Thursday, April 09
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.
The new City Connect jerseys just dropped. And they’re sick.
We’ve got eight teams with new City Connect uniforms for 2026: the Braves, Brewers, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Rangers, Reds and Royals.
They were all unveiled today — so go grab one for yourself.
The City Connects are on sale at MLBShop.com, nike.com and fanatics.com, and at the MLB Flagship Store in New York and team stadium stores.
The Braves, Brewers, Orioles, Padres, Reds and Royals will all debut their City Connects on the field this weekend, while the Pirates will wear theirs for the first time next Friday, April 17, and the Rangers will wear theirs the Friday after that, April 24.
All eight teams will wear their City Connect uniforms regularly throughout the season, mainly for certain weekend home games.
This is the second edition of City Connects for these teams — call it City Connect 2.0. Here’s the full lineup of the new looks:
Braves: Atlanta’s new City Connects were inspired by the Braves’ powder blue jerseys of the ’80s, but have a new modernized design. More >
Brewers: The Brew Crew’s new blue-and-cream jerseys read “Wisco” across the chest and evoke Wisconsin’s lakes, shores and bluffs, while the state’s outline surrounds the “W” on the cap and the Barrelman sleeve patch. More >
Orioles: “BMORE” is front and center on the O’s new jerseys (with the Oriole bird perching on top), while the old-school “B” on their caps is a throwback to the 1890s. More >
Padres: San Diego’s bi-national culture is the inspiration for the Padres’ Día de los Muertos-themed City Connects, which include marigold-patterned trim on the uniform, a bone-colored hat and pants and a beautiful La Catrina sleeve patch. More >
Pirates: Pittsburgh’s black-and-gold City Connects are, naturally, all about piracy, from the Jolly Roger on the cap and sleeve to the pirate-style “Pirates” font on the front of the jersey. More >
Rangers: The Rangers’ City Connects are big and bold, with a bright red jersey and cap and “Tejas” emblazoned across the front in a white outline. More >
Reds: Cincinnati’s unis are a nod to the vest-style jersey the Reds last wore more than two decades ago … and they’re bringing back the pinstripes. More >
Royals: Kansas City, the City of Fountains, is using a fuchsia-to-blue uniform color gradient as an homage to its waterways, with an “R” logo that’s a twist on the team’s original 1969 mark. More >
A CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH IN NY
If you miss the World Baseball Classic already, we don’t blame you. But don’t worry — we get a rematch of the USA-Venezuela championship game tonight.
Well, it’s really the D-backs vs. the Mets at Citi Field (7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network Showcase/MLB.TV/SNY/Dbacks.TV).
But it’s also Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Nolan McLean. The two starting pitchers for the WBC final are dueling again.
McLean, who looks like the ace of the future for the Mets, had electric stuff in that game, with four strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball for Team USA. But the wily veteran Rodriguez pitched the game of his life for Venezuela, holding the juggernaut U.S. lineup to just one hit over 4 1/3 scoreless innings with four K’s.
Venezuela ultimately won the game, and the WBC championship, but McLean has the chance for a small bit of revenge tonight if he can outpitch E-Rod in the rubber game of the series in New York. The 24-year-old is 2-0 with a 0.92 ERA in five career starts at Citi Field.
REMEMBERING DAVEY LOPES
Baseball lost one of the greatest basestealers in history yesterday. Let’s take a moment to remember Davey Lopes, who died Wednesday at age 80.
Lopes was a four-time All-Star second baseman who was part of the vaunted Dodgers infield of the 1970s. He won a World Series with Los Angeles in 1981, defeating the rival Yankees.
Lopes stole 557 bases in his 16-year MLB career, including a Major League-leading 77 steals in 1975 and an NL-best 63 steals in 1976. He stole bases at a higher success rate than legends like Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock.
After his playing days were over, Lopes continued to pass on his baserunning knowledge as a coach in the Majors for many years.
Manny Randhawa has more on Lopes and his legacy.
SHOHEI’S STREAK ENDS. HIS OTHER ONE LIVES
Shohei Ohtani entered yesterday’s two-way start against the Blue Jays with the longest active on-base streak of any hitter in MLB and the longest active scoreless-inning streak of any MLB starting pitcher.
Shohei’s pitching streak finally came to an end during the game (although the run he allowed was unearned, leaving him with a perfect 0.00 ERA through two starts in 2026). But his on-base streak as a hitter is still going strong. And it’s getting into rare territory.
Ohtani has reached base safely in 43 consecutive games going back to last season — tied with none other than Ichiro himself for the longest on-base streak ever for a Japanese-born player. Ohtani is also tied for the Dodgers’ sixth-longest on-base streak of the Modern Era (since 1900). But he still has a long way to go to catch Ted Williams and his all-time record of 84 games.
The Blue Jays did get the last laugh yesterday with a comeback win in the series finale of the World Series rematch against L.A., but Ohtani and the Dodgers took two of the three games.
DRESS LIKE THE POPE AT THE PARK
There are tons of great giveaways around the Major Leagues this season, but the White Sox just announced a particularly fun one.
They’re giving away Pope hats before their game on Aug. 11 against the Reds in honor of Robert Prevost — aka, Pope Leo XIV — a Chicago native and White Sox fan.
The limited number of Pope-themed hats are included as part of a special ticket packagefor the game, which includes a designated area for the White Sox fan “Popes” to sit.
A BAT FLIP YOU CAN EAT
The Braves are the latest team to get in on the crazy ballpark food trend.
Atlanta is introducing a seven-inch behemoth burger called “The Bat Flip.”
What’s in it? Two pounds of beef, for starters … plus braised short rib, crispy pork belly, melted cheese, jalapenos, fried crispy onions, lettuce, tomatoes, chipotle aioli and a fried egg … all between a toasted brioche bun.
Can you even open your mouth wide enough to eat it? Find out at the 1871 Grille in Section 113 at Truist Park.
The Braves return to Atlanta tomorrow to face the Guardians at 7:15 p.m. ET in the first game of a six-game homestand.
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RJ Hamster 