There is a lot to like about the 2026 season so far for the St. Louis Cardinals. Through the first 18 games, the team has a winning record and several players are off to a great start. One of the exceptions is Nolan Gorman and the early numbers reveal there is real reason for concern as 2026 is starting to look a lot like 2025.

Full disclosure: I am not a numbers expert like some of my colleagues here. I’m interested in the metrics, but don’t pretend that I can interpret them like the many in our community that also probably did a lot better in algebra than I did in school, too. However, I decided to dig in to see exactly how much progress (or not) that Nolan Gorman has made with his new approach. I did not like what I learned.

I decided to compare how Nolan started the 2025 season compared to what he’s done in 2026 through the same amount of games. So far during the 2026 season, Nolan Gorman has 11 hits in 53 at-bats with 2 home runs and 9 RBI’s and a .208 average and .611 OPS. Through the first 18 games of 2025, he had an almost exact same stat line. Gorman had 10 hits in 53 at-bats with 2 home runs and a .189 average. Nolan’s walk rate and walk-to-strikeout rate was also slightly better at the start of the 2025 season compared to what we’ve seen in 2026. His hard hit rate and barrel percentage are also slightly down from 2025.

Nolan’s power numbers and hard hit rate being down is not really a surprise based on what manager Oli Marmol told us during out interview with him just prior to the season.

“When you talk about what we’re doing with him and what he’s doing in order to prevent that from changing…more contact, not doing that at the expense of bat speed. You have to start somewhere and that’s why I wanted to lay that out last year….the bat speed is going to drop a little bit while we try to figure out how to get him through the zone and impacting the baseball at a higher rate.”

Nolan Gorman showed signs of improvement during Spring Training, but the first 18 games of the season have not seen that trend continue. If anything, he’s regressed somewhat although 18 games is a very small sample size. I suppose I would be delusional to hope that we’d see the Nolan Gorman that we saw at the start of the 2023 season when he began on a tear. Through the first 18 games of 2023, Nolan had a .319 batting average, already had 6 home runs and 18 RBI’s with an OPS north of 1.000. The 2023 version of Nolan Gorman was a confident one while the 2026 Nolan we’ve seen so far looks…well, “uncomfortable” would be the word that comes to mind.

I have to wonder if the key to Nolan Gorman rediscovering himself might be what’s happened with Jordan Walker. When asked about how he’s been able to turnaround his approach and results, Jordan has said that he doesn’t want to think about it too much. On one of the pregame broadcasts earlier this week, I recall Jim Hayes talking to hitting coach Brant Brown. When asked about Jordan Walker, Brant said that he’s not discussing too much about mechanics unless he sees a red flag. The only change he says he’s made is talking to Walker about how he will now be pitched with the opposition knowing he’s a threat. Other than that, he doesn’t want Walker to overthink his new success. The at-bats I’ve seen Nolan Gorman take this season, he looks like a player that’s trying to apply someone else’s approach.

I think that Nolan Gorman is a player that really needs to have some success and he needs to have it soon. Jordan Walker now has his confidence back and he goes to the plate expecting to do damage. We know that Nolan Gorman is capable of being that type of impact player, too. I daydream about a St. Louis Cardinals lineup where both Gorman and Walker are offensive threats. Walker is on his way to living up to his massive potential. Will Gorman be able to jumpstart his flatline start to 2026? We can only hope.

On Thursday, Cleveland Guardians rookie pitcher Parker Messick was this close to putting his name into the history books.

In just his 11th major-league start, Messick put up a stellar performance, throwing eight hitless innings in the Guardians’ 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The 25-year-old starting pitcher entered the ninth inning with nine strikeouts and two walks across 106 pitches, having already put away 23 batters with the help of the Cleveland defense.

But in the top of the ninth, Messick’s no-hit bid was broken up a Leody Taveras single that snuck just past Guardians second baseman Juan Brito.

Right afterwards, Blaze Alexander hit another single, and Messick’s night was over. The rookie was replaced by reliever Cade Smith.

Both Taveras and Alexander went on to score, bringing the game to 4-2 and giving Messick two earned runs in his final stat line.

Messick ended the night with 112 pitches — approaching the rookie’s career high of 121 from his time at Florida State, where he played before being drafted by the Guardians in 2022.

If Messick had been able to finish the job, it would have been the 327th no-hitter in MLB history. It also would have been Cleveland’s first no-hitter since 1981.

The league went through the entire 2025 season without a no-hitter, breaking a 20-year streak. The last no-no was all the way back on Sept. 4, 2024 — 589 days ago — with Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga leading a combined no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It looks like MLB will have to wait a bit longer before that drought is finally broken.

On Thursday, Cleveland Guardians rookie pitcher Parker Messick was this close to putting his name into the history books.

