Sports
Cal Raleigh's status uncertain when Mariners host Braves
Apr 24, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) walks to the on deck circle during the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images The three-game interleague series between the Atlanta Braves and host Seattle Mariners that begins Monday will be without one superstar and perhaps a second.
Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a strained left hamstring suffered while running to first base the previous day in Colorado.
“The MRI showed a Grade 1 strain, so not too serious, but serious enough that we had to put him on the list,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said before Sunday’s 11-6 victory against the Rockies.
“It’s not going to be just a couple days,” Weiss continued. “It’s gonna be more than that, so we need to put him on the IL, and, hopefully, it’ll be sooner than later. No idea with these soft tissue injuries how long they’re gonna take, but I think the silver lining is that the MRI showed it wasn’t too serious.”
Acuna had played in each of the Braves’ first 34 games this season after appearing in just 144 over the previous two campaigns after suffering a torn ACL in May 2024. The five-time All-Star and 2023 National League MVP had heated up after a slow start, batting .381 over his past six games.
“All things considered, it could have been a lot worse,” Weiss said.
Meanwhile, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, coming off a record 60-homer season, sat out the past two games with discomfort in his right side that required an MRI.
“Cal is continuing to make strides,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Sunday’s 4-1 loss to visiting Kansas City. “He’s got a little soreness in the side. We’ll continue to look at it day to day and go from there and continue to assess it.”
Raleigh, who has never been on the injured list in his six-year major league career, said he’s hoping to avoid that.
He said he first felt the discomfort after Friday’s game.
“Didn’t really think too much of it,” Raleigh said. “It’s normal. Things happen in games throughout the season, but I woke up the next day and it stayed sore, and I let the staff know. I was just trying to play it safe.”
Raleigh, who won the Home Run Derby at last year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, also recently heated up after a slow start with five homers in a seven-game span from April 20-27.
The 29-year-old said he felt much better Sunday and even took swings in the batting cage pregame to test his oblique area.
“It felt good,” he said. “(Sunday) was a good day. Obviously, everybody’s leaning on the cautionary side, which is to be expected. In the moment, you hate it, but down the line, I think they’ll pay dividends.”
While the Braves swept their three-game series in Colorado to improve to an MLB-best 25-10, the defending American League West champion Mariners lost all three to the visiting Royals to drop to 16-19.
Monday’s series opener is set to feature a pair of right-handers in Braves rookie JR Ritchie (1-0, 2.92 ERA), a Seattle-area native, and the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (1-3, 4.03).
Ritchie, who attended high school on nearby Bainbridge Island, will be making his third major league start. After winning his debut April 23 at Washington, he didn’t get a decision Wednesday against visiting Detroit when he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits over 5 1/3 innings, with four walks and four strikeouts in a game the Braves won 4-3 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Gilbert didn’t get a decision Tuesday in a 7-1 victory at Minnesota despite allowing one run on six hits over five innings. He’s 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two career starts against Atlanta.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees bring surging offense into rematch vs. Rangers
May 4, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez (24) hits an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images The New York Yankees did not do much offensively last week and yet recorded a series win in a three-game set against the host Texas Rangers.
The Yankees, who battered the Baltimore Orioles in the past four games, hope to keep rolling at the plate Tuesday night when they host Texas in the opener of a three-game series.
The Yankees are 14-2 in their past 16 games, and two of those wins were in Texas, where they scored seven runs in a pair of close games.
New York is seeking its fifth straight win after scoring 39 runs against Baltimore. The Yankees totaled 47 hits, 24 walks and went 18-for-38 with runners in scoring position in the series.
“It’s been great,” New York starting pitcher Cam Schlittler said of New York’s offense. “We’ve been on a really good roll these last couple of series. It’s fun to see one through nine contributing, putting up great at-bats and driving runs in.”
New York concluded the Baltimore series with a 12-1 rout on Monday. Aaron Judge has 11 of his 14 homers this season during his past 21 games and hit a two-run blast in the first inning before adding a two-run single in a six-run eighth.
After the Yankees faced an opponent with a 4.96 ERA, they will face Texas’ Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.01 ERA) for the second time in a week.
The right-hander took the loss against New York last Tuesday despite allowing one run on six hits in six innings in a 3-2 setback.
He yielded an RBI double to Cody Bellinger in the first inning after a single by Judge and held the Yankees hitless in the next 11 at-bats. The former Cy Young Award winner is 2-5 with a 2.97 ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees.
deGrom is part of a pitching staff with a 3.66 ERA, but the Rangers are hitting .235 and their 127 runs are the fewest in the American League.
Texas has dropped nine of its past 14 games and has scored more than five runs in only one of those contests. Texas also has scored fewer than three runs in that span seven times, including the final two games of its series in Detroit.
After earning a 5-4 victory on Friday, the Rangers went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the past two games.
Texas’ defense faltered in a 7-1 loss to the Tigers on Sunday night, including center fielder Evan Carter failing to finish a diving catch.
“We weren’t real fundamentally sound like we’re typically used to,” Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. “We had some really good plays. The outfield had some really good plays, there were some plays in the infield that were really good as well, but there were some plays that we’re used to making that we didn’t.”
While Corey Seager collected a hit in each of the games in Detroit, he is 4-for-27 in his past seven contests. Seager’s slump is coinciding with Josh Jung batting .378 during a 12-game hitting streak.
New York right-hander Elmer Rodriguez (0-1, 4.50 ERA), who is in the rotation until Carlos Rodon completes his rehab from left elbow surgery, will make his second career start. He debuted Wednesday afternoon in Texas and allowed two runs on four hits in four innings of a 3-0 loss.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Royals out for a second win against Guardians in AL Central showdown
May 4, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) steals third base against the Cleveland Guardians during the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images The Kansas City Royals are in the midst of their most successful stretch of the young season.
