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April showers have brought strange tidings to May. Instead of a running list, here are some fun facts: The reigning World Series Champion Dodgers have the same record as the St. Louis Cardinals. The same Cardinals team that gutted itself in the offseason. The two even squared off on Saturday, but more on that later.
How about another? The Miami Marlins have as many wins as the Toronto Blue Jays. Or, the Pittsburgh Pirates tout a top-five offense. Or how about the Cincinnati Reds being one of five teams with 20+ wins, and yet they’re third in their own division? 2026 is a weird, weird season brought to us from the dark.
Today’s Headlines
Belly’s Big Game
The New York Yankees had their way with the Baltimore Orioles amid a 9-4 win. To be more accurate, though, Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger had his way with Baltimore’s pitching. Bellinger went 4-4 with four RBI, a steal, and three runs scored. Things started loud for Bellinger with a second-inning homer. They quieted thanks to an RBI double before Bellinger pitched back up with another longball, his second of the game. Bellinger finally ended the barrage with an RBI single, leaving him a triple short of the cycle. How’s that for an afternoon at the office?
Pirates Pounce on the Reds
One wouldn’t know it by the final 17-7 score, but the Pittsburgh Pirates were losing at one point Saturday. So, what changed? How about a five-run first inning and a five-run second? Pittsburgh’s bats absolutely worked Cincinnati Reds starter, Rhett Lowder. They extracted five hits from the young righty and an even more impressive four walks. Reliever Connor Phillips fared no better. He surrendered four straight walks before being replaced by Sam Moll. That said, all credit goes to Pittsburgh and its offense. Everyone in its lineup recorded at least one RBI for the first time since 1975. Long dormant this decade, Pittsburgh’s offense is currently second in team RBI, second in runs scored, and seventh in team OPS. The more you know.
St. Louis Stumps LA
There are two ways to look at the St. Louis Cardinals‘ 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first is to praise St. Louis’ pitching. Starter Michael McGreevy cruised through his six shutout innings. Three hits and three walks were the only turbulence, but both went nowhere. Relievers Ryne Stanek and JoJo Romero followed and held down the fort. Even closer, Riley O’Brien played with fire and escaped. And offensively, it’s yet another nice night for Jordan Walker. The former top prospect rocketed a game-winning two-run bomb early to set the tone. All in all, it’s a well-deserved win for the Cards.
The other view is to admit the Dodgers aren’t right. Not that anyone wants to hear a sob story starring the reigning champions. Yet the fact is thus: LA has scored seven runs amidst a four-game losing streak. One against Miami, two the next day. Another pair on Friday, then Saturday. This isn’t the offense that scored 13, 10, 8, and 14 runs four days straight early in April. Outfielder Andy Pages has come back down to Earth, first baseman Freddie Freeman is hitting .207 over his last seven games, and Mookie Betts is still hurt. These aren’t the Dodgers. Not yet, and not that St. Louis minds.
Sale The Shark
Despite Atlanta’s 9-1 win over the Colorado Rockies, it’s the pitching that deserves the pub. Chris Sale was stupendous. Smelling blood in the water, Sale thrashed the Rockies, striking out 11 over seven innings. Colorado hit Sale on the nose some, scoring a run, getting three hits and three walks, but neither pulled them free from his proverbial jaws. Nor did it make them any safer from Sale’s slider. The pitch accounted for seven of his 11 punchouts. Combined with Atlanta’s relentless offensive performance, it was a bloodbath.
What Offense?
Winning 2-0 as the Chicago Cubs did on Saturday requires one thing: Damn good pitching. Thankfully, starter Shota Imanaga was up to the task. The 32-year-old worked seven scoreless innings, striking out five, walking just one, and allowing four hits. Imanaga did most of his dirty work on the ground, coaxing 11 groundballs out of the opposing Arizona Diamondbacks. Imanaga’s ERA is down to 2.40, and the Cubbies are 21-12.
