Sports
Padres bring surging offense home for series opener vs. Cards
May 6, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) celebrates with San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (right) after hitting a two run home run during the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Marshall-Imagn Images If the last two games of their series in San Francisco this week are any indication, the San Diego Padres might have found the offensive punch that was missing during a recent slump.
After scoring 15 total runs to record consecutive wins that led to a series victory over the Giants, San Diego will be back home on Thursday night to open a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Padres manager Craig Stammen shook up the lineup before Tuesday night’s game against the Giants. He elevated Jackson Merrill to the leadoff spot and Manny Machado to the No. 2 hole and dropped Fernando Tatis Jr. from 2 to 5. On Wednesday, Stammen moved Ramon Laureano from 1 to 6.
The results over a two-game stretch: 20 hits, four multiple-run innings, and an offense that looked more like the one the Padres envisioned in spring training instead of the one that’s hit for low average during the first six weeks of the season.
“They’re a determined group,” Stammen said of his team, which lost five of six games before its current two-game winning streak. “They’re not satisfied with just being OK. They want to be great. We predicted days like this for these types of hitters, and I think there will be more to come.”
Merrill showed real signs of life in San Francisco with six hits and three RBIs in the series, while Xander Bogaerts slugged his team-high seventh homer on Wednesday to put the game away, 5-1. There were contributions up and down the lineup, including Ty France’s two-run triple Wednesday that snapped a 1-1 tie vs. the Giants.
San Diego right-hander Michael King (3-2, 2.95 ERA) hopes that momentum carries into the series opener against St. Louis.
King is coming off a 4-0 loss Saturday night to the Chicago White Sox that saw him yield four runs on seven hits in six-plus innings with three walks and five strikeouts. He is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in two career outings against St. Louis, one of them a start.
The Cardinals, who have won seven of their past nine games, will counter with left-hander Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 4.50 ERA).
He last worked on Friday, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 with 5 2/3 solid innings, yielding two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Liberatore is 0-3 with a 2.57 ERA in seven career outings (two starts) against San Diego.
Despite a 6-2 loss at home Wednesday to Milwaukee, St. Louis has been far better than some predicted it would be in 2026. The team’s offense has displayed much more power than expected, ranking in the top 10 in slugging percentage (eighth), home runs (ninth) and runs (10th).
Jordan Walker has emerged from the cocoon of two bad seasons with a start that suggests he’s finally ready to live up to high expectations, while rookie JJ Wetherholt has added power and on-base percentage to a lineup needing both attributes.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol has been impressed with his offense’s ability to grind at-bats and maintain consistent pressure on pitchers. In a 6-3 win Monday night over Milwaukee, the Cardinals put a runner in scoring position in every inning except the sixth.
“That’s a lot of pressure,” Marmol said. “You do that to any pitching staff and at some point, they’ll all break.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pirates' Konnor Griffin 'settled in' ahead of opener vs. Giants
May 6, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin (6) against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images San Francisco Bay Area baseball fans will get their first up-close look at Pittsburgh prized rookie Konnor Griffin when the Giants host the Pirates in a three-game series that begins Friday night.
Griffin, who made his MLB debut as a 19-year-old early last month, arrives in San Francisco on a nice run. He has hits in eight of his last nine games, raising his batting average from .213 to .257.
“It’s been good to get settled in,” said Griffin, who played just 127 games of minor-league ball before his promotion less than two years after he was drafted ninth overall by the Pirates straight out of high school.
“Just a good locker room,” he added. “Everybody supports you. I’m just glad to be out there every day, working hard and doing what I love.”
The shortstop appears to have settled in on the road as well. After starting his big-league career 1-for-22 there, he has rebounded to go 7-for-20 against the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks away from home.
Griffin has yet to face the Giants’ Friday probable starter, left-hander Robbie Ray (2-4, 2.95 ERA), who hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his seven starts this season. Ray, however, has a losing record, with the Giants having been shut out in three of his four losses — including 3-0 at Tampa Bay last Friday.
Ray, 34, is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven career starts against the Pirates, who have won five of their past six games.
Scheduled Pittsburgh starter Carmen Mlodzinski (2-2, 4.76 ERA) benefited from his team’s 19-hit assault in a 17-7 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday in his most recent outing. The right-hander won despite allowing five runs for a third consecutive start, a stretch that followed yielding a total of four runs over his first four outings of the season.
