Watson batting eighth in MLB debut

Ruiz is back handling the catching duties for the second time in three games after missing time for precautionary reasons with a possible head injury last week. It doesn’t appear to be a significant concern moving forward.

“I get on the field, and I feel like I’m going to throw up,” Donovan told MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer. “And then I take ground balls, and I have to take every other one because I’m going to throw up. So that’s kind of been the process to this point.” Donovan is still hoping to return before the end of the season, but it’s difficult to be optimistic at this point.

The Padres needed a 40-man roster spot for Nick Pivetta (elbow), so they’ll move on from Hunt, who was hitting .301/.381/.617 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI in 42 games at Triple-A this season.

Brito was called back up on September 1st when rosters expanded, but now he will head back to the minors to make room for Nick Pivetta on the active roster.

This was reported on Sunday, so the Padres have now made the roster moves to make it official. Pivetta last appeared on an MLB mound on April 12th, throwing three scoreless innings against the Rockies before leaving with a flexor strain. He did throw 4 1/3 innings in his last rehab outing, but he’s been out for so long that fantasy managers should expect considerable rust in his first few appearances.

The game took just 1:51 with Luzardo and Grant Holmes putting up zeroes. Kyle Schwarber homered in the eighth for the only run of the game. Luzardo allowed only singles to Matt Olson in the fourth and Michael Harris II in the eighth while throwing 109 pitches in his first ever complete game; he’s topped out at eight innings three times previously. The Phillies needed it, too, since closer Jhoan Duran had pitched back-to-back days. Luzardo moved to 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA. He’s going to face the Braves again in Atlanta this weekend.

Holmes struck out six. It’s his fifth scoreless start since the beginning of August, though one of those ended after three innings because of a rain delay. His peripherals still aren’t great, but he has a 2.61 ERA in his last 14 outings since late June. He’ll likely face the Phillies again at home on Sunday.

Schwarber took Didier Fuentes deep in the eighth to break a scoreless tie. It was his 43rd homer of the year, putting him three ahead of Pete Crow-Armstrong for the major league lead. He also struck out for the 200th time today, reaching that mark for the third time in his career. He’s three ahead of Colson Montgomery in topping the majors in that category. Alas, it doesn’t look like a Three-True Outcomes triple crown is a possibility, as he’s only fifth with 90 walks and 11 behind teammate Bryce Harper.

But he did catch a shutout, at least. Realmuto is batting .217/.293/.348. That batting average is 35 points lower than his career-worst mark of .252 from 2023.

McClavy goes on to say that, “The club hopes that, by shortening his starts or even mixing in relief outings, it could help Harrison reset in time to play a meaningful role in the postseason.” Since coming back off the injured list after a battle with forearm tightness, Harrison has allowed 24 runs (17 earned) on 38 hits in 27 IP with a 33/13 K/BB ratio. Obviously, it’s hard to trust him in redraft leagues with the plan for his usage being so vague.