Peraza Proves Worthy
Bases loaded. Two outs. Tied 3-3 with the New York Mets. That’s where Los Angeles Angels third baseman Oswald Peraza found himself in the bottom of the 10th. Opportunity called, and Peraza answered. The veteran golfed a pitch into the outfield grass. Teammate Adam Frazier scored, and the Angels won 4-3 in walk-off fashion. More than just any win, it’s a big one for LA. The team was in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. Now, the bad vibes belong only to the boys from Queens.
Toronto Tops the Twins
Trailing 3-4 in the top of the eighth, the Toronto Blue Jays were on the verge of at worst splitting a series with the Minnesota Twins. Though far from the end of the world, it’d be yet another reminder of how far the reigning AL Champion has fallen. Instead, Toronto’s bats woke up and, behind an eight-run eighth, delivered a pulverizing 11-4 win.
Toronto has plenty of bats to thank for it. The top of the order put two on for third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, whose up-the-middle RBI single tied the game. Infielder Lenyn Sosa notched an RBI single of his own, this one never leaving the infield. But the real stars are utilityman Davis Schneider and catcher Brandon Valenzuela. The former’s two-RBI double handed Toronto a comfortable 8-4 lead. The latter tucked said lead into bed, with a three-run homer. At 16-17, the Jays are one win shy of .500, something they haven’t been able to say since Apr. 10.
By The Numbers
⚾ 2. The good news amidst the A’s 12-6 loss to the Cleveland Guardians? Catcher Shea Langeliers homered twice.
⚾ 7. Pittsburgh’s seven-straight walks this afternoon tied a Major League record. In fact, the last time a team accomplished the feat was 43 years ago, when the Pirates, coincidentally, did so against Atlanta.
⚾ 10. Twins star Byron Buxton is hot. How hot? He has 10 home runs in 17 games and has homered in three straight. He’s raised his slugging percentage from .273 to .542.
⚾ 14. As part of Randy Johnson’s number retirement, Seattle starter Emerson Hancock emulated the Big Unit. Hancock struck out 14, a new career-high.
⚾ 20. For the first time in 20 games, Nick Kurtz did not record a walk. Nonetheless, it ties Barry Bonds for the second-longest walking streak in the sport’s history. That said, Kurtz’s on-base streak remains active and at 27.
⚾ 27. Speaking of streaks, it was a good run, but Diamondbacks infielder Ildemaro Vargas‘ hit streak ended at 27. Vargas can blame the Cubs, whose pitchers sat him down all four times.
⚾ 300. With a steal yesterday, Guardians third baseman José Ramírez officially has 300 steals. Among active players, only Trea Turner, Jose Altuve, and Starling Marte have more than J-Ram. The only other Guardian with nearly as many steals is Kenny Lofton.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Randy to the Rafters
The Seattle Mariners finally did right by Randy Johnson, making him the third Mariner to have his number retired by the organization.
Another legend added to the squad… 5️⃣1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/q4gXeMnYMt
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 3, 2026
Bananas for Bazzana
Welcome to the Show, rook.
Travis Bazzana has his first Major League hit 😤
A 2-run single that has his family going wild! pic.twitter.com/cijvaaNK6o
— MLB (@MLB) May 2, 2026
OMG JJ
JJ Wetherholt left Shohei, saying, “No way.”
JJ Wetherholt flashed the leather for this sweet double play 🤩 pic.twitter.com/HHxs7PISyA
— MLB (@MLB) May 3, 2026
Catching Correa
Carlos Correa making diving plays at shortstop? What year is it?
Carlos Correa lays out to snag the liner 😮💨
(MLB x @JAL_official_jp) pic.twitter.com/VdoFHdXzGx
— MLB (@MLB) May 2, 2026
Brice in his Veins
In other Astros defensive news…
Brice Matthews times his jump perfectly to take away a hit 😳 pic.twitter.com/gqz4Zzf0yJ
— MLB (@MLB) May 2, 2026
Squirrel!
