The Daily Briefing — Thursday, April 30
By Morgan Davis · Thu Apr 30 2026
McElvain Throws Quality Start in Double-Header Sweep Chris McElvain has spent the early part of 2026 searching for consistency at Double-A, posting a 4.85 ERA over his first few appearances. That changed Wednesday night. The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander became the first New Hampshire pitcher to record a quality start this season, tossing six strong innings and allowing just two runs while fanning five against Binghamton in the front half of the doubleheader. McElvain earned his first Double-A win in a 8-2 Fisher Cats victory. After 19 innings, his ERA sits at 4.26. The 2022 8th rounder out of Vandy has walked 12 but is showing a 3-pitch mix that gives him an outside chance of a 5th starter role. A bad start in the first game of a double-header can put a bullpen in a bad place for the next week. Getting a 6-inning quality start from McElvain is a huge lift for a minor league team, where innings are monitored very closely. The Fisher Cats offense continued in game 2, led by shortstop Jay Harry . Harry collected four RBIs across the two games, including a go-ahead two-run single in game two's 5-3 victory. That's 11 RBIs in his last ten games. Harry was a 6th round pick in 2023 out of Penn State. He's had a nice run so far this season, slashing .333/.366/.436, and profiles like an organizational second-baseman. New Hampshire sits at 13-8 following the sweep—first place in the Eastern League. Quick Hits Bryce Eldridge ’s two-homer night : Giants slugger Bryce Eldridge homered twice and drove in six runs for Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday, continuing his early-season power binge near the top of prospect leaderboards. He reached base five times, scoring each time. Ethan Holliday ’s grand slam: Rockies infield prospect Ethan Holliday crushed a grand slam on Thursday, one of the headline swings among top prospects in action and another loud swing on his April ledger. He's struggled to find consistency, batting .230 with a 25% strikeout rate. He hasn't had a multi-hit game dating back to Apr 10th. Let's see if his 5 RBI night gets him going. On-base streaks keep rolling: Jackson Hornung and Jace Bohrofen both extended their streaks to 20 consecutive games reaching base during the doubleheader. Hornung continues to move the line in New Hampshire's favor every single night. If you go back to last season, their streaks are 21 and 26, respectively. Tanner McDougal leaves start after one inning: The White Sox right-hander has been piling up strikeouts and was knocking on the door of his debut, but McDougal was forced from his start after just 1 inning and 13 pitches on Wednesday. This is the second start in a row that he's battled tightness in his right forearm and left early. Michael Turner set to earn more playing time: The White Sox cut ties with Reese McGuire paving the way for Drew Romo to get promoted to the Major League team. Turner had been sharing time with Romo and Korey Lee, but will now find himself in the lineup more regularly. The lefty swinger hit a double in the 7th yesterday that brought the Knights within one run. He's hitting .321 in limited time after a solid season in 2025.