MLB Player News

The Cardinals decided to pull Pujols, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina all at the same time in the fifth inning, even though it clearly harmed their chances of winning. Of course, that’s the kind of performance art a team can get away after already having clinched a division. With the three RBI today, Pujols tied Babe Ruth for second on the all-time list at 2,214. He’s 83 behind Henry Aaron for first place.

Chourio smacked a two-run double off the right-field wall in the third inning before taking Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela deep with a 413-foot blast to left field a couple frames later for his fourth round-tripper of the season. The 21-year-old fantasy superstar’s five-strikeout performance on Opening Day feels like a complete afterthought since he’s hitting .315 (17-for-54) with four homers, 16 RBI and one steal through 12 games.

Turang, who divulged to reporters that he’s been wearing a pair of former Brewers superstar Ryan Braun’s gloves from his 2011 NL MVP campaign, extended his season-opening hitting streak to 12 consecutive games with a run-scoring single against Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela in the third inning. He eventually came around to score on Jackson Chourio’s two-run double later in the frame. He got on-base three times and scored three runs in the one-sided affair at Coors Field. He’s off to a phenomenal start this season, hitting .327 (16-for-49) with three homers and two steals through 12 games.

Alexander gave up six hits, including a solo homer to Ryan McMahon, and didn’t stick around long enough to collect a win, despite getting double-digit run support. He struck out three and issued a pair of walks. He’s in line to square off against the Tigers on Tuesday his next time out. He won’t work deep into starts, but he’s done a nice job helping stabilize the back-end of Milwaukee’s starting rotation.

Senzatela reeled off two scoreless frames to open the contest before a five-run implosion in the third, which was capped off by a two-run homer from William Contreras. He was charged with four additional runs in the fifth when he surrendered four hits, including a three-run homer to Jackson Chourio. He finished with three strikeouts and handed out only one free pass. He’s not a recommended fantasy option when he faces the Dodgers on Monday in his next outing.

Alvarado entered the game in the eighth inning with Michael Harris II up and the go-ahead run on first. He got Harris to ground out to shortstop and then came back out in the ninth inning after Trea Turner had put the Phillies up by one. Alvarado would then allow singles to Marcell Ozuna and Austin Riley, but also get a ground out and strikeouts of Matt Olson and Sean Murphy to close out the win. It never seems easy for Alvarado, but he’s clearly the most valuable reliever in the Phillies’ bullpen right now and needs to be rostered in all formats.

Turner took a ninth-inning pitch from Raisel Iglesias and hit it 402 feet at 101.4 mph to break a 3-3 tie. It’s Turner’s third home run off of Iglesias despite only having eight total at-bats against him in his career. It was Turner’s first home run of the season. Despite the spring discussion of having Turner lead off and run more, the 31-year-old has settled in as the two-hitter in Philadelphia but does have four steals on the season to go with his one home run, which fantasy managers love.

Riley deposited a seventh inning home run off of Joe Ross 417 feet at 107.6 mph off the bat. He also added a 105.4 mph single in the ninth inning. Riley now has two home runs and five RBI on the season and seems to be starting to heat up a bit over the last few games.

Walker also walked three and struck out five, but needed 94 pitches to get 14 outs. He posted a 21 percent whiff rate and 23 percent CSW and only had his sinker perform as a consistently solid offering on the night. We know that Walker hasn’t allowed a run yet this season, but he doesn’t look that inspiring on the mound and is a risky bet against the Giants next week.

Baldelli added that he’s hopeful it’ll be a minimum stay for López, who has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. It’ll most likely be top pitching prospect Zebby Matthews, who has posted a 36 percent strikeout rate this season at Triple-A St. Paul, coming up to take the ball on Sunday against the Tigers in his place, which makes him worthy of a speculative pickup in all fantasy formats.

Holmes has had his schedule yo-yo’d around by the weather early in the season, and it showed a bit on Wednesday as he posted just a 45 percent zone rate and struggled to command pitches other than his four-seam fastball. Still, he posted a solid 24 percent whiff rate and had his slider register nine whiffs on 15 swings. We didn’t see his new changeup used much at all, but the inconsistency for Holmes can be forgiven due to having so many days off since his last time on the mound. He’s projected to have a two-start week against the Blue Jays and Twins next week and could be a decent option for that.