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The Colorado Rockies have the worst record in the National League but have played their best against the best this month. They swept the Texas Rangers in Denver, did the same on the road against the San Diego Padres and just took two of three against the hottest team in the majors.
Colorado gets another test after slowing down the Philadelphia Phillies when it hosts the surging Cleveland Guardians on Monday for the first of three games.
The Rockies will send lefty Austin Gomber (1-2, 2.76 ERA) against Cleveland's Xzavion Curry (0-0, 1.93) in the matinee opener.
Curry will try to add to the Guardians' winning streak, which reached nine after they completed a road sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with a 5-4 win on Sunday. Cleveland has won 12 of its past 13 contests to remain within one game of the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League.
Curry has one career appearance against Colorado, and it came in relief. He didn't allow a run in 3 1/3 innings. He was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday and started that night against the New York Mets. He was pulled after giving up two runs and tossing 66 pitches in 4 1/3 innings in the Guardians' 7-6 win.
Though Cleveland has enjoyed good pitching, Jose Ramirez has been the catalyst for the franchise's longest streak since winning an AL-record 22 straight seven years ago. Ramirez hit two home runs on Friday night, another on Saturday and has 10 in May. He leads the majors with 52 RBIs.
He had No. 11 of the month taken away when Los Angeles right fielder Jo Adell made a leaping catch in the eighth inning on Sunday.
"He's the goat. The goat," Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee said of Ramirez. "It's simple, that's all I have to say. He's the goat."
Ramirez will face a Rockies rotation that has a streak of its own -- six straight quality starts. Gomber has been one of the best pitchers this month with an ERA of 0.68 in May, and his 2.76 mark leads Colorado. Those numbers have not transformed into wins for him, but he has spearheaded a resurgence for the club that struggled out of the gate this year.
The rotation has been a major factor in the Rockies going 10-6 since beginning the year 8-28 and slowing down the better teams in the majors.
"Good starting pitching is the lifeblood, backbone, the heart and soul of an organization that consistently wins," Rockies manager Bud Black said after Colorado's 5-2 win over Philadelphia on Sunday. "We're trying to get there. This group here has pitched really well, and they're the reason why these games have been really close to the end.
"The guys think you're going to win when you're pitching well. It's good to win a series; it's uplifting for the guys."
Gomber will try to keep it going Monday in his sixth appearance against the Guardians. In his previous five times facing them -- two of them starts -- he is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA.
More must-reads:
- Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette among players to reject qualifying offer
- Angels, Orioles fill needs with this surprising trade
- The 'NFL QB rushing TD leaders' quiz
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Major domino falls for Yankees with Trent Grisham decision
Outfielder Trent Grisham is accepting his $22.025M qualifying offer and will return to the New York Yankees in 2026, reports ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. Players who accept a QO are considered free-agent signings and are thus ineligible to be traded prior to the following June 15 unless they consent to the move. Trent Grisham had a breakout season It’s at least a modest surprise, as Grisham is coming off a breakout year at the plate that saw him club a career-high 34 home runs. He slashed .235/.348/.464, thanks in no small part to a career-best 14.1% walk rate and a 23.6% strikeout rate that stood as the second-lowest in his career. Between that production, the fact that Grisham only just turned 29 earlier this month, and a thin outfield market in free agency, the stars seemed to align for him to pursue a weighty multi-year contract this winter. Instead, Grisham returns to the site of his breakout and will hold down a key role in an outfield that’s also currently slated to include Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge. The Yankees are interested in re-signing Cody Bellinger, have been linked to Kyle Tucker and also have DH Giancarlo Stanton at least loosely in the outfield mix. (He played 132 outfield innings in 2025.) How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the Yankees? Grisham’s return muddies the waters a bit, but GM Brian Cashman said recently that even if he accepted, it wouldn’t impact the team’s pursuit of a new deal with Bellinger, via the New York Post’s Greg Joyce. The Yankees wouldn’t have made the QO to Grisham if they believed his acceptance was a roadblock to bringing back Bellinger or signing Tucker. They’re surely glad to have him back. Even though his defensive grades took an unexpected downturn in ’25, he has the best defensive track record in center of the Yankees’ in-house options. While Grisham could have looked to cash in this winter, he’ll instead take a hefty one-year payday in what amounts to a bet on himself. Though he’s a left-handed bat, his power output was hardly a product of Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch. In fact, Grisham hit just .195/.326/.376 at home this season, compared to .254/.364/.506 on the road. If he can replicate this year’s huge power production, he could hit the market next offseason on the back of consecutive plus seasons at the plate and without the encumbrance of a qualifying offer. A big enough showing this year could realistically position Grisham for a $100M+ contract — particularly if his defensive grades rebound, too. The looming potential for a work stoppage is one other wrinkle to consider, but if anything, today’s glut of QO decisions suggests that players aren’t necessarily going to shy away from short-term deals that put them on the open market next year — at least not en masse. Grisham is one of four players to accept the QO, joining Gleyber Torres, Shota Imanaga and Brandon Woodruff in that regard. In a vacuum, any one of the four accepting his QO wouldn’t be considered a major surprise — but all four accepting in the same offseason is downright atypical. This marks the first time since the inception of the qualifying offer that more than three players have accepted a QO. With Grisham back in the fold, the Yankees’ projected payroll for the upcoming season jumps to about $263M, per RosterResource. They’ll now have about $286M of luxury-tax obligations, placing them just over the third penalty line. That means that the Yankees’ top pick in the 2026 draft will drop by 10 places, unless they’re able to sneak their luxury count back under $284M. Given the wide swath of offseason dealings that’s likely still on the table for Cashman and Co., that doesn’t seem to be a very likely outcome. In all likelihood, the Yankees will wind up in the top CBT penalty tier, just as they’ve done in each of the past three seasons. How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the rest of MLB? Turning to the rest of the league, Grisham’s early removal from the free-agent market — to a team that didn’t clearly need to retain him, no less — subtracts arguably the top center field option from the market. Bellinger, of course, can still play center but barely did so in 2025. Most teams probably consider him more of a corner outfielder/first baseman who can play occasional center field. Harrison Bader and Cedric Mullins are the two most notable options still on the market, though the former has been more of a part-time player and the latter is looking to bounce back from an awful 2025 showing. The market was light on center fielders to begin with and is even more so now, so teams looking for help at the position might be more inclined to turn to the trade market to address that deficiency.
Steve Spurrier has two endorsements for next Florida HC
Steve Spurrier is a legend for the Florida Gators. Known as "the head ball coach" down in SEC-land, Spurrier was a star both as a player and as a coach for Florida. Heck, the dang field in Gainesville is named after him. That means what he says about the Florida program carries a lot of weight, and he recently revealed that he believes there are only two people who would live up to the expectations and be a great fit for the Gators as they look to replace fired head coach Billy Napier sooner rather than later. “I know Lane Kiffin and I know Eli Drinkwitz,” Spurrier recently said, according to Daniel Hager of On3. “Obviously, either one of those guys would be super if it works out. But, it’s a long way from whoever we’re going to get as our coach right now.” The Gators are currently making a full-court press for Lane Kiffin, but they're not alone in their pursuit in the Ole Miss head coach. While the Gators reportedly flew members of Kiffin's family down to Gainesville to check things out recently, the LSU Tigers also pulled the same trick — hoping to get Kiffin to ultimatly come down to Baton Rouge. LSU is probably Florida's biggest competitor for Kiffin right now, but there's also Ole Miss to consider. It's not like the Rebels are going to let a coach who has led them to a 54-19 record over the past six seasons go without a fight. Kiffin would absolutely be a home-run hire for the Gators, though. He's a high-level recruiter and a high-level offensive mind in the SEC. Those are two things that the Gators desperately need in the wake of the middling Napier era. Not only that, but Kiffin has ties to the state. He was the head coach at Florida Atlantic from 2017-19. Eli Drinkwitz an interesting option for Florida if it can't land Lane Kiffin Drinkwitz is another interesting option, though. You'll also notice that there's a trend here for Florida, and that's going after established SEC head coaches. Napier had come from the Sun Belt conference. Drinkwitz has made Missouri a tough out in the SEC and he's won a ton of football games. His overall record at Mizzou is 45-27, though his record in big games does leave a little to be desired. He's 7-14 against ranked opponents and 0-7 against top-10 teams. Still, Drinkwitz is a young coach at just 42, so the upside is there. He's a big personality who does well on the recruiting trail, and he could do a lot of good things with the firepower of the Florida Gators behind him. There are other options out there for Florida. Washington head coach Jedd Fisch is a Florida alumnus, for instance. If Spurrier has narrowed it down to Kiffin and Drinkwitz in his mind, though, you can bet those in power at Florida are likely thinking the same thing.