Coors Field really does attract a crowd, huh?
We’ve got a disruptive squirrel running amok at Coors Field and making a home in the Rockies dugout. pic.twitter.com/NqdjVSbDaR
— Patrick Lyons (@PatrickDLyons) May 3, 2026
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ In news no one wants to hear, Atlanta’s star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. limped off the field Saturday. Acuna appeared to injure his hamstring while running to first. Atlanta would later clarify the injury as “left hamstring tightness.”
⚾ The nightmare continues up North. Toronto Blue Jays star player George Springer left yesterday’s game early after getting plunked in the toe. Painful as it is, the ball hit Springer in the exact spot where he fractured his left big toe last month. Needless to say, Springer did not return to the game. Yet the Blue Jays did not find any further fractures, pointing toward a return sooner rather than later.
⚾ The New York Mets gave backup catcher Luis Torrens a great birthday gift: A contract extension. The deal is a two-year, $23 million deal. Originally acquired from the crosstown Yankees in a ho-hum trade, Torrens has exceeded anything the Mets might’ve hoped for. In 152 games, Torrens is hitting .225/.281/.347 with a .628 OPS while maintaining strong defensive capabilities.
⚾ And now for the inevitable bad Mets news. The team announced that shortstop Ronny Mauricio fractured his left thumb sliding into first and will require an IL stint. While Mauricio never got going offensively, he was replacing the injured Francisco Lindor. Now, without either, the Mets are looking at either shifting Bo Bichette from third or calling up Vidal Bruján. Bleak. That’s one word to describe things in Queens.
⚾ Padres starter Griffin Canning will make his season debut on Sunday. Canning, 29, tore his Achilles’ tendon last season with the Mets amidst a resurgent season. Signing with San Diego this offseason, he’ll hope to pick up where he left off today.
⚾ One comes in, one comes out. That’s how the Philadelphia Phillies operated on Saturday, DFA’ing veteran Dylan Moore to add recently reinstated catcher J.T. Realmuto. Moore went hitless in his 15 games with the Phils.
⚾ It’s a busy Saturday for the Motor City Kitties. Reliever Will Vest heads to the 15-day IL due to right lateral forearm inflammation, Ricky Vanasco had his contract selected, and righty Yoniel Curet was DFA’d.
⚾ The hits keep coming for the Minnesota Twins. The club placed reliever Cole Sands on the 15-day IL due to an ominously sounding right forearm strain. Sands, one of the higher-profile arms in Minnesota’s bullpen, will be tough to replace. The Twins will endeavor to do so with right-hander John Klein.
⚾ The Miami Marlins also made an addition, selecting the contract of right-hander Josh Ekness. Ekness will ostensibly replace Cade Gibson, who was demoted to Triple-A on Friday
⚾ In other reliever news, the Tampa Bay Rays DFA’d Yoendrys Gómez to make room for Garrett Cleavinger. Cleavinger returns to the team after a calf injury put him on the 15-day IL.
⚾ The Baltimore Orioles are changing some feathers. Reliever Albert Suárez is out following a DFA. Righty Tyler Wells is also out, albeit via an option to Triple-A. Lefties Nick Raquet and Dietrich Enns are in, with the latter being activated off the 15-day IL. Righty Trey Gibson is also in, slotting into the team’s rotation.
⚾ Carlos Carrasco and Michael Corleone have one thing in common. Just when they think they’re out, they’re pulled right back in. For Carrasco, that means re-joining Atlanta after leaving in free agency a day ago. Righty Anthony Molina is the casualty of Carrasco’s Corleone-esque moment and was optioned to Triple-A.
Articles You Should Read
Evaluating 10 Struggling Stars: Patience or Panic? — Thomas Harrigan, MLB.com
Which New Free-Agent Deal Looks Best? Execs See 2 Clear Winners — Mark Feinsand, MLB.com
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