The Colorado Rockies (6-6, tied for second in the NL West) face the San Diego Padres (6-6, also tied for second in the NL West) in the first game of a four-game series. The Padres are favored with a moneyline of -190 and a spread of -1.5, with Randy Vásquez starting on the mound, boasting a 0.75 ERA and 11 strikeouts. Colorado’s starter is TBD.
How to watch Colorado Rockies vs. San Diego Padres
The Arizona Diamondbacks (6-6), tied for second in the NL West, face the New York Mets (7-5), tied for second in the NL East, with the Mets favored at -160 odds. The starting pitchers are Eduardo Rodriguez for Arizona (0.00 ERA), and Nolan McLean for New York, with a 2.61 ERA. The over/under is set at 7 runs.
How to Watch Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Mets
The New York Yankees, ranked first in the AL East with an 8-3 record, are favored with a -200 moneyline over the Oakland Athletics, who are 4-7 and ranked fourth in the AL West. Thursday’s rubber match comes after the Yankees took the first game of the series, and the A’s took the second.
Fans can purchase special tickets for the Aug. 11 game and get a limited edition Pope Hat. (via White Sox)
MLB/White Sox
Not only will fans who buy specific tickets get the Pope hat, but they’ll also be part of the “Pews at the Ballpark” and sit in a designated section with their fellow Popes.
In November, future White Sox owner Justin Ishbia met with Pope Leo and invited him to throw out the first pitch before a game. As now, there’s no word on whether His Holiness will make a surprise appearance on Pope hat night in August.
A new MLB season means a new batch of City Connect uniforms, and the league opted to unveil all eight in a coordinated rollout on Thursday.
Each City Connect is meant to be distinct from its team’s regular uniforms while incorporating various elements from its setting. There are some true highlights out there — and also some of the ugliest uniforms you’ll see on a professional baseball player.
The 2026 group of eight uniforms has a variety along those lines. Here’s how we ranked them:
8. Texas Rangers
(Photo by Billie Weiss/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Billie Weiss
Cochineal red anchors a design steeped in Texas and Mexican heritage, highlighted by the “Tejas” chest wordmark, a charro-embossed belt and mariachi-inspired fill patterns.
What helps this uniform from the bottom is the little details. The art on the jersey sleeve, the texture of the hat logo and the trim on the ends of the sleeves and down the pants all make this uniform a stronger package than at first glance, but still pretty weak.
7. Milwaukee Brewers
(Photo by Billie Weiss/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Billie Weiss
A water-toned base and cream accent evoke Wisconsin’s endless lakes, sandy shores and sandstone bluffs, while a gradient wordmark captures the state’s beautiful summer sunsets. A “Wisco” wordmark on the chest, state motto on the collar, bobber jock tag detail and redesigned Barrelman sleeve patch round out a uniform that celebrates the team’s history and Wisconsin’s rich heritage.
This is already a tough sell because the previous Brewers City Connects were a strong entry. This one is colorful, has some fun gradients and even finds a use for the Barrelman logo the franchise wisely moved on from in 1977.
Where it gets awkward is that “Wisco” isn’t exactly a popular nickname in-state, and they’ve made it the jersey’s central feature. That causes this all to feel pretty forced. Here’s a question: ouldn’t they have just put “Wisconsin” on the jersey, if that’s what they’re going for?
6. San Diego Padres
(Photo by Billie Weiss/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Billie Weiss
Celebrating the Padres’ bi-national region and culture through honoring its traditions and families with a focus on Día de los Muertos, the design features a sunset-ombre “San Diego” chest wordmark, La Catrina sleeve patch, marigold-patterned trim, bone colored hat and pants, and papel picado jock tag.
The Padres had so much to work with. Honoring their city’s proximity to Mexico — both geographically and culturally — and aligning that broad concept with Día de los Muertos (unlike another team on this list) is an A-plus start.
(Photo by Billie Weiss/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Billie Weiss
Embracing the color that defines the franchise, pinstripes make a modern comeback in a tone-on-tone style and a nod to the popular vest-style jersey last worn more than two decades ago. A sleeve graphic features the iconic Tyler Davidson Fountain, which begins flowing each year around Opening Day.
The featured logo here is distinctive, but everything else feels fairly bland. Pinstripes aren’t exactly fresh in baseball, the Tyler Davidson Fountain patch hides in the red-on-red coloring, and you wouldn’t know this is supposed to invoke a vest-style jersey unless told.
