MLB Player News

Mendoza noted that Tidwell will function as a traditional starter instead of having an opener work in front of him, as the club wants him to be able to go through his regular pregame routine. It sounds like it’s just a one-time spot start regardless of how he pitches, but he has an opportunity to possibly change some minds if he comes out and dazzles in his debut. The 23-year-old pitching prospect misses a ton of bats, but has some serious control issues as well. He’s definitely not a fit for the risk-averse fantasy managers out there.

It was Yandy Dìaz, who finished 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBI, that did the heavy lifting for Tampa Bay before leaving the contest after being hit by a pitch in the eighth inning. Palacios added a key insurance run with two outs in the eighth when he drilled an RBI double to right field off lights-out reliever Rico Garcia that somehow managed to drop out of Colton Cowser’s glove as he collided with the wall. The versatile 29-year-old should continue seeing time at second base with Ben Williamson (back) out of the lineup.

Ward took Tampa Bay starter Griffin Jax deep to left field to open the contest. It was his first round-tripper since April 19. It also wound up being Baltimore’s lone run of the contest as Jax and four relievers combined on an three-hit shutout the rest of the way.

Holliday struck out and flew out in a pair of at-bats before being lifted for pinch-hitter Jeremiah Jackson to face lefty reliever Ian Seymour in the eighth inning of his season debut. The 22-year-old second baseman is going to need some time to get back up to speed after spending nearly two months of the shelf at the start of the year recovering from a hamate fracture.

Baker got the call to protect a three-run lead against the heart of Baltimore’s order and needed just 10 pitchs to slam the door on his former team. He coaxed harmless fly outs from Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman before striking out Pete Alonso to secure the save. He’s converted 13 of 16 save opportunities to go along with a stellar 2.66 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 24/8 K/BB ratio across 20 1/3 innings.

Jax settled in nicely after serving up a leadoff homer to Taylor Ward, pounding the strike zone and needing an economical 62 pitches (41 strikes) to complete five frames while generating half of his strikeouts on his changeup. The 31-year-old converted reliever has allowed just three earned runs over 14 innings across five starts since joining Tampa Bay’s rotation back on April 26. He doesn’t offer significant strikeout upside, but he’s been consistent enough to merit consideration in deeper fantasy leagues. He’s in line for a rematch against the Orioles in a road matchup next week.

Bradish limited Tampa Bay to just one run over five innings before Yandy Díaz connected for a tiebreaking 439-foot solo shot to open the sixth. It was Díaz who tagged him for the other run on a double into the left-center field gap back in the opening frame. He’ll take the ball at home for a rematch against the Rays on Monday.

Not good. Díaz was drilled on the left hand by a pitch from Orioles reliever Yennier Cano with two outs in the eighth inning. He departed the contest after going 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBI in the low-scoring affair. The 34-year-old on-base machine kicked off the scoring by ripping an RBI double into the left-center field gap against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish in the opening frame before launching a majestic 439-foot tiebreaking solo shot to center field in the sixth inning. It was his eighth round-tripper of the season. He’ll presumably head for X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an update on his status shortly.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol added that Winn is day-to-day with left knee discomfort after imaging came back clean. It sounds like there’s optimism he’ll be ready to return to the lineup at some point this week.

Harris had the two hardest-hit balls of the game in his 111-mph single and 110-mph homer, which tied the game off Andrew Nardi in the sixth inning. It was Harris’s third homer this year off a lefty, matching his 2025 total in less than one-third as many plate appearances. He has nine homers overall and is 3-for-3 stealing bases.

15 seasons and 285 starts into his career, Pérez finally reaches double figures. He’d struck out nine four times previously. In spite of the strikeouts, it wasn’t a great game for Pérez, as six of the 11 balls in play against him were hit hard. Also, both batters he walked came around to score. Still, Pérez has a 2.85 ERA through 41 innings. He’ll face the Nationals on Sunday.