MLB Player News

Walker made it look easy in this one, getting Omar Hernandez on a line drive to left, Justin Johnson on a ground ball to third and Drew Waters on a called third strike to end it. He has looked quite sharp this spring, hurling seven scoreless innings with a 0.43 WHIP and an 8/1 K/BB ratio over seven innings. Is it enough for fantasy managers who were burned by him in 2025 to buy back in this season? He looks like one of the more stable mid-round closer options available in drafts.

Bolton appears to be yet another injury to the Astros’ pitching staff, and he appeared to be dealing with some sort of tightness in his shoulder area before leaving. The right-hander walked the bases loaded, and was then lifted after two strikes to Brendan Donovan. The specifics on why Bolton had to exit should be available shortly. Jayden Murray has taken over on the mound.

Fernandez plated Geraldo Perdomo with a game-tying RBI single off of Jose Alvarado in the eighth inning, then raced around to score the go-ahead run on an RBI knock off the bat of Adrian Del Castillo. The 22-year-old continues to impress with the Diamondbacks, slashing .333/.333/.528 with two homers, seven RBI and a stolen base through his first 36 big league plate appearances.

Sewald wasn’t messing around in this one, getting Alec Bohm on a swinging third strike and Rafael Marchan to pop out to second before freezing Justin Crawford on a called third strike to end the ballgame. He continues to build up job security at the back end of the Diamondbacks’ bullpen, converting each of his first five save chances with a 2.84 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and a 9/0 K/BB ratio over his first 6 1/3 innings of work.

The 30-year-old right-hander walked one and struck out two on the day. He kept the Phillies off the board through his first five innings of work, but things fell apart for him in the sixth. There, he allowed a leadoff double to Justin Crawford, a two-run blast to Trea Turner, a double to Kyle Schwarber, an RBI double to Bryce Harper and a single to Brandon Marsh before exiting. He was fortunate that none of those inherited runners scored. Gallen got just four swings and misses on 84 offerings, registering a miserable CSW of just 21 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he brings a 3.60 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and an 11/7 K/BB ratio (20 innings) into next weekend’s start against the Blue Jays.

Turner connected on an opposite-field 359-foot (97.5 mph EV) two-run shot off of Zac Gallen that tied the score at 2-2 in the sixth inning. He also singled in the ballgame. The 32-year-old shortstop is off to a bit of a slow start by his standards, hitting just .254/.299/.365 with one homer, five RBI and one stolen base through his first 15 games.

Painter was actually scratched from the start due to a migraine, only to enter in the third inning and dominate from that point onward. He scattered three hits and one walk on the afternoon, with the lone tally against him coming on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Nolan Arenado in the sixth. He generated 14 whiffs on 80 pitches on the day — five of those on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 36 percent. He’ll carry a 3.77 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 16/3 K/BB ratio (14 1/3 innings) into Saturday’s matchup against the Braves.

Scherzer was shelled Sunday, and it’s worth noting that he left his last start with forearm tendinitis. He gave up five hits and two walks, and the big blow was a three-run blast by Tristan Gray. His fastball velocity was actually up from the previous outing to 93.1 mph compared to 92.8 on Monday, so it was just a case of not fooling hitters whatsoever. Assuming all is well, he gets the chance to rebound Saturday against the Diamondbacks.