{"id":704424,"date":"2026-05-30T20:07:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T20:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/704424\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T20:07:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T20:07:18","slug":"mlbs-strange-start-plus-the-craziest-french-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/704424\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB\u2019s strange start, plus the craziest French Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Play above the level of your competition today. Inside:<\/p>\n

Baseball: Two months in, two MLB teams tell the story<\/p>\n

MLB\u2019s season crossed the two-month mark Thursday. Two teams, one in each league, explain the fun but odd vibe of the 2026 season to date:<\/p>\n

The Cubs are 31-27.\u00a0Because they play in the National League Central, they enter play today five games back of the always-good Brewers and in the thick of a wild-card hunt that will have seven teams fighting it out for three spots. (This assumes the surprising\u00a0 29-29 Nationals fade away and the 24-33 Mets, despite their giant payroll, don\u2019t get back into it.) The Cubs have one of MLB\u2019s best lineups and five Gold Glove defenders, but their pitching staff has literally fallen apart. They have\u00a0two\u00a0winning streaks of 10 games but also just got off a 10-game losing streak Wednesday, making them the second team in league history \u2014 along with the 2017 Dodgers \u2014 to have three such streaks in a season. They did it in two months.
\nThe Athletics are 27-30.\u00a0Because they play in the American League West, they\u2019ve led their division for most of the year and enter the day a game and a half behind the disappointing (to date) Mariners. The A\u2019s haven\u2019t exactly been good, but their first baseman, Nick Kurtz, is a 23-year-old titan who\u2019s on a possible Hall of Fame track in his second season in the bigs. Catcher Shea Langeliers has been the most valuable player at his position, per FanGraphs WAR. They just called up lefty Gage Jump,\u00a0Keith Law\u2019s No. 37 prospect before the season<\/a>, to add some juice to a pitching staff that has been among the league\u2019s worst.<\/p>\n

These two teams are interesting for the different things they reveal about the state of the league.\u00a0The Cubs are good, maybe great, but are no sure thing to make the postseason because they\u2019re playing in a loaded NL that has few easy outs. The A\u2019s are mediocre, but in this weird season where the AL has only a few teams that appear better than \u201cdecent,\u201d they\u2019ve got a legit October shot. Meanwhile, they play their home games in front of fewer than 11,000 fans per night, because owner John Fisher has them shacked up in a minor-league ballpark in (West) Sacramento as they wait for a new stadium to spring up (in theory<\/a>) in time for 2028.<\/p>\n

Just look at the league standings (through Thursday\u2019s games):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The NL\u2019s superiority this season has been disorienting, in a century in which the AL has almost always had a deeper collection of teams. Seven of the top 10 in\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0latest power rankings<\/a>\u00a0(published midweek) are from the Senior Circuit.<\/p>\n

Two parting thoughts: 1)\u00a0This A\u2019s team would be more fun if it still played in Oakland, a city that showed up when the club put a serious product on the field. 2) The Cubs\u00a0do\u00a0have a great lineup, but\u00a0making the postseason with four starting pitchers out\u00a0for\u00a0either the whole season or multiple months<\/a>\u00a0would be an astonishing trick. Let\u2019s keep following that story.<\/p>\n

News to Know\"\"Another French Open stunner<\/p>\n

Rather than dwell on how strange it is that a men\u2019s Grand Slam is about to be won by someone not named Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic \u2014 all missing from the French Open\u2019s Round of 16 \u2014 let\u2019s take a beat to appreciate Jo\u00e3o Fonseca, who showed yesterday why some think\u00a0he could reach that tier<\/a>\u00a0of tennis gods. The 19-year-old Brazilian was two sets down to Djokovic \u2014 previously 301-1 with a two-set lead \u2014 when he began his thrilling comeback, which\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s Ava Wallace said was best exemplified by his well-roundedness in the 5-5 game of the fifth set. A good quick breakdown of that with gifs\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0Also in Paris:<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s Zeynep S\u00f6nmez had to retire after she tripped on an advertising thingy at the back of the court.\u00a0This thing<\/a>\u00a0has got to go, right?
\nAfter losing to French prodigy Mo\u00efse Kouame, Adolfo Daniel Vallejo said the chair umpire should have been a man because\u00a0\u201cit\u2019s very difficult\u201d<\/a>\u00a0for a woman to handle a rowdy crowd. Woof.
\nCanes make Cup return at last<\/p>\n

What briefly looked like it might be a competitive series turned out to be another breeze for Carolina, who beat Montreal 6-1 in Game 5 to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since they won it in 2006.\u00a0Our writers\u2019 takeaways here<\/a>. Carolina\u2019s depth overwhelmed the Habs, who can hold their heads high after treating fans to two Game 7 wins. The Canes meanwhile have lost just once this postseason \u2014 is this the year they finally end their streak of playoff misfortunes? They\u2019ll host Vegas in Game 1 on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

