Vinicius vs Kimmich part 2 is about to be fireworks. (Photo by Alvaro Medranda/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Every Bayern Munich fan in the world only wants one thing right now.
REVENGE.
That burning sensation deep inside that is a mix of pent-up bitterness, anxiety, passion, and hope. The belief that Bayern will finally be able to have Real Madrid’s number. And the hope that they mop the floor with them.
In a recent interview with FC Bayern (as covered by @iMiaSanMia), Leon Goretzka conceded that “We haven’t had much success against Real recently. We’d very much like to turn around the statistics from recent years.” He’d like to reverse the result, and so would every Bayern fan across the globe. Too many atrocities have been committed. Too many robberies. Too many painful memories have been amassed.
It is time to give them a Real beating.
Of course, Goretzka knows that “Real are a world-class team with outstanding individual quality on the pitch. They’ve had some very, very good – but also some bad – moments this season. At the moment, you never really know what you’ll get from them. Experience tells us that they usually manage to pull something off in the Champions League.”
This is the core issue. Real Madrid is seemingly always able to pull a rabbit out of the hat and get the better of their opponents in the Champions League, their favorite competition. One they have won a record 15 times.
However, Goretzka finished with: “But we’ll be prepared for that.”
You bet we will.
It is time to remind those divers and actors about La Bestia Negra.
The NIT championship is set between Auburn and Tulsa who could’ve both been argued as NCAA Tournament teams leading up to selection Sunday as they both consistently sat on the bubble.
Coming into the title game, Tulsa has had close call after close call with three of their four wins coming within five points. On the other end, Auburn is coming off of a lopsided win against Illinois State in the semifinal 88-66.
Tulsa has played one Power Conference team all season in Kansas State and came away with a loss. Auburn is 10-0 against non-Power Conference teams.
Auburn and Tulsa met previously in the 2009 NIT tournament, where the Tigers came out with a 74-55 victory. Auburn was the highest-seeded team in that tournament as well.
Auburn notes:
Auburn has not lost a mid-major team all year (10-0)
332-287 (+45) scoring margin during NIT run
8-6 record over seven NIT appearances (last appered in 2009)
Highest ranked team in the NIT on KenPom (37th)
Defeated South Alabama, Seattle, Nevada, and Illinois State to advance to NIT final
Snapped four year streak of NCAA Tournament appearances
Tulsa notes:
Tulsa is 0-1 against their only Power Conference opponent this season (84-83 loss to Kansas State)
323-298 (+25) scoring margin over NIT run
16-8 record over 11 NIT appearances (last appeared in 2015)
56th ranked team on KenPom
Defeated SFA, UNLV, Wichita State, and New Mexico before NIT final
Apr 5, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone signals to the bullpen as pitcher Max Fried (54) leaves the game against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images
And on the third start did his ERA rise. Yes, Max Fried finally allowed a man to score, indeed early in Sunday’s rain-delayed series finale with the Marlins. The game started three and a half hours after the scheduled first pitch time, and maybe that delay took a little off Fried’s game. His control wasn’t sparkling, but the Yankee offense was able to pick up for that early snafu…but the bullpen couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. The Yankees have lost for the second time this year, 7-6 your final.
Naturally it was old friend Austin Slater — er, old acquaintance —, he of the sub-.100 OPS, that reached in the first and came around to score, the first such player to do so against Fried in 2026. Nobody is going to be on it every single day, but you could tell that for the second time in three starts Fried wasn’t quite what you’d expect him to be, especially with his fastball offerings:
There’s far more easy takes here than we’re used to seeing with Fried, and when he uses his fastball early in counts to set up the four other, more “junky” pitches he uses later in the count, throwing fastballs for balls gets him into 1-0 or 2-1 holes, rather than spotting himself an early strike. We then are left with hitters in hitters’ counts and throwing more pitches than we’d like to see.
The Marlins got to Fried twice more in his outing, and were on the verge of tying things up when home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez calling Marlin Connor Norby safe on a contact play at home. Fortunately we have the benefit of review:
If nothing else the Yankees can return their own firepower, and Ben Rice was able to do just that in the bottom half of the first:
Rice’s all-world contact quality also helped the Yankees push across what would be a very needed insurance run, this time in the third inning with two men on once again:
No RBI here for Rice, but if that ball’s not 98 off the bat, maybe Norby is able to handle it cleaner and get off a better throw. Hit ball hard, good things happen.
