MLB Player News

Donovan jumped on Nathan Eovaldi right away, taking the first pitch of the game deep to right field for a solo blast. He added a base hit in the third for his second hit of the game. The home run was the third of the season for the 29-year-old infielder. While not exactly known as a power hitter, Donovan is pulling the ball more than ever. If he can sustain that profile, he could certainly tap into more power than he’s previously displayed, with a career-high 14 in 2024.

Sheets was taking his second at-bat off the bench after replacing Ty France when he homered off Victor Vodnik to complete a ninth-inning rally that saw the Padres go from down 8-5 to up 10-8. It was his third homer in 79 plate appearances this year. He’s batting .227/.266/.467 as the Padres’ usual first baseman against right-handers. Today’s game was actually the first of the year in which he didn’t get the nod versus a righty.

The thin air of Colorado did Waldron’s knuckler no good today, so he threw the pitch just half as often as he did last time out. He has a 12.46 ERA after two starts, which might lead to a Triple-A demotion. If not, he’ll face the Cubs on Wednesday.

Miller’s record stayed perfect today, but he actually went without a strikeout. Tyler Freeman grounded out and Troy Johnston singled before Ezequiel Tovar grounded into a double play. It’s the first strikeout-free inning of the season for Miller, who had fanned 25 of 38 batters he’d faced this year. Last year, he went without a strikeout in four of 60 appearances and just once after joining the Padres.

Vodnik came in with two on and two out in the eighth and struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. The ninth, though, opened with a walk, three singles and a homer to plate five runs. Vodnik then struck out Freddy Fermin before being pulled. It’s the second blown save for Vodnik, who saw his ERA jump from 3.60 to 7.59. It might open the door for Antonio Senzatela or Seth Halvorsen to get save chances in Colorado, but we’d suggest continuing to avoid the entire situation.

Bogaerts and Ramón Laureano, who had three hits and two RBI today, have been the Padres’ most productive regulars this season, but while that got Laureano a promotion to the leadoff spot, Bogaerts still isn’t batting any higher than fifth. It’s kind of funny, since the Padres initially thought about using Bogaerts in the leadoff spot and dropping Fernando Tatis Jr. to cleanup this year. Bogaerts, though, keeps hitting below Tatis, Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado despite having the better OPS by 150-200 points.

Moniak homered off Matt Waldron in the first, which wasn’t much of a surprise. However, taking Adrian Morejon deep in a lefty-lefty matchup in the eighth was very impressive. Before that, Moniak, a platoon player, was 0-for-10 with five strikeouts against lefties this season. He’s batting .368/.393/.825 with seven homers in 57 at-bats against righties.

Well, he made contact against Mason Miller. That’s not nothing. Tovar is batting .204/.245/.323 in 98 plate appearances. Statcast thinks he’s been unlucky not to hit closer to his career averages, but it’s not like his career averages are anything special. Tovar was a quality player as a 22-year-old sophomore in 2024, but he took a major step backwards last season and hasn’t shown any signs of rebounding. It’s really disappointing, especially for a Rockies team committed to him through 2030.

Benintendi’s 410-foot fly off Paul Sewald was his second homer of the season. He’s hitting just .216/.266/.392 with a 35 percent strikeout rate, but the White Sox have been letting him lead off and DH against right-handers. It’s quite the long shot, but they’d love to see him get hot and open up the possibility that someone might want him in trade, even if the White Sox would surely have to pick up most of the ~$28 million remaining on his contract to make it happen.

Martin fanned seven, besting his previous season high by one. It’s his fourth straight quality start, and he’s now 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA. It still seems like something of a fluke; his 22 percent strikeout rate is just average, and his 51 percent hard-hit rate against is one of the highest marks in the leagues. He’s been a flyball pitcher, too. He’ll get the Angels at home next time out. We’d continue to avoid him in mixed leagues.

He allowed two hits and struck out three. After opening four times earlier this month, Taylor has been a traditional reliever in his last three outings, which is definitely best for his AL-only value. He came into the day with no decisions, no saves and one hold in nine appearances this season.