More News
\nA court filing in\u00a0Brendan Sorsby\u2019s case against the\u00a0NCAA\u00a0alleges that he bet at least $90,000 in college.\u00a0Details here<\/a>.
\nUSMNT midfielder Brenden Aaronson\u00a0missed training yesterday, but you can relax:\u00a0He was getting married<\/a>.
\nKnicks center Mitchell Robinson\u00a0had surgery on his broken pinkie but\u00a0could play<\/a>\u00a0in Game 1 of the\u00a0NBA Finals.
\nThe\u00a0Magic\u00a0are nearing an agreement to make\u00a0Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney\u00a0their\u00a0next head coach<\/a>.
\nRussia\u00a0might be allowed back in international hockey tournaments.\u00a0More here<\/a>.
\nThe\u00a0Nationals\u00a0fired an executive who was secretly filmed discussing internal deliberations about politically provocative topics.\u00a0Weird story<\/a>.
\nGiants Jaxson Dart\u00a0and\u00a0Abdul Carter\u00a0had more to say about that\u00a0President Trump\u00a0rally.\u00a0Their comments here<\/a>.
\nSpeaking of\u00a0Trump, he\u00a0bought stock<\/a>\u00a0in the parent company of\u00a0UFC\u00a0in the months before the\u00a0White House UFC\u00a0event he\u2019s been promoting.
\nBrewers reliever Abner Uribe\u00a0was suspended one game for doing\u00a0a crotch chop celebration<\/a>\u00a0toward the St. Louis dugout.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Huh?<\/p>\n

\n Scott Strazzante \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Could the USMNT Cup opener not\u00a0sell out?<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t speak well of FIFA\u2019s ticket pricing for this World Cup if on June 12, the world tunes in to the USMNT opener against Paraguay and sees\u00a0empty seats\u00a0at SoFi Stadium. Thousands of tickets \u2014 going for $1,120 to $2,735 a pop in FIFA prices and much less secondhand \u2014 have yet to be sold, writes\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s Henry Bushnell. This was supposed to be one of the Cup\u2019s marquee matches. What\u2019s going on?\u00a0Henry\u2019s piece<\/a>\u00a0digs into it.<\/p>\n

Watch Guide<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa\u00a0UCL final: PSG vs. Arsenal
12 p.m. ET on CBS
PSG will be fresher than Arsenal, which had to work until last week to secure the Premier League title. (Ligue 1 plays four fewer matches per team, and PSG had their 12th title in 14 seasons wrapped more than two weeks ago. The club could also afford to rotate players more freely throughout the season.) How much does that rest matter?\u00a0Fair question<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa\u00a0NBA: Spurs at Thunder, Game 7
8 p.m. ET on NBC
Speaking of rest: The Knicks will watch with glee, having been idle since Monday. Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be in Oklahoma City or San Antonio on Wednesday. Prediction: This will be more like Game 1, which went into two OTs, than the wide-margin games that have followed it.<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

\n Illustration: Demetrius Robinson \/ The Athletic; Photo: Matthew Grimes Jr. \/ Atlanta Braves \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Five mental shifts helped Braves All-Star pitcher Spender Strider.\u00a0Maybe they can help you, too<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So a company stole $200,000 worth of LEGO from a private seller and essentially shrugged it off with \u201cWell, sue us, then.\u201d So this Napoleon Dynamite-looking kid who goes by Reckless Ben took up the seller\u2019s case, and honestly, even if he rubs you the wrong way, you gotta respect the\u00a0lengths to which he is willing to go<\/a>. I was entertained. Fair warning, it\u2019s an hour and a half long. \u2014 Levi Weaver<\/p>\n

The greatest NL Cy Young Award race ever\u00a0got even more ridiculous in May<\/a>, as Jayson Stark explains.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more of an eyeball-it drink, but this\u00a0Tinto de Verano recipe<\/a>\u00a0serves me well at the start of each summer. \u2014 Torrey Hart<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how coach John Tortorella and his \u201cguidance counselors\u201d\u00a0helped the Golden Knights hit a new level<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s described as a knee wrap, but you can\u00a0use this ice wrap<\/a>\u00a0for a hammy, a sore calf, even an aching foot. It works awesome. Big recommend, and stay safe out there. \u2014 Chris Sprow<\/p>\n

Plenty of nonalcoholic beers fail: Some are flavorless, others taste weird \u2014 many are flat-out terrible. But after taste-testing 44, Wirecutter found several\u00a0refreshing NA beers<\/a>\u00a0that come pretty close to replicating the experience of drinking real beer (intoxication aside). \u2014 Ben Keough<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our Claude Lemieux\u00a0obituary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, and check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-704424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}