Author: Deesha Thosar

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“This organization put a lot of faith in me,” Buehler said after the game. “And I’ve been f–king embarrassing.”

After allowing a pair of home runs as part of New York’s offensive onslaught, Walker Buehler’s ERA skyrocketed to 5.18. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) <!–>

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This Red Sox-Yankees matchup should be exciting; it is, after all, getting national network attention throughout the weekend. The Yankees (39-23) are doing their part, boasting a talented, well-rounded roster that represents one of the top teams in Major League Baseball. But the Red Sox aren’t holding up to their end of the bargain. 

Boston’s start to the season has been headline-grabbing, to be sure. Just for all the wrong reasons. 

The season kicked off with the drama surrounding slugger Rafael Devers and real questions about where he would play on the field after the club signed Bregman. After it seemed settled that Devers would transition to full-time designated hitter duties, Triston Casas’ season-ending injury prompted yet another conflict that seeped into the public landscape. Devers’ apparent refusal to play first base could’ve been avoided if the Red Sox had just been up front with the face of their franchise about their expectations for him. 

Offensively, at least, Devers hasn’t let the drama affect him. He’s one of two Red Sox players among the top 15 hitters in MLB. The other player, Bregman, is idling away on the injured list. After that? The Red Sox’ next best hitter is right fielder Wilyer Abreu, sporting a 123 OPS+ that’s good enough for 68th in MLB, followed by left fielder Jaren Duran, who’s just barely hitting above league-average. Still, thanks to the overall mediocre level of competition in the American League — the Detroit Tigers and the Yankees being the exceptions — Boston’s lineup entered Friday having produced the third-most runs in the AL. So it’s certainly not all doom and gloom for this club. 

But can they even capitalize on their remaining chances to move up in the standings? We’ll find out over the next handful of weeks, because this month will likely decide the direction of the Red Sox’ season. 

[RELATED: Top landing spots for disgruntled Red Sox star Rafael Devers]

Soon enough, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will need to know whether he will be a buyer or a seller at the trade deadline. If it’s the latter, guys like Duran and closer Aroldis Chapman are already rumored to be on the trading block. And it’s possible Cora will be on the hot seat, even though last year he signed a contract extension that goes through the 2027 season. 

“At some point, it has to be on me, I guess,” Cora said after the Red Sox lost, 4-3, to the Angels in extra innings on Tuesday. Boston’s 17 losses in one-run games are easily the most in baseball. The team’s 56 defensive errors also lead the majors.

It’s not ideal that the Red Sox are being asked to play their best baseball without Bregman and Casas, but every team has its setbacks. The Yankees lost their ace, Gerrit Cole, to season-ending Tommy John surgery in spring training, and New York’s rotation still rose to the occasion, manufacturing a top-five ERA in the big leagues to this point. So what’s stopping the Sox? The second half of Boston’s June schedule gets easier, but the team has yet to make a compelling case that it can even defeat the league’s basement dwellers. 

The Red Sox need to be hungrier, sharper, and just plain better. Time is all but running out to save their season.

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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This time, the Yankees didn’t have to step on their own feet with shoddy defense to allow the Dodgers to come-from-behind. Los Angeles just didn’t miss mistakes. Shohei Ohtani homered twice against Fried, his second dinger sparking a four-run rally and forcing Fried out of the game after five innings. After Ohtani, the next seven Dodgers batters reached base, including more heroics from Freddie Freeman on an RBI double that went over Cody Bellinger’s head in left field. The Dodgers’ no-panic mindset leading to their 8-5 win in game one offered a reminder that the Yankees haven’t closed the gap against the reigning champions. 

It only got more lopsided the following day. We’re not expecting rookie right-hander Will Warren to get a start in meaningful games in the postseason, but his seven earned runs allowed over 1.1 innings on Saturday never even gave the Yankees a chance to battle back. The Dodgers outscored the Yankees 26-7 in the first two games of the series.

Just like last year’s Fall Classic, it’s fair to wonder how the series would’ve unfolded had the Yankees brought their A game. Fried, the Yankees’ de facto ace in place of the injured Gerrit Cole, had only allowed three home runs this year before he walked into Chavez Ravine on Friday, which was tied for the second-fewest home runs allowed among all big-league starting pitchers. Fried woke up the next day with a 1.92 ERA, despite the damage from Los Angeles’ lineup, which is indicative of how terrific his season has been one-third of the way through the baseball calendar. He was due for a mediocre outing, and for the Yankees, it was unfortunate that it happened against the Dodgers.

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2. Judge and Ohtani trading blows was special

Now, this was one thing both fan bases could agree on: the game’s best sluggers going mano-a-mano. Though the rest of the series overshadowed how the matchup began, watching Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani bring the fireworks in the first inning on Friday was what makes this sport special. 