Now, the Royals will try for a fifth consecutive win when they continue their four-game home series with the Cleveland Guardians, who they are chasing in the American League Central, on Tuesday night.
Kansas City trailed 2-0 early Monday, then scored four runs in the fourth inning en route to a 6-2 victory over Cleveland.
Bobby Witt Jr. led off the frame with a solo homer, and Nick Loftin capped the big inning with a two-out, two-run tiebreaking single for the Royals, who have averaged 5.8 runs amid their 9-3 stretch that’s followed an eight-game losing streak.
“I think the intensity, pitch-to-pitch, really (sticks) to me,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said of his team’s performance of late.
“Not one guy is trying to be the hero.”
Witt is batting .302 with three homers and eight RBIs in the past 15 games. Meanwhile, teammate Vinnie Pasquantino is 7-for-18 in four games this month after ending April with a .165 average.
“It’s not about getting 10 hits in a row with runners in scoring position,” Pasquantino said. “It’s about just having quality at-bats, making the pitcher work.”
However, Witt and Pasquantino are a combined 4-for-36 against right-hander Gavin Williams (5-1, 2.70 ERA), the scheduled Cleveland starter on Tuesday.
The Guardians are 6-1 when Williams has pitched this season. All of those victories followed a loss in his 2026 debut at Seattle on March 27, and they include the 5 2/3 innings he threw during a 2-1 win over Kansas City on April 7 — when he yielded only a Carter Jensen homer.
Williams is 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA in nine career starts against the Royals.
After allowing a season-high six runs in six innings of an 8-6 win at Toronto on April 24, Williams gave up an unearned run and struck out nine without a walk in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay.
“When Gavin throws strikes, that’s what you get,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
Cleveland has lost two games in a row following a three-game winning streak. David Fry hit a two-run homer and had two of the five hits Monday for the Guardians, who have been outscored 13-3 in the past two contests.
Jose Ramirez singled in the series opener, but the Cleveland star continues to struggle while batting .218, well below his career average of .278.
Steven Kwan is another Cleveland star who is scuffling at the plate. He’s 0-for-8 in the past two games — dropping his batting average to .217. On May 5 of last season, his average was .333.
Ramirez and Kwan will try their luck Tuesday against right-hander Stephen Kolek, who will come off the injured list (left oblique strain) to make his season debut. He is stepping in for scheduled starter Noah Cameron, who has been scratched due to tightness in his lower back.
The Royals acquired Kolek (5-7, 3.51 ERA in 2025) from the San Diego Padres last season at the trade deadline. They received Kolek and right-hander Ryan Bergert for catcher Freddy Fermin.
With the Royals, Kolek started five games and was 1-2 with a 1.91 ERA. In his two losses, the Royals scored a combined two runs.
Kolek has faced the Guardians twice (one start) and has no decisions and a 6.75 ERA.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs carry majors-best win streak into rematch vs. skidding Reds
May 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs right fielder Michael Conforto (20) celebrates with teammates after hitting a game winning solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs will aim to extend their winning streak to a majors-best seven games on Tuesday night when they continue their four-game series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.
The Cubs were three outs away from losing on Monday night after a lengthy rain delay, but Nico Hoerner’s sacrifice fly and Michael Conforto’s solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the team to a dramatic 5-4 win over the Reds, who have lost four straight games.
Chicago resides in first place in the National League Central, a division in which each team is above .500.
“It tells me everyone is playing well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It also tells me we haven’t played too many games in the division yet.”
The Cubs have won 12 straight games at Wrigley Field, the team’s longest home winning streak since it won 14 in a row in 2008.
A winner of 16 of its last 19 games, Chicago will turn to right-hander Jameson Taillon (2-1, 4.41 ERA) to start Tuesday’s game.
Taillon allowed three runs on three hits in a season-high seven innings of a 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres last Wednesday.
He is 7-7 with a 4.46 ERA in 20 career appearances against the Reds.
The Cubs keep finding different ways to win, with different players stepping up.
Conforto, pinch-hitting for Matt Shaw, hammered a 3-2 fastball from Reds closer Emilio Pagan into the seats in left-center field to end the game on Monday. It was Conforto’s first homer in a Cubs uniform and the first walk-off homer in his 12-year major league career.
Cincinnati called up top-10 prospect Chase Petty on Monday, and Petty delivered a solid start of 5 2/3 innings with three runs allowed on four hits. He retired nine of the first 11 Cubs he faced and another eight in a row after allowing a home run to Seiya Suzuki.
But with Nick Lodolo expected to come off the injured list from a blister on Friday, Petty could be headed back to Triple-A.
On Tuesday, Cincinnati left-hander Andrew Abbott (1-2, 5.97 ERA) will start against the Cubs. He earned his first win of the season on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies, 6-4, allowing two earned runs on five hits in six innings.
Abbott is 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA in seven career starts against the Cubs.
The Reds have played 14 games decided by two or fewer runs this season. They had a 12-game winning streak in those games but have lost their last two by one run, including Monday night. They have seven wins in one-run games this season.
“Nothing’s changed as far as our mindset as a team,” Pagan told The Cincinnati Enquirer moments after giving up the decisive home run to Conforto. “We know we’re really good. We’ve played a lot of close ballgames, and quite honestly I haven’t held up my end of the bargain.”
–Field Level Media
Yankees bring surging offense into rematch vs. Rangers
Royals out for a second win against Guardians in AL Central showdown