In just his 11th major-league start, Messick put up a stellar performance, throwing eight hitless innings in the Guardians’ 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The 25-year-old starting pitcher entered the ninth inning with nine strikeouts and two walks across 106 pitches, having already put away 23 batters with the help of the Cleveland defense.

But in the top of the ninth, Messick’s no-hit bid was broken up a Leody Taveras single that snuck just past Guardians second baseman Juan Brito.

Right afterwards, Blaze Alexander hit another single, and Messick’s night was over. The rookie was replaced by reliever Cade Smith.

Both Taveras and Alexander went on to score, bringing the game to 4-2 and giving Messick two earned runs in his final stat line.

Messick ended the night with 112 pitches — approaching the rookie’s career high of 121 from his time at Florida State, where he played before being drafted by the Guardians in 2022.

If Messick had been able to finish the job, it would have been the 327th no-hitter in MLB history. It also would have been Cleveland’s first no-hitter since 1981.

The league went through the entire 2025 season without a no-hitter, breaking a 20-year streak. The last no-no was all the way back on Sept. 4, 2024 — 589 days ago — with Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga leading a combined no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It looks like MLB will have to wait a bit longer before that drought is finally broken.

Anthony Volpe continues his road back to the Yankees with his second rehab start playing for the Somerset Patriots on Thursday night.

The Yankees shortstop played five innings and finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout on the night. After going hitless in his two at-bats on Tuesday — batting against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler — Volpe has the first hit of his rehab assignment.

Batting second in the lineup, Volpe grounded out to third base in his first at-bat. In his second at-bat in the third inning, Volpe swung and missed on a 3-2 pitch down in the zone. He’s struck out three times in his first five at-bats since starting his rehab assignment. But Volpe got the barrel on the ball in his third at-bat, this time coming in the fifth. 

On a 3-0 count, Volpe had the greenlight and drove the ball up the middle for a base hit. 

Anthony Volpe gets his first hit on his rehab assignment! pic.twitter.com/PPdiY98U3l

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 17, 2026

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that the plan is for Volpe to play back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday. The shortstop will take Saturday off before taking the field again on Sunday. 

From there, Volpe will head to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where his workload will increase.

Yankees top prospect George Lombard Jr. started at third base for the Patriots on Thursday before shifting over to shortstop once Volpe’s night was done.

Lombard’s scorching-hot start to the minor league season continued, as he went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk through six innings of Thursday’s game. 

Over his first 10 games, Lombard is hitting .425 and has five multi-hit games this season.

Capsules on the Western Conference first-round series:

No. 2 San Antonio Spurs (62-20) vs. No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers (42-40)

Season series: Spurs, 2-1.

Story line: San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama’s playoff debut is here. Same goes for Portland star Deni Avdija — who waited six years, and blossomed into an All-Star this season, before getting to this stage. There are some stats that suggest this is a matchup nightmare for San Antonio, such as head-to-head FG% (.440 for the Spurs, .439 for the Blazers), 3-point FG% (.344 for the Spurs, .339 for the Blazers) and rebounds per game (50 for the Spurs, 47.3 for the Blazers). But there’s also this one really big point to consider, that being that Wembanyama didn’t play in any of the three games against the Blazers this season.

Key matchup: Wembanyama vs. Everybody. This is what we’ve all been waiting for, Wemby in the postseason. The Spurs won 62 games in a loaded West, contended for the No. 1 overall seed until the final days of the season, were a matchup nightmare for just about everyone and Wembanyama is at the center of it all — rarely looking fazed in any moment. Avdija is great, but he’ll have to be otherworldly for Portland to have a real chance.

Prediction: Spurs in 5.

No. 3 Denver Nuggets (54-28) vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33)

Season series: Nuggets, 3-1.

Story line: The Nuggets roll into the playoffs with a 12-game winning streak that vaulted them into third place in the Western Conference and a matchup with what’s become a familiar foe. Denver and Minnesota have played 28 games since 2022 and this will be the third postseason meeting in four years between the clubs. Denver beat Minnesota in the first round in 2023 en route to its first NBA championship, but the Timberwolves avenged that in a crushing way the next year when they came from 20 points down in Game 7 of the West semifinals to end Denver’s title reign.

Key matchup: Nikola Jokic vs. Rudy Gobert. Jokic is perhaps the most well-rounded player in the game, averaging a triple-double for the second straight season and becoming the first player to lead the NBA in rebounds and assists per game. He finished with averages of 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists. Gobert is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, but it’s a huge task for he or any center to slow down Jokic.

Prediction: Nuggets in 5.

No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers (53-29) vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets (52-30)

Season series: Lakers, 2-1.

Story line: Another postseason matchup between LeBron James and Kevin Durant is the headline, but who James and the Lakers are missing is the real news. Luka Doncic, who led the NBA with 33.5 points per game, and Austin Reaves, their second-leading scorer, were both injured April 2 and won’t be ready for at least the start of the series. It puts a massive burden on the James, who ties Karl Malone and John Stockton for another NBA record with his 19th postseason appearance.

