I’m so happy to be back here. The last three months have been incredibly busy. I’ve started two new jobs while continuing to work on several personal projects. As you might expect, everything revolves around baseball.

You can now also read my work at Diamond Centric, where I cover the Mets, Cubs, Brewers, Red Sox, Padres, and Royals. I’ve joined an outstanding team led by Brock, and it’s been both a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

A few days ago, I also joined OnSI, where I cover the Astros, Blue Jays, Tigers, and Twins. It’s the kind of work I genuinely enjoy because it allows me to dive deeper into the stories and analysis I’ve always wanted to write. I’d also like to thank my editor, Laura Lambert, for the warm welcome and the confidence she’s shown in me since I joined the team.

That said, I’m not going anywhere. I have no intention of leaving Substack behind. Quite the opposite—I want to keep sharing my work here, no matter where it’s published. I’m even thinking about putting together a weekly newsletter so you can find everything I’ve written in one place.

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I’m enjoying baseball more than ever. And few stories capture that feeling better than Miguel Vargas’.

The article I’m sharing today originally appeared in my El Leadoff column at BaseballdeCuba.com. Vargas has taken a remarkable step forward this season, and as I worked through his evolution, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of pride and nostalgia. I had the privilege of watching him play when he was just a little kid, before he had even turned nine. Seeing how far he’s come has made this journey even more meaningful.

That’s why I wanted to take a closer look at what has truly changed during the first half of his season.

I hope you enjoy the read.

Let’s start with one of the defining moments of All-Star night.

Top of the eighth inning in Philadelphia. The American League led 3-0. The game had reached that familiar point where nearly every plate appearance seemed destined to end the same way: with another strikeout.

Justin Wrobleski left a slider over the heart of the plate. Vargas didn’t hesitate. He unloaded a devastating swing, sending the ball 433 feet into the left-field seats at Citizens Bank Park with a 107.3 mph exit velocity.

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An inside fastball. Cal Raleigh’s swing gets out front this time, makes contact, almost guessing. The ball jumps toward left field. Zach Cole breaks to his right, dives, and hauls it in. As Raleigh walks back to the dugout, the pitcher doesn’t even celebrate much. He’s seen it before. The whole league has seen it over the past two weeks.

Slump chronology

1. 28/4/2026: Sinker, count: 2-0, Top 9, hit distance: 292, field out, at bat pitches: 3, SEA 5, MIN 1.

2. 28/4/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 0-1, Top 6, Hit Distance: 150, field out, at bat pitches: 2, SEA 0, MIN 1.

3. 28/4/2026: Cutter, Count: 0-0, Top 8, Hit Distance: 324, field out, at bat pitches: 1, SEA 2, MIN 1.

4. 28/4/2026: Split-Finger, Count: 2-2, Top 3, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 7, SEA 0, MIN 0.

5. 28/4/2026: Knuckle Curve, Count: 0-2, Top 1, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 3, SEA 0, MIN 0.

6. 29/4/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 3-2, Top 6, Hit Distance: 327, field out, at bat pitches: 7, SEA 1, MIN 2.

7. 29/4/2026: Split-Finger, Count: 3-2, Top 1, Hit Distance: , walk, at bat pitches: 7, SEA 0, MIN 0.

8. 29/4/2026: Sinker, Count: 3-2, Top 9, Hit Distance: 396, sac fly, at bat pitches: 9, SEA 4, MIN 3.

9. 29/4/2026: Split-Finger, Count: 1-0, Top 3, Hit Distance: 1, field out, at bat pitches: 2, SEA 1, MIN 0.

10. 29/4/2026: Slider, Count: 1-2, Top 8, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 4, SEA 2, MIN 2.

11. 1/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 0-0, Bot 9, Hit Distance: 164, field out, at bat pitches: 1, SEA 6, SEA 7.

12. 1/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 2-2, Bot 1, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 5, SEA 0, SEA 4.

13. 1/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 2-2, Bot 3, Hit Distance: 18, field out, at bat pitches: 6, SEA 2, SEA 4.

14. 1/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 3-0, Bot 5, Hit Distance: , walk, at bat pitches: 4, SEA 3, SEA 4.

15. 1/5/2026: Sinker, Count: 3-2, Bot 7, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 9, SEA 4, SEA 6.

16. 5/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 1-2, Bot 5, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 5, SEA 2, SEA 2.

17. 5/5/2026: Changeup, Count: 1-2, Bot 8, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 4, SEA 2, SEA 2.

18. 5/5/2026: Slider, Count: 1-2, Bot 3, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 5, SEA 2, SEA 0.

19. 5/5/2026: Slider, Count: 1-2, Bot 1, Hit Distance: 33, field out, at bat pitches: 4, SEA 0, SEA 0.

20. 6/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 3-2, Bot 7, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 8, SEA 2, SEA 0.

21. 6/5/2026: Changeup, Count: 2-2, Bot 6, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 5, SEA 1, SEA 0.

22. 6/5/2026: Changeup, Count: 2-1, Bot 3, Hit Distance: 128, grounded into double play, at bat pitches: 4, SEA 0, SEA 0.

23. 6/5/2026: Curveball, Count: 0-0, Bot 1, Hit Distance: 297, field out, at bat pitches: 1, SEA 0, SEA 0.

24. 8/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 0-2, Top 1, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 3, SEA 0, CWS 0.

25. 8/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 0-2, Top 4, Hit Distance: 104, field out, at bat pitches: 4, SEA 5, CWS 5.

