[Sundance]

5/12/2026

The Tussle in Toronto! Benches cleared in tonight’s game between the Indians and the Blue Jays as Cleveland left fielder Daniel Johnson stormed the mound after a heated exchange with Toronto reliever Triston McKenzie. Punches were thrown, and missed, before Johnson grabbed hold of McKenzie and wrestled him to the ground. The benches cleared, but neither team seemed all that interested in joining the fray. The players were eventually separated and ejected from the game. Further punishment has been handed down from the league with Johnson set to miss 3 games and McKenzie to miss 7 games. To add insult to injury, McKenzie was also literally injured in the “brawl.” The reliever looks to miss up to 6 weeks as he recovers from recurring back spasms.

5/15/2026

There must be something in the water because another fight erupted tonight. This time it was between 2B Bryson Brigman of Seattle and RP Chris Archer of Baltimore. After taking a pitch high and inside that sent him to the ground, Brigman charged the mound. Blows were exchanged, with each player landing glancing hits before they inevitably stumbled to the ground. The situation was quickly deescalated and both players were sent packing. They’ll each serve a 4 game suspension. Neither player was available for comment following the game.

5/16/2026

I almost thought that we were going to make it through the month without hearing about a pitcher’s elbow exploding, but I was wrong. Miami Marlins starter Carlos Hernandez is the latest pitcher to fall victim to a season ending elbow injury. Yet another torn ulnar collateral ligament. The 29 year old is expected to miss a minimum of 1 year, and might be out even longer than that as he recovers.

5/17/2026

Another day and another season ending injury. C Cal Raleigh of the Houston Astros suffered a devastating injury while trying to beat out a ground ball. While lunging at first base, Raleigh’s leg locked and got caught on the base. He immediately tumbled to the ground and grabbed his leg in pain. He was quickly carted off of the field. Reports from team doctors show that his kneecap shattered in the accident. He is expected to be out 6-7 months.

5/20/2026

The Los Angeles Dodgers have negotiated a contract extension with SS Corey Seager. The 32 year old put pen to paper on a 5 year, $103 million deal. Seager is a former Rookie of the Year, a 3-time All-Star, a 3-time Silver Slugger, 2-time Champion, and 2-time World Series MVP. He is currently hitting .297/.367/.568 with 17 doubles and 11 HR through the first two months of the season.

5/21/2026

New York Yankees starter Julio Urias is done for the season after undergoing radial nerve decompression surgery. He’s expected to miss somewhere in the range of 7-8 months. Urias signed a massive contract with the Yankees this off season, but injuries were always going to be a concern with him. This is his second major elbow injury in the last three years.

Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich is also headed to the IL. The 34 year old suffered a torn back muscle after diving for a ball in tonight’s game. Despite getting off to a slow start, this remains a huge blow to the Brewers. Yelich is a former MVP, a 5-time All-Star and 6-time Silver Slugger.

San Diego starting pitcher James Paxton is off to the IL as well. The 37 year old reported soreness in his throwing shoulder and is expected to be shut down 6-7 weeks to let his aging arm heal.

5/25/2026

Another pitcher is done for the season. But hey, at least it isn’t an elbow injury this time. Seattle starter Framber Valdez suffered a torn labrum in tonight’s game. He’ll be out 4-5 months. Seattle will surely miss the lefty as he was off to a great start - going 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA and 1.05 WHIP at the time of his injury.

On the other side of the country, New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil also went down for the year. An errant throw from the outfield led to a collision at second base. The result was McNeil being taken out of the game for concussion protocol. Early signs are not good and it looks like he could be up for nearly a year as he recovers from post-concussion syndrome. McNeil was putting together a pretty solid year with a .310/.74/.495 line for the season.

5/30/2026

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts is set to miss some time while on the IL. The 33 year old right fielder suffered a herniated disc and will be out 3-4 weeks while it heals.

May’s Best Hitters

AL - 1B Nolan Jones, Cleveland Indians
.333 average, 11 HR, 27 RBI, 31 R

NL - CF Jake Fraley, New York Mets
.435 average, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R

May’s Best Pitchers

AL - SP Milt Howell, Chicago White Sox
4-1, 19 K, 18 BB, 3.55 ERA

NL - SP Jagger Haynes, San Diego Padres
4-1, 47 K, 4 BB, 1.41 ERA

May Recap 2026

Monthly Record: 21-8
Season Record: 32-24
Position: 1st
Games Ahead/Back: +1

The Good

1B Tucupita Marcano - .292/.367/.375, 8 doubles
After a poor first month to the season, Marcano started to look like himself in May. He’s brought up his batting average 30 points. Hopefully he can find some consistency and keep this up going forward.

3B Manny Machado - .282/.357/.505, 5 doubles, 6 HR, 21 RBI
I can generally count on Machado to put up solid numbers, and this month was no different. He led the club in RBI, was tied for the club lead in HR, and his 29 hits were the third most on the team this month.

CF Carlos Tocci - .303/.347/.413, 9 doubles
These are the sort of numbers I expect out of Tocci. With this month’s performance, he’s added nearly 50 points to his average for the season. He’s going to need to keep it, since, as I mentioned at the beginning of the season, he’s playing for his career here in SD.

RF Jae-Ho Lee - .304/.357/.471, 8 doubles
Lee looked in mid-season form this past month as his numbers in May closely resembled his numbers from last season. Much like Tocci, he’ll need to continue to impress since one of these two outfielders will be losing their starting spot next season.

SP Will Bednar - 3-1, 38.2 IP, 32 K, 3.03 ERA, 0.96 WHIP
The former 1st round draft pick bounced back in a big way this month. Much like the rest of the roster, I’ll be hoping for some consistency out of the 25 year old as we continue forward.

SP Jagger Haynes - 4-1, 38.1 IP, 47 K, 1.41 ERA, 0.86 WHIP
Haynes earned himself Pitch of the Month honors for May. He currently leads the NL in ERA, strikeouts, BB/9, K/BB, and WHIP. We got a glimpse of what he could do in the playoffs last season, and he has more than lived up to the hype so far.

SP Ryan Weathers - 4-2, 38.1 IP, 37 K, 2.58 ERA, 0.97 WHIP
With the arrival of Haynes, Weathers might be the forgotten man on our staff. Let’s not forget that he finished on the shortlist for the Cy Young last season and was picked as one of the Top 10 pitchers in the NL just two seasons ago.

CL Robby Butron - 10 SV, 11.0 IP, 8 K, 0.82 ERA, 0.82 WHIP
Butron seems to have adapted to his new role as the team’s closer. He currently leads the league in saves through the first two months of the season and has a sub-1.00 ERA and WHIP.

The Bad

2B CJ Abrams - .236/.347/.415, 5 doubles, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 7 SB
Our young second baseman has been battling a sprained thumbs and it appears to be hampering him at the plate. He’s listed as day-to-day, so hopefully it heals up soon. He’s able to chip in when he does make contact, but it’s obvious that the thumb injury is affecting his swing.

LF Willie Marin - .227/.306/.464, 5 doubles, 6 HR, 16 RBI
The power numbers are there, but he’s been unlucky this past month. He has had the habit of hitting balls right at defenders as his BABIP is down at .219. Hopefully the reigning Rookie of the Year can straighten things out.