Key matchup: James vs. Durant. They have been Olympic teammates and NBA Finals rivals, first in Miami and Oklahoma City, later in Cleveland and Golden State. James is the NBA’s career scoring leader and Durant is No. 5, but with James now 41 and Durant 37, they are running out of time to win another title. Now one of them won’t even get out of the first round.

Prediction: Rockets in 6.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

The Mariners are back under the lights tonight after a game where for some reason, who can say really, the ninth inning absolutely did not happen. Seriously. Eat some chicharron, drink a Russian imperial stout, and smile through it all. That’s how we get through 162 games together.

Lineups:

Luis Castillo takes the mound tonight for the final match of this weird 3-game road trip. Luis actually leads MLB in swings-and-misses (3,426) since 2017, the year he made his debut. Here’s hoping he adds to that lead tonight. Offense-wise, it’s a fairly conventional lineup for Dan Wilson’s Mariners. J.P. Crawford is back in the lineup after getting the day off yesterday, and there’s been some slight jiggling in the 7-9 holes, but otherwise it’s the same lineup that put 6 runs on the Dads last night.

Walker Buehler takes the mound tonight for San Diego. Buehler had a to-ugh time in Boston last year, and his 2026 hasn’t been any better. Sporting an ERA of 4.97, the two-time All-Star has been scuffling out of the gate. With luck, the Mariners can put the hurt on him and get his ERA north of 5.

Game Information:

First Pitch: 5:40 pm PT

TV: Mariners TV with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink in the booth with Brad Adam on the field.

Radio: Seattle Sports 710 AM with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr. on the call.

Capsules on the Eastern Conference first-round series:

No. 2 Boston Celtics (56-26) vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers (45-37)

Season series: Tied, 2-2.

Story line: This is by far the most common matchup in NBA postseason history, the rivals about to meet in a playoff series for the 23rd time. The edge for a couple of generations now has been with Boston — the Celtics have won the last six series between the clubs, mostly recently a seven-gamer in 2023, and Philadelphia hasn’t eliminated Boston in a playoff matchup since 1982. For Philadelphia, much hinges on how quickly Joel Embiid can return from his appendectomy. For Boston, it’ll be about the 3-point line — and this might be surprising to some, but the 76ers were better than the Celtics from beyond the arc in all four meetings this season.

Key matchup: Derrick White vs. Tyrese Maxey. White is one of the best on-ball defenders in the league, and Maxey averaged 30 points per game in the four 76ers-Celtics games this season. It’s never going to be about a 1-on-1 matchup, but if Maxey gets rolling it’s going to create issues for the Celtics. Then again, if Embiid isn’t back or isn’t effective, the 1-2 Boston punch of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum might render whatever Maxey does moot anyway.

Prediction: Celtics in 6.

No. 3 New York Knicks (53-29) vs. No. 6 Atlanta Hawks (46-36)

Season series: Knicks, 2-1.

Story line: The Knicks hope to start another long playoff run against an Atlanta team that has played far better than a No. 6 seed for the last two months. The Hawks went 20-6 after the All-Star break to finish with their best record in a decade.

Key matchup: Jalen Brunson vs. Dyson Daniels. Brunson has eight 40-point games in the postseason since joining the Knicks in 2022, most in the NBA. The All-Star guard just scored 30, including 17 in the fourth quarter, to get the Knicks past the Hawks on April 6 in Atlanta. Daniels figures to get the assignment of trying to slow him. Already one of the NBA’s best defensive guards, Daniels was second in the league in steals while also improving offensively, shooting a career-best 51.7% from the field.

Prediction: Knicks in 6.

No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30) vs. No. 5 Toronto Raptors (46-36)

Season series: Raptors, 3-0.

Story line: Even down at the No. 4 seed, the Cavaliers have the second-best odds to win the Eastern Conference after acquiring James Harden to pair with Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt. Harden is still looking for his first title in what’s now his 17th straight season in the playoffs to begin his career. The Cavaliers beat the Raptors in the playoffs three straight years from 2016-18 on their way to the NBA Finals when LeBron James was in Cleveland.

Key matchup: Evan Mobley vs. Scottie Barnes. Barnes edged Mobley by 15 points to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 2022. Whoever gets the better of the matchup between forwards this time could determine which way the series swings, because the Cavaliers figure to have the advantage in the backcourt with their high-scoring stars.

Prediction: Cavaliers in 5.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers are about to enter a playoff series against the Houston Rockets without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. So we can probably expect a lot of LeBron James, and perhaps some LeBron James Jr. (aka Bronny) as well.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick signaled Wednesday, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, that the younger James could see real minutes for the Lakers against the Rockets in the first round:

“We’re going to have to have all hands on deck for the series, that’s just when you’re short-handed. He’s got to be ready. Nick [Smith Jr.] will have to be ready. I think Bronny’s improved a lot. I think we trust him. The shooting piece, I’m a believer in, because of how well he shot it in the last two years in the G League.