Judge struck first, obliterating a Tony Gonsolin slider 446 feet to deep center field in the top of the first inning for his 19th home run of the season. Ohtani, leading off the bottom of the frame, responded with his 21st jack of year, clobbering the first pitch of the game from Fried. If it felt like a significant moment in MLB history, it was. It was the first time ever both reigning MVPs homered in the first inning of the same game. 

“I feel like he was copying me,” Judge said of Ohtani. “He’s impressive. He’s one of the best players in the game for a reason. What he can do in the box, on the basepaths, once he gets back on the mound —it’s special.”

“It was a really good start to the game,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “It was a back-and-forth between two really good teams and I’m glad we came out at the top.”

Judge added on to his home-run pile on Saturday, enjoying a two-homer game that brought his season total to 21. Meanwhile, Ohtani took a cat nap in the Dodgers dugout, and he still found himself ahead of Judge by the time the series was over, with 22 homers. The Japanese two-way superstar has already scored 63 runs this season, becoming the fastest player to reach that milestone in MLB’s modern era. 

It sure seems like Ohtani and Judge bring out the best in each other, whether they’re playing 3,000 miles away on separate coasts, or bringing the heat in the same stadium. 

Aaron Judge’s first-inning homer in Friday’s game was one of the few high points from the Yankees in L.A. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

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3. Dodgers have depth that Yankees don’t

Even without Mookie Betts, the Dodgers still throttled the Yankees pitching staff by relying on lineup depth that the Yankees simply do not have. After Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith and Freeman, Los Angeles’ lineup was still a threat, with center fielder Andy Pages crushing two home runs in the series, Max Muncy coming alive and going 5-for-10 with three home runs against New York, and Tommy Edman once again rising to the occasion in the blockbuster series. 

From top to bottom, the Dodgers lineup isn’t just tricky to navigate; it’s a living, breathing monster ready to slaughter opponents in broad daylight. Los Angeles’ 18-2 thrashing on Saturday was a statement that they’re the better team competing on another planet, even as the Yankees tried to remind themselves that this was just like any other series, and they shouldn’t read too much into it. The Yankees weren’t at full strength, with postseason icon Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list alongside infielders Jazz Chisholm and Oswaldo Cabrera, all of whom were sorely missed. But the Dodgers are depleted too, with top starters Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki all injured. They’re still atop the NL West with a 36-23 record. 

Finally, Yankees starter Ryan Yarbrough had the answers in Sunday’s series finale, limiting the reigning champs to one run over six innings and helping the Yankees avoid getting swept. For now, Yarbrough has earned the opportunity to show the Yankees what he can do in the rotation, while Warren showed that he’s still young and not yet ready to make a major start in a meaningful game.

The Yankees should walk away from this World Series rematch knowing that they have work to do. Ahead of July’s trade deadline, they need a viable third baseman even after Chisholm returns from injury, because the combination of Oswald Peraza, Jorbit Vivas, and Pablo Reyes is just not cutting it. They need another starting pitcher, and no, the eventual return of Luis Gil shouldn’t be treated like it’s a midseason acquisition. Gil should help, but the Yankees need more rotation depth at the back end. And they need a power arm in the bullpen, a point that is only magnified after we learned closer Luke Weaver is dealing with a hamstring injury. 

The star-studded Dodgers gained confidence this weekend, which should terrify opponents. They learned they can outshine the American League’s best offense while they’re missing key pieces from a roster that will only look better after the All-Star break, when Ohtani is expected to complete his rehab from Tommy John surgery and take the mound again. 

Right now, the Dodgers are still a better team than the Yankees. There’s no guarantee these clubs will meet again this October, particularly with the dominant Tigers leading the AL and the number of highly competitive teams in the NL. But if we’re heading toward another October rematch, the Dodgers have to feel good about their chances. It’s not impossible for the Yankees to close the gap by the postseason, but it’s a real challenge that will stay on their minds whether they admit it or not.

Dodgers’ Landon Knack talks opportunity early in season & win vs. Yankees | King of the Diamond

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On this edition of John Smoltz’s “King of the Diamond”, Landon Knack discussed his early season opportunity for the Los Angeles Dodgers and getting a win vs. the New York Yankees.

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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Most astonishingly, Soto this year is batting .130 with runners in scoring position. Putting up goose eggs in high-leverage situations is unlike him. In his career, he boasts a .286 batting average with runners in scoring position.

“Do I think he’s trying to do a little bit too much right now? Yeah. I think he’s probably trying to do a little bit too much right now,” Stearns said. “And that is natural for a player who cares about improving.”

How difficult is it to break out of that cycle of pressing at the plate?

“I don’t know,” Stearns said. “I mean, I’ve clearly never sat in that seat. None of us has, and it’s a very unique position that he’s in. … Maybe it’ll take a bloop, or a couple of bloops. Or maybe it takes connecting on one or two, to exhale a little bit. But I would imagine it is difficult when the results don’t come.”