Combining red jerseys with red pants is also a risky move, as the whole thing could end up looking like a pajama set. We at least like this a lot more with the black cap than the red pinstriped one.
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
(Photo by Billie Weiss/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Billie Weiss
Built around Pittsburgh’s unmistakable black and gold identity, the uniform features a rugged, pirate-style wordmark whose font draws inspiration from the city’s “Sister Bridges.” Red accents and Jolly Roger elements add boldness without breaking the city’s iconic color palette.
The embrace of the Pirates’ buccaneer logo on the hat is a nice start, and it looks evolved enough to avoid invoking how Pittsburgh performed with it from 1997 to 2015.
The whole package comes off a little like the edgy cousin of the club’s usual black uniform, but this is still a good case of sticking with what works. After all, the Pirates’ central problems are rarely uniform- or stadium-related.
3. Baltimore Orioles
(Photo by Billie Weiss/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Billie Weiss
Rooted in the soul of Baltimore, the design pays tribute to Camden Yards through motifs including the brass home run plaques, wrought-iron scoreboard clock and a Camden “B” inspired by the 1890s Baltimore Baseball Club. An Oriole bird sits perched proudly atop the “BMORE” wordmark.
More than a few reasonable people will put forth Camden Yards as the best ballpark in MLB. It also happens to be one of the most historically important, singlehandedly kicking off the trend of retro stadiums the league still follows to this day. That makes it a great choice for a City Connect tribute.
(Photo by Billie Weiss/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Billie Weiss
A bold fuchsia-to-blue gradient draws inspiration from Kansas City’s official City of Fountains logo, channeling the spirit of the city’s people and iconic waterways. The updated “R” logo pays homage to the Club’s original 1969 mark, while a heart logo reflects Kansas City’s place as the nation’s heartland.
Here’s where the competition really picks up. The City of Fountains art lends itself perfectly to a baseball uniform, giving it a timeless feel that makes you wonder why these aren’t the Royals’ regular uniforms.
If there are nitpicks, they are that this could basically be a (very good) standard home uniform in a field where you want something a little more out there, and the hat featuring a stylized version of the top of the Kauffman Stadium scoreboard might be a little too abstract for a cap logo.
Still, no one’s going to be complaining when the Royals bring these out.
1. Atlanta Braves
(Photo by Billie Weiss/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Billie Weiss
A brighter powder blue anchors the design as a modernized callback to the Club’s beloved 1980s uniforms. Red piping, an updated “Atlanta” script and “ATL” block letter sleeve patch marry vintage style with today’s team colors.
Where to even begin?
First of all, we’re always going to be fans of pullover uniforms as an alternate, especially when we’re dealing in the retro sphere. That lower-case ‘a’ hat is going to sell by the truckload. The powder blue is perfect. The throwback “Atlanta” logo is perfect.
The standout, though, is the “ATL” jersey patch that invokes the “TBS” logo from when Ted Turner used his cable station to make the Braves a national television presence. That strategy gained the Braves more than their fair share of fans, and these uniforms should, too.
The MLB season is a grind and as a result, injuries happen. It’s a part of life in fantasy baseball and it’s something every manager is going to have to navigate throughout the year. As we head toward the middle of April, there are already plenty of impactful players missing time — both injured early in the season or having started off the campaign on the injured list.
Below, we’re going to update you on the latest for some of the top players on the mend.
Batters
Juan Soto, OF, Mets (calf): The All-Star outfielder was placed on the 10-day IL on Monday and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a calf strain. So far, the Mets aren’t missing Soto. New York has won five in a row (all four games without Soto so far). The Mets are using a platoon of Carson Benge, Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor and Jared Young in the corner OF slots. Baty has some mild fantasy value batting in the heart of the order.
Brice Turang, 2B, Brewers (ankle): Turang has been out of the lineup the past two games while battling ankle tendinitis. The second baseman has stated he’ll be fine this Friday and just needs a few days off. This is definitely a situation fantasy managers should keep an eye on. David Hamilton has been filling in for the Brew Crew at 2B for now. He doesn’t offer much fantasy value but if you need a 2B contingency plan, A’s infielder Max Muncy (43% rostered on Yahoo) isn’t a bad add.
Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers (hand): Chourio hasn’t played this season after sustaining a fractured hand in an unfortunate accident prior to Opening Day. We’re awaiting the results of recent follow-up imaging of the hand to find out a more concrete timeline. So be on the lookout for that update if you’re a Chourio manager. Brandon Lockridge has been the biggest benefactor so far in the OF rotation for Milwaukee.
Mookie Betts, SS, Dodgers (oblique): Betts exited the Dodgers’ win over the Nationals on April 4 and was placed on the IL with a right oblique strain. Manager Dave Roberts is hopeful Betts will return prior to the 4-6 week timeline this injury usually carries. This isn’t a great start to 2026 for Betts fantasy managers as the 33-year-old regressed big time last season and isn’t getting any younger. L.A. should continue to platoon Hyeseong Kim and Miguel Rojas at short.
Seiya Suzuki, OF, Cubs (knee): Suzuki has yet to debut in 2026 but he should be close to returning. He went 3-for-5 in a rehab start in the minors on Tuesday and could return Friday when the Cubs begin a three-game home series versus the Pirates. That would be good news for managers who rolled the dice on Suzuki, likely as an ADP value.
Pitchers
Cole Ragans, SP, Royals (hand): Ragans was yanked Wednesday after allowing three ER on two hits with two strikeouts, recording two outs against the Guardians and throwing just 18 pitches before leaving the start. Ragans was hit on his throwing hand by a José Ramírez comebacker but was cleared to stay in before being pulled. He was diagnosed with a left thumb contusion and is expected to make his next start Tuesday versus the Tigers.
Hunter Brown, SP, Astros (shoulder): The Astros’ ace was placed on the 15-day IL with a Grade 2 shoulder strain and is expected to miss a few weeks. He isn’t dealing with any ligament damage but this is still a concerning injury this early in the season. The timeline is for a reevaluation, so expect Brown to take longer to return. If you’re looking for an SP off the waiver wire, Parker Messick, Noah Cameron and Casey Mize aren’t bad options in shallow formats at sub-50% rostered on Yahoo.
Zack Wheeler, SP, Phillies (shoulder): Wheeler started the season on the IL and is making rehab starts in the minors. He struck out six batters over 4.1 innings on Wednesday in a rehab start, which is encouraging. His fastball velocity was down around 92 mph, but he’s also still ramping up, so we’ll see if that rebounds.
Blake Snell, SP, Dodgers (shoulder): Like Wheeler, Snell started 2026 on the IL but appears close to facing live batters, which is a good sign. The latest is that Snell threw a few bullpen sessions this past weekend. Look out for Snell to do some live pitching, the next step in his trek to a return.
Trey Yesavage, SP, Blue Jays (shoulder): Pitchers and shoulder injuries, amirite?! Yesavage is set for his second rehab start on Thursday. He’ll continue to ramp up in each rehab start as he eyes a return. The Blue Jays desperately need his help in the rotation with Shane Bieber, José Berríos and now Cody Ponce sidelined.
Gerrit Cole, SP, Yankees (elbow): Cole continues his rehab in a return from Tommy John surgery he underwent prior to last season. He’s scheduled to face hitters in a live BP session this weekend and is trending toward returning to the rotation some time in May. Things can change so keep an eye on the situation if you have Cole stashed in one of your IL slots.
Josh Hader, RP, Astros (biceps): We didn’t want to forget relief pitchers in this story. Hader is another hurler who started the season on the IL. Manager Joe Espada told reporters on Tuesday that Hader could face hitters next week. So the Astros closer is still a ways away from making a return. Houston continues to use a closer-by-committee approach with Bryan King, Bryan Abreu and Cody Bolton — frustrating for fantasy managers.
TORONTO — By his own admission, Shohei Ohtani was feeling tired before he even threw a pitch.
That is perhaps the reason the two-way supernova was not at his best Wednesday. Making his second pitching start of this young baseball season, the Dodgers hurler did not have his typical crispness. The command was scattershot, the mechanics were out of sorts. Ohtani struck out only two hitters, his lowest total ever in a start that lasted more than four innings. Particularly in the early going, he had little feel for his splitter or curveball, two offerings he typically leans on to get left-handed hitters out.
But while the process was far from dominant, the end product was more than sufficient.