That wouldn’t be enough for a contact-heavy Marlins team to overcome though. The Fish walked twice before Griffin Conine was hit by a pitch in the eighth, and Jake Bird couldn’t bear down. Graham Pauley’s double gave Miami the lead, and Xavier Edwards welcomed Ryan Yarbrough to the game with a two-run single of his own.
Ryan McMahon actually had himself a decent day at the plate, with a hit and a walk to reach twice. That was welcome because the rest of the bottom half of the order was bowling shoe ugly.
It’s still very early in the season, but the Yankees entered today’s game with the worst 6-7-8-9 hitters in baseball.
Those spots had a combined 22 wRC+ before today’s game. They are currently 0-for-6 with 3 Ks today.
That same 6-9 entered the ninth with the score 7-4. Grisham, Judge, Rice and Giancarlo Stanton have all had strong starts to the year, but that’s still only half a lineup. The Yankees need more out of their depth bats, and while Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a better player than he’s shown, maybe this is why we don’t brag about going 50/50 in the offseason. Perhaps that pressure finally came to a head for Jazz, whose big two-run double down to the final strike of the game may be what shakes him out of this early-season slump:
That would be as good as it gets, as Austin Wells was intentionally walked and J.C. Escarra would be sat down on three pitches. Game over.
We haven’t had many of these games this year, and while it did come on a day the rest of the AL East was also slapped around, if the club goes 4-2 every week for the rest of the season we’ll end things just fine. If nothing else hopefully our upcoming series with the Athletics won’t involve multiple three-hour slogs, but will feature the same end result or better. Cam Schlittler gets the ball Tuesday night, with a 7:05pm Eastern start time.
Apr 5, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone signals to the bullpen as pitcher Max Fried (54) leaves the game against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images
And on the third start did his ERA rise. Yes, Max Fried finally allowed a man to score, indeed early in Sunday’s rain-delayed series finale with the Marlins. The game started three and a half hours after the scheduled first pitch time, and maybe that delay took a little off Fried’s game. His control wasn’t sparkling, but the Yankee offense was able to pick up for that early snafu…but the bullpen couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. The Yankees have lost for the second time this year, 7-6 your final.
Naturally it was old friend Austin Slater — er, old acquaintance —, he of the sub-.100 OPS, that reached in the first and came around to score, the first such player to do so against Fried in 2026. Nobody is going to be on it every single day, but you could tell that for the second time in three starts Fried wasn’t quite what you’d expect him to be, especially with his fastball offerings:
There’s far more easy takes here than we’re used to seeing with Fried, and when he uses his fastball early in counts to set up the four other, more “junky” pitches he uses later in the count, throwing fastballs for balls gets him into 1-0 or 2-1 holes, rather than spotting himself an early strike. We then are left with hitters in hitters’ counts and throwing more pitches than we’d like to see.
The Marlins got to Fried twice more in his outing, and were on the verge of tying things up when home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez calling Marlin Connor Norby safe on a contact play at home. Fortunately we have the benefit of review:
If nothing else the Yankees can return their own firepower, and Ben Rice was able to do just that in the bottom half of the first:
Rice’s all-world contact quality also helped the Yankees push across what would be a very needed insurance run, this time in the third inning with two men on once again:
No RBI here for Rice, but if that ball’s not 98 off the bat, maybe Norby is able to handle it cleaner and get off a better throw. Hit ball hard, good things happen.
That wouldn’t be enough for a contact-heavy Marlins team to overcome though. The Fish walked twice before Griffin Conine was hit by a pitch in the eighth, and Jake Bird couldn’t bear down. Graham Pauley’s double gave Miami the lead, and Xavier Edwards welcomed Ryan Yarbrough to the game with a two-run single of his own.
Ryan McMahon actually had himself a decent day at the plate, with a hit and a walk to reach twice. That was welcome because the rest of the bottom half of the order was bowling shoe ugly.
It’s still very early in the season, but the Yankees entered today’s game with the worst 6-7-8-9 hitters in baseball.