26. 8/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 0-0, Top 3, Hit Distance: 323, field out, at bat pitches: 1, SEA 1, CWS 1.

27. 8/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 1-2, Top 8, Hit Distance: 308, field out, at bat pitches: 7, SEA 9, CWS 5.

28. 8/5/2026: Curveball, Count: 2-2, Top 6, Hit Distance: 3, field out, at bat pitches: 5, SEA 6, CWS 5.

29. 9/5/2026: Sinker, Count: 3-2, Top 5, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 7, SEA 1, CWS 4.

30. 9/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 3-2, Top 8, Hit Distance: 239, field out, at bat pitches: 6, SEA 1, CWS 5.

31. 9/5/2026: Changeup, Count: 2-2, Top 3, Hit Distance: 12, force out, at bat pitches: 9, SEA 0, CWS 2.

32. 9/5/2026: Changeup, Count: 0-2, Top 1, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 3, SEA 0, CWS 0.

33. 10/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 0-2, Top 3, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 3, SEA 1, CWS 0.

34. 10/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 3-2, Top 6, Hit Distance: , walk, at bat pitches: 9, SEA 1, CWS 0.

35. 10/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 0-0, Top 8, Hit Distance: 254, field out, at bat pitches: 1, SEA 1, CWS 0.

36. 10/5/2026: Slider, Count: 2-2, Top 1, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 5, SEA 0, CWS 0.

37. 11/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 1-1, Top 3, Hit Distance: 255, field out, at bat pitches: 3, SEA 3, HOU 0.

38. 11/5/2026: 4-Seam Fastball, Count: 0-0, Top 9, Hit Distance: 274, field out, at bat pitches: 1, SEA 3, HOU 1.

39. 11/5/2026: Slider, Count: 2-2, Top 2, Hit Distance: , strikeout, at bat pitches: 5, SEA 0, HOU 0.

40. 11/5/2026: Slider, Count: 1-1, Top 6, Hit Distance: 287, field out, at bat pitches: 3, SEA 3, HOU 1.

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Raleigh is 0-for-36 over his last 40 plate appearances. He’s struck out 16 times. He has just three walks. His bat has produced nine batted balls with exit velocities above 100 mph, but six of them have landed foul.

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And I don’t mean that in the usual “this prospect is intriguing” or “he needs time to develop” kind of way. I mean it literally. I’m not sure baseball even has the proper language yet to fully describe what he’s doing.

Because on Friday against the New York Yankees, he hit 103.6 mph multiple times. He threw 57 fastballs, and 41 of them crossed the plate at 100 mph or harder. Yes — absurd. That was 72% of his pitches. Velocity transformed into a direct threat to hitters. Fifty-four of those 57 fastballs registered at least 99 mph. Miz’s slider touched 97 mph — the same top velocity reached by his opposing pitcher, Max Fried, on any single pitch all night. And somehow, that doesn’t even feel like the most important part of the story.

Modern baseball has already seen extreme velocity before. We watched the Cuban Aroldis Chapman emerge from the bullpen as if he had been engineered inside a military laboratory. We’ve seen Jordan Hicks touch ridiculous numbers. We’ve watched Hunter Greene turn radar guns into national entertainment.

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Murakami finished Friday night with a .967 OPS after hitting his 13th home run of the season in the White Sox’s 8–2 victory over the San Diego Padres, breaking the tie for the league lead he had shared with Yordan Álvarez and Aaron Judge.

How much do those 13 home runs really tell us? This is where we begin, because that number is also part of a strange but legitimate trend worth appreciating: Murakami has 13 extra-base hits. Yes—all of his extra-base hits have been home runs. No doubles. No triples. He has been a pure home run hitter.

Now, let’s dig a little deeper. When we stop and look at the heat maps, contact profiles, and pitch-type splits, the story that emerges is more uncomfortable: Murakami is not dominating every zone… he is punishing very specific mistakes that keep being repeated.

The league is not being overpowered. The league is being imprecise.

And that imprecision can be summarized in three clear sins.

1. Continuing to live in the middle of the zone with the fastball

The first sin isn’t sophisticated, but it is persistent: the insistence on attacking with fastballs in the zone, especially in the heart of the plate or slightly inside.

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⚾You can read the Spanish version of my SLASH LINE column on BaseballdeCuba.com by clicking on this link.👇

SLASH LINE

The Houston Astros didn’t score again for the rest of the night. Álvarez, for his part, went 3-for-3 against Bibee, adding two more singles with ease. By the time Bibee closed out the sixth inning, the rest of Houston’s lineup had gone 2-for-19. Still, Peter Lambert and three relievers held the Cleveland Guardians in check, completing a 2–0 shutout Wednesday afternoon and securing a 2–1 series win in Cleveland.

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Happy Sunday.

Major League Baseball is entering that point in April where each day begins to feel like a mosaic of intersecting stories. Yesterday was one of those days.

The New York Yankees delivered their most emphatic win of the year: 13–4, four home runs, and a rampant Cody Bellinger — two homers, five RBIs — leading a lineup that, for one afternoon, stopped being inconsistent and became simply unstoppable.

Elsewhere, Corbin Carroll flipped a game with one swing: a grand slam in the eighth to seal Arizona’s win over the Blue Jays, a reminder of how quickly this sport can turn in a single at-bat.

