Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here.

Today is April 16. We are more or less 10 percent of the way through the 2025 season. And if you take a look at the MLB home run leaderboard, it is not topped by Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani or Pete Alonso. The name you’ll see there at No. 1 is a name you should start getting to know: Tyler Soderstrom.

The 23-year-old A’s masher now has eight homers after going deep twice last night, his third multi-HR game of the season. That’s three out of his team’s first 17 games, which, back to a little math, means he has hit more than one homer about 18 percent of the time. Only one other A’s player has ever accomplished this, Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson. 

Now the A’s are obviously hoping that Soderstrom won’t be remembered simply as Mr. April. They have loftier expectations for the 2020 first-round Draft pick and their No. 1-ranked prospect from 2021-23. This is the first time Soderstrom has started a season with the big league club, and the early returns are opening eyes around baseball. He has a ways to go to match the club record of eight multi-HR games in a season by a player age 23 or younger (held by, you guessed it, Reggie), but he is more than pacing.

And just take a look at the exclusive company he’s already in. Beyond just the two A’s, only three other players total have had three multi-homer performances in a team’s first 17 games: Teoscar Hernández (2020), Carlos Delgado (2001) and Ken Keltner (1948). Then there’s the club that Soderstrom is in all by himself, as the first player aged 23 or younger to do this.

It’s all to say that the coveted combo of youth and slug spells good things to come for Soderstrom and the A’s. And while he has shocked, well, pretty much everyone who had been unaware of him before this season, nobody in the Athletics clubhouse is particularly perplexed. Teammate Lawrence Butler, who watched Soderstrom crush 72 homers in 301 Minor League games, said it best:

“He’s Babe Ruth for us right now. I hope he keeps it going.” 

-- Scott Chiusano

You could say the Braves, 5-12 entering today, need a pick-me-up, and they're getting just that as they close out an uneven road trip. Ace Spencer Strider took the hill in Toronto this afternoon, making his season debut and just his third start since a breakout 2023 campaign in which he struck out 281 batters, won 20 games and placed fourth in NL Cy Young voting. UCL surgery last April derailed Strider's ascent, but he was overpowering in three rehab starts (27 K's, 13 2/3 IP) and showed similar flashes today, striking out five in five-plus innings of two-run ball. He probably would, though, like to have this pitch to Vlad Jr. back.

If you read one story today, make it Matt Monagan's look back at the legend of Fenway's most infamous pizza slice, thrown by one fan at another on this day 18 years ago. The story has all the hallmarks of a pulpy crime thriller: miserable weather, a costly misunderstanding, an act of revenge and a perpetrator in hiding. It might be the most Boston story ever told. And now, as the late, great Jerry Remy said, "Every year, we celebrate National Pizza Day."  

• D-backs @ Marlins (6:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): They are right now playing fourth fiddle in the ridiculously competitive NL West, but the D-backs are undeniably a dangerous team and a fun one to watch. Especially with Corbin Carroll playing like an MVP candidate (1.158 OPS) and coming off his second-deck slammo last night.

• Red Sox @ Rays (7:05 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): This has been a Jekyll and Hyde-type series so far. The Rays poured on 16 runs in the opener and then were held mostly in check last night, while the Red Sox bats finally broke out after providing zilch the day before. The AL East looks like it’ll be a tight fight right down to the end, so every series win matters.

• Rockies @ Dodgers (10:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV, MLB Network): Much is made of the Big Three at the top of the Dodgers’ order, but the guy right behind them is doing yeoman’s work. Catcher Will Smith hit a three-run homer last night and is 10-for-13 with runners in scoring position this season, which flies under the radar with so many superstars in the lineup. Speaking of flying under the radar, L.A.’s home run leader right now is … Tommy Edman.

When is a walk way more than meets the eye? As the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes showed last night, a little hustle can turn even the most routine play into a cascading nightmare for the opposition. MLB Pipeline's Brendan Samson breaks down exactly how a bases-loaded walk led to three (!) runs thanks to some drowsy defense and a dash of opportunistic baserunning.

For all the obscure stats whizzes out there, this one’s for you. See how well you can compare players and their stats before the timer runs out. Three strikes and you’re out! Play free >>

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