Those spots had a combined 22 wRC+ before today’s game. They are currently 0-for-6 with 3 Ks today.
That same 6-9 entered the ninth with the score 7-4. Grisham, Judge, Rice and Giancarlo Stanton have all had strong starts to the year, but that’s still only half a lineup. The Yankees need more out of their depth bats, and while Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a better player than he’s shown, maybe this is why we don’t brag about going 50/50 in the offseason. Perhaps that pressure finally came to a head for Jazz, whose big two-run double down to the final strike of the game may be what shakes him out of this early-season slump:
That would be as good as it gets, as Austin Wells was intentionally walked and J.C. Escarra would be sat down on three pitches. Game over.
We haven’t had many of these games this year, and while it did come on a day the rest of the AL East was also slapped around, if the club goes 4-2 every week for the rest of the season we’ll end things just fine. If nothing else hopefully our upcoming series with the Athletics won’t involve multiple three-hour slogs, but will feature the same end result or better. Cam Schlittler gets the ball Tuesday night, with a 7:05pm Eastern start time.
It was a rough Easter Sunday for Max Strus. He had the worst shooting night of his short season, going just 1-10 from the floor and 1-9 from three. Culminating with him finishing Sunday’s game with just four points. All on a night where the Cleveland Cavaliers were short-handed. Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Jaylon Tyson, Dean Wade, and Sam Merrill were all out for the game. Putting a heavy workload on Strus and the rest of the squad.
The Cavaliers still won, 117-108, but that was mostly on Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, who combined for 66 points on the night. The win got the Cavs to number 49 on the season.
For Strus, he struggled against arguably the worst team in the NBA, the Indiana Pacers. It was a performance you hoped Strus wouldn’t have with the playoffs around the corner. You’d hope that Strus would have a better outing, especially when you consider that he’s been out for most of the season. After all, the playoffs are in four short games, and then it’s the most important stretch of the season. Strus has to be ready for that.
Getting him playoff-ready is crucial, so watching him fall apart against one of the easiest defenses is far from what was expected of him. Now some fans are starting to worry.
The Cavaliers are still one of the best teams in the NBA, and have only gotten better with Strus’ return. Even with the bad outing against the Pacers, Strus is still hitting just under half of his shots from the floor at a clip of 48.1%. His shot from three is exceptional as well, hitting 44.7% from three. Even with a bad game, Strus is still shooting lights out.
If he were to miss his shot, however, as he did on Sunday against the Pacers, that wouldn’t mean he isn’t capable of contributing elsewhere. He’s been finding other ways to contribute since his return, most notably by being relentless on the boards. Over the last nine games, he’s been averaging six rebounds per game. It’ll likely be the highest number he posts for an entire season, even if his season is only a handful of games long.
Strus is doing everything he can to help support the faces of the team. He’s passing well, playing hard on defense, rebounding, and hitting his mark more often than not. It’s one of the reasons the Cavs are 7-2 since he returned from his injury, and it’s very likely the reason why the Cavs may get past the second round for the first time since landing Donovan Mitchell.
🔥 On fire! Julián Quiñones is in great form in Saudi Arabia
We’re just a short time away from the World Cup starting, and there’s one Mexican player who could arrive in one of the best moments of his football career.
Quiñones is on fire in Saudi Arabia, averaging a G+A per match with Al-Qadsiah. He’s also at the top of the scoring table, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Julián wasn’t among the “favorites” to make Mexico’s squad, but given his great form, it would be a mistake not to take him, and that became clear in El Tri’s most recent friendlies, where he was one of the national team’s standout players.
CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 5: James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks to pass the ball during the game against the Indiana Pacers on April 5, 2026 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
38 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
This was the Donovan Mitchell show. He set the tone immediately by attacking the paint on every other possession. Mitchell ended the game with a career-high 28 points in the paint, BLANK points total before rolling his ankle in the closing minutes.
Harden stepped back and buried countless jumpers over the Pacers today. There aren’t many moves in the league that are more unguardable than that. Indiana looked hopeless trying to contain him — especially when Harden was using his gravity to create openings for his teammates.
He finished the game hitting 5-11 three-pointers, giving the Cavs enough offensive juice to get over the hump.