Tarik Skubal, meanwhile, did something just as important but far quieter: he dominated. Ten strikeouts over six innings to abruptly snap the Detroit Tigers’ nine-game road losing streak. And in Colorado, the Rockies did what baseball always allows: break the script. A 4–3 win over the Dodgers in a game where even Shohei Ohtani — who extended his on-base streak to 50 consecutive games — wasn’t enough to hold the result.

There was more. The Athletics erased a 5–0 deficit to win 7–6 in extra innings on a Max Muncy sacrifice fly. Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh played a 13-inning game at PNC Park. Cedric Mullins hit a two-run homer in the Rays’ 8–7 win. Atlanta keeps finding ways to win, this time behind Chris Sale against Cristopher Sánchez. And the tight games — increasingly common in this stretch of April — continue to shape trends before we even notice.

All of that happened in a single day.

And yet, some stories don’t depend on what happens in one night, but on what repeats too often.

That’s where the New York Mets come in, losing again and continuing to spiral from one defeat into the next. They’ve now dropped 10 straight games, the franchise’s longest streak since losing 11 in a row between August 28 and September 8, 2004.

The tenth nightmare began the same way most Mets games have since April 8: with the game still within reach and the fragile — but real — sense that one swing could change everything. There was traffic on the bases, the kind of moment that forces a team to define itself.

Then came Carson Kelly.

In the bottom of the sixth, left-hander Brooks Raley threw an 87 mph cutter, middle-middle, on the first pitch. Kelly destroyed it: a three-run homer that ignited Wrigley Field.

There were no outs. And the Cubs’ blow felt less like a moment and more like a verdict.

It wasn’t just the damage on the scoreboard — it was the way the game tilted without resistance, as if the moment had chosen its protagonist… and the Mets were unprepared to respond.

That moment isn’t an anecdote. It’s a pattern.

The game reaches a breaking point… and the Mets fail to hold it.

Let’s break down the inflection points behind a collapse that feels deeper than a simple losing streak — something far more concerning, something that may be pointing toward an inevitable unraveling.

An offense last in everything… even when it shouldn’t be

The Mets have played 21 games. 141 remain. True — but shouldn’t there be flashes by now?

The acquisitions of Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, and Luis Robert Jr. have yet to produce the expected combined impact. Right now, the absence of Juan Soto is the echo that is felt the most.

Brett Baty drove in three runs on Opening Day against Pittsburgh — though Oneil Cruz’s defensive struggles played a role — but has just four RBIs in his next 17 games. He has walked once, struck out 21 times, and owns a .197 OBP — just .007 above his .190 batting average.

Carson Benge has one multi-hit game and is slashing .150/.239/.217 (.456 OPS) through 18 games.

Francisco Álvarez has been one of the few sparks, leading the team with four home runs — all solo shots.

Across this 10-game stretch, the Mets’ offense has been the worst in baseball:

• AVG: .203 (30th)

• SLG: .289 (30th)

• wOBA: .244 (30th)

• ISO: .086 (30th)

• BB%: 5.2% (30th)

No average. No power. No patience.

A lethal combination.

And yet, the most frustrating part? The contact quality isn’t entirely broken. Their 40.2% HardHit rate is league average. When they connect, they don’t necessarily hit poorly.

But they don’t do it often enough — or precisely enough — to cause real damage.

Just 4.6% barrels per plate appearance. A .289 slugging percentage. Six home runs in 347 plate appearances.

They hit the ball… but not with the frequency or authority required.

And when the big hits do come, they’re isolated.

The collective chaos is overwhelming — and one silent indicator captures it:

Swing & Miss%: 27.9% (5th highest in MLB during this streak)

Too many at-bats ending before the ball is even put in play.

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Soriano delivered another gem, allowing just two hits over six innings in an 8–0 win over the Padres on Friday night, snapping San Diego’s eight-game winning streak with yet another dominant performance from the Angels’ Dominican right-handed ace.

Soriano (5–0) owns a 0.28 ERA after allowing just one run across his first 32 2/3 innings this season. He leads the majors in strikeouts (39), WAR (2.1), WHIP (0.735), H/9 (3.0), and ERA+ (1570), while allowing only 11 hits. He’s also tied with Milwaukee lefty reliever Aaron Ashby for the league lead in wins with five.

Aside from occasional control issues, Soriano has overwhelmed every lineup he’s faced. Drake Baldwin’s first-inning homer for Atlanta on April 6 remains the only run he has allowed all season. And it’s worth pausing here: Soriano isn’t just dominating in April—his ability to suppress home runs goes beyond this stretch. Last year, he led the league with the lowest HR/9 rate in baseball at just 0.6.

Since 2024, here are the pitchers who have allowed the fewest home runs with at least 300 innings pitched:

David Peterson — 20 HR, 1330 BF, 309 1/3 IP
José Soriano — 21 HR, 1312 BF, 314 2/3 IP
Paul Skenes — 23 HR, 1319 BF, 338 2/3 IP
Chris Sale — 24 HR, 1301 BF, 325 1/3 IP
Cristopher Sánchez — 24 HR, 1656 BF, 406 IP

That’s elite company—and now Soriano leads that group in the early Cy Young conversation. Whatever happens next, this start has been extraordinary. He’s not just avoiding home runs; he’s improved his SO/BB ratio to 3.00, signaling a deeper transformation: more strikeouts, fewer walks. He leads the league with just 3.0 H/9 and simply doesn’t allow the one thing hitters crave: home runs.

The result? Five starts that look like the beginning of a Cy Young season.

His 17-inning scoreless streak is the second longest in baseball, and opponents are hitting .104 against him with a 0.735 WHIP—both best in the sport.

