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. Thanks for being here. There's probably no more seminal adolescent moment than high school prom. So maybe you look back and are not thrilled with what you wore, exactly, or the uneven buzzcut you had (just me? OK), or perhaps even the dates who did not quite turn into lifelong romances. But cosmetic regrets aside, these are lasting memories, and that'll be especially true for the current seniors at Davie County Early College High School in Mocksville, N.C. Why, you ask? Because this group of lucky students had their prom on a baseball field … in the middle of a game! The keeper of all things Minor League Baseball, Ben Hill (who also writes a weekly newsletter that you absolutely should subscribe to, not just because it's the only space you might find more puns than here) has the how and why of this incredible story, which all starts with a burst pipe some 330 miles away at the home ballpark of the Rome Emperors. That fateful plumbing malfunction set off a chain of events, ultimately leading to a real conundrum for Winston-Salem Dash president and general manager Brian DeAngelis. The team now needed to play a game on the same night the ballpark was supposed to host the prom. It'd be impossible to do both. Unless … "We can't move a prom. This is the biggest event for these kids in their lives," said DeAngelis. "Doing a Friday day game is not a great option either. … So we said, 'Hey, let's just do it all at once. Let's have the prom and let's have a game.'" |
The fashion show must go on, as they say. Fans were invited to wear tuxes and dresses to the ballpark, and the school's prom king and queen were crowned on the field midgame. T-shirts were tossed from the stands into the club where the prom was happening, and prom-themed clips from movies like Back to the Future and Grease played on the videoboard (Carrie was notably skipped). Some years down the road, those prom photos will give the high schoolers an incredible story to tell their kids. And hey, now you have an excuse to go back and look through your own. If you dare. -- Scott Chiusano |
FREDDIE'S BACK FOR BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT |
If Freddie Freeman can hit a walk-off grand slam in the World Series, just imagine what he can do on his bobblehead night. Yes, that's right -- Freeman is back. He's expected to be in the Dodgers' lineup for Friday night's series opener against the Cubs. And it just so happens that it's Freddie Freeman Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium. • First 40K fans tonight get a Freeman Grand Slam Bobblehead Freeman is returning from his sprained right ankle, which happened when he slipped in the shower at home. He'd homered twice in three games at Dodger Stadium right before he got hurt. And the Dodgers will be extra happy to see him, because they're coming home having lost their last two series against the Phillies and Nationals. Freeman's bobblehead immortalizes his epic slam to beat the Yankees in Game 1 of last year's Fall Classic. Not that every baseball fan can't picture it already -- Freeman raising his bat in the air as his home run off Nestor Cortes soared into the night in L.A. But the big question tonight is … Can Freddie live up to what Shohei did last week? That might be tough, because Ohtani's bobblehead night ended with him winning the game with one swing against the Braves. So it wasn't a World Series walk-off home run. It still kept the defending champs undefeated at the time. So what do you say, Freddie? How about another bobblehead homer? -- David Adler |
• Royals @ Guardians (6:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): They've already seen each other in the first series of the season, when Cleveland took two of three, and they'll both, along with the Tigers, be jockeying for position atop the division all year long. It's a killer B's pitching matchup (Kris Bubic vs. Tanner Bibee), and Bubic has been a revelation for the Royals with a 0.00 ERA through two starts. |
• Angels @ Astros (8:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): It's time to talk about the Halos. They open up this series at 8-4, in second place in the AL West and coming off a two-game stretch during which they hit nine homers. Mike Trout looks like Mike Trout. Jo Adell and Kyren Paris look like a fierce young slugging duo. All of this could spell trouble for the Astros, who weren't exactly expecting to contend with the Angels as well in this crowded division. |
Hitting a home run in a big league game is obviously worthy of celebration, and hitting two is twice as nice. How about going deep twice in the same inning? Jo Adell did just that in the fifth inning Thursday against the Rays, becoming the first Halos slugger since Kendrys Morales in 2012 to accomplish the feat, and joining pretty exclusive company. Adell was the 61st player in AL/NL history to go twice in a frame -- a list that includes Hall of Famers such as Adrian Beltré (2012), David Ortiz (2008), Jeff Bagwell (1994), Andre Dawson (1978 and '85), Willie McCovey (1973 and '77), Al Kaline (1955), Joe DiMaggio (1936) and Hack Wilson (1925). The most notable two-homer frame came on on April 23, 1999, when the Cardinals' Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in one inning. -- Ed Eagle |
The Major League hits leader isn't who you'd expect. It's Jacob Wilson, the A's 23-year-old rookie shortstop, whose 19 hits entering play Friday are tied with Kyle Tucker for the most of any hitter in the big leagues. Wilson is batting .396 through his first 13 games of 2025. Above is a Statcast visualization of Wilson's 19 hits; just try to look away before watching 11+ times. |
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.
Who's hot right now: It's tough to find someone seeing the ball better than Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio, who has hits in his past 5 games and faces left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (6.10 ERA in 2 starts) in Arizona tonight.
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