MLB Player News

Nothing official from the Diamondbacks yet, but all indications are that Lovullo will be back after managing to guide Arizona to an 80-82 record this season despite an avalanche of injuries to key contributors. The 60-year-old skipper has gone 664-692 (.490) over nine seasons at the helm since 2017. He could potentially be on the hot seat next season since Arizona has missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after making it to the Fall Classic back in 2023.

It appears to be nothing more than a regular day of rest for the 25-year-old first baseman. Christopher Morel will start in his place and will bat sixth against Braves’ right-hander Spencer Strider on Thursday evening in Miami.

The homer, hit 342 feet down the left-field line, initially looked like a traditional homer after bouncing off the top of the wall, but it never actually left the field of play. Fortunately, Lowe didn’t stop running, and with José Fermín falling down after colliding with the wall, Lowe scored without a throw. It’s his 13th homer of the year. Lowe is currently sporting the same .256 average he did last year, but with the extra homers and walks, his OPS is up 122 points (.906 to .784).

An Iván Herrera homer was the only damage. Ashcraft averaged 97.4 mph with his fastball today and he really did it throughout; he averaged exactly 97.4 mph in the first and 97.4 mph in the seventh. The pitch had a 41 percent CSW, and it was never hard hit the five times it was put in play. It’s going to be fascinating to see how Pirates handle Ashcraft in the second half of the year, given that his career high in innings is 118, but he’s crushing it right now. He has a 2.81 ERA and a 65/16 K/BB in 62 1/3 innings through 10 starts.

May gave up an inside-the-park homer in the first, and a couple of singles led to another run in the fourth. That was it until the sixth, when he walked a batter with one out and gave up a double and two singles to end his afternoon. Fortunately, Gordon Graceffo was able to produce an inning-ending double play after taking over then. May struck out seven and allowed just three hard-hit balls in the game, though he surrendered six hits anyway. His ERA is back up to 5.00, but his peripherals are considerable better than that. The issue is that he has a .340 BABIP that far exceeds his career mark of .268. He should remain in the rotation and face Milwaukee next time out.

Ozuna got off to a rough start today, losing a challenge in the second inning on a pitch that barely caught the upper-left corner, but he went on to single in runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Following a brutal first month, he’s hitting a respectable .232/.368/.427 with three homers and 10 RBI through 15 games in May.

Herrera lost a seven-game hitting streak last night, but he made up for it today with one of his better games from the DH spot this year. He’s hitting .227 with 29 strikeouts in 144 plate appearances as a DH, compared to .328 with nine strikeouts in 79 plate appearances as a catcher. It’s probably something of a fluke, but it’s quite possible catching helps him stay in the flow of the game better. Still, even if that’s the case, Pedro Pages’ superiority on defense possibly outweighs the potential offensive gains.

It’s the second time in the past four games that the super-utility man finds himself on the bench now that Ha-Seong Kim and Ronald Acuña Jr. are back and healthy. Dubón has done a nice job for the Braves this season, slashing .256/.311/.392 with three homers and 26 RBI in 190 plate appearances.

Once again, the 39-year-old hurler will add a fresh arm that’s capable of working multiple innings to the Braves’ bullpen Carrasco has pitched well in two appearances for the Braves this season, firing 2 1/3 innings of shutout baseball with a 0.43 WHIP and a 2/0 K/BB ratio. Victor Mederos was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move.

The 24-year-old hurler was just called up from Triple-A on Tuesday. He threw 25 pitches over two scoreless frames during Wednesday’s game and was likely going to be unavailable on Thursday so the Braves opted to swap him out for a fresh arm. He should get another opportunity with the big league club in relatively short order.

Grisham left Wednesday’s game against Toronto with left knee discomfort. He’ll miss at least one more contest, and Spencer Jones will patrol centerfield in his absence.