 Juan Soto entered Friday night hitless in his last 16 at-bats.  <!–>

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Soto is coming off a career year in the Bronx, where he hit 41 home runs, scored a league-high 128 runs, and recorded a .288 batting average to go with a .989 OPS. After helping the Yankees get to the World Series, he went through a noisy free agency that commanded the full attention of the league, before winding up in a bidding war between the Bronx and Queens. In December, his free agency finally culminated in a seismic decision to sign with the Mets. Soto’s 15-year, $765 million deal is the largest contract in professional sports history.

Sure, baseball pundits expected Soto, a generational hitter, to sign a record-breaking deal. But the contract he ended up commanding was a shock to every corner of the industry. Fairly or not, for the rest of his Mets career, Soto’s performance will be judged in the context of that contract. The bright lights won’t dim even when the Mets (34-22) are playing well right now, one-third of the way through the regular season. 

Stearns maintained that Soto, while frustrated with his results, is too talented to allow these struggles to persist. He’s confident the slugger will turn his season around soon.

“He’s still helping us win games, and I’m aware that the OPS isn’t where he would want it,” Stearns said. “It’s not where we would want it. It’s not where our fans would want it. I get that. But I can’t say it’s not for lack of work behind the scenes. He’s working, he’s trying. He certainly wants results at a higher level than what we’ve seen so far. I’m pretty confident we’re going to get those. 

“But, I also understand it is natural when a player signs a big contract — and this was a really big contract — because the results aren’t immediate, there are going to be questions, and there are going to be reactions. And I certainly get that. And I think Juan does too.”

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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7. Cardinals are on a surprising run

Speaking of a team that can’t be stopped, here come the Cardinals. St. Louis has won 16 of its last 20 games, including a nine-game winning streak over that dominant strech. The Cardinals carry an impressive 30-23 record into the week, just two games behind the first-place Cubs. Nobody saw this coming, and there’s a lot of season left, but as things stand, Nolan Arenado has a legitimate shot at making the postseason, and he didn’t even have to go anywhere to play for a competitive club. While the future Hall of Famer continues making all the right moves this season, including another jaw-dropping defensive play at third base on Sunday, Arenado’s teammates are playing hard enough to support him, making for a well-rounded Cardinals offense that’s ranked in the top 10 in baseball. St. Louis just swept the Diamondbacks, and they have a cushy schedule against Baltimore and Texas on tap this week, so they should have no problem adding on.

6. Phillies move into first place

The Mets had a strong hold over the NL East all season — until last Monday, that is. The Phillies look like they’re having the most fun in baseball right now after their first nine-game winning streak since the team fired Joe Girardi and Rob Thomson took over as manager in 2022. Kyle Schwarber continues to obliterate home runs, once again tying Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead with 18. Still, the Phillies are winning during the weakest part of their schedule. This month, they’ve won the series against the Rays, Guardians, Pirates, Rockies, and Athletics. Who wouldn’t have a blast facing those basement dwellers? Still, all that winning helped Philly get its confidence up, and with reasons for the Braves’ optimism, the NL East is, once again, as competitive as ever.

5. Wacky NLCS rematch

We were all hyped for the spicy Dodgers-Mets series this past weekend, particularly to see how these top contenders would fare in a repeat of the 2024 NLCS. But this, no one could’ve expected. The series opener on Friday included a weird collision between Juan Soto and Tyrone Taylor in right field, with Taylor holding onto the ball while runners (controversially) advanced. Then came the rain. After a one-hour and 38-minute delay, there were a couple of obstruction calls at third base. Max Muncy said that’s a play that hasn’t been called in over 30 years. The Mets came back and tied the game in the ninth, which led to a 13-inning game that’s unheard of in the extra-innings free-runner era. After both managers emptied their bullpens, the Dodgers finally won the five-hour and 46-minute match. It was the most innings played by the Mets since their 2-1 loss in 14 innings on Aug. 23, 2019 vs. Atlanta. The Mets eventually won the series on Sunday by taking the rubbermatch, 3-1. There will be no shortage of storylines if these two clubs meet again in October.

4. Ohtani’s first time facing hitters

Two-way dominance is on its way back to the major leagues. Are you hyped, or what? Shohei Ohtani took the mound on Sunday to face hitters for the first time since he became a Dodger. Even though it was just a live batting practice, it had all the hype of a real outing as a crowd including players, coaches, staffers and media formed at Citi Field hours before the series finale between the Mets and Dodgers. Ohtani, loose and laughing throughout, threw 22 pitches and touched 97 mph with his fastball. By all accounts, it was a successful return to the mound — his first time facing hitters in nearly two years after a second major elbow surgery. Buckle up, because the reigning-champion Dodgers expect him in their rotation sometime after the All-Star break. 