Grade: A
Keon Ellis
13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
The Cavs needed Ellis to hit a few three-pointers today. He was the only Cavalier other than Harden to connect on 3+ three-pointers. That extra boost was needed, not only because the rest of the team struggled, but because Ellis himself hadn’t hit that many outside shots in a game since March 13.
Ellis had been shooting 8-32 from deep in his 10 games before this.
Grade: B+
Max Strus
4 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists
Strus had a rough night. He was tangled up more than a few times and suffered an injury to his left wrist as a result. He shot 1-710 from the floor and bricked a dunk.
He avoids flunking this one because of his contributions elsewhere.
Grade: D+
Thomas Bryant
14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
This is why the Cavs signed Bryant in the summer. Gone are the days of having no viable option in the case of losing both Mobley and Allen to injury. Bryant stepped up and hung a double-double on his former team to help the Cavs win this game.
Can you rely on Bryant as the starting center in a playoff series? No. But eating innings in the regular season is nothing to scoff at. The Cavs have been needing this.
Grade: A+
Craig Porter
5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Porter’s been phased out of the rotation lately. This was his first time playing 20+ minutes in more than a month. I’d say he handled it well, attacking the glass and throwing a bullet pass to the corner for a Nae’Qwan Tomlin three-pointer. More on that later.
Grade: B+
Dennis Schroder
6 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Schroder can be erratic at times, but this was one of his more neutral games. He was a steady presence, shooting 2-6 from the floor but not sticking out at any point.
He matched Harden as a team-high plus-12, for whatever that’s worth.
Grade: C+
Larry Nance Jr
6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block
Nance hasn’t played nearly as big a role as I thought he would when the season began. That said, this was a solid showing from the veteran forward. He had some rough moments, but he also nailed a three-pointer and dunked all over the Pacers at one point.
His three steals, one of which came at a key point in the fourth quarter, helped the Cavs win this game on the margins.
Grade: B
Nae’Qwan Tomlin
3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block
Tomlin hasn’t been able to stay on the court recently, as his lack of a three-point shot has buried him in the rotation. Well, he converted on a big one tonight in the fourth quarter. It was only his 22nd make on more than 100 attempts this season. But I’d argue it was his most impactful one.
The Yankees couldn’t secure a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins on Sunday, losing 7-6 and ending their four-game winning streak.
Here are the takeaways…
— Despite the start of the game being delayed by three hours and 35 minutes due to inclement weather, scheduled starter Max Fried still took the mound for New York when the game began and delivered a gusty performance in less-than-ideal conditions to help out the bullpen which had a taxing night the previous game following Ryan Weathers‘ short start.
The left-hander was down early, allowing a run through the first four batters in the first inning after Otto Lopez singled home Austin Slater who led off the game with a single before stealing second base. Fried limited the damage to just one run and struck out two in the inning.
— The Yankees’ offense quickly up their starter in the bottom half of the frame, though. Trent Grisham started things off with a walk, followed by a single from Aaron Judge. With one out, Ben Rice turned on a 97 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate and absolutely crushed it to the second deck in right field for a three-run homer and just like that, New York had the lead.
— Fried took it from there and didn’t allow another run until the fourth inning when Xavier Edwards doubled in Connor Norby who worked a two-out walk. Fried put an end to the threat with a flyout and pitched a clean fifth inning before finding more trouble in the sixth. After a walk led off the inning, Lopez singled to put runners on the corners and then promptly stole second to put two in scoring position.
Heriberto Hernandez followed and reached base on a throwing error by shortstop Jose Caballero which allowed a run to score and trimmed New York’s lead to one. But Fried immediately picked up his shortstop by picking off Hernandez at first base for the first out of the inning. The runner was initially ruled safe, but the Yankees challenged the call and it was overturned.
With the tying run at third base, Norby hit a ground ball to the drawn in infield and Caballero wasted no time making a strong throw to home plate which beat the runner by a mile. Austin Wells applied the tag but the call on the field by home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez was safe, causing the Yankees to challenge another ruling in the inning and go 2-for-2. With help from the Marlins running themselves out of the inning, Fried got the third out to keep it a one-run game.