Mlodzinski, 27, has yet to start a game in San Francisco. Overall, he has faced the Giants five times — all in relief — and is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA.
Mlodzinski will try to keep the Giants’ Willy Adames in a slump. The shortstop has a hit in only 10 of his last 78 at-bats, with no homers or RBIs as his batting average has plummeted to .194.
The Giants have scored just 18 runs in their last nine games, losing eight times.
Manager Tony Vitello has cautioned his players that no starting spot is guaranteed. In fact, he sat third baseman Matt Chapman on Tuesday and second baseman Luis Arraez on Wednesday so that he could find a spot for his hottest hitter, Casey Schmitt.
Schmitt, who homered twice in the just-completed series against the San Diego Padres, also can play shortstop. The Giants lost two of three games in the home set to San Diego.
Vitello said he believes resting veteran players can be for their own good.
“There’s going to be days where they’re not playing,” Vitello said earlier this week, “but the benefit of that is that when they are playing, they’re not going to have any excuses. Not that they have, but they’re going to be fresh of mind and fresh of body.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Commanders sign 1st-round pick Sonny Styles
Apr 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles is selected by the Washington Commanders as the number seven pick during the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The Washington Commanders signed first-round draft pick Sonny Styles to his four-year rookie contract on Friday.
Styles, the seventh overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, will receive $37.2 million in fully guaranteed money that includes a $23.5 million signing bonus. The deal also includes a fifth-year team option.
The Commanders also signed the remaining members of their draft class: Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams (third round), Tennessee defensive end Joshua Josephs (fifth), Penn State running back Kaytron Allen (sixth), Michigan State center Matt Gulbin (sixth) and Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (seventh).
Styles, who was converted from safety to linebacker, recorded 82 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in 14 games as a first-team All-American last season at Ohio State.
He totaled 244 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 53 career games with the Buckeyes.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cavaliers Need Major Changes After Falling Behind 2-0 to Pistons
The Detroit Pistons took a commanding 2-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers after a massive 107-97 win in game two. Cade Cunningham came through in the clutch for Detroit, the exact opposite of what occurred for the Cavs on the road.
Donovan Mitchell didn’t have a bad game two, but wasn’t able to get it going from beyond the arc. The real issue came from James Harden. In his age-36 season, Cleveland actually expected to get really playoff value out of Harden.
I feel a good description of Harden’s entire game came through with 40 seconds in the 4th quarter. Harden walked it up the floor, dribbled out the entire shot clock down six points, then immediately turned the ball over. You can live with Harden being a traffic cone on defense when he turns it up on offense, but he was simply the worst Cleveland player on both ends of the floor. He finished 3/13 from the field and had 4 horrible turnovers to go along with it.
Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has been the worst coach in two straight series to start the playoffs, and if he wants to change things, he might have to make an insane move and bench Harden. I would love to see Harden contribute as an off-ball catch-and-shoot player, but he can’t seem to even accomplish that. If that’s the case, you might as well just try Craig Porter Jr. to see if he can provide energy.
I’m not sure if Cleveland is truly even dead in this series. Of course, they haven’t found any way to win on the road in the playoffs (0-5 thus far), but Detroit hasn’t wowed me with anything they’ve done. The Pistons’ defense has been aggressive and limited what Cleveland wanted to do, but the Cavs have played right into it. They’ve slowed the game down and relied on isolation, or high pick-n-roll offense right at half court, and it’s been insanely ugly for Cleveland.
Two things have to change for the Cavs. They need to get to the basket. In the third quarter, they made a run to make things interesting, then went right back to isolation basketball, zero ball movement, and James Harden starting the offense with 10 seconds left on the shot clock.
However, more important than that, they’ve simply got to make shots. They were 7/32 from three, while Detroit was 14/28. That’s the ball game. I have no idea why Atkinson continually blitzes Cunningham, which allows Detroit to finish a possession with a wide-open three. This is a bad defensive unit that struggles to make the right rotations. Quit overhelping; you’re letting a bad-shooting Pistons team get into a rhythm with easy catch-and-shoot threes.
Rebuilding in basketball is painful, but I’m not sure this Cavs team will ever be a real contender. Even if you somehow manage to get out of this round, you’re still left with a very flawed roster. Cleveland will have some tough decisions this offseason, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re seeing the last few games of this core in Cleveland.
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