MLB Quickcap (May 5, 2026)
The Cubs and Rays continue to roll at home, Cristopher Sanchez throws a gem for Philadelphia, and the Royals are making a run up the AL Central standings.
SCORES OF THE DAY
Cubs-3, Red-2 (F/10): On what looked like a routine grounder up the middle by Chicago’s Michael Busch that Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz misplayed, the Cubbies walk off Cincy in the 10th for a seventh straight win and 13th consecutive victory at Wrigley Field.
Braves-3, Mariners-2: Matt Olson breaks a 2-2 tie in the ninth with a solo homer off Seattle’s closer Andres Munoz.
Yankees-7, Rangers-4: Rangers SP Jacob deGrom gives up two Yankees homers (L, 6.1 IP, 6 ER), including a go-ahead solo shot to Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the sixth, leading to a fifth straight win for New York.
Rays-4, Blue Jays-3: Tampa Bay scores twice in the eighth and keeps pace with the Yanks in the AL East by also winning for a fifth straight time (Yanks up 1 ½ games on Tampa).
Phillies-9, Athletics-1: The Fightin Phils improve to 8-2 over their last 10 contests behind Cristopher Sanchez’s eight shutout frames (W, 8 IP, 0 ER, 10 K) and Bryce Harper’s two long balls.
Orioles-9, Marlins-7: Back-to-back RBI singles in the ninth by Adley Rutschman and Leody Taveras lead Baltimore to a much-needed road victory.
Twins-11, Nationals-3: Minnesota cruises to victory at Washington behind Taj Bradley’s six-inning quality start (W, 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 K).
Royals-5, Guardians-3: Homers by Michael Massey and Isaac Collins help the Royals win their fifth straight game to pull within a half-game of the AL Central lead.
Red Sox-10, Tigers-3: Benches clear after Detroit’s SP Framber Valdez drills Boston’s Trevor Story with a first-pitch fastball in the fourth after giving up consecutive homers to Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu (Valdez line: L, (10 R) 7 ER, 9 H).
Astros-2, Dodgers-1: ‘Stros right-hander Peter Lambert (W, 7 IP, 0 ER) outduels the Dodgers’ reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani (L, 7 IP, 2 ER) in a game that’s ultimately decided by two solo taters off the bats of Houston’s Christian Walker and Braden Shewmake.
Angels-4, White Sox-3: The Halos win thanks to three solo homers and five scoreless frames from the bullpen.
Diamondbacks-9, Pirates-0: Nine runs on nine hits with zero homers and a seven-inning gem from Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 7 K) gets the D-backs to .500 on the year.
Padres-10, Giants-5: San Diego rallies from an early 4-1 deficit with a five-run fourth to hand Giants’ ace Logan Webb his fourth loss (L, 6 ER).
Brewers at Cardinals (Postponed)
Mets at Rockies (Postponed)
OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY
The Phillies are beginning to come together after a rough April, which included a 10-game losing streak and the firing of their manager, Rob Thomson. One of the key factors to this turnaround has been the play of their first baseman, Bryce Harper. He’s batting .360 with a .484 OBP over his last seven games, and after yesterday’s two-homer performance, he’s up to nine round-trippers this season. There’s a lot of work still to do in Philadelphia, but all things considered, at 16-20 and in a tie for second place in the NL East, I’d say they are looking far more likely to make a run at Atlanta than their division foes, the New York Mets (13-22 record).
PHI - Bryce Harper (3 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K)
PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY
Three noteworthy lines, but Cristopher Sanchez will join his Phillies teammate Harper at the top of the podium today. Houston’s Lambert and Zona’s Rodriguez both had nice seven-inning outings, but nothing close to Sanchez’s eight scoreless frames and 10-strikeout day.
PHI - Cristopher Sanchez (W, 8 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 10 K, 1 BB)
THOUGHTS OF THE DAY
The Cubs and Rays.
Come playoff time, home-field advantage in baseball usually isn’t nearly as important as we see in other sports. However, when everyone sees how well squads like Chicago and Tampa Bay are playing at home right now, it has to make other clubs take notice and hope they won’t have to face either on the road in October.
Chicago is an NL-best 16-5 at Wrigley Field, while the Rays’ 13-4 home record (nine straight wins at Tropicana Field) is the best mark in the AL. Remember, after Hurricane Milton damaged Tropicana Field before the 2025 campaign began, Tampa Bay didn’t have much of a home-field advantage while playing at the Yankees’ spring training facility, George M. Steinbrenner Field (The Rays were 41-40 at Steinbrenner Field last year).
Combined, the Cubs and Rays have won 22 straight home contests heading into Wednesday’s action.
EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern
Let’s stick with the two clubs on long home winning streaks. The Cubs are looking to go up 3-0 in their four-game series with division foe Cincinnati. The Reds have dropped five straight (all to NL Central squads). Tampa Bay is on the verge of a three-game sweep versus fellow AL East rival, the Blue Jays (Toronto continues to fall behind in the AL East, now nine games back of the Yanks and 7 ½ behind Tampa for second position).
1:10 PM - Blue Jays (16-20) at Rays (23-12)
Pitching matchup: Jays - Patrick Corbin (5 GS, 1-0, 3.65 ERA) versus Rays - Shane McClanahan (6 GS, 3-2, 3.10 ERA)
7:40 PM - Reds (20-16) at Cubs (24-12)
Pitching matchup: Reds - Brady Singer (7 GS, 2-2, 5.57 ERA) versus Cubs- Colin Rea (7 G, 4 GS, 4-1, 4.41 ERA)
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