MLB Player News

Watson was drafted in the Rule 5 draft by the A’s, but his chance to make his MLB mark will come with Boston. The 28-year-old will need to pitch well this spring to have any shot of making the Opening Day roster.

Ryan Walker got the save chance in the ninth with the Giants up by one run and surrendered the lead on a pair of hits before going to extras. He got one more inning and held the Nationals scoreless in the tenth. Kilian worked the 11th and fell in line for the win with a shutout 12th after the Giants took the lead. It was a rare traditional save opportunity blown by Walker, who holds a 4.00 ERA over nine innings. Kilian has been outstanding, giving up one run with 14 strikeouts over 10 frames. It’s difficult to gauge how this situation will play out, but expect more mixing and matching between Walker and Kilian, with Erik Miller and Keaton Winn also in the mix.

Houser surrendered a leadoff homer to James Wood in the first inning. He got into trouble in the second, giving up four more runs, three earned, on three hits, a walk, a hit batter, and an error. Houser finally tossed a clean inning in the third and settled in nicely, keeping the Nationals from scoring again until he departed with two outs in the sixth at 88 pitches. He struck out just one. The 33-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 5.40 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and an 11/7 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings. He’s scheduled for a start against the Marlins in San Francisco on Friday.

Cavalli worked around a hit in the first inning, then allowed a run in on three hits in the second. The Giants plated two more runs in the third, both unearned after a runner reached on an error. Cavalli’s day would be done after the fourth at 92 pitches. While it was still an inefficient outing with a high pitch count, he threw 63 pitches for strikes and did not walk a batter for the first time this season. The 27-year-old right-hander will look to build on that when he takes a 4.12 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, and an 18/12 K/BB ratio over 19 2/3 innings into a tough home start against the Braves on Thursday.

With Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen both playing regularly, a third catcher makes sense for the Royals. Unless someone is hurt, we assume Tyler Tolbert will be swapped out. A utilityman on the roster for his speed, he’s 0-for-4 on the season. The Royals will also have to free up a spot on the 40-man.

De Los Santos has been up and down twice already this season, and it probably won’t be the last. The Marlins will activate Kyle Stowers off the injured list before Sunday’s game as the corresponding move.

Turang had an outstanding day at the plate, reaching four times and driving in three of the team’s four runs. After drawing a walk in the third inning, he drove in a pair of runs with a two-run blast off Sandy Alcantara in the fifth. A base hit in the sixth would bring home the third run. The 26-year-old second baseman is up to four homers and six steals while slashing .299/.434/.582 with 19 runs scored and 14 RBI across 84 plate appearances.

Hicks knocked a base hit to lead off the second inning and crossed home on a single to score Miami’s first run. He later added a second hit to lead off the fourth. The 26-year-old backstop has been incredibly solid through the first few weeks, slashing .313/.352/.531 with four homers, 12 runs scored, and 18 RBI across 71 plate appearances.

The Brewers had gone into the bottom of the ninth with a four-run lead. Jake Woodford had started the inning and loaded the bases with one out. Manager Pat Murphy gave Uribe the nod to close it out. He induced a pair of groundouts to get the job done for his second save. Both Uribe and Trevor Megill had pitched three of the last four days, with Megill likely unavailable after picking up the save on Friday. Uribe has two saves since Murphy indicated he’d consider giving Megill a break from closing duties. Expect both to be in the mix, for now.

Woodruff was outstanding on Saturday, holding the Marlins to one run on three hits and a walk over seven frames. He tossed 70 of 92 pitches for strikes and struck out four batters on 12 whiffs despite sitting 91.8 mph on the fastball, down from his season average of 92.5 mph. The 33-year-old right-hander has made it work, posting a 3.42 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and a 20/4 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings. He’ll look to keep it going against the Pirates in Milwaukee on Friday.

Alcantara worked around traffic throughout this one, stranding one runner in the first inning, two in the second, and escaping a bases-loaded jam in the third with a ground-ball double play. The Brewers would finally bring one in to score in the fourth on a walk and a base hit. Brice Turang added two more with a home run in the fifth. Alcantara’s day would be done after five innings. It was the first time this season he didn’t go six frames. He also tied a career high with six walks and recorded just one strikeout. The 30-year-old right-hander will look to get right after a back-to-back tough starts when he takes a 3.06 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 23/12 K/BB ratio over 35 1/3 innings into a start against the Giants in San Francisco on Friday.