— At 94 pitches, Fried went back out for the seventh and recorded the first two outs before manager Aaron Boone pulled his ace who showed a lot of grit during his 6.2 innings in which he threw 103 pitches (64 strikes).
— Fernando Cruz was the first reliever out of the bullpen for New York and after closing out the seventh with a strikeout, he began the eighth inning with a strikeout before issuing a walk. Boone then turned to Jake Bird who had been perfect to start the season. But the right-hander didn’t have it on Sunday, walking the first batter he faced and hitting the next one to load the bases with one out.
Bird then lost Graham Pauley on a 1-2 pitch and allowed a two-run double that gave the Marlins their first lead since the first inning. Ryan Yarbrough came in to put out the flame but the left-hander allowed a two-run single to Edwards and Miami’s lead grew to 7-4 thanks to the four-run eighth inning.
— The Yankees got the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning after back-to-back walks to Cody Bellinger and Rice brought up Giancarlo Stanton who was 2-for-4 in the game and off to a scorching start at the plate. Stanton struck out looking which brought Jazz Chisholm Jr. to bat. Chisholm, 0-for-4 on the night and struggling offensively, laced a two-run double to right-center field against his former team to cut New York’s deficit to one.
After the Marlins intentionally walked Wells, pinch-hitter J.C. Escarra entered for Caballero but struck out on three pitches to end the game and handing the Yankees their second loss of the season.
Game MVP: Max Fried
Even in a loss, Fried’s outing saved New York’s bullpen for down the road.
The Yankees enjoy a day off on Monday before returning to action on Tuesday night to host the Athletics for a three-game series. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
RHP Aaron Civale (1-0, 3.60 ERA) takes the mound against RHP Cam Schlittler (2-0, 0.00 ERA).
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 05: Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Chase Field on April 05, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Say it with me, now: “You always take a four-game series split on the road.” With that being said, it sure seemed like this could’ve been more than just a split for the Atlanta Braves as they made their annual trip out to the desert. It especially feels like a bit of a bummer when you consider how this series opened up in such dominant fashion for the Braves as they brought out the boomstick early on in this series.
Despite the disappointing ending to the series, there’s still a lot to leave you encouraged as the Braves shift venues from Arizona to Anaheim. Let’s break it down, shall we?
It took the Braves nine attempts in 2025 to win their first road game. This season, it took only one and not just that, the Braves picked up their first road win in emphatic fashion. This was actually a close one through the early goings — though the Braves still had the advantage thanks to a first-inning solo homer from Matt Olson and a third-inning solo dinger from Dominic Smith.
Then the fifth inning rolled around and the floodgates opened. After Ozzie Albies got on with a leadoff walk (that was aided by ABS), the following events occurred for the Braves: Lineout, Walk, Fielder’s Choice Error, Bases Loaded Walk, RBI Groundout, RBI Double, RBI Double, Walk, RBI Single, RBI Double, Groundout. That, folks, is an eight-run inning.
Thanks to five strong innings from Reynaldo López, a scoreless inning fo relief from Tyler Kinley and three innings of long relief work from Osvaldo Bido, the Braves ended up cruising to a 17-2 win. Atlanta tacked on five runs in the ninth when the Diamondbacks waved the white flag by putting in catcher James McCann to go out there and soft toss, which is how we ended up getting to the really gaudy scoreline. Needless to say, this was fun! Matt Olson definitely had a lovely time in this one.
Grant Holmes and Eduardo Rodriguez engaged in an intense pitchers’ duel in this one. While Rodriguez ended up outlasting Holmes with seven shutout innings, Holmes certainly kept pace with Rodriguez and tossed six shutout innings of his own. Holmes also struck out four batters along the way and even carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. This was certainly a strong start from Grant Holmes and it’s definitely encouraging to see the way he (and the rest of this pitching staff) has started off this campaign.
This eventually came down to which team’s bullpen would blink first. Fortunately for all of us Braves fans, Ozzie Albies continued to exert dominance over Paul Sewald. Albies had two homers against Sewald in the past and on this night, he made it three as he crushed one out to right field for a solo shot that broke the deadlock. Matt Olson then proceeded to make it back-to-back jacks after he sent the third pitch he saw from Sewald flying into the seats in left-center. Raisel Iglesias locked things down in the ninth inning and just like that, the Braves had at least assured themselves. of a split out in the desert.
