MLB Player News

The Cardinals just keep on winning extra-inning games. They’ve won in extras on back-to-back nights and three times in their last three tries. Coincidentally, all three have come against the Brewers. Baker played the hero in this one with his 10th inning single off Hoby Milner to set up the victory. Baker has shown impressive power with two homers, a double, and nine RBI in just 19 at-bats since being called up, but isn’t much more than a short-side platoon partner with Alec Burleson at DH right now.

One of the most under-appreciated stars in all of sports, Ramírez is a marvel. His first blast gave the Guardians a 1-0 lead in the first inning, his second tied the game back up in the fifth, and his last tacked on a much needed insurance run in the ninth before the Angels rallied late. All in all, the three combined to travel nearly 1,200 feet cumulatively and marked the second time in Ramírez’s illustrious career that he’s hit three home runs in one game. Also, it tied him with legends Jim Thome and Albert Belle for the most multi-homer games in Cleveland’s history. He will be looked back upon as one of the most productive players of this generation when his career is said and done.

It seems as if Clase has carried his postseason struggles into this new year. He’s now allowed three earned runs this season across just four innings. He only let in five runs all of last season! His velocity and stuff still look good so there’s no cause for concern, just a harsh reminder of the fickle nature of relief pitchers from year to year. Also, he threw 27 pitches in this game and many of them came under high stress which could make him unavailable for the next couple of days.

That’s now back-to-back inefficient starts by Williams to start his season. He faced 18 batters in his three innings of work and never looked comfortable on the mound. Walks were pervasive and it felt like he was battling in every at-bat. His stuff was still excellent and will always be his saving grace, but Williams needs to find a way to be less predictable as it became clear he was starting all of his at-bats with fastballs before trying to put hitters away with sweepers. He has a golden opportunity to get back on track in his next scheduled start against the lowly White Sox.

Paris didn’t draw the start in this one, but entered the game after Luis Rengifo was forced to leave due to injury. He notched two more hits off the bench and is a remarkable 6-for-11 on the season. Most notably, he was called on to replace Rengifo over both Tim Anderson and Nicky Lopez, who were also on the bench. Any absence by Rengifo could open the door for Paris to play every day. If that’s the case, he will instantly become viable in deeper leagues as a stolen base flier.

Soriano started this game strong with six strikeouts through the first three innings. The Guardians did jump on him for two runs to that point though and wound up chasing him in the sixth. The last run charged to him came around to score in that sixth inning after relievers Ryan Zeferjahn and Reid Detmers – yes, he’s technically a reliever – allowed the Guardians to rally. There was a bizarre point in that inning where three batters had reached base via walks from three different pitchers. Nevertheless, Soriano’s stuff is exceptional. Led by his sinker and then slider, knuckle-curve, and splitter which each forced multiple swings and misses it feels like there’s a great pitcher in here that’s just a tweak or two away. He’s scheduled to face the Rays next time out.

Called on for the spot start without many expectations, Alexander was fantastic in this one. He attacked the Reds’ hitters with repeated cutters and fastballs up in the zone and had pinpoint command with each pitch. Together they forced four pop-ups and a handful of lazy fly balls. The kicker is… his stuff looked good. His fastball had legitimate life, his cutter was lethal, and his changeup had plus run. He also threw 83 pitches, which was far more than expected after throwing 47 in relief last weekend. The Brewers are starved for pitching depth and Alexander would become mildly interesting in deep leagues should he stick in the rotation. Him lasting for 83 pitches is also a good sign that he’ll be trusted to start again.

Megill finally earned his first save as the Brewers have quickly climbed to .500 after their disastrous opening series against the Yankees. He leaned on his excellent fastball and evaded a one-out single to set the Reds down. Despite the lack of early usage, he should still be considered a trustworthy source of saves.

Turang has been a revelation at the plate so far this season. The home run was his second in a week, which constitutes a power surge for him, and he’s had at least one hit in every game he’s played. That consistency has pushed Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy to move Turang to the lead-off spot as most of the rest of their lineup has stumbled out of the gate. Ironically, Turang only has one stolen base. He’d stolen nine bases before hitting his second home run last season and a whopping 19 before hitting his third. Baseball is a funny sport sometimes.

Hit-less as a team through seven innings and scoreless as a team through 35 innings until the late in this game, Encarnacion-Strand did all he could to break the dam for the Reds. He smacked four hard-hit balls, including three hit harder than 100 MPH, but to no avail. He, like the rest of his teammates, is having a tough start to the season at the plate. There’s still so much power in his bat though and is someone worth stashing as long as he continues to play every day despite being mired in a 0-for-19 stretch.

Martinez didn’t have his A-game in this one. His command was shotty and he threw ball one more often than strike one. Being behind so many hitters forced him into long, laborious at-bats and he was lucky to allow just three runs. Still, his cutter and sinker are so difficult to square up that it often helps him to avoid serious damage. He’ll look to get on track in his next scheduled start against the Giants out in San Francisco.