Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that will get you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s slate of games, while catching you up on the most fun stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. Here’s a confession: The Braves-Dodgers series that began last night in Los Angeles does not look anything like what we thought it would when we marked this one down on the calendar. Maybe the Dodgers starting their season 6-0 doesn’t shock you, but the Braves starting theirs 0-5, well that probably should. These two teams – currently on Robert Frost-worthy divergent roads – face off again tonight (10:10 p.m. ET, Free on MLB.TV) with a lot still at stake. For Atlanta, that means trying to avoid some inauspicious company: Only three teams have started a season 0-6 and made the playoffs (2011 Rays, 1995 Reds and 1974 Pirates), and no team has started 0-7 and gotten to October. But with reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale on the mound, it’s as good a time as any to get in the win column. The Dodgers have a lot less to lose here, but they certainly wouldn’t turn down the idea of delivering two more demoralizing blows to a team that many predicted to be one of their top pennant challengers. They hope to get Freddie Freeman back in the lineup after his shower mishap (folks, remember to step lightly), one of the more bizarre injuries to befall a Major Leaguer, and they are handing the ball to Dustin May for what is sure to be an emotional return to the big league mound for the first time since 2023. Braves fans won’t necessarily like hearing this, but they can look to one of their most bitter rivals for a little optimism in these trying times. The 2024 Mets also started the season 0-5, and in Game 6 they were no-hit for seven innings before eking out a walk-off win, thus unofficially beginning their unlikely march to the NLCS. We’ll see if the Braves can embark on their own Amazin’ (sorry!) turnaround tonight. -- Scott Chiusano |
• Pirates @ Rays (7:05 p.m. ET on MLB.TV): The Pirates have a veritable treasure trove of young pitching both already in the Majors or on the way, and another one of them makes his debut tonight against the Rays. Thomas Harrington, the Bucs’ No. 3 prospect and No. 78 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list, comes armed with 95 mph heat and can mix in six different pitches. |
• Guardians @ Padres (9:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Off to a 5-0 start for the first time in franchise history, the Padres are keeping pace with that other undefeated team that happens to play in their division. Non-roster invitee Gavin Sheets has been a revelation early on for San Diego, and last night the Petco Park crowd rewarded his efforts with one of the great ballpark cheers in recent memory, chanting “Ho-ly Sheets.” |
The Red Sox came to terms with their new left-hander Garrett Crochet on a six-year extension last night after just one start with the team. We checked in with MLB.com national reporter Mark Feinsand to answer some questions about the deal. 1) A lot of players cut off negotiations for extensions before the season starts, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a notable recent example. And yet here we have the Sox coming to terms with Crochet days after his Opening Day start. What do you think went into the timing here? Feinsand: I’m not a big believer in the self-imposed deadline concept; if the Blue Jays went to Vladdy with a $600 million offer right now, something tells me he would happily ignore his “deadline” and sign it. We knew the Red Sox and Crochet’s camp had been discussing an extension, so it wasn’t a huge surprise to see him land his deal. The work of negotiating is done by the agent, so all the player has to do at this point is say yay or nay. This deal was in Crochet’s best interest given his lack of starting experience, and it made sense for the Red Sox after they gave up a haul of prospects to get him. 2) There also have been reports of talks between the Red Sox and MLB Pipeline’s No 7 prospect, Kristian Campbell. What do you make of Boston’s continued aggressiveness in pursuing these deals? Feinsand: Boston has the ability to sign big-time free agents, but if you look at what makes big-market teams successful, it’s more than writing free-agent checks. Being able to lock up your young players to create cost certainty makes perfect sense, especially if a team believes it has the goods. If a Campbell extension happens, it will be interesting to see if it merely buys out arbitration years or whether it eats into his free-agent years the way Jackson Chourio’s deal did. If Campbell becomes a star, the Red Sox will have saved money with the early extension. If he doesn’t, it will have cost Boston some money – but given how high the club is on him, it seems like a worthy gamble. |
A’s star Lawrence Butler took away many lessons from the late great Rickey Henderson’s visits to the clubhouse, chief among them to always “be myself. Don’t try to change for anybody or any situation.” That signature flair that Rickey brought to the game was represented in the “Man of Steal” spikes Butler wore last night for the A’s first game in Sacramento. MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos has the awesome story of how the design came together. |
• The Angels’ new home run helmets pay tribute to the Southern California firefighters who bravely battled the devastating flames throughout the region over the winter. It’s a poignant spin on the dugout homer celebrations that have swept across baseball, and superstar Mike Trout made it all happen. • There was an H-Town homecoming last night, and the H was for Hicks. Giants right-hander and Houston native Jordan Hicks pitched at his hometown ballpark for the first time in his big league career, and he more than delivered in front of a large contingent of family and friends, spinning six one-hit innings against the Astros. |
Beat the Streak is all about picking a hot hitter, and this early in the season there are still … a lot of them. While we don’t think the Rays’ Jonathan Aranda will bat .556 through September, he’s a sleeper pick as a left-handed bat going against a right-hander making his big league debut. You obviously can’t go wrong with Aaron Judge, who has six hits in his first 11 at-bats but is facing a tough right-hander in Burnes. And Elly De La Cruz is coming off a four-hit night (with a torpedo bat!), so do with that what you will. Remember, if you can top Joe DiMaggio's record hitting streak of 56 games by correctly selecting a player each day to record a hit, you can win $5.6 million. Choose wisely! |
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