Finally! Griffin gave himself a great birthday gift when he blasted his first career home run to break the 0-0 tie in this one. It was an impressive shot for the young right-hander, taking a fastball from Brandon Woodruff over the right-center fence and he grinned all the way around the bases. Later on, Griffin singled and stole a base to help ignite another Pirates’ rally and chipped in a two-out, two-strike, two-run single in the eighth inning to finally put his game out of reach. It’s been a slow first few weeks in the big leagues for the star prospect, but a game like this could certainly open the floodgates and help start a hot streak.

Jeff Hoffman will attempt to iron out his issues in lower-leverage appearances. The Jays won’t say as such, but this probably makes Louis Varland the favorite for saves. Pitching well for the Jays at the moment are Varland (0.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched), Tyler Rogers (0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched) and Braydon Fisher (2.08 ERA in 13 innings pitched) — saves will likely come out of that trio. But Varland is the easy pickup in fantasy leagues where he’s available.

The Giants sent just 28 men to the plate today. Luis Arraez singled in the fourth and then was erased on a double play. There was also a double play in the second after a Hyeseong Kim error allowed Heliot Ramos to reach. The only runner left on base by the Giants was Arraez after a first-inning walk. It’s just the fourth time ever that Glasnow, who has never thrown a complete game, has finished eight innings; he did so twice in 2021 with the Rays and once with the Dodgers in 2024. He’s now 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA and a 38/7 K/BB through 34 innings, and he’ll face the Marlins next week.

He walked away with a win in his first start. Ritchie allowed solo shots to James Wood and C.J. Abrams and little else, though he was bailed out in the second inning by Daylen Lile being caught stealing after Drake Baldwin threw to second with runners on the corners and Lile drifted too far off third base. Ritchie averaged 94.7 mph with his fastball, but wound up leading with his curveball against a lefty-heavy Nationals lineup and generated a 27 percent whiff rate overall with a trio of secondaries. This start probably isn’t worth throwing out a huge chunk of the FAAB for, but Ritchie could get some runway in this rotation if the Braves start to believe in him. He’d look to be in line to start against the Tigers next week.

Not good. Harris was pulled in the top of the eighth after going 3-for-4 with two RBIs against the Nationals bullpen. We expect to hear more about this in the next 24 hours, but we wouldn’t be surprised if this led to a stint on the injured list. Harris was hitting .318/.356/.565 in what has been a major bounceback season for both him and the Braves, with six homers and two stolen bases in his first 24 games.

It’s unclear how the Mets will juggle their lineup with Ronny Mauricio up as of this typing, but presumably he or Bo Bichette will take over at shortstop. It’s not great news for Lindor, as Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he’ll be out for “quite a bit” and that there’s no timetable for his return. It’s a more severe calf strain than the one Juan Soto suffered. It could be months, rather than weeks, before Lindor returns.

He’ll grab the start against the Yankees and, despite the tough matchup, should be an interesting streamer in shallow leagues. Tolle had a 3.00 ERA in three starts in Triple-A, striking out 19 and walking four in 15 innings. He hasn’t started since April 12, so he should be well-rested for this assignment.

Arenado also scored three runs and drew a walk. These used to games used to happen (relatively) routinely for the 35-year-old, and it’s a nice nostalgia trip to see one from the 35-year-old. He’s still slashing a mundane .263/.286/.438, but he’s certainly looked better than he did for most of 2025 in the small sample of April.

Ohtani scattered five hits while not issuing a walk. He pitched brilliantly while hitting 100 mph on the gun, but he got a goose egg of support to prevent him from picking up the win. He also went hitless and didn’t draw a walk, so his 53-game streak of reaching base is over. He’s scheduled to return to the mound Tuesday against the Marlins, and he’ll take a 0.38 ERA into that contest. A remarkable baseball player.

Cruz also was caught stealing and struck out three times. No one will remember that, and everyone who had a chance to see his majestic three-run homer in the ninth inning off Jalen Beeks that traveled 432 feet and hit the top of the foul pole with an exit velocity of 116.9 mph. Incredible. Cruz has always been a special talent and has done some nice things in the league, but it’s fair to say that he’s looked like a different type of guy to begin 2026 — in a good way. We’ll see if he can keep it up, but the ability to do so is absolutely there.