MLB Player News

McCarthy kicked off the scoring with a towering solo shot to right field off Brandon Woodruff in the second inning. It was his third round-tripper of the spring. The 28-year-old outfielder is in Rangers’ camp as a non-roster invitee and has done just about everything possible to make a compelling case for a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster, hitting .571 (8-for-14) in 10 Cactus League contests. We’ll see.

Keller rolled here. He retired the first six batters he faced until an error by Brandon Lowe knocked him off that streak. From there, the Reds barely made him break a sweat. His fastball was especially effective living high and above zone while forcing eight swings-and-misses. He’s now only allowed more than three runs once this season and will enter his next start against the Diamondbacks with a stellar 2.85 ERA.

The Pirates jumped all over Reds starter Brady Singer and Davis was right in the middle of the action. He walked to lead-off the third inning which helped start a two-run rally and then blasted a 415 foot home run that nearly chased Singer from the game. He added his second homer in the fifth to push the lead out to 8-0 and the rout was on. It has not been a great start to the season at the plate for Davis, but he’s proven to be a strong option defensively and still has that great raw power.

Friedl scored the Reds’ lone run in a game where they were stymied by Mitch Keller and were otherwise blown out by the Pirates. We’re at least starting to see the inklings of Friedl getting going after a horrific start of the season. Over his last six games, he has two home runs and three doubles. Baby steps here.

It was clear almost right away that Singer did not have his best in this one. Brandon Lowe smoked a 110 mph line drive as the second batter of the game before Bryan Reynolds launched a 443 home run deep into the night sky. From there, the Pirates rallied for two runs in the third inning and after another long home run by Henry Davis and hot-shot double by Oneil Cruz, Terry Francona wisely pulled the plug on Singer. He genuinely had nothing working and will want to put this start behind him as soon as possible. However, things will not get easier with a matchup against the Cubs coming next.

The Braves entered the eighth inning trailing 6-2, but they never gave up. Dubon delivered a bases-clearing triple that made it a one-run game, then scampered home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Austin Riley to tie it. The versatile 31-year-old finished the night 2-for-5 and is now hitting .281/.328/.439 with a pair of homers and 18 RBI.

Suarez made sure that the Braves’ comeback bid didn’t go for naught, as he pitched around a one-out single from Ezequiel Tovar to work a scoreless frame and put the game in the win column for the Braves. He has proven to be more than capable in the ninth inning while Raisel Iglesias has been sidelined and now sports a minuscule 0.66 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a 14/2 K/BB ratio over 13 2/3 innings on the season while converting each of his first four save chances.

Holmes also issued three free passes in the contest while punching out four. The Rockies jumped on him for five runs in the opening inning and added on another as Mickey Moniak crushed a solo shot to open the second. Holmes dug in from there though, blanking the Rockies through the fifth inning and kept the Braves in the game — affording them the opportunity to come back. He got nine whiffs on 87 pitches on the evening, posting a CSW of 21 percent. He’ll try to get back in the win column as he carries a 4.34 ERA and 1.31 WHIP into Wednesday’s matchup against the Mariners in Seattle.

Moniak singled off of Grant Holmes in the opening inning and scored on an RBI single off the bat of TJ Rumfield. He then crushed a 439-foot (105.5 mph EV) solo shot to lead off the second inning, increasing the Rockies’ early edge to 6-0. That would wind up being the extent of their offense though. The 27-year-old outfielder has been terrific to open the 2026 campaign, slashing .319/.363/.670 with nine homers, 18 RBI and one stolen base in his first 102 plate appearances.

Quintana punched out three batters on the night and did not allow a base on balls. The lone tally against him came on a solo homer by Matt Olson in the fourth inning. He got 12 whiffs on 85 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 25 percent. Quintana exited with a comfortable 6-1 lead and in line for a victory, but the Rockies’ bullpen couldn’t hang on for him. He’ll carry a respectable 4.07 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 12/11 K/BB ratio into Wednesday’s matchup against the Mets.

Okamoto sure had Twins’ starter Simeon Woods-Richardson’s number here. He homered off him in consecutive innings to help build a lead that the Blue Jays would never relinquish. Something has clicked of late with Okamoto, who had a poor .553 OPS just two weeks ago. After this game, that’s up to a .743 OPS as he continues to grow more comfortable in his first major league season.