Tuesday, April 14

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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.

We’ve got one of the more interesting pitching matchups of the young season tonight: Mets rookie sensation Nolan McLean vs. Dodgers ace and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. 

The Mets, on a six-game losing skid, are turning to McLean to be their stopper at Dodger Stadium (10:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV/SNY/SportsNet LA). The Dodgers, with MLB’s best record, simply need Yamamoto to keep things rolling.  

Both of these guys could win Cy Young Awards someday. But they have much different styles on the mound. The bulldog McLean uses his pitch arsenal to overwhelm you. The artist Yamamoto mixes and matches his arsenal to baffle you.  

We can’t wait to see them go head to head. Here are three things to watch for in their pitchers’ duel: 

1) McLean’s sinker-sweeper combo 

McLean’s pitches move like Wiffle balls. But his signature 1-2 punch is his sinker-sweeper combo. His sinker this season is averaging 18 inches of horizontal movement in one direction … and his sweeper is averaging 21 inches of break in the opposite direction. That’s a 39-inch gap in horizontal movement. Literally nobody has stuff that moves like that. Don’t believe us? Mike Petriello explains here why McLean’s pitch combo is unique.

2) Yamamoto’s splitter 

As nasty as all of McLean’s pitches are, Yamamoto might have the single best pitch between the two of them: his splitter. Yamamoto has recorded 101 strikeouts on splitters since the start of last season, and this year, his splitter has become his most-used pitch for the first time in his Major League career. Yamamoto, who is known for his well-balanced pitch arsenal, is throwing 28% splitters so far in 2026 — that’s more than he’s throwing his fastball (23%), cutter (19%), curveball (14%), sinker (9%) or slider (7%). And opposing hitters are batting .063 against it.  

3) Who has the better curveball? 

Here’s the biggest thing McLean and Yamamoto have in common: They both have beautiful curveballs. McLean is the spin king — his curve has an average spin rate of 3,308 rpm, the highest in the Majors — and that spin generates a ridiculous amount of break. But Yamamoto’s curveball has elite movement too— his curve drops 63 inches on its way to the plate, which is six inches more drop than comparable pitchers who throw their curves with similar velocities and release points. 

 

JUDGE AND TROUT IN HISTORIC MVP COMPANY

You all saw the show that Aaron Judge and Mike Trout put on at Yankee Stadium last night — two multi-time MVPs having dueling multi-home run games. 

But just how rare is that? Very rare, it turns out. The Judge/Trout game was just the fourth time in MLB history that two players who’d won multiple MVP Awards hit multiple home runs in the same game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. 

Here are the other three: 

June 21, 1956 — Roy Campanella (Dodgers) and Stan Musial (Cardinals)

Until Judge and Trout, this game nearly 70 years ago was the only time that two three-time MVPs had hit multiple homers in the same game. It’s also the only other time that those MVPs had their multi-homer games for opposing teams. At Ebbets Field, Musial smacked two home runs off Don Newcombe — who won both the NL MVP and MLB Cy Young Award that year. But Campanella hit two, too, and his second was a game-tying three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth that helped the Dodgers score a walk-off win.

July 3, 1962 — Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle (Yankees) 

Judge isn’t the only Yankees great to be involved in this kind of home run history. Maris and Mantle accomplished the multi-MVP feat as Yankees teammates over 60 years ago. The Bronx Bombers, who won the World Series in ’62, needed every big swing from Mantle and Maris in this game at the old Yankee Stadium, a comeback 8-7 win over the Kansas City Athletics. The two sluggers punctuated the victory with back-to-back homers in the bottom of the eighth inning. 

July 6, 1962 — Maris and Mantle (Yankees) 

Just three days after their first multi-MVP, multi-home run performance, Mantle and Maris did it again … but this would be the last time until Judge and Trout. It was against the fledgling Twins, who were in just their second year in Minnesota. The New York stars started things off with back-to-back homers in the first inning off Camilo Pascual — who was no slouch, winning 20 games and leading the AL with 206 strikeouts that season. Mantle homered again in the third and Maris in the fifth. 

At the time of these games in ’62, Maris was the back-to-back reigning MVP … and Mantle was a two-time MVP who was about to be a three-time MVP, winning his third award at the end of the season. 

THIS MLB DEBUT IS REALLY BIG NEWS

There’s about to be a new tallest man in the Majors — and he just so happens to be a top pitching prospect. 

White Sox left-hander Noah Schultz, the team’s No. 1 pitching prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 45 prospect overall, is making his MLB debut tonight against the Rays (7:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV/Rays.TV/Chicago Sports Network). When he throws his first pitch, Schultz will be the tallest player in the big leagues. 

Schultz stands 6-foot-10. There’s no other player that tall in the big leagues this season — last season’s tallest player, 6-foot-11 Sean Hjelle, is now with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. 

Twins pitcher Bailey Ober is the next-tallest current MLB player at 6-foot-9. The tallest hitters are Aaron Judge and Oneil Cruz at 6-foot-7.  

Schultz will also join Randy Johnson, Eric Hillman and Andy Sisco as the tallest left-handed pitchers on record in MLB history.

The 22-year-old Schultz has been dominating at Triple-A, where he was 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings, thanks to an upper-90s fastball and a wipeout sweeping slider that’s his No. 1 strikeout pitch. Here’s prospect guru Jim Callis on what to expect from Schultz in the Majors. 

KICKS WORTHY OF A CHAMPION

The Dodgers are flirting with dynasty status. Does it stun anyone that the back-to-back World Series champs also have arguably the best sneakers in the game?

The Converse x UNDEFEATED Brooklyn Dodgers Chuck 70 takes an iconic shoe — the century-plus-old Chuck Taylor All-Star — and gives it an update worthy of a team beloved on both coasts. Next to the “old English B” made famous by the Brooklyn Bums are some decidedly L.A.-esque details like ostrich leather and a tongue designed to be worn folded down.

“UNDEFEATED has been a cornerstone of L.A. sneaker culture since they opened in 2002. They helped define what a serious sneaker boutique looked like on the West Coast,” said Nick Engvall, writer of The Sneaker Newsletter. “Converse has the heritage and canvas, the Dodgers have the city, and UNDEFEATED has the credibility to bring both communities together without it feeling forced.”

Sound good? You can get your own pair Monday, and get the full details here. But be quick: Supplies are limited. 

BEAT THE STREAK

Can you Beat the Streak? Try to top Joe DiMaggio’s record hitting streak of 56 games by selecting a player each day to record a hit. If you get to 57, you can win $5.6 million. Plus, there’s a chance to win unique weekly prizes.

Luis Arraez looks like a good pick for tonight’s slate. Reds starter Brady Singer has struggled this season (7.71 ERA), and the Giants’ three-time batting champ is a .421 career hitter vs. Singer (8-for-19).  

 

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