MLB Player News

Oberg underwent another surgery for blood clots in his elbow in November. He’s missed the last three seasons, and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to pitch again.

In a game without much offense, O’Hearn accounted for three of the Pirates’ five total hits. The most meaningful of which was a two-out knock in the first innings just after Bryan Reynolds drew a walk. That set up Marcell Ozuna and Nick Gonzales to drive in the game’s only two runs. On the season, O’Hearn has a .333 batting average with three home runs and 13 RBI despite sitting against every left-handed pitcher the Pirates have faced thus far.

Is Santana securely back as the Pirates’ closer? He’s now received their last three save opportunities and converted two of them after it looked like Gregory Soto could’ve been zeroing in on the role. Instead, the left-handed Soto pitched the eighth inning of this game and faced lefties James Wood and Daylen Lile. Santana has the inside track at the moment, but expect Pittsburgh to still take the situation into account as to who gets the opportunities for saves.

A very strange statline for Abrams that will be great for his on-base percentage. His Nationals were shutout, but he got himself on base every time he came to the plate. It’s been a banner season for him so far with a .367 batting average and 1.175 OPS through 18 games. He’s hitting the ball harder than he ever has and our fingers are crossed that his breakout is finally here.

Irvin fought his way through five effective innings here despite not having anywhere close to his best command. Too many curveballs and sinkers found themselves in the heart of the plate and he was fortunate the Pirates didn’t do much damage against them. On the flip side, the two runs he did allow came via a two-out blooper by Marcell Ozuna followed by an infield single from Nick Gonzales. This game always finds a way to even itself out. Irving is scheduled for a two-start week against the Braves and White Sox coming up. Proceed with caution.

Stewart launched a pair of three-run opposite-field homers against Giants veteran starter Tyler Mahle in the first two innings of the contest to record the first multi-homer performance of his young career. He finished 2-for-4 at the dish in the one-sided affair. The 22-year-old burgeoning slugger leads all rookies with seven round-trippers across 18 games while hitting .323 (20-for-62) with 17 RBI and three steals this season. To say he’s been a revelation would be an understatement. It’s too early to make any definitive predictions, but Stewart looks like he’s going to be an impactful fantasy contributor for years to come.

Suárez hasn’t made a ton of noise in his return to Cincinnati so far. That may start to change as the weather begins to turn. The 34-year-old slugger took Tyler Mahle deep, going back-to-back with rookie sensation Sal Stewart in the opening frame, for his third round-tripper of the season as part of a three-hit effort.

De La Cruz’s fourth-inning homer off Giants starter Tyler Mahle traveled a staggering 442 feet after leaving his bat at a crisp 109.3 mph. He also struck out three times in the contest. The 24-year-old fantasy superstar off to a nice start this season, especially in the batting average department, hitting .282 (20-for-71) with 15 runs scored, six homers, 11 RBI and five steals through 18 games.

It wasn’t a dominant outing by any stretch, but Lowder did enough to turn in a quality start and pick up a win on a night where Cincinnati’s offense slugged four homers and scored eight runs through four innings. He struck out four, issued one walk and gave up only five hits, including just one for extra bases. The 24-year-old former top pitching prospect boasts a serviceable 3.52 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 15/7 K/BB ratio over 23 innings this season. He’ll look to keep the momentum going when he squares off against the Rays in a favorable road matchup on Monday.

Mahle’s first outing against his longtime former team got off to an inauspicious start when he was drilled by a line drive in the first inning. He managed to remain in the contest to serve up a staggering four round-trippers on an 80-degree evening in Cincinnati. He also walked five batters and struck out six. It was easily one of the worst outings of his 10-year run in the big leagues since 2017. The calamitous outing raises his ERA from 4.30 to 7.23 through four starts. He’ll attempt to rebound when he faces the Dodgers on Tuesday in San Francisco.

McKinstry appeared to suffer an injury when collided with Jac Caglianone for the second time in the contest during the seventh inning. He finished 1-for-2 at the plate and was replaced by Wenceel Pérez, who promptly delivered a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning. There should be an update on his status after the game.