The Braves made history on Saturday! It’s not necessarily history that they’d want to make but they made history, nonetheless!
It’s been a long, long time since the Braves had such a feast-or-famine swing over the course of three games. I know there’s that old cliche of “Save some for tomorrow” but this was getting to be kinda wild. Either way, the only run of the game for the Braves came from an RBI single from Dominic Smith in the second inning. That was all the Braves could muster up and it wasn’t enough to overturn the two-run deficit that they entered the second inning with as the game eventually ended 2-1.
Arizona got those two runs in creatively frustrating fashion, as Jose Fernandez surprised the Braves went a bunt. Bryce Elder was certainly caught by surprise, as his error ended up proving costly. It’s a shame because Elder was once again in very good form on the mound — those two unearned runs would be the only blemish on his record for the day as he went seven innings and struck out eight batters. Elder certainly deserved better than what he got as the Braves were unable to really figure out old friend Michael Soroka and the rest of Arizona’s pitching staff on the day.
This was a back-and-forth affair between the two squads, as the Braves looked desperate to come away with the series win while the Diamondbacks were trying to make sure that they didn’t suffer the indignity of losing three games out of a four-game home series. Indeed, this game had a real ‘punch-then-counter punch’ feel to it as the two squads were unable to get real separation from each other as the game progressed. Drake Baldwin continued his hot start to the season with another home run in the first inning but then Arizona responded with two runs via a triple from Ildemaro Vargas in the fourth inning to take a 3-1 lead. The Braves responded immediately with two runs in the fifth to make it a 3-3 contest heading into the second half of the game.
Arizona got the edge once again as they plated one run in the sixth and seventh innings while Atlanta’s lone run from the first inning (from a RBI groundout from Baldwin) meant that the Braves had their backs against the wall going into the ninth inning. That was when Jorge Mateo got a rally going with a leadoff single. Ronald Acuña Jr. followed that up with a single of his own and then (who else but) Drake Baldwin brought in the game-tying run in order to make it a tie game in the ninth inning. Raisel Iglesias kept the D-Backs quiet in the ninth and we got our first ManfredBall experience of the 2026 season partly thanks to Drake Baldwin’s heroics.
Extra innings didn’t go Atlanta’s way at all — Ghost Runner Michael Harris II got to third base but the Braves were unable to cash him in. After watching that painful experience of seeing the Braves leave the runner stranded at third, it was even more painful to see Ketel Marte take the first pitch he saw from Joel Payamps and promptly dump it into the outfield for the game-winning RBI that ensured that the Diamondbacks were able to salvage a split.
Again, this could’ve been an impressive series win for the Braves out in Arizona had just a few things gone Atlanta’s way. That’s baseball, though — opportunities come in a flash and if you can’t grab onto it, you usually get punished for it at the big league level. The power outage immediately following the 17-run game was particularly frustrating — it felt like one of those baseball clichés coming to life where the Braves did not, in fact, save some for the next game.
Still, the offense bookended this series with a pair of solid performances at the plate and the pitching was impressive for the most part. The fact that the Braves have three shutout wins already is impressive — they had a grand total of eight throughout the entire 2025 season, so they’re nearly halfway towards that mark and we’re still in the infancy of April. Reynaldo López and Bryce Elder were big question marks heading into this season and while it’s still very early, the fact that they’ve come out of the gates in such a strong manner is encouraging to see and could be crucial to this team’s level of success as we get deeper into the regular season.
There’s a lot to be happy about but it’s totally understandable to see this as a missed opportunity for the Braves to make a statement here in the early goings. Again, a split of a four-game series is always acceptable but it’s also acceptable to want more and it really feels like the Braves left more by the wayside here. Atlanta’s going to have a tricky series on their hands in Anaheim against the Angels and they’ll also be looking to exorcise some demons after the entire state of California bedeviled them to seemingly no end in 2025. The Braves played 13 games in the Golden State last season and won a grand total of one (1) game out there all last season. Here’s hoping that they can do better than that with a series win right out of the gates against the Angels so they can bounce back from dropping two straight in the desert. We’ll see what happens!
Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin (21) hits a two-run single during the second inning of their National League Division Series game against the Chicago Cubs Saturday, October 4, 2025 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Milwaukee Brewers, coming off their third consecutive series win to begin the season and now sitting at 7-2 on the year, are headed to Boston to take on the Red Sox this week. The Brewers and Red Sox are probably most tied together at this point thanks to a pair of trades in the last two seasons, as Milwaukee picked up Quinn Priester, Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, and David Hamilton from Boston in exchange for Yophery Rodriguez, a pair of draft picks, a player to be named later (John Holobetz), Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler. So far, it looks like Milwaukee has come out on top, as Priester and Harrison have both been solid for Milwaukee while the only major league pieces on the other side — Durbin and Monasterio — have struggled to begin the season.
Speaking of struggling, the Red Sox sit at the bottom of the AL East with a dismal 2-7 record through three series, as they lost two of three to the Reds, were swept by the Astros, and just lost two of three to the Padres this weekend.
Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio are the key injuries for Milwaukee, with Vaughn expected to be out until mid-May and Chourio out until late April. The latest injury is Sal Frelick, who exited the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader with left side tightness — something to monitor in the coming days, though he’s expected to be fine. Quinn Priester is targeting a May return as he deals with thoracic outlet syndrome, while Craig Yoho could be ready in April but may start the year with Triple-A Nashville. Rob Zastryzny suffered a setback in his rehab, and his return is now TBD. Outfielder Akil Baddoo is also out until midseason with a quad strain.
Boston’s injury list includes new acquisition Johan Oviedo, who is out with an elbow strain. Fellow pitchers Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford, and Tanner Houck are also out, with Sandoval and Crawford expected to return in the coming weeks but Houck expected to miss most, if not all, of 2026. First baseman Triston Casas and utilitymen Romy Gonzalez and Anthony Seigler are also shelved.
Milwaukee’s offense has done the little things well thus far, as the only multi-homer hitters are Gary Sánchez (three) and Jake Bauers (two). Garrett Mitchell has gotten off to a solid (see: healthy) start, William Contreras, Brice Turang, and Christian Yelich are all hitting well, and even some of the utility guys like Blake Lockridge, David Hamilton, and Luis Rengifo have held their own. Frelick, who as mentioned above is dealing with some side tightness, has gotten off to a slow start, but he still boasts a .344 OBP, and Joey Ortiz has also looked at least slightly better from his very rough 2025. As a team, Milwaukee is hitting .267/.369/.446 (.815 OPS ranks third), with 10 homers (tied for eighth), 60 runs scored (second), and 20 steals (first).
Wilyer Abreu is a key bright spot in Boston’s disappointing offense to this point, as he has 15 hits, including three homers, four doubles, and a triple, slashing .429/.444/.857. Roman Anthony has gotten off to a slow-ish start, as he’s hitting .235/.316/.382 with a homer. Ceddanne Rafaela, Carlos Narváez, and Connor Wong are the only other hitters hitting over .250 (and all three have seven or fewer hits). Speedy Jarren Duran has two of Boston’s three steals, but he’s hitting just .200/.314/.267. The aforementioned Durbin is hitting just .071/.133/.071 with a pair of singles and a pair of walks over 28 at-bats, while Monasterio is 1-for-7 with a double and an RBI. As a team, Boston is hitting .226/.297/.372 (.669 OPS ranks 18th), with eight homers (tied for 20th), 30 runs scored (tied for 27th), and three steals (tied for 25th).
Milwaukee’s bullpen remains one of the best in baseball even with some under-the-radar names. Grant Anderson and Aaron Ashby lead the squad with five appearances each, while DL Hall has held opponents scoreless over five innings, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out nine. Trevor Megill is 3-for-3 in save opportunities with one run allowed and five strikeouts over four innings, and Abner Uribe has also been solid with one run allowed over 3 2/3 innings (2.45 ERA). Ángel Zerpa, Jared Koenig, and Jake Woodford round out the Brewer bullpen. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.38 team ERA (eighth), including a 3.98 starter ERA (15th) and a 2.75 reliever ERA (seventh). They’ve struck out 103 batters (fifth) over 80 innings.