Ohtani surrendered just one run and four hits across six innings. He grew more comfortable as the game wore on. His fastball touched 100.1 mph and averaged 98.3, the latter an encouraging 1.5 mph jump from his debut outing last week. He took advantage of a scuffling Blue Jays lineup to limit damage and avoid the big inning.
Oh, and he reached base twice as a hitter.
When Ohtani left the mound after six with the Dodgers up 2-1, everything was hunky dory. That was the case until a Los Angeles bullpen misstep tipped the scales, giving Toronto a 4-3 victory and ruining the Dodgers’ hopes of a 6-0 run away from home.
“When you win the first five, you want to get greedy and win the last one,” manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “But yeah, it’s still a really good road trip.”
After the game, Ohtani was honest about his relatively subpar showing, telling reporters through interpreter Will Ireton that he “didn’t really feel great going into the game.” Pressed as to whether that meant he was simply tired or physically and mechanically discombobulated, Ohtani was characteristically vague.
“I think it’s a little bit of both, for sure,” he said.
He also implied that the timing of this particular start played a role in that fatigue. Los Angeles headed home Wednesday night after a weeklong East Coast swing. Four of L.A.’s six games on this trip, including all three over the weekend in Washington, were afternoon affairs. For a famously sleep-needy machine such as Ohtani, the combination of cross-country jet-lag and early morning alarms could be liable to fritz the system.
“It was a grind. You could see it,” Roberts admitted postgame. “He just didn’t feel synced up with his delivery. You can see by the misses, he was fighting himself, you know, the entire outing. But obviously, the compete comes into play, the stuff comes into play, and you know, he found a way to get through six innings.”
Shohei struggled on the bump today. Not close to his best stuff.
Ohtani led off the game, in the batter’s box, with a walk against Toronto starter Dylan Cease. Two batters later, with Ohtani on second base, Cease tried to pick off his Dodgers counterpart. Ohtani slid cleanly back into the bag, but his uniform wasn’t so spick and span. When he jogged to the mound a few minutes later, he did so with a large mud stain stretching from his chest down to his knees on one side.
That image — Ohtani as the dirtied pitcher — perfectly encapsulated the outrageousness of it all, of what he is trying to do and is doing. Despite being at less than full strength on Wednesday, he was able to deliver an effective performance.
Yet the outing was also a humbling reminder that, even for this outlier of outliers, there are such things as physical limitations.
Ohtani’s two-way exploits come with a significant amount of stress and strain. We saw that reality laid bare the last time he climbed the hill at Rogers Centre, in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Working on short rest that night, Ohtani was rickety, vulnerable. A subpar slider to Bo Bichette in the third ended up in the seats and gave Toronto a 3-0 lead. Ultimately, the Dodgers clawed back and made history, but Ohtani’s evening on the bump was one to forget.
There’d been other occasional signs of fatigue from the four-time MVP, but that was the most striking example of exhaustion negatively impacting his performance. Some of that, obviously, was related to his willingness to throw on short rest, but Ohtani’s offensive responsibilities absolutely played a role. Remember, a week prior, he’d gone 4-for-4 with two homers and five walks in Game 3 before pitching the next day. By the end of the Fall Classic, he was a man on empty, running on less than fumes.
But now, just two starts into his first full two-way season since 2023, Ohtani is already offering glimpses of what being stretched too thin might look like for him. Practically, nothing is dire or even approaching it. To be clear, there are no alarm bells ringing. The Dodgers will happily take Wednesday’s pitching output. And while there’s work to be done, everybody expects Ohtani to do it and to figure things out. Besides, it is, on a macro level, preposterously unwise to doubt a sporting force so transcendent.
However, there will come a time when Ohtani’s workload becomes too much. Even for him.
Whether that moment arrives this year or the next or further down the line will be the final mystery of Ohtani’s legendary career. The Dodgers will remain hyper-aware, hyper-vigilant of any concerning clues that arise in order to protect the game’s most valuable character. But on Wednesday, while standing in the visitor’s batting cage conducting his postgame interview in the bowels of Rogers Centre, Ohtani, with his throwing arm wrapped over an oversized bulge of ice, looked strikingly human.