3. It’s time to talk about Max Fried 

Anytime anyone makes history with the Yankees, it’s a big deal. Some of the greatest players in the history of the sport have pitched in pinstripes, and outshining Hall of Fame talents, let alone being in the same conversation as them, is no small feat. So give new Yankees ace Max Fried his flowers for allowing just two runs or fewer in 10 consecutive starts, the longest such streak in Yankees history. The last Yankees pitcher to record a starting streak that was this successful was Ron Guidry back in 1978, which is considered the best season by a starter in franchise history. Fried is vying for the American League Cy Young award after entering the week with the best ERA in baseball (1.29). But he’s got stiff competition…

2. Skubal, even better than a ‘Maddux’

I mean, what can’t this guy do? Tarik Skubal once again put on a dazzling performance on Sunday afternoon, and this was his best trick yet. The reigning AL Cy Young winner not only pitched a “Maddux” — a complete-game shutout in under 100 pitches — but he became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out at least 13 batters while throwing a nine-inning, complete-game shutout, needing just 94 pitches to get it done. But wait! That’s not all. Skubal’s final pitch of the outing was also his fastest; Detroit’s right-hander dialed it up to 103 mph to end the game with his 13th strikeout and deliver a 5-0 win. And he still looked like he had more in the tank. At one point, he retired 15 consecutive batters. What’s next? The first perfect game in Detroit Tigers history?

1. Ronald Acuña’s LOUD return

If there was ever any concern about what type of player Ronald Acuña Jr. would be when he returned from an ACL injury that forced him to miss a year of game action, he erased any and all doubt the moment he dug into the batter’s box on Friday. Acuña sent the first pitch he saw since May 26, 2024 into the left-field seats at Truist Park. After the game, he said he expected something like that to happen. Of course he did. For good measure, Acuña reminded us of his all-around skills when he unleashed a couple of powerful throws from right field and added another home run on Saturday. His throw home on Sunday clocked in at 104.9 mph just before Manny Machado slid in safely. Welcome back, Ronald. Baseball sorely missed the flair and raw talent of Acuña, but the Braves missed him the most. Atlanta looks imposing again; it just needs to break free of hovering around .500. 

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. Follow her on X at @DeeshaThosar.

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“He threw the nastiest pitches to [Watkins],” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said. “It was already unfair, and then he compounded that and made it even more unfair. But I give J.T. a lot of credit for getting in the box and taking his shot.”

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When Kim got in front of one of Ohtani’s fastballs for a comebacker, Ohtani snagged the ball and, with no hesitation, emphatically pretended to throw it to first base. The crowd that formed behind home plate, which included several of his teammates, got a good laugh from yet another one of Ohtani’s many antics. When he struck out Watkins, Ohtani laughed and pointed at the strike zone. Sure, his teammates had a blast watching Ohtani face hitters. But no one seemed to be having more fun than Ohtani. 

“He’s looking forward to pitching,” Prior said. “I think today was great, because he was able to keep the mood light and maintain some real stuff. That’s always important. He didn’t look like he was under stress and tried to amp up and tired to generate any of his power. It was loose and it was all free and easy. So that’s a positive.

“Especially from a major surgery, being able to check this box is important.”

In the other dugout, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, outfielder Jesse Winker, and pitcher Griffin Canning all watched Ohtani unleash his arsenal against major-league hitters. A few hours later, they watched him take a similar, unforgiving approach, 60 feet and six inches away in the batter’s box. Ohtani obliterated the second pitch of the night from Kodai Senga, sending it to the second deck in right field for his 18th home run of the season.

Just over the bridge from Broadway, Sho-time at Citi Field was the biggest event in town. 

“If it works out as it should, he’s a top-end starter,” Roberts said. “That’s all of our expectations.”

By all accounts, this was a successful first live batting-practice session for the Dodgers’ two-way unicorn. The tricky part is what happens next.

The Dodgers expect Ohtani to join their rotation sometime after the All-Star break. But there is no blueprint for the way they will navigate these next two months. Never before has a big-league starting pitcher rehabbing from his second major elbow-ligament reconstruction surgery appeared in the lineup as the designated hitter every day. Plus, Ohtani is enjoying another MVP-caliber season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum on his left non-pitching shoulder last November. 

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The loose plan is for Ohtani to throw a touch-and-feel on Wednesday, and then hopefully another live batting practice next weekend, possibly on Saturday. That’s contingent on how Ohtani feels in the coming days. The Dodgers will rely heavily on Ohtani to tell them how he’s feeling, and whether his body can handle the added physical exertion on a given day. It’s possible that Ohtani will need a day off if his pitching progression is too taxing over the next several weeks.