How has he done it? By doing something that sounds like a rookie mistake: throwing his best pitch less often.

Last year, Soriano threw his sinker nearly 50% of the time. He was a gravity machine. Hitters knew what was coming: 47% sinkers to lefties, 42% to righties. But now, everything has changed. He’s cut sinker usage by 20%, and suddenly he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. Against lefties, he’s mixing in his curveball 41% of the time when ahead. Against righties, he pairs it with his splitter 37% of the time.

That shift is where this story begins. And behind his dominance lie three devastating weapons.

1. The Sinker: The Hammer He Hid to Make Deadlier

Key stat: Usage dropped from 49.1% (2025) to 31.3% (2026)—and its effectiveness skyrocketed.

Pitching has a cruel irony: your best pitch can make you predictable. And predictability in the majors is a death sentence. Last year, Soriano was an open book—sinker after sinker, with occasional curveballs and splitters. Hitters knew the ball would sink.

This year, he’s done something rare: he’s put his primary weapon in his pocket. And now, when he uses it, hitters don’t see it coming.

Opponents are hitting just .056 against it. Only two hits in 36 at-bats. No extra-base hits. Hard contact has dropped. Whiffs have nearly doubled. Ground balls remain elite—but weaker and easier to field.

Two things changed: context and angle. More four-seamers up force hitters to respect the top of the zone. And his arm slot dropped from 34–35 degrees to 24 degrees, making the sinker harder to track.

It’s no longer the main course. It’s the surprise knockout punch.

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It is usually told from the moment he crossed the color line, as if everything began there. But that is only the visible part. Before becoming a symbol, Robinson wa…

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“When a pitcher is executing that well, I get a great view of what…

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It wasn’t a minor decision, but it no longer needs to be the center of the s…

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On Friday at Wrigley Field, Shota Imanaga was doing what, for generations, meant only one thing: this is his game—let him finish it.

He was dominating without visible effort, as if every pitch already knew its outcome before leaving his hand—even though you could see he wasn’t entirely satisfied with some of his pitches, despite the fact that hitters could barely touch him. Six no-hit innings, just one walk, nine strikeouts. He retired the last 13 batters he faced in order. It wasn’t just effectiveness—it was absolute control of rhythm, of time, of expectations.

And yet, as the game moved forward, the feeling wasn’t anticipation… it was a countdown.

Not because something was going wrong, but because everything was operating within the limits that modern baseball considers acceptable. One hundred pitches in April is not a neutral number—it’s a warning. Third start of the season, cold weather in Chicago, a lineup seeing him for the third time: all the factors that used to be ignored in the name of history are now part of the decision.

When Craig Counsell walked out of the dugout, there was no surprise.

And that is the truly strange part.

For a long time, the no-hitter was an individual narrative, almost literary: a pitcher advancing inning by inning like someone walking a tightrope, each pitch loaded with accumulated tension. It wasn’t just about what was happening, but about what might happen.

Today, that story is interrupted more and more frequently—not by accident, but by a very different strategic approach across Major League organizations.

So far in 2026, we already have three cases of starters who threw at least five hitless innings and still did not return for the seventh. It’s April. The sample is small, but the pattern is not.

When you look back, the trend stops feeling anecdotal and starts to feel inevitable: these cases barely existed a decade ago, and now they recur every season with a consistency that reflects something deeper than a simple in-game decision. They reflect a philosophy.

Because the goal is no longer to complete the feat.

The goal is to get to October with healthy arms.

I took a deep dive into games similar to what Shota Imanaga did Friday in Chicago. Here are the season-by-season totals:

Number of games by a starting pitcher in the regular season with at least five innings pitched and no more than seven hitless innings allowed:

2026: 3
2025: 12
2024: 14
2023: 15
2022: 18
2021: 12
2020: 5
2019: 8
2018: 11
2017: 4
2016: 3
2015: 5
2014: 4
2013: 1
2012: 1
2011: 2
2010: 2
2008: 2
2007: 3
2006: 3
2005: 1
2004: 1
2003: 1
2002: 1
2000: 2
1998: 1
1997: 3
1996: 1
1995: 4
1994: 1
1993: 1
1991: 6
1990: 3
1988: 2
1987: 1
1986: 3
1985: 1
1984: 1
1983: 2
1982: 1
1977: 1
1976: 1
1975: 2
1974: 1
1973: 1
1972: 1
1967: 2
1966: 1
1965: 1
1964: 1
1962: 2
1959: 2
1957: 1
1956: 1
1946: 1
1944: 1
1940: 1
1924: 1
1916: 2
1915: 1
1914: 1
1913: 1
1912: 1
1910: 1
1908: 2
1907: 4
1906: 3
1905: 1
1904: 1
1903: 1

There are several points worth noting here. From 1903 to 2017, the only season with at least six such games was 1991—which already felt unusual at the time. But now consider this: with the 105 instances recorded in just the last decade (2016–2026), there are more such games than in the previous 59 years within this sample.

That’s what baseball looks like now.

I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense. It does. Teams are investing more money than ever. Contracts are larger, and the industry is in an unprecedented moment. But how much does baseball actually lose?

If we’re being honest, many of those potential no-hitters probably wouldn’t have been completed anyway.

Maybe yes, maybe no.

