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    A.J. Puk (shoulder) shut down for rest of season

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    AZ Relief Pitcher #33
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    Diamondbacks’ skipper Torey Lovullo told reporters on Friday that left-hander A.J. Puk (shoulder) has been shut down for the remainder of the season.

    The Diamondbacks have yet to announce whether or not he’ll require another surgery to repair the capsular strain in his left shoulder or if rest and rehab will do the trick. Either way, 2026 becomes a completely lost season for the 31-year-old southpaw.
Cubs stars struggle mightily in Wild Card round
James Schiano reviews the "disappointing" showing from the top of the Cubs lineup after getting swept by the Padres in the Wild Card round, particularly Pete Crow-Armstrong's

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  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
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    Puk was shut down from throwing with a capsular strain in his left shoulder last month and will get an additional medical opinion before the club determines his next steps. The 31-year-old lefty was on the precipice of making it back from elbow surgery before suffering the setback. There should be a definitive update on his status at some point in the coming days.
  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
    Puk underwent an MRI earlier this week after suffering a shoulder injury during the final stages of his minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno. The 31-year-old southpaw will be reassessed in one month before he’s cleared to resume throwing. He’ll ostensibly have to race against the clock to make it back to Arizona’s high-leverage mix before the regular season wraps up.
  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
    Puk was in the final stages of his rehabilitation from last year’s internal brace procedure on his elbow before the shoulder issue cropped up while pitching at Triple-A Reno. He’s been pulled off a minor league rehab assignment to undergo further evaluation and imaging. The 31-year-old high-leverage arm was trending towards a mid-June return to Arizona’s bullpen. There should be an update on his status later this weekend.
  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
    He also struck out one while throwing five of his eight pitches for strikes. He sat 95.1 mph on his fastball and topped out at 95.6 mph. He averaged 96.4 mph last season, so the velocity is down, but this was his first rehab outing. Also, the narrow gap between his fastest pitch and his average velocity suggests that Puk was not trying to rear back and let it fly in this first appearance. The 31-year-old will likely need a couple more weeks before he becomes an option in Arizona, but he could quickly become a late-inning complement to Paul Sewald when left-handed hitters are due up.
  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
    Puk will face some higher level minor-league competition after making three rehab appearances in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. The 31-year-old southpaw, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, is trending towards a mid-June return to Arizona’s high-leverage mix.
  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
    Hazen noted that Puk is likely to make seven or eight additional rehab appearances in the minors before he’s ready to jump back into Arizona’s high-leverage mix. The 31-year-old southpaw made his first rehab appearance in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League over the weekend. He figures to help bridge the gap to veteran stopper Paul Sewald, but could wind up vulturing the occasional save in certain matchups.
  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
    Puk made his return to game action for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. The 31-year-old southpaw will need a couple weeks of rehab appearances before he’s ready to rejoin Arizona’s high-leverage mix. It’s theoretically possible he’ll get a chance to work the ninth inning on occasion but it seems like Paul Sewald is going to remain the Diamondbacks closer for now.
  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
    Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said that Puk was sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball and “felt good coming out of the session.” We’d imagine he would face live hitters maybe once more before going out on a rehab assignment, but the left-hander could be back with the Diamondbacks in early June. We can’t see the team simply removing Paul Sewald from the closer’s role, but it could be more of a committe with Puk back in the mix.
  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
    It’ll be Puk’s first time facing hitters since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. The 31-year-old lefty is on track to begin a minor league rehab assignment later this week and could return to Arizona’s high-leverage mix at some point next month. He’s a name to watch in deeper mixed leagues, especially if his velocity and stuff are back to pre-surgery levels during rehab outings.
  • AZ Relief Pitcher #33
    Puk told reporters afterwards that he’s completed four bullpen sessions during his rehabilitation process from last year’s Tommy John surgery. He also added that he could potentially be ready to return to Arizona’s high-leverage mix by late May.

Rotoworld

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    William Contreras hit a go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning Saturday as the Brewers downed the Padres 3-2 in Game 1 of the NLDS.

    The Brewers were tied for 28th place in the majors in homers this year, but they got two to account for their runs tonight, with Jackson Chourio hitting a two-run homer off Robbie Ray in the third and William Contreras breaking the tie off Adrian Morejon in the seventh. Contreras’s homer was his third in 19 career postseason games. The two teams will play again Sunday, with Michael King and Logan Henderson expected to start.
  • MIL Starting Pitcher #32
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    Jacob Misiorowski surrendered two runs in four innings before leaving a tie game Saturday against the Padres.

