. He's getting terrible jumps in right field, his running speed has declined from last year, and his big arm hasn't yielded much value. Making matters worse is that Wallner also hasn't been able to find his groove at the plate. He's slashing .190/.281/.329 with a league-leading 36 strikeouts. He was 2-for-20 over his past seven games before sitting against a right-hander in the finale at Citi Field, which is perhaps a precursor to a more significant move if things stay as they are. Wallner does notably have an option remaining. Luke Keaschall doesn't quite make the cut as baseball's worst at his position, but he has not looked good at second base. Any hope that his arm strength would improve significantly as he distanced from elbow surgery hasn't really come to fruition. Keaschall's lackluster throwing ability — illustrated by a pattern of floating, fluttering, bouncing deliveries across the diamond — doesn't even meet the relatively low demands of second base. He's also been a complete mess at the plate, stranding 12 runners in Wednesday's and Thursday's losses alone, part of a 4-for-20 week that leaves his OPS hovering around .500. I'm cautiously optimistic that his offensive game will turn around, but I just don't see it working out for Keaschall in the infield, which is non-ideal for the Twins who are far deeper in the outfield. Rounding out the infield malaise is Lewis, who returned to the fold with a thump. At the plate he went 3-for-20 with six strikeouts and zero walks, and Lewis is tied for the worst Outs Above Average in the majors at negative-six. I'm pretty close to losing hope at this point. Lewis still sprinkles in the occasional reminder of his former prowess, including a home run and a nice defensive play down the third base line last week, but they are heavily outweighed by bafflingly inept play. It was entirely too easy to see this coming. The Twins were one of the worst defensive teams in baseball and did little to remedy that during the offseason. In fact, they actively worsened their state of affairs for the sake of saving money. They're paying Carlos Correa $10 million to play at an All-Star caliber level for another team — his 3 DRS and 2 OAA would both lead the Twins, as would his 1.0 fWAR through the first month of action. TRENDING STORYLINE How soon is too soon to take action on this rapidly unraveling ballclub? It seemed like their charmed 8-1 run was going to at least set them up to hang around the .500 mark even after regression inevitably set up, but the fall has been harder than anyone could've foreseen. Now they find themselves four games under, with no end to the losing in sight. What options are available to provide a jolt? Swapping Wallner out for someone like Emmanuel Rodriguez is the most straightforward lever to pull at the moment. Then again, Wallner is also one of the team's highest-upside bats and slumps are part of his game. Sending him to Triple-A at age 28 would be rough. Gabriel Gonzalez is a name to watch. He's batting just .202 for the Saints, suppressed by a .188 BABIP, but hit three homers this past week and has been seeing time at first base as the Twins seek to boost his defensive versatility. Kaelen Culpepper looms as a possible solution for the woes on the left side of the infield, but he probably needs to find more of a sustained groove before that's on the table — Culpepper ended the week in an 0-for-14 skid and his OPS is below .700. On the pitching side, Rojas should be back sooner than later, and I'd also like to see Prielipp stick around even after Abel recovers. He's clearly one of the staff's highest-caliber arms, and sending him back to the minors to waste bullets seems senseless at this point. Minnesota's optimal rotation probably includes Prielipp in favor of Simeon Woods Richardson, whose ERA inflated to 6.30 with a couple more ugly starts this past week, but that's not as straightforward since SWR is out of options. Would they consider a bullpen move if he keeps churning out clunker starts? A potentially relevant and related note here: Zebby Matthews delivered his finest start of the season on Sunday, striking out six over five shutout innings with just one hit and one walk allowed. After a brutal spring and start to the season at Triple-A, Matthews is maybe starting to round into form, with a 2.57 ERA and 16-to-2 K/BB ratio in 14 innings over his past three starts. LOOKING AHEAD The two clubs that faced off in the American League Championship Series last year are coming to Target Field in a jam-packed week that should hopefully feature some good weather and entertaining baseball. Prielipp and Ryan are both scheduled to start twice during the home stand. MONDAY, APRIL 27: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP Luis Castillo v. LHP Connor Prielipp TUESDAY, APRIL 28: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP Logan Gilbert v. RHP Joe Ryan WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP George Kirby v. RHP Taj Bradley THURSDAY, APRIL 30: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS — RHP Kevin Gausman v. RHP Bailey Ober FRIDAY, MAY 1: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS — RHP Dylan Cease v. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson SATURDAY, MAY 2: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS — LHP Patrick Corbin v. LHP Connor Prielipp SUNDAY, MAY 3: BLUE JAYS @ TWINS — LHP Eric Lauer v. RHP Joe Ryan View the full article

