MLB Player News

Doval’s cutter velocity was down 2.4 mph from last season, which is more notable because he’s slated to be a key part of the Dominican Republic’s bullpen in the WBC. He’ll probably pitch a couple of more times before leaving the Yankees.

Reynolds reached base with a single in the seventh inning, then scored a run in the tenth as the runner starting on second, the first run of the game for Pittsburgh. He then knocked in a run with his second hit of the game in the 11th. The 31-year-old outfielder is looking to bounce back after posting a career-low .720 OPS last season.

Williams got his first work with his new team, pitching in a scoreless tied game in the ninth. He worked around a double and a walk, striking out two to keep the Pirates off the board. As long as he can continue to generate strikeouts, Williams is a great bounce-back candidate as the Mets’ closer.

Peterson did an excellent job managing traffic while holding the Pirates scoreless over 5 1/3 innings. He scattered six hits and two walks while striking out three and generating nine groundouts. One thing to note was his 90 mph average fastball velocity, down a couple of ticks from 92.3 mph last season. The 30-year-old left-hander will make his next start against the Giants in San Francisco on Thursday.

Keller was outstanding on Saturday, holding the Mets scoreless over six frames. He scattered three hits with no walks on an efficient 77 pitches while striking out three batters. Keller would get saddled with a tough-luck no-decision as the Pirates failed to get him any run support. The 29-year-old right-hander draws another tough matchup against the Orioles in Pittsburgh on Friday.

McLain had three hits four times last year. He had two walks seven times. It should surprise no one that he never did both in the same game while batting .220/.300/.343 in 577 plate appearances. He did, however, reach five times on March 31, at which point no one could have guessed what kind of season he’d end up having. Hopes are high again now after McLain hit a ludicrous .509 with seven homers in 18 games this spring. He had the hardest-hit ball of today’s game, checking in at 110.5 mph on a 387-foot double, and also got up to 107.0 mph on one of his singles.

After two scoreless innings, Singer gave up a Trevor Story homer in the third and two more runs on three singles and a wild pitch in the fourth. That got him up to 74 pitches, and since the latter half of his spring was affected by a blister, the Reds didn’t bring him back for the fifth. Singer’s sinker today was down 1.7 mph from last year. He was about one mph better in the spring, so this was probably a temporary drop. He’s due to make his next start Friday in Texas.

Pagán was asked to go more than one inning just twice last year, largely because bad things happened both times (one blown save in the ninth and one loss in extra innings). That was again the case today. With some help from home plate umpire CB Bucknor, who singlehandedly called out Trevor Story on a check swing that was very borderline, Pagán was able to bail Tony Santillan out of an eighth-inning jam, but the homer in the ninth resulted in a blown save. He did get the final out from there to send the game into extra innings. After signing a two-year, $20 million deal over the winter, Pagán’s closing gig in Cincinnati is pretty safe; it’d take a few of these in the first month of the season to open things up for Santillan or someone else in the Cincinnati pen.

Gray would have had an easier time in a two-run first if he hadn’t dropped the ball while trying to make a tag at home plate on a soft comebacker. Better yet, he could have just thrown to the catcher in the first place. But that run was still earned, because dropping a ball while trying to tag someone isn’t an error. The unearned run came in the second after a Trevor Story error. Gray’s velocity was good today, but he was a little wilder than usual and the 35-pitch first ruled out any chance of him going deep into the game. He’ll take on the Padres next.

Stewart was replaced by Dane Myers, with TJ Friedl moving from center to left and Spencer Steer going from left to first. That might have proven costly in the 11th, but Myers came through with the game-winning hit in a tie game. Manager Terry Francona’s fondness for Steer could have an impact on Stewart if the rookie goes into a lengthy slump at any point. However, Stewart is already off to a fantastic start, having gone 5-for-8 with two doubles and no strikeouts, and odds are that he’ll remain very productive.

Burger is enjoying a good start at the dish. After going deep in Thursday’s opener, he went yard again Saturday with a two-run blast off Aaron Nola in the third inning. He later added a single in the eighth for his second hit of the game and fifth through two contests. Burger was limited to 103 games last season, but still managed 16 homers. There’s plenty of power here if he can stay off the injured list.