“We have to be able to react and be nimble with his workload on both sides of the baseball,” Prior said. “His time, his bandwidth is pulled in different directions. We try to respect both sides of it.”

Ohtani’s big jump from throwing bullpens to facing hitters was a long time coming for the Dodgers. His second elbow operation took place in September 2023, three months before he agreed to a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, who had every intention of helping Ohtani make it back to the mound when they made him the face of their franchise. After winning the National League MVP award and helping the Dodgers win a World Series in his first season in Los Angeles last year, Ohtani’s next act is making it back to two-way dominance for the first time since 2022 with the Los Angeles Angels. 

Though there is uncertainty surrounding Ohtani’s continued build-up, the Dodgers know better than to count him out on anything. If there’s anyone who can handle the extra workload, it’s Ohtani. 

“Now that he’s started to ramp up — facing hitters and doing back-to-backs and upping the innings — that takes a lot more mindful bandwidth, and also physical exertion. That’s going to be interesting to see how he handles it.”

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. Follow her on X at @DeeshaThosar.

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“He doesn’t tip his hand very often as far as emotions,” Roberts said.

This will be the first time Ohtani will take the mound and pitch to major-league hitters since signing a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023. An exact return date has not been set for Ohtani, but he’s expected to join the Dodgers rotation sometime after the All-Star break. There is an obvious need for Ohtani’s arm in Los Angeles’ depleted pitching staff, but the club has no intention of rushing his ramp-up to help make the rotation whole again. 

While so much about Ohtani’s progression remains unknown, one thing is certain: Ohtani will not go on a minor-league rehab assignment. That step is common for pitchers rehabbing from elbow reconstruction surgery. But Ohtani’s bat is too important to the reigning champions to take him off the roster unless it’s absolutely necessary. Ohtani entered Friday tied for the major-league lead in home runs with 17.

“Obviously the build-up is important,” Roberts said. “But so is him taking five at-bats in a game.”

As exciting as Ohtani’s next step is for the Dodgers, there is reason for apprehension over the next couple of months. 

The Dodgers are aware that Ohtani’s increased activity and pitching workload could adversely affect his offense. Last week, Ohtani threw a 50-pitch bullpen session, which included an up-down, and then he went 0-for-6 at the plate against the Los Angeles Angels. That 0-for could’ve been coincidental, but Roberts supported the idea that “it’s certainly possible” Ohtani’s pitching progression could impact his hitting. 

The Dodgers will depend on Ohtani to tell them when or if he needs a day off from being their designated hitter as his build-up continues. It’s possible, Roberts said, if he’s taxed from pitching a bullpen session or a simulated game sometime over the next several weeks, that he won’t be in the lineup that day. The Dodgers will be open to how Ohtani is feeling, and play his availability by ear.

“I don’t think anyone knows how the next couple of months will look,” Roberts said.

For now, though, the organization is eager to see how his stuff will play against major-league hitters. 

​​”I think he’s calibrating really well,” Roberts said. “The stuff looks good. I mean, it’s easy 94, 95 [mph] coming out of his hand. It’s a really good throw. I think we’re all anxious to see how it looks to hitters.”

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. Follow her on X at @DeeshaThosar.

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8. Harper joins 1K Hall of Fame company

Bryce Harper is no stranger to elite accomplishments. Two-time MVP. Rookie of the Year. Eight-time All-Star. Four-time Silver Slugger. This past Friday, he added another triumph to the growing list when his fifth-inning bloop single scored a run, representing the 1,000th RBI of his career. The 32-year-old Harper is the 14th player in MLB history to reach 1,000 RBI, 1,000 runs and 1,000 walks before turning 33. Eleven of the previous 13 players to accomplish that feat are in the Hall of Fame. The other two are Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols. Harper isn’t close to calling it a career, but when he does, Cooperstown will be calling.

7. Twins win streak snapped at 13… by Chourio

With the kind of run the Twins have been on, it was going to take a special, jaw-dropping play for their winning streak to finally come to an end. Minnesota trailed Milwaukee 4-2 in the eighth inning Sunday when Royce Lewis sent the would-be game-tying home run to left field. Enter: The uber-talented Jackson Chourio. The 21-year-old reached over the wall and brought back Lewis’ ball, completing one of the filthiest home-run robberies we’ll see this season. The Twins’ momentum stalled, and so did their 13-game win streak. 

6. Are the Braves… back?

After that brutal 0-7 start to the year, Atlanta finally crept over .500 for the first time this season following its 4-2 win over Boston on Friday night. Fortunately for Braves fans (and, unfortunately, for the rest of the NL East), it looks like they’re trending up. Chris Sale looked like a reigning NL Cy Young winner again when he struck out eight batters over seven dominant innings at Fenway Park. And the Braves have reinforcements on the way in the form of a former MVP and a Cy Young-caliber ace. Ronald Acuña Jr. is expected to be back in the lineup during Atlanta’s upcoming homestand, and right-hander Spencer Strider on Tuesday is slated to make his first start since sustaining a hamstring injury in April. Watch out, because the Braves are on the upswing. 