If the Miami Marlins are going to make a run at the postseason in 2026, trust in their starting pitchers would be something to zero in on. In what has become a borderline running gag at this point, Clayton McCullough and his coaching staff were foiled by their reluctance to do so on Sunday. Max Meyer cruised through four innings on just 54 pitches against the San Francisco Giants, working around a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the fifth in what would wind up being his longest inning of the day, in terms of pitch count. McCullough relieved Meyer at just 77 pitches with Miami leading 3-1. Although the pitchers have vastly different résumés, one could not help but think back to the Sandy Alcantara incident earlier this month. For those unaware, Alcantara, vying for his second consecutive shutout, was relieved with one out in the top of the ninth after just 93 pitches for Anthony Bender. Bender, who entered with a pair of men on base, quickly coughed up the lead in what would ultimately be a 6-3 Marlins loss. The result on Sunday would prove no different, as the Giants won 6-3. "I thought Max had done his job, gotten us through five...we thought we had the right combination of guys to get to Pete (Fairbanks), but the game quickly turned on us, and the offense couldn't get it going outside of the Pauley homer...but it happens," explained Clayton McCullough. Calvin Faucher occupied the Bender role this time. For the fifth time already this season, his erratic command led to a leadoff walk. Rafael Devers would double home Casey Schmitt four pitches later, and Drew Gilbert would tie the game at 3-3 two batters later. The aforementioned Schmitt rubbed salt in the wound one inning later when his second home run in as many days landed into the left field stands of Oracle Park. San Francisco, which entered the series tied with the Red Sox for the fewest home runs in baseball, blasted six long balls in the weekend set. Making his second career appearance and first career start against the Marlins, Landen Roupp would be tagged for a three-spot in the second when Graham Pauley hit his first home run of the season. From then on out, though, Roupp went into cruise control, retiring the next 18 batters faced. It wasn't until a Heriberto Hernández walk with two outs in the top of the eighth that Miami would have another baserunner. In a season-high 7 ⅔ innings of work, Roupp allowed just two hits and struck out six. In his six starts to begin the season, Roupp owns a 2.55 ERA. The Pauley home run marked the first allowed by Roupp in 2026. Kyle Stowers was one of many Marlins players who were silenced offensively, but it was a notable game for him nonetheless. Making his first career start as a first baseman at the major league level, he collected an assist on a throw to second base and five putouts. Meyer, on the other hand, would punch out five in his five innings of work, lowering his season ERA to 3.30, and wrapping up a month of April where he posted a mark of 2.88. In 15 career starts in March/April, Meyer owns an ERA right at 3.00. Working around a first-pitch, leadoff triple from Jung Hoo Lee, Meyer would quickly find his groove, allowing just three hits the rest of the way. His one run allowed Sunday would be unearned due to an error on his part when trying to complete a double play. The aforementioned Lee collected nine hits in the weekend series, marking just the seventh time this decade that a player had nine or more hits in any three-game span against Miami. In defeat, the Marlins fall to 13-15, retaining a one-game lead over the Nationals for second in the National League East. Looking Ahead The Marlins will continue their tour of the west coast on Monday when they travel to Southern California to begin a three-game series against the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Chris Paddack (0-4, 6.38 ERA) will look to improve his fortunes against the Dodgers in the series opener. In nine career starts, Paddack owns a 5.91 ERA. He'll go up against the 2025 World Series MVP in Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-2, 2.48 ERA). First pitch from Dodger Stadium is slated for 10:10 EST. View the full article