Steve Kerr 'very concerned' about worrisome trend plaguing NBA
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is sounding the alarm on a troubling trend affecting the league that could potentially worsen down the line. The NBA has faced some huge crises over the past few months. The Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration issue in the offseason raised concerns about the Los Angeles Clippers potentially circumventing the salary cap. The arrests of Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier highlighted the growing threat of sports gambling on the integrity of the game. Steve Kerr highlights an under-the-radar concern While those fiascos have understandably grabbed headlines, Kerr recently expressed unease about a different issue that’s flying under the radar. The Warriors coach admitted to ESPN’s Anthony Slater that he is “very concerned” that the heightened pace of play in the modern game over an 82-game schedule may finally be taking its toll on the Association, with a growing number of soft tissue injuries impacting players of late. Eight different players have suffered soft tissue injuries over the past couple of weeks, headlined by stars like Anthony Davis, Victor Wembanyama and, most recently, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Kerr stated that the Warriors’ medical staff believes “wear and tear, the speed, the pace, the mileage” are increasing the risk of today’s players suffering such injuries. “Across the league, everyone understands that it’s easier to score if you beat the opponent down the floor, get out in transition,” Kerr said. “But when everybody’s doing that, the games are much higher-paced. Everyone has to cover out to 25 feet because everybody can shoot 3s. We have all the data. Players are running faster and further [than] before. We’re trying to do the best we can, but we basically have a game every other night. It’s not an easy thing to do.” Kerr, who has been an advocate for shortening the regular season, also lamented the struggles teams face with the league schedule, which makes it difficult for teams to get adequate recovery and practice time. With the Steph Curry-era Warriors being a huge part of the NBA’s pace and space movement, Kerr knows just how physically demanding the modern game has become. But with the financial implications that come with potentially shortening the season, Kerr understands that such a drastic change to the NBA schedule is “not happening” anytime soon.
LeBron James' admission about his role with the Lakers shows it's the beginning of the end
LeBron James has yet to play a single minute this season, and the Los Angeles Lakers are 10-4 and in fourth place in the stacked Western Conference. Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic are combining to average roughly 62 points and 17 assists per game, and the offense is finding its groove. That's why there are some legitimate concerns about how James' return might affect this team's chemistry. When asked about that, James claimed that he would adapt to anything the team needs from him. LeBron James just wants to hoop “Don’t matter. I’ve never had a position. There’s not one team, one club, in the world that I can’t fit in and play for. I can do everything on the floor,” James told the media, per Jovan Buha. This might sound like something positive, but it's also an indication of what's to come. James knows he's no longer the alpha dog on the roster, and he will have to adapt and adjust to the younger players to contribute to their championship aspirations. He's entering his 23rd season and has already missed time due to an injury that's rare among professional athletes, as sciatica injuries are relatively uncommon among young people. The writing is already on the wall, and all signs point to this being the end of the road for the four-time NBA champion. He's not likely to play back-to-backs, and he might have to settle for an off-the-ball role for the first time in his career. It was an incredible ride, and he's certainly earned the right to walk into the sunset on his own terms. At least his team seems to be in good hands.
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