And that brings us back to the core issue: if pitchers continue to be pulled when they are close to a feat like this simply because of pitch count accumulation, the outcome is clear—we will see fewer no-hitters. We will enjoy fewer legendary moments on the mound. We will miss figures like Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax—as my uncle Guillermo used to call him—and Bob Feller even more.

I don’t know how you feel about it, but personally, I’m always left wanting more.

Back to Imanaga: we know what his split-finger can do. He doesn’t rely on velocity. His average fastball is up nearly two miles per hour (90.8 in 2025 vs. 92.2 in 2026) to start the season. Even so, the league hit just .227 against his four-seamer last year. They hit .225 against the splitter.

Where was the issue? Opponents hit a lot of home runs—24 of the 31 he allowed came off the fastball. Seven came against the splitter. When you dig deeper into his pitch mix, you find the sweeper: a .143 opponent batting average, no home runs, across 72 plate appearances.

A 34.4% whiff rate.

But the sweeper is just a devastating complement. Imanaga uses it when he needs to limit contact. That’s why, even after facing 19 batters without allowing a hit on Friday—and generating 18 swings and misses—he still didn’t seem fully satisfied.

It felt like he believed he could strike out even more hitters. He got ahead in the count against 13 of those 19 batters.

Then he left the game, and the difference was immediate.

A single by Ryan O’Hearn broke up the combined no-hitter. One swing later, the lead was gone. Bryan Reynolds launched a 30/30 home run off Caleb Thielbar to give the Pirates the decisive advantage. Six innings of absolute dominance evaporated in seconds—not because the pitcher failed, but because the plan had always been to limit his workload and protect his arm.

The dominance that shouldn’t exist

And that’s where someone like Mason Miller enters the picture—someone who seems to exist in an entirely different dimension of the same sport.

Because while modern baseball protects its starters, it has also created the perfect environment for certain relievers to become almost mythical figures. Miller isn’t just dominating—he’s redefining what dominance looks like in short bursts, in those fragments of the game where everything is decided in seconds.

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The Dodgers returned to the stag…

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Shohei Ohtani belongs to the latter.

Because if he retired today, his legacy would already defy classification: MVP awards, two-way seasons that shattered the modern mold of baseball, and a level of impact no player has replicated in ov…

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Six times, entire stadiums held their breath. Six times, the most unexpected heroes emerged from the night.

Welcome to the 2026 season, where excitement doesn’t follow a clock and extra innings are not an extension of the game, but its purest stage for magic.

And that’s without even accounting for the Astros’ eight-run rally in the bottom of the sixth, the Dodgers’ comeback sparked by Will Smith’s birthday home run, or Owen Caissie’s go-ahead single in the eighth that lifted the Marlins to a 4–3 win over the Rockies.

This has been a remarkable start to the season. From the Pacific Northwest to the banks of the Ohio, this is the story of how each ending unfolded.

New York Mets vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: Luis Robert Jr. Delivers the First Shockwave

Final: Mets 4, Pirates 2 (11 innings)

At Citi Field, the wait was worth it.

The Mets and Pirates drifted into extra innings without a run on the board. New York managed just three hits, held in check by Mitch Keller, while Pittsburgh slowly let opportunity slip away, stranding 12 runners and going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, including a fruitless ninth inning that seemed to foreshadow more frustration.

The breakthrough finally came in the 11th—but not in the way the home crowd had hoped at first. The Pirates scratched across a run to take a 2–1 lead, tightening the tension and shifting the weight of the moment.

Luis Robert Jr., acquired in the offseason to reshape the Mets’ lineup with power, had yet to leave his mark. He had not homered in his new uniform. He had not owned a moment.

Until now.

With runners on first and second, the situation crystallized into something larger than a single at-bat. Facing left-hander Hunter Barco, Robert Jr. got a pitch he could handle and didn’t hesitate. The swing was decisive, the contact unmistakable, and the result inevitable—a three-run home run that carried beyond the fences and detonated the stadium.

In a game where Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette had combined to go 1-for-15, and where Jorge Polanco’s patience had only helped set the stage, it was Robert Jr. who delivered the defining moment.

His first home run as a Met could not have arrived with more force or clarity. In New York, first impressions are never neutral. This one was unforgettable.

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It was another night where baseball showed all its facets. The dominance of aces (Schlittler, Gausman, Sale, Alcántara). The magic of the young stars (McGonigle, DeLauter, Young). The hierarchy of veterans (Jansen, Trout, Judge, Stanton). The million-dollar signings who delivered in their first test (Tucker, Díaz). And the human stories that make this sport unique: a greeting to an umpire after a forgettable incident, a miscommunication that changes a game, and a pitcher inspired by an irreplaceable family loss.

Baseball is back, and I feel so happy. So I couldn’t stop writing about the new debuts and the most interesting stories at this start of the season. It was another one of those March nights that reminded us why we love this game.

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The Dodgers Prove That Money Well Spent is an Investment

In Los Angeles, the new world order was being tested for the first time. On a night that already had all the ingredients of great baseball, Los Angeles added a chapter of glory. Before their matchup against the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers received their coveted 2024 World Series championship rings. The ceremony had a special moment when Clayton Kershaw, the franchise’s eternal ace, took the mound to throw the ceremonial first pitch amid the euphoria of the fans. The Dodgers had spent like no other team in free agency, and the second night of their matchup against the Diamondbacks was the first trial by fire for their prized acquisitions.

