Tuesday, April 07

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Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today’s edition is brought to you by David Adler.

How well do you know your favorite team’s mascot? 

Well enough to draw it? 

Are you sure? 

Well, here’s one way for you — and your kids — to find out. 

MLB just launched a new YouTube channel for kids today. It’s called MLB Clubhouse.

There are going to be a whole bunch of YouTube shows and content on there for young baseball fans, including the MLB Art Club, where you can learn how to draw every MLB mascot. 

The first two videos are already up: how to draw T.C. Bear, the Twins’ mascot, and Dinger the Dinosaur, the Rockies’ mascot. The other 25 mascots are soon to come. (Fun fact: the Yankees, Dodgers and Angels are the three teams without an official mascot.)

Here’s what else is in the MLB Clubhouse YouTube lineup: 

• The Doug Out!: MLB’s first stop-motion animated baseball show, created by Emmy Award winner Adam Reid (with a debut episode highlighting Mariners star catcher Cal Raleigh and his “switch-hitting superpower”).

• No Easy Outs: A show that explores how players in MLB and the Athletes Unlimited Softball League overcame life challenges to become the best at what they do. 

• Let’s Play Ball: A one-stop shop for kids, parents and coaches to learn baseball and softball drills, tips and tricks from the top stars of MLB and the AUSL. 

There’s going to be a ton of content on MLB Clubhouse for the next generation of baseball fans — not just those shows, but weekly highlights and compilations for kids, too — so be sure to check it out.  

 

YAMAMOTO VS. THE JAYS, ROUND 4

The Blue Jays probably feel like they’ve seen enough of Yoshinobu Yamamoto to last a lifetime. But here he comes again tonight. 

In the second game of this week’s World Series rematch between the Dodgers and Blue Jays (7:07 p.m. ET on TBS/Sportsnet/SportsNet LA), the 2025 World Series MVP returns to the mound in Toronto, where he closed out Game 7 of the Fall Classic pitching in relief on zero days’ rest. 

Yamamoto faced the Blue Jays three times in the World Series. He beat them three times — all in Toronto. And he cemented himself as a postseason legend in the process. 

Yamamoto vs. the Blue Jays in the World Series 

• Game 2: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 8 K (complete game win)
• Game 6: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 6 K (win)
• Game 7: 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K (win in relief)

Tonight is Round 4. And the Blue Jays will be out for revenge — especially after the Dodgers rolled to a 14-2 win in yesterday’s series opener.  

Toronto will have its own ace on the mound in Kevin Gausman, who’s been lights-out so far in 2026 with a 0.75 ERA and back-to-back double-digit strikeout games to open the year.

So the Yamamoto-Gausman duel will be another must-watch game in the must-watch series of the season so far. 

GAMES OF THE NIGHT

Here are three other games to watch tonight: 

• Padres at Pirates (6:40 p.m. ET, SportsNet Pittsburgh/Padres.TV) 

After a bounceback start his last time out, reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes returns to the mound in Pittsburgh for his first home start of the season. Will we get the first truly dominant Skenes game of 2026?  

• Brewers at Red Sox (6:45 p.m. ET, NESN/Brewers.TV) 

Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski takes his triple-digit fastball to Boston as the Brewers (8-2) look to stay hot. Meanwhile, the Red Sox (2-8) will turn to their ace, Garrett Crochet, to be the stopper amid their early-season skid.

• Tigers at Twins (7:40 p.m. ET, Twins.TV/Detroit SportsNet)

Back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal takes a 0.69 ERA into his first start against a division rival this season. Interestingly, his opponent, Taj Bradley, has been just as dominant as Skubal, with a 0.87 ERA and 12 K’s through two starts. 

RALEIGH’S EPIC AT-BAT VS. DEGROM

Home run No. 1 is on the board for the Big Dumper — and it took an epic at-bat against Jacob deGrom to do it. 

Cal Raleigh locked in for a 12-pitch battle with the Rangers ace yesterday, and he won it in dramatic fashion: by crushing his first home run of the season deep into the right-field seats off a 99.1 mph heater from deGrom. 

It took a while for the Mariners’ superstar catcher, who hit 60 home runs last season, to get his first one of 2026. But the swing we saw yesterday was classic Cal Raleigh. 

That’s the third-fastest pitch Raleigh has homered against in his career, of his 160 home runs between the regular season and postseason. Last year he went yard off a 99.6 mph fastball from Rays starter Joe Boyle and a 99.4 mph fastball from Cubs closer Daniel Palencia.

Raleigh went down 0-2 in the count but fouled off six pitches with two strikes — including several upper-90s fastballs and low-90s sliders — as he worked the count full and finally took deGrom deep. 

Here’s a look at all 12 pitches of Raleigh’s showdown with deGrom last night, with the pitch types on the left and the pitch results on the right: 

 

PITCHERS ARE FIELDERS, TOO

We were treated to a rare sight yesterday: pitchers catching popups.

And were treated to it not once, but twice. In the same game!

Here’s what happened.

See, pitchers and popups have a long and complicated relationship. Normally, when a ball goes up in the air in the infield, the pitcher goes running out of the way. One of the other four infielders will call him off and make the catch. The pitcher’s job is to pitch, after all. Not track sky-high pop flies that can blow all over the place. 

But in yesterday’s Royals-Guardians game, we got a pitchers’ duel … of catching popups. Both starting pitchers in the game — Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee and Kansas City’s Michael Wacha — managed to successfully make a grab. 

So who did it better? You be the judge.

Bibee’s popup was hit higher — 143 feet in the air off the bat of Jac Caglianone — but it was right in front of the mound. Can of corn.

Wacha’s was hit a mere 127 feet high by José Ramírez, but he had to range all the way into foul territory by the third-base dugout to corral it. 

Either way: Pitchers are athletes, confirmed. 

THE GREAT WRIGLEY FIELD BAKE-OFF

Are you a Cubs aficionado who happens to bake a mean chocolate chip cookie? If so, we have potentially incredible news specifically for you.

As part of their 150th anniversary celebration, the Cubs announced a new contest yesterday where fans can submit their best chocolate chip cookie recipe for approval. 

Per the team, baseball-themed bakers should make sure to include the origin story or motivation for the recipe, plus some evidence that you are indeed a Cubs fan. (Video of you actually baking the cookies is not required … but it is encouraged.)

The winning baker — amateurs only, please! The Bear need not apply — will be rewarded with on-field recognition, game tickets, a Cubs chef jacket (!) and more. And best of all, the winning cookie will be served at Wrigley Field during the Cubs Anniversary Celebration on Aug. 29.

It’s such a delicious contest that even WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark has volunteered herself to be the taste tester.

Fire up your ovens and get all the info right here. 

 

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