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.
One small step for Kazuma Okamoto, one giant leap for … Kazuma Okamoto.
After a slow(ish) start to his MLB career, the Blue Jays slugger has been one of the hottest hitters in the big leagues for the last few weeks.
And Okamoto's huge step forward (figuratively) is all because he stepped backward (literally).
Let Mike Petriello explain: The one key adjustment that has sparked Okamoto's scorching stretch is … He moved back in the batter's box!
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Through April 17, Okamoto was batting .188. Besides a two-hit debut for the Jays on Opening Day and a couple of homers in his first week in Toronto, he wasn't doing a whole lot of damage at the plate.
So he tried something new. He backed up almost seven inches in the batter's box.
Through April 17, Okamoto's starting depth in the batter's box was 20.9 inches (that's measured back from the front edge of home plate). Since April 18, it's been 27.7 inches.
That move took Okamoto from "shallower in the box than most hitters" to "slightly deeper in the box than your average hitter."
So guess what else has happened since April 18? Okamoto is batting .308 with eight home runs and a 1.108 OPS in his last 18 games.
There's your giant leap. Again, you can read the whole breakdown here, before Okamoto and the Blue Jays take on the Angels tonight (7:07 p.m. ET, MLB.TV).
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WHICH TEAM HAS THE HOTTEST HOT STREAK? |
Three teams are on an absolute tear right now: the Cubs, the Rays and the Yankees. But who has the hottest hot streak? Let's compare.
Here's a quick Tale of the Tape.
Cubs
Rays
- AL-best seven-game winning streak entering today's game against the Red Sox at Fenway (7:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV)
- Have won 13 of their last 14 games after beating the Sox last night
- Are 7-0 against the AL East (1-0 vs. Red Sox, 3-0 vs. Yankees and Blue Jays)
- Have an MLB-best five series sweeps this season
- Key to the hot streak: A Major League-best 1.36 ERA as a team over their last 14 games, going back to April 22
Yankees
- Are 16-3 since April 17
- Have won six straight series over that stretch (vs. Royals, Red Sox, Astros, Rangers, Orioles and Rangers again)
- 26-12 record overall (first place in AL East just ahead of the Rays, tied with Cubs and Braves for best in MLB)
- Key to the streak: Aaron Judge (MLB-leading 15 home runs) and Ben Rice (MLB-leading 1.214 OPS) have been the best teammate duo in baseball
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IT'S A JUDGIAN MIRROR IMAGE |
We guess one Aaron Judge wasn't enough for the Yankees. Now they have two.
There's regular Aaron Judge, and there's lefty Aaron Judge … aka, Spencer Jones, the Bronx Bombers' No. 6 prospect, who just got called up today to make his MLB debut.
The Yankees open a series against the Brewers tonight in Milwaukee (7:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV).
The 24-year-old Jones is as tall as Judge: 6-foot-7. He smashes home runs like Judge -- 11 of them in just 33 games at Triple-A this season, to go along with his Minor League-leading 41 RBIs. For a while, he was even trying to swing like Judge.
Of course, there's only one Aaron Judge when it comes to setting home run records and winning MVP trophies, but the Yankees will accept all imitations. Two 6-foot-7 behemoth sluggers on the same team? Talk about intimidation in the lineup. And that's before you throw the rehabbing short king -- 6-foot-5 Giancarlo Stanton -- back into the mix.
Maybe no one can sum this move up better than Cody Bellinger, who imparted these words of wisdom about Jones: "It's a large man who hits the ball very far."
Indeed, Cody.
Bryan Hoch has the story on Jones' callup.
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We usually do "Games of the Weekend," but this time we're doing series, because there are some fun ones. For info on how to watch every game this season, go to MLB.com/Watch.
Braves at Dodgers (Game 1 tonight at 10:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV)
The Braves have looked like a powerhouse all season, but this is their biggest series so far against the reigning World Series champs. The series has some interesting pitching matchups, including Chris Sale and Spencer Strider going in the first two games for Atlanta and Blake Snell reportedly making his season debut for the Dodgers tomorrow. And these are two star-studded lineups, led by Matt Olson and Shohei Ohtani.
Yankees at Brewers (Game 1 tonight at 7:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV)
It's the slugging Bronx Bombers vs. the small-ball Brewers -- in their first meeting since the Yankees put torpedo bats on the map in a sweep of the Brew Crew to open the 2025 season. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's Jones' callup. There are two marquee pitching matchups to start the series -- Max Fried vs. fireballer Jacob Misiorowski tonight, early-season Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler vs. the breakout Kyle Harrison tomorrow. And then Carlos Rodón is scheduled to make his season debut for the Yanks in the series finale.
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WORLD SERIES-CALIBER PROMOS IN L.A. |
The Dodgers return to Los Angeles today for their first homestand of May, and they have some World Series-caliber promotions coming up.
It all starts with the Blake Snell bobblehead giveaway for Saturday's game against the Braves -- with Snell on the mound for his 2026 debut that day. That giveaway is part of the Dodgers' "Starter Series," which will also feature Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani bobbleheads later in the season.
Another highlight will be the "Ice Cube Lowrider" bobblehead giveaway for next Tuesday's game against the Giants.
And there's more. See the rest of the Dodgers' May giveaways here.
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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.
We'll go with the Mets' new leadoff man, Juan Soto, tonight against the D-backs and starter Ryne Nelson (6.61 ERA).
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