Kyle Tucker, whose $240 million contract was still fresh in everyone’s memory, waited for his moment. Eighth inning, game tied, runners in scoring position. Everything the current two-time World Series champions needed after the home runs by Alex Freeland and Mookie Betts that had lit up the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. The left-hander didn’t flinch. A single to right field broke the tie and put the Dodgers ahead, 5-4. This was exactly what they had brought him in for: high-pressure moments, star-caliber responses.

Then came Edwin Díaz’s turn. The electrifying closer, another of the winter’s big signings, made his entrance with the notes of “Narco” thundering through the stadium. I love hearing it. The iconic music that accompanies Edwin Díaz’s entrance has always caught my attention. “Narco,” authored by Timmy Trumpet, has accompanied Edwin Díaz since he first stepped out of the bullpen. It was a real show at Dodger Stadium. I don’t know if my friend Alexis was there last night, but it must have been a memorable moment. Although the Australian DJ is the author of the original trumpet, the song was performed live by musician Tatiana Tate, kicking off the closer’s tradition in Los Angeles.

Two strikeouts later, the save was in the bag. His first two outs came on pure 97 mph fastballs. The third? A slider that froze Ketel Marte’s power. Grounder to shortstop. Routine play by Mookie Betts. Game over. Dodgers 5, Arizona 4. The high-profile acquisitions had answered the call in their first test of the season.

But the duel had chapters for everyone. Mookie Betts, the eternal face of the franchise, hit a timely home run. The bullpen didn’t allow a run in 5 ⅔ innings, striking out six. Alex Vesia hung a thrilling zero in his return to the mound, celebrating with an emotional tribute to his daughter, Sterling, who passed away last October, days before the Dodgers won the World Series. Vesia pitched a full inning, allowed one hit, and struck out one batter.

On the other side, Ketel Marte wouldn’t let the D-backs fall behind, hitting a home run of his own to keep the game alive. There was even a moment of cosmic irony: Geraldo Perdomo approached to greet the home plate umpire, Cory Blaser, before his first at-bat. The same Blaser who, less than two weeks earlier, had ended the Dominican Republic’s hopes in the World Baseball Classic with a decision that still stung in the Caribbean. Baseball, always full of these little stories that only it knows how to write.

Cam Schlittler and the Yankees Write Their Names in the History Books

The cold of San Francisco couldn’t freeze the history the Yankees were beginning to write. For the first time in the franchise’s 123-year existence, the Bronx Bombers opened the season with two consecutive shutouts. Max Fried had set the bar high with 6 ⅓ scoreless innings on Opening Day. But what came next was even more astonishing.

Cam Schlittler, the rookie from last year’s legendary Wild Card elimination game victory against the Red Sox, took the mound at Oracle Park and delivered a performance that will be etched in the organization’s annals: 5 ⅓ innings, just one hit allowed, eight strikeouts. The record books opened for him: he became the first pitcher in Yankees history to record at least eight strikeouts while allowing one hit or fewer in his first game of the season. It wasn’t just a good debut in 2026; it was a clear message about his level of refinement and the legitimate talent he possesses.

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There was a starting pitcher who struck out 11 in five innings, a rookie who matched Trevor Story with two home runs in his debut, and another who became the first pitcher in history to start three consecutive Opening Days. There was also a Cy Young winner who lasted just two outs, an eight-run comeback in a single inning not seen since 1890, and a controversial decision regarding a closed roof that changed the fate of a game. It was a day of chaos, of history, and above all, of young players who proved that the future of baseball isn’t waiting.

It’s already here.

I hope you enjoy your Opening Day guide with the most exciting moments I enjoyed and a look beyond the small sample of baseball’s first day.

Mets 11, Pirates 7

Opening Day had its most impactful moment at Citi Field, where the New York Mets dismantled the reigning Cy Young winner, Paul Skenes, in an exhibition that will be etched in the record books for all the wrong reasons for the Pirates’ ace. The anticipation revolved around the young prodigy, but Skenes lasted just two-thirds of an inning, the shortest start of his career. He fell victim to a forgettable first inning that included two errors by center fielder Oneil Cruz that, incredibly, were not scored as errors in the official book.

Even without scoring Brett Baty’s fly ball as an error, the next fly ball hit by Marcus Semien was an even more unforgivable error for Oneil Cruz. If the scoring had been different, Skenes would have allowed at least one unearned run. The scorer’s decision meant that the five runs Skenes allowed were earned, leaving him with an astronomical 67.50 ERA in his debut.

But that wasn’t the only point worth reflecting on, as it seemed like a reminder of how difficult it is for pitchers who participated in the World Baseball Classic to start the season with their arms fully in shape: Skenes, along with Logan Webb and Matthew Boyd, combined for a 16.39 ERA on Opening Day.

The new-look Mets lineup, revamped with five new faces, demonstrated patience by drawing eight walks in the first five innings. Among the new additions, Carson Benge’s debut stood out. The young prospect struck out in his first two at-bats against Skenes, but in his third at-bat, he wasn’t going to be patient. Against reliever Justin Lawrence, Benge hit a 385-foot home run at 105.3 mph on the first pitch he saw, a sweeper left over the heart of the plate.

Upon reaching first base, he jumped with both feet in a moment of pure adrenaline. Benge thus became the 14th player in history with a home run and a stolen base in his Major League debut since the modern stolen base rule was adopted in 1898, and the second in Mets history to do so, joining Lenny Dykstra in 1985. Francisco Álvarez also went deep, and Freddy Peralta earned the victory in his Mets debut. Cuban Luis Robert Jr. also excited fans at Citi Field with an afternoon where he went 2-for-4, with a 10-pitch walk against Skenes and a stellar sliding catch between center and right.