“I know there was a stretch recently where he didn’t shoot it well and of course, he had a nice shooting game against Utah. He’s improved a ton defensively in terms of his body positioning, both on and off ball. We want him to continue to evolve as a disruptive defender as well.”

James, the Lakers’ second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, has appeared in 42 games (1 start) for L.A. in his sophomore season, with most of his minutes coming in garbage time. His 40.9% shooting and 38.6% shooting from 3-point range have been a significant increase from his numbers last year (31.3% and 28.1%).

In the Lakers’ five games since Dončić and Reaves went down, he has averaged 6.6 points and 2.0 assists in 17 minutes per game. In 14 G League games, he has averaged 15.6 points, 3.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds with strong shooting numbers.

All of that adds up to a player deserving of postseason minutes, according to his father:

“Me being on the floor with him — postseason, regular season, training camp, practices — is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my career, above everything that I’ve accomplished. The fact that he’s put himself in the position to get his number called for a postseason game is pretty remarkable and pretty cool, given the circumstances that he’s been through the last couple years. He earned and he deserved, he’ll be ready.”

Bronny also spoke of his emotions going into the series:

“It’s insane. I mean, I’ve literally watched his [father’s] whole career. And now I’m a part of it. So it’s a great experience. I’m appreciative of it. but I’m part of the job too, so I have to do my job as well. I got to lock in.”

The pair have already achieved plenty of firsts together, and they could now become the first father-son duo to log playoff minutes together.

The absence of Dončić and Reaves takes away two of the Lakers’ top three players in scoring, assists, minutes, usage rate and a ton of other statistics, leaving plenty of workload to move around. Luke Kennard, Jake LaRavia and Rui Hachimura have all seen increased minutes since those two went down, in addition to James.

It’s unclear how long the Lakers will have to make do, provided they even have games to play after this round. Should they make it past the Rockets, who are -550 favorites to advance, they can expect to face the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

OKC went 4-0 against the Lakers this season, with an average scoring margin of 29.3 points.

The Los Angeles Lakers are about to enter a playoff series against the Houston Rockets without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. So we can probably expect a lot of LeBron James, and perhaps some LeBron James Jr. (aka Bronny) as well.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick signaled Wednesday, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, that the younger James could see real minutes for the Lakers against the Rockets in the first round:

“We’re going to have to have all hands on deck for the series, that’s just when you’re short-handed. He’s got to be ready. Nick [Smith Jr.] will have to be ready. I think Bronny’s improved a lot. I think we trust him. The shooting piece, I’m a believer in, because of how well he shot it in the last two years in the G League.

“I know there was a stretch recently where he didn’t shoot it well and of course, he had a nice shooting game against Utah. He’s improved a ton defensively in terms of his body positioning, both on and off ball. We want him to continue to evolve as a disruptive defender as well.”

James, the Lakers’ second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, has appeared in 42 games (1 start) for L.A. in his sophomore season, with most of his minutes coming in garbage time. His 40.9% shooting and 38.6% shooting from 3-point range have been a significant increase from his numbers last year (31.3% and 28.1%).

In the Lakers’ five games since Dončić and Reaves went down, he has averaged 6.6 points and 2.0 assists in 17 minutes per game. In 14 G League games, he has averaged 15.6 points, 3.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds with strong shooting numbers.

All of that adds up to a player deserving of postseason minutes, according to his father:

“Me being on the floor with him — postseason, regular season, training camp, practices — is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my career, above everything that I’ve accomplished. The fact that he’s put himself in the position to get his number called for a postseason game is pretty remarkable and pretty cool, given the circumstances that he’s been through the last couple years. He earned and he deserved, he’ll be ready.”

Bronny also spoke of his emotions going into the series:

“It’s insane. I mean, I’ve literally watched his [father’s] whole career. And now I’m a part of it. So it’s a great experience. I’m appreciative of it. but I’m part of the job too, so I have to do my job as well. I got to lock in.”

The pair have already achieved plenty of firsts together, and they could now become the first father-son duo to log playoff minutes together.

The absence of Dončić and Reaves takes away two of the Lakers’ top three players in scoring, assists, minutes, usage rate and a ton of other statistics, leaving plenty of workload to move around. Luke Kennard, Jake LaRavia and Rui Hachimura have all seen increased minutes since those two went down, in addition to James.

It’s unclear how long the Lakers will have to make do, provided they even have games to play after this round. Should they make it past the Rockets, who are -550 favorites to advance, they can expect to face the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

OKC went 4-0 against the Lakers this season, with an average scoring margin of 29.3 points.