    He struck out six. The Padres succeeded in fouling off a whopping 30 pitches in Misiorowski’s four innings, driving up his pitch count and leading to an early exit. Both runs scored in the second, an inning that featured that featured three straight singles with one out. The inning could have turned into a disastrous one after first baseman Jake Bauers tried and failed to get an out at home on a grounder., but Misiorowski was able to prevent further damage by getting Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado to ground out. Misiorowski figures to get the ball again in Game 5 if the NLDS goes the distance.
  • MIL Relief Pitcher #29
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    Trevor Megill got the final four outs in a one-run game for his first postseason save Saturday against the Padres.

    It looked like he might have given up a go-ahead homer to Ty France in the bottom of the ninth, but the ball hit a cable attached to the roof at former Miller Park and dropped into Jackson Chourio’s glove. Statcast indicated that it wouldn’t have left the park anyway, even though it seemed pretty majestic off the bat. Megill was the Brewers’ primary closer last year, but since he was returning from injury last October, he worked as a setup man and even opened once in his five appearances last postseason. With the nice showing tonight, he’s allowed a total of one run in 8 2/3 innings in nine postseason appearances.
  • SD Starting Pitcher #38
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    Robbie Ray yielded two runs in 2 2/3 innings Saturday in his Game 1 start against the Brewers.

    Ray retired six of the seven batters he faced in the first and second innings, but the third started with an infield single and then a homer from Jackson Chourio with one out. The Brewers kept rallying from there with two walks and a single. Ray, though, retired Christian Yelich for the second out, and Bradgley Rodriguez got Cooper Pratt to ground out to end the inning. The start tonight was Ray’s third career in the postseason; he had one for the D-backs in 2017 and one for the Mariners in 2022. Between the three, he’s pitched a total of 10 innings and allowed 10 runs.
  • TB Starting Pitcher #51
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    Freddy Peralta will start Game 2 of the ALDS against the Yankees on Monday.

    Peralta was one of the most effective starters in baseball during the closing month of the regular season where he posted a 0.96 ERA and 23/9 K/BB ratio across five starts in the month of September. The 30-year-old former Brewers ace will be making his seventh career postseason start and 10th appearance overall since 2018.
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    Jonathan Aranda launched a solo homer to lead the Rays to a 1-0 win over the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday.

    Aranda connected on a third-inning changeup from Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, sending a majestic 417-foot blast into the right-center field seats for his first career playoff round-tripper. It wound up being the lone run for either side in a low-scoring pitcher’s duel at Tropicana Field to kick off the best-of-five series. The two teams return to action with Game 2 in Tampa Bay on Monday evening.
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    Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked and stole a base in a shutout loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday.

    After clobbering the Red Sox for 18 runs in a pair of contests during the AL Wild Card Series, New York’s offense never got in sync against Rays ace Drew Rasmussen, who allowed just three baserunners and took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning. Chisholm figures to start every game for the remainder of the series with right-handers Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez set to follow for Tampa Bay.
  • TB Relief Pitcher #47
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    Bryan Baker fired a perfect ninth inning against the Yankees to pick up a save in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday.

    Baker got the call to protect a narrow one-run advantage in the final frame following eight dominant frames from Rays ace Drew Rasmussen to open the best-of-five series. The 31-year-old All-Star stopper, who notched a career-high 41 saves during the regular season, struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton before fanning Ben Rice and coaxing a game-ending ground ball from Cody Bellinger.
  • TB Starting Pitcher #57
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    Drew Rasmussen recorded 10 strikeouts over eight shutout innings in a win over the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday.

    Rasmussen authored one of the most dominant starts in Tampa Bay history, carrying a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before Austin Wells doubled to right field with two outs on his 101st pitch of the contest. The 31-year-old ace cruised through the early innings, retiring 15 consecutive batters after issuing a two-out walk to Ben Rice in the third. He generated an astronomical 23 swinging strikes, including 10 on his changeup alone, while allowing just seven batted balls with exit velocities over 95 mph. It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that Rasmussen, who remains relatively unknown to casual baseball fans, is the most underrated starter in baseball. He finished the regular season with a pristine 2.67 ERA across a career-high 172 innings over 30 starts and looked nearly unhittable in his first postseason outing since appearing in relief against the Guardians in 2022. He’s in line to take the ball for Game 4 of the best-of-five series, if necessary, at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.
  • NYY Starting Pitcher #45
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    Gerrit Cole was charged with one run over five innings in a loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday.

    Cole looked extremely sharp in his first postseason outing since Game 5 the World Series back in 2024. The 36-year-old veteran surrendered only five hits with a third-inning solo blast by Jonathan Aranda representing the lone tally against him. He finished with five strikeouts and only issued one walk before being lifted at just 82 pitches (58 strikes) over five strong frames. He figures to get the ball for Game 4 of the best-of-five series at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.