He also scored from first on Baty’s deep fly ball in the first inning. Now, forget Robert Jr.’s 38 home runs in 2023, his great season of splendor with the White Sox. If Robert Jr. can walk, improve his plate discipline, run the bases like he knows how, and play elite defense, this will be one of the best signings for the Mets this season.

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The Yankees lead 16-8 and 23-19, respectively. The regular-season history began on June 7, 2002, at Yankee Stadium II, with a 2-1 Yankees victory, Mike Mussina getting the win, Mariano Rivera the save, and the loss going to Cuba’s Liván Hernández. The Giants hadn’t won a home game against the Yankees since June 24, 2007. That means the Yankees started this season with a 6-0 streak when visiting the Giants.

So, what did we see? Well, what Giants vs. Yankees games in the Bay Area have typically looked like: the Yankees scoring at least six runs—they’ve scored 7 in five of their last six games against the Giants at Oracle Park—with starting pitchers going six or more innings and a devastating rally in the game. The Giants’ offense and defense struggling. A Yankee giant completely silenced on offense in San Francisco, and an ace mercilessly shelled.

🔥So, here you have it: baseball is back, and so is our column! I hope you enjoy it.

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San Francisco woke up Wednesday certain that Logan Webb was one of the five best pitchers in baseball. Doubts about his bullpen, the short-term irreplaceable replacements for injured players, and the excessive hopes placed on the team’s offensive expectations didn’t matter.

By nightfall, the Yankees had scored five runs off him in a single inning, and Max Fried was strolling around Oracle Park as if the bay belonged to him. That’s how baseball works: in two and a half hours, everything you thought you knew can become irrelevant.

Max Fried walked the first batter he faced in 2026. Four straight pitches out of the zone. It wasn’t the start he had envisioned for his first Opening Day as the Yankees’ ace. Forty-five minutes later, the Giants hadn’t touched second base again, and Fried was smiling in the dugout with a five-run lead. Baseball has these things: sometimes the worst beginning turns out to be the best omen.

Oracle Park has 25 years of history, and fans experienced a magical night straight out of the Barry Bonds era: 40,000 fans, kayaks in the bay, the debut of a Netflix broadcast, and in the middle of the spectacle, a New York team reminding the locals who’s in charge when baseball starts anew. The final score was 7-0. It could have been more.

Now, the Yankees have a record of 7-0 since June 24, 2007, at Oracle Park against the San Francisco Giants, who continue to search for answers. In baseball, we often call this a curse. And for the Giants, at least for one more day, the curse continues.

On one hand, we had a game decided in half an hour. The second inning was a whirlwind: five runs by the Yankees against Logan Webb, the Giants’ ace, the guy who led the National League in innings pitched and strikeouts last season. In 2025, Webb allowed five or more runs in only four of his 34 starts. He hadn’t allowed at least five runs in a start since July 10, 2024, against the Blue Jays. Last night, he did it in the second inning. Baseball is this cruel and this unpredictable, and that’s why we love it.

And, as usual, we had a Netflix broadcast that made 162 games suddenly seem like too few for the platform to learn how to do this right.

But let’s break it down.

Max Fried, the ace who needed no introduction

When Gerrit Cole injured his elbow in 2025 and missed the entire season, the Yankees did what the Yankees always do when they’re missing something: they went after the best available on the market. Max Fried arrived with a $218 million contract and the pressure of being the man in a rotation that had lost its leader.
The pressure, at least last night, he had under control like the ace he usually is.
Fried had a tough first inning. He walked Luis Arráez—who last year was the 10th batter with the fewest walks in the Major Leagues—and allowed a single up the middle to Rafael Devers, putting runners on the corners. But there, when the game could have taken a different turn, he regrouped. He struck out Willy Adames, got a grounder from Jung Hoo Lee, and shut the door.

From there on, it was his game. Or rather, he silenced the Giants’ inconsistent offense. Fried had two streaks of at least seven consecutive batters retired. He mixed his seven-pitch arsenal, relying more on his four-seam fastball, cutter, sinker, and devastating curveball. The Giants went 2-for-21. After Arráez in the first inning, no batter who started an inning reached base.

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Look, in baseball, you get used to stories. Stories are the business. The story of the prospect who arrives. The story of the veteran who clings on. The story of the team that was too young, too old, too something. But every 20 or 30 years, a game happens that isn’t a story. It’s a gift from the Baseball Gods. It’s a release. It’s an entire country finally exhaling.

This was one of those games.

Twenty years of the World Baseball Classic. Two decades of “so close,” of “next time,” of reaching the edge of the map only to find an ocean of disappointment. Twenty years of watching others celebrate on the field they considered their second home. Twenty years of waiting for baseball—that sport that runs through Venezuelan veins—to finally hug them back.

And then, in the eighth inning, when everything threatened to crumble once more, when the ghosts of Classics past began to whisper “not again,” something extraordinary happened.

All WBC coverage on YirsandyBlogs

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But let’s start at the beginning. Because to understand the end, you have to understand the agony.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez, who took the mound seeking redemption after a rough outing against the Dominican Republic, was pitching a gem. For four and a third innings, he dismantled Team USA’s Dream Team, the most feared offense on the planet, with fastballs and changeups that danced along the edge of the zone. The United States, champions in 2017, runners-up in 2023, hunting for their second WBC crown, looked trapped, with no way out. Witt Jr., Harper, Judge, Schwarber… legend after legend, silenced by a man coming off his two worst seasons in the MLB. It was a game of pressure, of pitching, the kind decided by a single mistake.