5. The Javier Baez renaissance

Give it up for El Mago, who is one of the most entertaining players in the game when he’s hitting like he is. Baez slugged not one, but two three-run home runs on Tuesday night against the Red Sox, the second of which was a walk-off for the first-place Tigers. The win gave the Tigers the best record in the American League, and they haven’t looked back since. Baez’s .836 OPS is his best mark since 2019, and he’s doing it all as a center fielder, not as a shortstop. Baez had six home runs through 80 games for Detroit last season, and he already has six on the season this year. The Tigers are hoping this isn’t just a hot start, and Baez sure looks like he’ll be a key contributor all season.  

4. Soto embraces boos in return to Bronx

Juan Soto was prepared for the noise when he stepped into the batter’s box Friday, his first time back in the Bronx since he walked away from the Yankees and straight to the Mets in free agency. He tipped his helmet and said thank you to the crowd as Yankees fans booed him at the plate, and continued booing him when he took the field, and even when he popped his head out of the dugout. The booing went on all weekend, and though Soto had a comeback ready with his hat-tip, he never responded with his bat. The slugger went 1-for-10 with four walks at the plate in the Subway Series. He has 14 years left on his Mets contract, and Yankees fans are all but certain to let him hear it for a lifetime. 

3. One night, five walk-offs 

Even though it was a random, unimportant Tuesday in the middle of May, there was no shortage of baseball drama when we saw a total of five walk-off wins in one night this past week. Fernando Tatis Jr., Isaac Paredes, and Baez all crushed walk-off home runs, while JP Crawford and Justin Turner won on walk-offs on Tuesday night. Tatis’ 11th dinger of the season was his first-career walk-off home run, and he gets extra credit for the best bat flip among the walk-off bunch. Turner’s walk-off double marked yet another comeback win for the Cubs, and that was exactly the kind of moment Chicago expected when the club signed him this offseason. 

2. Ohtani swats 16th HR 

Move over, Aaron Judge. These two just can’t help but push the limit. After Judge and Kyle Schwarber led the big leagues in home runs for weeks, Shohei Ohtani slugged his 16th homer of the season on Friday while facing his former team. May has been especially kind to the Japanese phenom; Ohtani entered Sunday batting .339 with nine home runs, a 1.239 OPS, and 19 RBI, all of which led MLB in that span. Even though he only has one stolen base this month, the nine bags he swiped in March and April made him one of four players to hit at least 16 home runs and steal 10 bases in his first 43 games of a season since 1994. Ohtani making history never gets old. 

1. It’s time to talk about Eovaldi

Who saw this coming? Nathan Eovaldi is a frontrunner for the American League Cy Young award after going on an incredible run in his first 10 starts for the Texas Rangers this year. The veteran, in his age-25 season, entered Sunday with the fourth-lowest ERA (1.61) in the major leagues, with a 2.21 FIP that suggests he’ll be able to keep this up. Eovaldi’s 28% strikeout rate and 3.4% walk rate are both the best of his 14-year career. He has limited opposing hitters to a .179 batting average across 61.1 innings. It’s been particularly impressive to watch Eovaldi adjust to his drop in velocity by ditching his slider in favor of a splitter that’s been incredibly effective (38.4% whiff rate). Eovaldi has tough competition to win a Cy Young against pitchers like Tarik Skubal, Hunter Brown and Max Fried, so stay tuned. This is an arms race worth watching. 

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. Follow her on X at @DeeshaThosar.

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“The most impressive thing about Pete and what is, I think, the hardest thing for young players to grasp onto, is not only a belief in themselves, but how they can formulate a routine that maximizes their potential,” Swanson said. “He’s smart, he’s really instinctual, and he’s been able to feel his way through what works for him and what doesn’t. 

“To be able to do that at a really young age is impressive.”

Why is it all coming together now? Crow-Armstrong finally has an established role on the roster as the Cubs’ starting center fielder — unlike last year, when he began the season in the minor leagues. He no longer had to worry about proving he should be in the big leagues; this year he knew he belonged. He’s always been an elite defender, but digging into his numbers at the plate, Crow-Armstrong has made a huge jump in his ability to barrel the ball, which has led to a power surge. And he’s hitting right-handed pitchers better than he ever has at the big-league level. He’s already collected 10 doubles in 124 at-bats facing righties this season, compared to 11 doubles in 285 at-bats against them last year.

Plus, suiting up alongside a World Series champion like Tucker served as a wake-up call to Crow-Armstrong that his hard work was paying off.