San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama is out for Wednesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers after suffering a left rib contusion against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
As for Wembanyama, he left the floor to go back to the Spurs’ locker room early in the second quarter of the Spurs’ win on Monday. An open-court collision with 76ers forward Paul George just over a minute into the frame left Wembanyama slow to get up and appearing to favor his left shoulder:
He returned to the bench shortly thereafter and checked back into the game with 5:33 to go in the opening half, dueling with star Philadelphia center Joel Embiid over the next few minutes.
Even as he continued to make an impact on both ends of the floor, though, Wembanyama continued to grimace, looking somewhat uncomfortable and not quite like himself.
He checked out of the game with his left arm hanging down at his side and went back to the locker room with 44 seconds remaining in the first half.
Victor Wembanyama, who was originally on the injured list for tonight, headed back to the locker room before any of the players took their half time break. He seemed to be ok, but the announcers were caught by surprise along with everyone else. pic.twitter.com/7LoCrXZMLo
When the Spurs returned after intermission, Wembanyama was not with them; reserve center Luke Kornet took his spot in the lineup to open the third quarter. Wembanyama finished with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 assist in just under 16 minutes of work.
After the game, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said he hadn’t received an update on his superstar big man’s status.
“I think it would be a positive that he felt like he could come back, and he played the last four or five minutes of the [first] half,” Johnson told reporters, according to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “So it’s a positive from my perspective, but I have nothing [in the way of an update].”
Victor Wembanyama Injury News: Spurs may have dodged a bullet here as rib contusions don’t often result in significant missed time (Average ~1.1 games or 4 days). However, ribs can be tricky to x-ray & I’m betting Wemby undergoes a more detailed exam soon.
Without its leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker, San Antonio didn’t miss a beat. Thanks to a triple-double from Castle (19 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists), who led six Spurs in double figures, the Spurs were able to withstand a 34-point performance from Embiid and finish a 115-102 victory to improve to 60-19. It’s the eighth 60-win campaign in Spurs franchise history and their first since 2016-17 — the last season San Antonio won a playoff series. With the win, the Spurs stayed 2.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
The 22-year-old Wembanyama has been one of the literal and figurative biggest stories of the 2025-26 NBA season, establishing himself as one of the game’s most overwhelming and irrepressible forces and catapulting the Spurs back into the playoff picture for the first time since 2019. The third-year big man entered Monday’s action averaging 24.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a league-leading 3.1 blocks in 29.4 minutes per game, shooting 50.9% from the field, 35% from 3-point range and 82.8% from the free-throw line.
Wembanyama’s combination of offensive output, defensive dominance and clear impact on team success have vaulted him into the thick of the year-end awards races, as one of the top candidates for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA and All-Defensive Team honors. In order to be eligible for those awards, though, he’ll have to meet the 65-game threshold under the player participation guidelines the NBA instituted before the 2023-24 season.
Monday’s game marked Wembanyama’s 63rd regular-season contest. Technically, though, it was his 64th qualifying contest, since the NBA Cup Final — in which Wembanyama played 25 minutes as the Spurs lost to the Knicks — counts toward the 65-game total. Monday was also the second time this season that Wembanyama has played fewer than 20 minutes but more than 15; each player is allowed to count two such “near-miss” games toward their 65-game total.
What that means: After leaving early Monday, Wembanyama needs to play 20 or more minutes one more time in the Spurs’ final two games after Wednesday to qualify for year-end awards. Following the game against the Trail Blazers, San Antonio finishes the regular season at home against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday and Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
A former Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl champion has found a new team this offseason.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Atlanta Falcons and former Chiefs free-agent offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor reached an agreement on Wednesday on a one-year deal. The contract reportedly has a base value of $5 million, plus an additional $1 million in incentives for the veteran lineman.
Falcons and former Chiefs free-agent offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor reached agreement today on a one-year deal with a base value of $5 million and an additional $1 million in incentives, per his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. pic.twitter.com/NhoXjoYMVj
The 28-year-old was released early last month to clear cap space and relief from the four-year, $80 million contract he signed in 2023. Taylor had struggled with penalties throughout his tenure in Kansas City, leading to constant criticism from fans and analysts. During the 2024 season, he played with a partially torn meniscus, which severely affected his effectiveness at right tackle.
Taylor appeared in 12 regular-season games but battled injuries again in 2025. A severe elbow/triceps injury cost him multiple weeks of the season.
In Taylor’s first season with the Chiefs, he contributed to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII victory over the San Francisco 49ers, 25–22.