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After winning Group B with a 4-0 record, Italy continued to establish itself as the great surprise of this WBC and kept advancing by eliminating Puerto Rico in the Quarterfinals. However, their next opponent, Venezuela, would be a litmus test for the dream of reaching the WBC final. Surprise vs. reality, that’s how I envisioned the battle between Italy and Venezuela on Monday night before an incredible crowd at LoanDepot Park.

The story of the game was even more thrilling, setting the stage for an unprecedented WBC finale. I invite you to take another journey through the most electrifying moments of the night!

The Moment: “Andiamo, bambino”

The Inning: Bottom of the 2nd
The Story: Let’s start with the key point, the reason why Italy’s lineup became a headache throughout the tournament: their approach in the batter’s box. Italy never stopped attacking pitchers, and the plan kept yielding quality at-bats time and time again. After going scoreless following a double play in the first inning, they started seeing pitches and drawing walks. Keider Montero couldn’t make the adjustments and, after one out, allowed a single and walked three batters. I understand that manager Omar López placed all his trust in Montero, and it’s tough to open the bullpen as early as the second inning, but it was teetering on the brink of a major blowup.

Here’s why Venezuela was walking a tightrope in the second inning:

You can see it right there: Italy had the second-best BABIP with runners on base throughout the entire WBC. They were only surpassed by the mighty lineup of the Dominican Republic. Then, there’s another important point: the whiff percentage of Venezuela’s pitchers dropped from 32.3% to 25.2% in this WBC when they transitioned from pitching with the bases empty to pitching with runners on base.

So, the relief appearance by left-hander Ricardo Sánchez featured one of the most crucial moments of the night. There’s also Gleyber Torres’s play, managing to force the runner at second on Dante Nori’s 107.6 mph grounder. And then the eight-pitch battle where Sánchez got Sam Antonacci to ground out to first for the final out of the inning. Italy held a 2-0 lead after an inning that could have yielded much more, and that feeling lingered for the rest of the game, as they couldn’t score again.

What We Learned: Sometimes the game hangs by a thread. Sometimes you have to tear up the plan, and managers’ trust in their pitchers becomes a wild card game. Manager Omar López was clear about one thing: he wanted to trust that his starter, Keider Montero, could make the adjustments. Montero never managed to do so. And then the bullpen cleaned up the mess.

The Moment: Geno Time!

The Inning: Top of the 4th
The Story: It all started back in the top of the second inning. Eugenio Suárez stepped to the plate to begin the inning against right-hander Aaron Nola. Ten pitches later, Nola won the battle with a called strikeout. Geno watched a knuckle-curve on the inside corner pass him by. The story of curveballs and Geno is interesting. In 2025, he hit 49 home runs but went 3-for-32 (.094) against curveballs. He managed only one double for extra bases and struck out 19 times. His swing-and-miss rate was 46.3%. He posted a disappointing .204 xSLG.

Nola knew all that. The whole world knew all that. And, wow, Geno was so unlucky that the curveball is Nola’s lethal weapon. However, baseball always offers a next opportunity. Two points stood out to me from Geno’s at-bat: Nola threw eight of the 10 pitches to the outer corner.

So, it was assumed that if Geno could make any adjustment, it seemed more viable for him to try to go the opposite way. The tenth pitch of the at-bat, the knuckle-curve that Geno watched, seemed to surprise him. And I think it was about perspective. Many backdoor pitches, but then suddenly, an inside curveball. Nola played with his mind. Geno wasn’t prepared. He seemed to be battling the fact that Nola was overloading the outer corner with pitches moving away from his sweet spot. He had to wait for another opportunity.

What We Learned: Baseball is an incredible game. Look, you can go 3-for-32 against any given pitch, and then crush it, making it look far too easy. Geno did exactly that in his second matchup against Aaron Nola. Now, the question is whether Nola executed the right plan. The first pitch was a 90.7 mph sinker, almost middle-middle. Geno fouled it off. 0-1 count. What’s next? Just look at Nola’s report when he’s ahead in the count against opponents during this WBC:

Well, that report isn’t hard to decipher: Nola had 34 situations where he was ahead in the count against opponents. In 44.1% of those instances, he threw his knuckle-curve. When he started 0-1 against Geno, it was clear that was the pitch. Geno has a beautiful swing. He bats with his left leg wide open towards third base, but when he attacks the ball, he brings his leg in and squares up while loading his swing.

I loved Nola’s pitch, especially because it adhered to the margin of error in Geno’s swing. But this time, the situation ended up reflecting that unavoidable nature of probabilities in baseball called the “exception.” The man with the .094 average in 2025 against curveballs made the adjustment and crushed the pitch. The explosion was a home rocketed off the bat at 102.8 mph, traveling 386 feet at LoanDepot Park.

The Vinotinto crowd erupted. But I’ll tell you something: I don’t think we can fully measure the magnitude of that home run. The numbers didn’t matter. Neither did Geno’s breakout against the pitch that troubled him most in 2025. The point here was what it meant for Venezuela. It was like an injection of momentum, of unrestrained emotion, of inspiration. The offense didn’t break through until the seventh inning, but the game took a significant turn, at least in how we viewed the batters’ approach from that point on.

The Moment: Ángel Zerpa escapes the jam and halts Italy’s final attack

The Inning: Bottom of the 6th…

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