“Signing a guy like that was pretty exciting,” Crow-Armstrong recently told FOX Sports. “Before he was my teammate for the last few months, that guy was a very renowned, revered player. It was always fun for me to watch him. That was kind of a cool one. That was one of the reminders, like, hey, you’re a big leaguer. You’re playing with Kyle Tucker. You’re playing with Dansby Swanson. So that stuff’s cool. It gave me that little-kid feeling.”

Given Crow-Armstrong’s bold, yet grounded personality (he dyes his hair blue and “couldn’t care less” about what the media will say about him) and his high-profile journey to the major leagues, it can be easy to forget that he’s just 23 years old with less than 200 MLB games under his belt.

Known as PCA, he was drafted by the Mets in the first round (19th overall pick) in 2020 out of Harvard-Westlake High School, a hotbed of major-league talent in the Los Angeles area. While he was climbing up the minor-league ladder in the Mets farm system, they traded him in July 2021 to the Cubs for infielder Javier Baez. In 2023, Crow-Armstrong made his major-league debut as a 21-year-old September call-up. He was on track to make the Cubs’ Opening Day roster last year before they signed Cody Bellinger in spring training. But it didn’t take long for the Cubs to promote him for good. 

He was called up in April last year and has grown into an essential piece of the Cubs roster ever since, racking up a team-best defensive WAR (22.4) in that span. While Crow-Armstrong has always turned heads with his top-tier sprint speed and superb glove — he leads all MLB position players with a Fielding Run Value of 10 this year, and it’s not even close — early scouting reports suggested his lack of power was a major concern and predicted his ceiling would be a 10-15 home run hitter. 

“That’s no secret,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I think defense is easier than hitting, but I was always aware that I was viewed as this one-dimensional player. That was always fine. I didn’t really start hitting for power until I got into Triple A, anyways. It was fine. I thought that was a fair criticism, a fair assessment to put on a young player who hasn’t proven anything.”

Now, Crow-Armstrong is busy proving them wrong. 

But those who knew him while he was a minor-leaguer for the Mets were sure he would be a star in the league one day. Crow-Armstrong built a strong friendship with Mets infielders Mark Vientos and Brett Baty when they played together in the Mets’ instructional league during the 2020 pandemic year, spending every day with each other when the minor-league season was canceled. Crow-Armstrong still has a support system in Vientos and Baty nearly four years after he was traded. 

“​​We would call each other constantly, especially when he was on the Cubs, and I was over here,” Vientos said. “We would just have check-ins to see how we were doing mentally.” 

“He’s going to be a phenomenal player for a really long time,” Vientos added. “He’s true to himself. He’s authentic. That’s what makes him who he is.”

“Anybody who’s around him knows how hard he works,” Baty said. “So it was just a matter of time before people noticed. And he’s always been a tremendous hitter.”

His latest home run, a towering solo shot to right field just shy of 400 feet, got nearly 40,000 fans on their feet at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. His belief in himself is just as evident as his swag, and that confidence is infectious in Chicago. The Cubs are 25-18, first place in the NL Central, competing as a legitimate playoff contender for the first time in several years. So much of their early ascendancy is due to Crow-Armstrong’s hot bat and Gold Glove-caliber defense, and now their future success relies on him staying steady throughout the full season.

Pete Crow-Armstrong crushes a solo homer

Pete Crow-Armstrong brought the Chicago Cubs faithful to their feet with a big blast against the Miami Marlins.

Crow-Armstrong plans to sustain his hot start by relying on repetition and consistency at the plate, rather than getting caught up in day-to-day results. But he’s also prepared for an inevitable dip in production, because going 3-for-4 every night isn’t realistic. Still, equipped with a no-pressure mindset, he’s focused on maintaining his approach for a long, successful career. If he can stick to his game plan, he’s shaping up to earn his first career All-Star appearance this season, and this is just the beginning of what Crow-Armstrong has in store. After all, he’s only 23 years old and is already becoming a household name.

“I started to find that, it’s like, I hit 10 home runs last year. I already hit nine [in 34 games] this year,” he said. “I’ve definitely had to have my moments of just like, dude, you’re doing just fine. But, I still want a lot more for myself.”

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. Follow her on X at @DeeshaThosar.

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8. Don’t count out the Astros  

For all the talk about the Astros’ demise after trading away Kyle Tucker and letting Alex Bregman walk in free agency, they enter the week within two games of the first-place Mariners, and they’re not going anywhere just yet. Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out 11 against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, helping the club forget about how Lance McCullers Jr. pitched the day before. It’s been an up-and-down season so far for Houston, and these are not the dominant Astros we’ve seen since 2017. But they’re still a competitive team doing a solid job of weathering the storm amid critical injuries to Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Hayden Wesneski and Cristian Javier. It would be extraordinary if they won the AL West for the fifth consecutive year after the challenges they’re still trying to overcome.