Boston’s bullpen is anchored by closer Aroldis Chapman, who is 2-for-2 in save opportunities with one run allowed and three strikeouts over four frames. Garrett Whitlock (currently on the paternity list, dating back to April 3) hasn’t allowed a run over three innings, and Justin Slaten’s allowed only an unearned run over 3 1/3 innings. Greg Weissert’s five runs allowed over 4 2/3 innings are pushing the bullpen’s ERA up drastically. Danny Coulombe, Zack Kelly, Jovani Morán, Tyler Uberstine, and Ryan Watson round out Boston’s bullpen, though one of them will have to be demoted upon Whitlock’s return. As a staff, the Red Sox have a 4.71 team ERA (tied for 23rd), including a 5.19 starter ERA (27th) and a 4.11 reliever ERA (14th). They’ve struck out 76 batters (tied for 18th) over 78 1/3 innings.
Probable Pitchers
Monday, April 6 @ 5:45 p.m.: RHP Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5.98 FIP) vs. RHP Brayan Bello (0-1, 9.64 ERA, 7.04 FIP)
Woodruff is lined up to make his second start of the 2026 season to open the series. He went five innings against the Rays his last time out, allowing a pair of solo homers but nothing else while striking out six on 67 pitches. Expect him to stretch out to 75-80 pitches this time around. Woodruff’s only career start against the Red Sox came back in 2022, when he picked up the win, allowing one run on four hits and a pair of walks with nine strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.
Bello, 26, is in his fifth MLB season, all with the Red Sox. He’s made 101 career appearances (98 starts) with a 4.14 ERA and 4.18 FIP. His only start this season came against Houston on the last day of March, as he was roughed up to the tune of six runs (five earned) on eight hits and three walks, striking out just two over 4 2/3 innings. Bello has made three career appearances (two starts) against the Brewers, with a 3.95 ERA and nine strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings.
Tuesday, April 7 @ 5:45 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 3.91 FIP) vs. LHP Garrett Crochet (1-1, 3.27 ERA, 2.73 FIP)
Misiorowski is lined up for his third start of the year on Tuesday. In his first two starts of the season, he’s allowed three runs on six hits and five walks over 11 innings, striking out an NL-best 18 batters. He took the no-decision in his last start against the Rays, allowing two runs and striking out seven over six frames. This marks his first career start against the Red Sox.
Crochet, 26, is Boston’s ace, as he finished second in AL Cy Young voting to Tarik Skubal last season. In two starts this year, he’s allowed five runs (four earned) over 11 innings with 15 strikeouts. His last outing came against the Astros on April 1, when he allowed all five of those runs and struck out seven over five frames. He’s made two career starts against Milwaukee, one while with the White Sox and one with the Red Sox. Across 12 2/3 innings, he struck out 19 batters and allowed three runs (2.13 ERA), though he has an 0-1 record to show for it.
Wednesday, April 8 @ 12:35 p.m.: RHP Chad Patrick (1-0, 0.96 ERA, 4.36 FIP) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (1-0, 4.50 ERA, 3.18 FIP)
Patrick hasn’t been the most efficient this season, but his results have been solid. In a pair of outings against the White Sox and Royals, he’s spanned 9 1/3 innings, allowing one run (a solo homer), nine hits, and four walks with seven strikeouts for a sterling 0.96 ERA but 4.36 FIP. He started the first game of Milwaukee’s doubleheader against the Royals, going five scoreless innings with three strikeouts to pick up the win. He made his lone start against the Red Sox last May, allowing no runs on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings.
Gray, now with his sixth MLB team in his 14th season, has made two starts with his new team in Boston. Over 10 innings against the Reds and Padres, he’s allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. He picked up the win in his last appearance against San Diego, allowing two runs over six frames. A familiar foe from his five combined seasons with the Reds and Cardinals, Gray has made 20 career starts against Milwaukee, with a 5-6 record, 3.52 ERA, and 139 strikeouts over 110 innings.
How to Watch & Listen
Monday, April 6: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Tuesday, April 7: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Wednesday, April 8: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Prediction
The Red Sox have limped out of the gate this season, especially on offense. Even so, this is a tough battle at Fenway, but I’ll take the Crew to win two of three.
