MLB Player News

If you watched Estévez this spring, you had a pretty good idea this was coming. The 2025 AL saves leader averaged 91.2 mph with his fastball tonight, down 4.7 mph from last year. His hardest pitch, at 92.3 mph, was actually the one Dominic Smith hit for the game-ending grand slam. Smith gave up four hits, all on hard-hit balls, and walked two while getting just one miss on 10 swings. He simply can’t serve as a major league closer until he gets some stuff back, and unless the Royals are blinded by loyalty, they should turn to Matt Strahm and Lucas Erceg, in either order, in the eighth and ninth. We’d grab Erceg first, but best not to write off Strahm. Both pitched scoreless innings tonight, with Strahm getting the seventh and Erceg working the eighth.

Adames came into this one 2-for-15 at the plate through four games. He doubled that in a big game Tuesday in San Diego. Adames jumped on the second pitch he saw, taking German Márquez deep for a solo blast to put the Giants on the board in the first inning. He knocked a base hit in the second and drove in a run with a single in the sixth. A double in the eighth inning would make it a four-hit night for the 30-year-old shortstop.

Chapman knocked a base hit and scored a run in the first inning, then led off the third with his first home run of the season, a 349-foot shot that just snuck over the left field wall off German Márquez. The 32-year-old third baseman is looking to bounce back after he was limited to 128 games due to a hand injury in 2025.

Webb stranded a pair of baserunners in the first inning, then got into some trouble in the third as he struggled to find the strike zone. He issued his third and fourth walks of the game to put two runners on before a pair of base hits brought three runs in for the Padres. Webb would settle in nicely, retiring his last ten straight batters as he completed six frames for the win while striking out five. The 29-year-old right-hander will take on the Mets in San Francisco on Sunday.

Márquez surrendered a solo homer to Willy Adames on the second pitch of the game. A walk and two hits brought two more runs in to score for the Giants before Márquez got out of the inning. He then stranded the bases loaded in the second. Matt Chapman sent one over the left field wall for a solo blast in the third. Márquez would be done after three frames at 65 pitches, giving up eight total hits. The Padres were hoping to get something out of the 31-year-old right-hander in his first season out of Colorado. That’s looking unlikely. He lines up for his next start next Monday against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Fernandez got the call for his MLB debut with Pavin Smith (elbow) landing on the injured list. His first game could not have gone better. The 22-year-old knocked his first base hit in the second inning, then slugged his first career homer with a solo shot off Casey Mize in the fourth. With the team trailing by one run with two runners on in the eighth, he took Kenley Jansen deep for a three-run blast to put the D-Backs ahead. Two of his first three hits leaving the yard is certainly a way to start his career. It’s unknown how much playing time Fernandez stands to get, but you have to think two homers certainly earn him more looks in the DH and infield mix.

Greene’s lone hit of the game drove in two runs as he doubled off Brandon Pfaadt in the third inning. The Tigers would score all five of their runs in the frame before falling to Arizona. The 27-year-old slugger is 4-for-21 in the early going with four RBI as he searches for his first homer after slugging 36 in 2025.

After the Diamondbacks took a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth, Sewald was summoned to close things out in the ninth for the second straight day against Detroit. He shut the door on the Tigers, striking out the side in a clean inning of work to notch his second save of the season. There’s no reason to think the team will go to anyone else but Sewald for save chances if he’s this effective.

Pfaadt worked two clean innings, retiring his first seven batters, before falling apart in the third. The Tigers tagged him for five runs on six hits before he could escape the frame. Pfaadt bounced back with three more scoreless innings, giving up just one more walk. It seems to be the typical Pfaadt experience as he struggles to avoid the blowup inning. The 27-year-old right-hander will take the mound against the Braves in Atlanta on Sunday. His spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy once Merrill Kelly (back) is ready to return from the injured list.

Mize was working around baserunners through his first three innings of work. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third before giving up his first run on a solo homer by Jose Fernandez in the fourth. Mize settled in to complete two more clean frames, completing six innings. The splitter was a real neutralizer for him, inducing nine of his 15 whiffs to collect nine strikeouts. It was an impressive first start for the 28-year-old right-hander. Mize will take on the Twins in Minnesota on Monday.

Rice was not retired once in this one, reaching in all four plate appearances. He started with a double in the first to drive in the game’s first run, then drew a pair of walks before knocking a base hit in the eighth. The 27-year-old slugger has reached base eight times through 17 plate appearances while starting at first base in all four games against right-handed pitching, sitting for one start against a left-hander.