MLB Quickcap (May 4, 2026)
Tarik Skubal hits the IL, the Cubbies hit a walk-off homer versus the Reds, and Seattle storms back against Atlanta.
SCORES OF THE DAY
Red Sox-5, Tigers-4: Detroit’s Tarik Skubal was scratched from his start versus Boston (and scratched for likely the rest of the first half due to “loose bodies” in his elbow, which will require arthroscopic surgery), and the Red Sox take advantage with a five-run seventh frame to claim the victory in the first of three games at Detroit.
Cubs-5, Reds-4: In an NL Central battle, Reds closer Emilio Pagan blows a save opportunity in the ninth and takes the loss after yielding a walk-off homer to Chicago’s Michael Conforto to give the Cubbies their 12th straight win at Wrigley Field.
Cardinals-6, Brewers-3: St. Louis takes the first meeting of the year between NL Central rivals after their top two in the batting order, JJ Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera, drive in five runs combined.
Rays-5, Blue Jays-1: Ryan Vilade’s three-run tater in the first frame carries Tampa Bay to the victory and a 12-4 home record.
Yankees-12, Orioles-1: The Yankees put the finishing touches on a four-game sweep at home versus Baltimore as SP Cam Schlittler improves to 5-1 (W, 5.2 IP, 1 ER) and Aaron Judge cranks his MLB-leading 14th homer in the first inning.
Mariners-5, Braves-4: Atlanta goes up 4-0 on four solo homers before coughing up the lead by allowing all five Mariners runs in the sixth frame via long balls by Luke Raley and J.P. Crawford.
Mets-4, Rockies-2: Every New York run comes in the fourth frame off Rockies SP Tomoyuki Sugano.
Phillies-1, Marlins-0: The struggling Aaron Nola tosses his best game of ‘26 behind six scoreless frames, and Bryce Harper collects three knocks, including his third home run.
Royals-6, Guardians-2: Cleveland’s SP Tanner Bibee falls to 0-5 on the year (L, 4 IP, 4 ER) after blowing an early 2-0 lead courtesy of a four-run fourth frame by Kansas City.
Dodgers-8, Astros-3: Los Angeles scores seven runs over the first three innings to provide plenty of run support for Yoshinobu Yamamoto to earn his third win of ‘26 (W, 6 IP, 3 ER, 8 K).
White Sox-6, Angels-0: Rookie Munetaka Murakami ties Aaron Judge atop the home run leaderboard with his 14th round-tripper in the fourth frame, but the headline in this contest was SP Davis Martin’s seven shutout frames and 10 strikeouts (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 10 K).
Giants-3, Padres-2: A Triple-A recall of 25-year-old pitcher Trevor McDonald on Monday for a spot start against the Padres couldn’t have come at a better time for the struggling Giants after the right-hander outduels San Diego’s Randy Vasquez with seven innings of one-run ball (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 8 K).
OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY
Aaron Judge and Munetaka Murakami continue to lead MLB in homers after both went yard for the 14th time on Monday. Overall, their lines were nice. Judge collected two hits and four ribbies, while Murakami had three knocks and scored three times. These are my finalists for the Offensive Line of the Day.
After a bit of back-and-forth, ultimately I had to go with Chicago’s ROY candidate. His three hits and three runs were one better than Judge’s two in each category. Plus, Murakami had a double to go along with his long ball. Either way, it’s a fun AL home run race going on in early May. Both look well on their way to at least 40 homers, if not 50-plus.
CHW - Munetaka Murakami (3 H, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K)
NYY - Aaron Judge (2 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K)
PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY
Let’s keep the White Sox accolades going. After Murakami claims the Offensive Line of the Day, his teammate Davis Martin easily snags the Pitching Line of the Day after his 10-K performance versus the Angels. Martin has been a key reason why the White Sox are playing at a much higher level so far in ‘26 than they have in recent memory (17-18 record after last night’s win). The 29-year-old right-hander, who went 7-10 with a 4.10 ERA with Chicago last season, is already 5-1 this year, with the second-best ERA in the American League at 1.64.
CHW - Davis Martin (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 10 K, 0 BB)
THOUGHTS OF THE DAY
I apologize, but I can’t help it. My thoughts of late have mostly been on the same topic. My thoughts of the day have mentioned injuries to Ronald Acuna Jr., Jacob Misiorowski, and others over the last week. And now we have Skubal.
This idea that baseball is in a “healthy” place is untrue. There is no way that when Commissioner Manfred says the game is in a healthy place and as strong as ever, that he’s referring to pitchers.
I watched Skubal’s last start against the Braves on April 29. I remember texting my fantasy baseball league when he began rubbing his arm, and then the Tigers’ training staff came out. My specific words to my friend who owns him on his fantasy team, after he’d already lost another ace in Garrett Crochet to the IL (shoulder inflammation), were “Don’t be surprised if Skubal next.”
Skubal said following his start versus Atlanta that he had “a funny feeling on the outside of his arm,” but it apparently went away. Umm, no, Tarik, it’s still there, and on Monday, it was revealed that “loose bodies” or bone fragments (whatever you want to call them) are floating around in your pitching elbow. Now, the Tigers will be without their best pitcher for at least a few months while he recovers from surgery.
Back to being in a “healthy” place. Every time I see a pitcher cough, I wonder if he strained his neck. Every time I see a player dance on the bases after a double, I wonder if he tweaked his hammy. The point is that baseball, and specifically Major League Baseball, is probably in the most unhealthy place it’s ever been. If the stars are constantly hurt, and every team has to deal with more injuries with each passing season, then what are we as fans going to have left to cheer for? That is all MLB and its owners should be concerned about come CBA negotiation time in December.
This is another example of why players, especially pitchers, should never get guaranteed contracts. Give them a base contract of a few million bucks so they won’t go hungry, and if they want the rest, then go out and earn it. Stay on the field and perform. If not, then take what the owners gave you and enjoy your time on the IL, because you’re not getting any more to sit on your ass and do nothing to help the team win. That should be the mentality and way of things in every single professional sport, especially one in which players are pampered like toddlers.
Skubal won his arbitration hearing against the Tigers in the offseason for a record $32 million to pitch for the club in ‘26. Detroit filed for $19 million and lost. Now the franchise and its fans have lost big time again because Skubal has tossed 43 ⅓ innings over seven starts in what is likely his last year with the club. He’ll be lucky to reach 100 innings pitched this season. Even if we give him the benefit of the doubt and he gets to 100 frames, the Tigers would still be paying him $320,000 for every inning pitched. That’s absurd.
Who is the next big name MLB loses? Paul Skenes, maybe?
EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern
6:40 PM - Blue Jays (16-19) at Rays (22-12): It’s getting a little serious now for the Blue Jays if they have any chance at winning the AL East. Not only are the Jays 6 ½ games behind the Rays for second place in the division after last night’s loss, but they continue to fall behind the first-place Yankees as well. New York is eight games ahead of Toronto, and it’s hard to see the Jays catching both the Rays and Yanks if they continue to play mediocre ball. It’s still early, but Toronto faces Tampa Bay five more times over the next week-plus, and games like tonight, with, arguably, their top arm going, Kevin Gausman (7 GS, 2-2, 3.10 ERA), are huge. Gausman will face Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen (6 GS, 2-1, 2.64 ERA).
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