What is the story about?
Happy Wednesday, everyone! Did you know the Cubs are in the most interesting division in baseball? Of course, we always knew that, but it seems like the NL Central is getting a lot of attention this week. Other things on people’s minds? The Phillies, Mets, and Astros are the talk of the town, and it’s largely because of how bad they’ve been. Not bad? Astros’ slugger Yordan Alvarez. Likewise, Japanese star Munetaka Murakami might be striking out a lot, but he’s still exactly what the White Sox hoped
for.
We’ve got all that and more—including goats—in today’s news brief, so let’s just jump right into it.
- Ben Clemens looks at how Munetaka Murakami has been exactly what the White Sox hoped he would be.
- Yordan Alvarez swings a hot bat, and it has been a real bright spot for the Astros this season. Story by Jay Jaffe.
- Here’s a first look at the All-Star Week schedule. (MLB)
- The Red Sox and Tigers had a super early game on Monday, but that didn’t stop one fan from drinking a beer out of his shoe. Story by Kyle Koster.
- Stephanie Apstein wonders what the sale of the Padres might mean for other small-market teams.
- Adley Rutschman is back from the injured list. (AP)
- Love it when ballplayers show up for kids like this. (Direct link to the BlueSky post for those reading on Apple News)
- Bad news for the Dodgers, Edwin Diaz is headed for surgery. Story by Jay Jaffe.
- Tim Capurso tries to determine how the Dodgers will handle that closer spot going forward.
- David Adler makes a case for why the NL Central is the best division in baseball right now.
- Kyle Koster looks at what’s going so wrong for the Phillies to start this season.
- How did Will Benson score twice in the same game without ever seeing a single pitch? Stephen Douglas brings us a fun baseball oddity.
- Cam Schlittler makes his return to Boston, where he says he received death threats during last year’s MLB postseason. Story by Madison Williams.
- The Blue Jays had to take an old-fashioned bus ride to get between cities after their plan was grounded. (AP)
- A new Mets curse? (Direct link to the BlueSky post for those reading on Apple News)
- Dan Szymborski wonders if the 2026 Mets can be saved.
- Brian Murphy tries to determine where Mason Miller’s scoreless streak ranks among all-time relievers.
- Daniel Kramer shares what might be one of the best catches I’ve seen all week.
- Tom Verducci looks at how “lab-grown” pitching is impacting baseball.
- On that same note, Jeff Passan looks at the rise of the 100mph fastball, which is becoming more and more common.
- Jayson Stark ponders if MLB will ever go full robot-umpire after testing ABS. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- I always knew those outfield lawns were good for something.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
