MLB Player News

Doval’s struggles created a save chance for Taylor Rogers, who retired the only batter he faced for his second save of the year. Three of the runs were unearned because of Doval’s own error on a comebacker from Kris Bryant. Doval has definitely been shakier over the last month than he was at any point in the first two-thirds of the season, but he’s still 37-for-45 in save chances.

Realmuto missed Wednesday’s game after fouling a ball off of his right foot during Tuesday’s contest against the Giants. The 35-year-old backstop initially thought that he had broken his foot, so it’s pretty remarkable that he’s able to return to action after only a couple of days off. He’ll bat eighth against Diamondbacks’ right-hander Michael Soroka.

O’Neill has caught whatever has been going around the Orioles’ clubhouse and will be held out of action on Friday night as a result. Leody Taveras will take his place in the Orioles’ lineup and will bat seventh against Giants’ right-hander Landen Roupp.

Donovan had been feeling a bit under the weather so the Mariners thought it wise to give him the night off. Leo Rivas will start in his place at third base and bat ninth while J.P. Crawford serves as the M’s leadoff hitter against Tatsuya Imai and the Astros on Friday evening in Seattle.

Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman told reporters on Friday that the plan is for Volpe to serve as the team’s starting shortstop upon his return. He missed the entirety of spring training, so he’s going to need at least a few weeks’ worth of at-bats in the minor leagues before he’s an option to help out at the Major League level. Barring any setbacks, he should be ready at some point in early May.

We aren’t quite sure what Beck did to Rockies’ new skipper Warren Schaefer, but he has found himself in the starting lineup in just seven of the team’s first 14 ballgames now. The fact that he’s hitting .080 (2-for-25) obviously doesn’t help, but it’s hard to get into a rhythm at the plate when you’re seeing sporadic at-bats. Tyler Freeman will start in right field and bat second for the Rockies against Padres’ right-hander Walker Buehler on Friday evening.

The Pirates couldn’t get anything as they were no-hit by Shota Imanaga for the first six innings of the ballgame. That all changed when Imanaga exited in the seventh though. Ryan O’Hearn immediately spoiled the no-hit bid with a leadoff single off of Caleb Thielbar and Reynolds followed by ambushing a first-pitch curveball for a 385-foot (106.1 mph EV) two-run shot that wound up being the only scoring by either team in the ballgame. Reynolds finished the day 1-for-4 and is now hitting .245/.345/.449 with three long balls and seven RBI on the young season.

Cruz worked Cubs’ left-hander Shota Imanaga for a two-out walk in the second inning — the only baserunner the Pirates would muster in six innings against the southpaw. He then singled with two outs in the seventh and swiped second base to get himself into scoring position, but the Pirates were unable to cash him in. The 27-year-old slugger has been sizzling at the plate to start the season, slashing .300/.352/.580 with four homers, 12 RBI and a pair of steals.

Gregory Soto, who has shared the late-game duties with Santana this season, worked a scoreless eighth inning ahead of him, though he did walk a pair of batters. Santana then took over and made quick work of the Cubs, needing just 13 pitches (nine strikes) to dispatch of the Cubs including strikeouts of Dansby Swanson and Michael Busch. The 29-year-old hurler has yet to allow a run over seven innings on the season while posting a minuscule 0.43 WHIP and a 6/2 K/BB ratio.

The 27-year-old right-hander also issued three free passes on the day while recording a pair of strikeouts. It wasn’t nearly as efficient as Shota Imanaga who fired six no-hit innings on the other side of the diamond, but Mlodzinski was able to work himself out of any jams that he got into and kept the Cubs’ offense off the board just the same. He got just three whiffs on 81 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll tote a 2.51 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and a 15/6 K/BB ratio (14 1/3 innings) into a nice matchup against the Nationals at home on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, the Cubs were unable to scratch out a single run in the contest and wound up getting shut out in Suzuki’s highly anticipated return to the diamond. The Cubs plan to ease him back into action, so don’t be surprised if he sits on either Saturday or Sunday.