MLB Player News

Had the Padres known in advance that Chan Ho Park might need to be scratched, they likely would have arranged it so that Sweeney, not Tim Stauffer, was called up to start in his place. Sweeney should be available out of the pen tonight, but he might be called on to make a start next week.

It’s happening for Griffin. He ignited rallies in the fourth, sixth, and eighth innings by starting each with a single and scored a run in all three. Plus that, he had the hardest hit ball in this game at 111.2 mph on his second inning single. Again, it feels like it’s all coming together for the 20-year-old Griffin. He now has a hit in 18 of his last 20 games and raised his .213 batting average and .573 at the start of this stretch to a .278 BA and .738 OPS after this game. We’re still waiting on the power with just three home runs through 43 games played, but he looks like the budding star we expected to see.

Mlodzinski continues to be effective with his splitter heavy repertoire. That was his primary pitch here against the Cardinals’ left-handed heavy lineup and while his command of it wasn’t necessarily great, they still chased a solid chunk of them and never squared one up. Besides that, he spotted his fastball well and wasn’t afraid to work hitters inside with it. All in all, it was a fine start and pushed him down to a 3.96 ERA on the season to go along with 44 strikeouts and 17 walks across 50 innings. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Cubs and Twins.

Early struck out five and walked one to earn the quality start. The young southpaw gave up multiple free passes in each of his first five starts of 2026 but has done so just once over his past five. He’ll carry a 3.33 ERA into a dangerous matchup next time out, at home against the Braves.

Chapman needed just 16 pitches, throwing 10 strikes and allowing a single hit. He’s allowed only one earned run in 17 2/3 innings this year, continuing to defy the aging process with consistent upper-90s heat. The Red Sox have the second-best bullpen ERA in MLB, and Chapman is obviously a big reason why. Garrett Whitlock remains his top handcuff as summer approaches.

Wacha struck out eight and walked two against his former team, needing 105 pitches to complete the quality start. He’s down to a 2.70 ERA in his age-34 campaign, which would be the lowest of his career if the season ended today. It doesn’t, and a .232 BABIP with a high left-on-base rate could hint at regression, as all his ERA indicators suggest he’s at the same talent level as recent years. Wacha will look to keep rolling next time out at home against the Yankees.

Duran might be heating up with homers in two straight and multi-hit performances in three of his past four. He moved back to leadoff before Roman Anthony went on the IL and has remained in the top spot of the order in every May game. Duran seems unlikely to repeat the career year he put together in 2024, but his performance to date is below even the mildest of expectations coming into the year. Many of his key metrics are stable, but his strikeout rate is ticking up alongside a sweet-spot rate that has plummeted.

Abreu had a 137 wRC+ through the end of April, but he hasn’t hit for quite the same power in May. The young right fielder remains a lineup fixture for Boston, as he’s hit third in 15 straight contests while missing only one game this season. He’s lowered his K% by nearly five points from 2025, down to 19.4% through Wednesday. He’ll continue his path to stardom if he can rediscover April’s power stroke alongside those plate-discipline gains.

It was his second homer in four games and his third in the past nine. The veteran slugger is working with some diminished bat speed this season, in addition to his worst barrel rate since 2016. Perez is also struggling against four-seam fastballs, which isn’t a positive development for a 36-year-old. He’s posted useful fantasy numbers every season, but it’s fair to wonder if aging is finally catching up to him. He’ll try to continue his recent power stroke when the Mariners visit Kauffman Stadium beginning Friday.

While the Cardinals were shutout here, Wetherholt still managed to get his. This was his second straight two-hit game as he’s tormented the Pirates specifically this season, going 10-for-24 against them in six games to this point. That stolen base was his sixth on the season to go along with nine home runs as he’s been a tremendous source of both speed and power as a rookie.

This was one of the strangest starts you’ll ever see. The Pirates were all over McGreevy with 10 hits and 12 hard-hit balls, they just could not get one when they needed it. In total, McGreevy stranded eight runners on base in his five-plus innings of work as he at least mixed his deep repertoire up well. He still has a pretty 2.40 ERA on the season as he heads into a two-start week against the Brewers and Cubs.