7. Devin Williams steps up

It’s hard to argue anyone has had a tougher start to the season than the New York Yankees closer. After getting traded to the Bronx and entering the year with the highest of expectations, Williams has crumbled under pressure more times than he’s successfully navigated high-leverage situations, leading to his demotion from closing duties. But he finally stepped up on Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres. Even though it wasn’t the cleanest of innings, he kept the game tied in the 10th inning, allowing the Yankees to walk it off in the bottom of the frame. Williams screaming into his glove after the third out told you everything you need to know about how much that opportunity meant to him. The Yankees will need more of that to get where they want to go.

6. Schwarber’s eye-popping on-base streak

Contract years tend to bring out the best in players, and Kyle Schwarber is just the latest example. The Philadelphia Phillies slugger went yard twice in their win over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday, tying Aaron Judge for the major-league lead in home runs with 14. As if being in the same conversation as Judge wasn’t impressive enough, Schwarber is now also being mentioned in the same category as the all-time-great, Ted Williams. Schwarber carries a 46-game on-base streak into the week, which dates back to the end of last season. He’s 11 games away from breaking Mike Schmidt’s franchise record of 56, and then he’ll be closer to Williams’ territory, who holds the MLB record with his 84-game on-base streak, achieved in 1949 for the Boston Red Sox. 

RELATED: Where the teams stand in our latest MLB power rankings

5. Twins win eight in a row

Excellent pitching can solve a lot of problems, and the Minnesota Twins are seeing first-hand how dominance on the mound can rack up more than a week’s worth of wins. Minnesota’s pitching staff has the second-best ERA (2.22) in MLB since their winning streak began on May 3. Even though their eight-game winning streak is exciting, the Twins don’t have the luxury of getting comfortable in the suddenly competitive AL Central. Minnesota, despite sweeping the Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants this past week, remains in fourth place in part because of the club’s 5-12 start to the season, and, of course, the Tigers’ hold over the division. The Twins are finally above .500, but they need to be consistent now. And speaking of winning streaks…

4. Cards win eight straight, too

The St. Louis Cardinals, at least, are in far better shape in the much weaker NL Central than Minnesota is faring in the American League. The Cardinals are outshining their opponents in both pitching and hitting during their eight-game winning streak, helping them surge ahead in the division. They sit just one game back of the Cubs, and they’re getting help from across the board. Veteran right-hander Sonny Gray pitched a gem against the Pirates on Wednesday, hurling seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. Willson Contreras has gone 10-for-26 and slugged three home runs since May 3. And in the bullpen, eight of St. Louis’ nine relief pitchers combined to record a perfect 0.00 ERA during the winning streak. They’ll look to keep it rolling during a tough matchup in Philly this week.

3. Devers engages in drama, then rises above it

Rafael Devers is tired of the Red Sox asking him to switch positions again. First it was third base to DH, to accommodate Bregman’s arrival, and now it’s DH to first, to fill the hole Triston Casas’ season-ending injury left behind. Boston’s chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, could’ve avoided this public drama if he had just privately spoken to Devers about the organization’s expectations of him from the get-go, but no mind. Devers rose above the drama and went 7-for-12 while crushing a statement-making 440-foot home run against the Kansas City Royals this weekend, helping Boston with the series. Have the Red Sox figured it out yet? Be upfront about what you want from your star slugger, and then let him hit. 

RELATED: Three teams that could fit if Devers departs Boston

2. Skubal is on another level

Skubal’s first two losses of the season are all but a distant memory. Since then, the Detroit ace has a 0.98 ERA, 50 strikeouts, and one walk across his last six starts. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to post a sub-1.00 ERA, permit no more than one walk, and record 50 strikeouts. Skubal has absolutely dominated opposing lineups, generating 32 swings-and-misses in his most recent outing against the ice-cold Texas Rangers. For the reigning American League Cy Young award winner’s latest feat, Skubal carried a perfect game into the sixth inning on Friday afternoon, recorded 12 strikeouts, and helped the Tigers win their fifth straight game. For the second consecutive year, the AL Triple Crown is calling his name. 

1. Court is in session

Aaron Judge needs to be promoted to a superior league. Call it MLB+. The Yankees’ two-time MVP winner continued making a case for his third award in Sacramento this past weekend, lifting his wRC+ to 254 in the process. Judge went 7-for-14 with two home runs, two doubles and five RBI against the Athletics, including a four-hit performance on Sunday. He entered Monday leading the major leagues in batting average (.409), RBI (39), on-base percentage (.494), slugging (.779), OPS (1.273), and hits (63), while being tied with Schwarber for the league lead in home runs (14). Judge is having an absolutely ridiculous start to the year. Who knows when we’ll see this kind of dominance again, so sit back, pay attention, and enjoy watching one of the greatest players to ever do it.

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. Follow her on X at @DeeshaThosar.

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