MLB Player News

This makes back-to-back games for Ohtani hitting leadoff dingers, with this one coming off Jacob deGrom. He’s now hit five homers over 15 games — a 54-homer pace — and he’s slashing a very Ohtani-like .286/.425/.571. Special stuff.

Strider was still sitting just 95 mph with his four-seam fastball, but he did maintain that velocity through five innings, so that’s a positive. His slider had a 61 percent strike rate and 54 percent whiff rate, and he threw 61 percent of his 82 pitches for strikes overall. It’s hard to see the Braves keeping him in the minors much longer. They have shifted around their rotation with Reynaldo Lopez heading to the bullpen, and Martin Perez starting on Tuesday. That would make it very easy for Strider to pitch this weekend in Perez’s spot. However, that game is in Coors, and Strider still does not look like his pre-surgery self, so we would proceed with caution.

Tong struck out six, but he also walked three while throwing 50 of 86 pitches for strikes. It hasn’t been the start to the season that many hoped for Tong, as he has a 5.68 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 25 1/3 innings. He has struck out 38 batters over that time, but he needs to get the walks and home runs in check if he’s going to push for a spot in the Mets’ rotation.

Volpe will head to Double-A Somerset to start the week because they are closer to New York, and will play three games in two days on Tuesday and Wednesday. That could mean Volpe returns to the Yankees on Thursday. If he pushes Jose Caballero off of shortstop, that could mean Caballero gets more at-bats in the outfield or third base, which might impact playing time for Ryan McMahon or Jasson Dominguez.

We knew that López’s spots in the rotation were changed to TBD, but now we know he will officially be in the bullpen for the time being. It’s unclear what mechanical issues López needs to work on, but this will open up a spot in the short-term for JR Ritchie, who will start on Wednesday. Martin Perez will also start on Tuesday; although, his spot could be taken by Spencer Strider within a week.

Working with a 9-8 lead, Lucchesi retired the first two batters in the bottom of the 10th, but he then walked Maikel Garcia and gave up the homer, which was the first for Thomas this season. Thomas is batting .226/.359/.302 in 64 plate appearances. As per usual, he’s been far more successful against lefties than righties. He should continue to be platooned accordingly.

Lugo gave up six runs in the first two innings, but once he survived that, the Royals never had reason to pull him until the seventh. Still, it’s kind of stunning to see a pitcher get the chance to give up 14 hits. It hadn’t happened since Luis Cessa and Braxton Garrett did so in 2023. Lugo hadn’t allowed more than five hits in any of his previous five starts this season. His ERA climbed from 1.15 to 2.63, so he’ll look to bounce back next weekend in Seattle.

Erceg struck out two before the Angels won the game in the bottom of the 10th. It’s Erceg’s third straight nice outing after his ERA peaked at 6.48 on Monday. He still looks like the Royals’ closer at the moment.

Detmers struck out five and allowed one run through five before giving up a two-run homer to Bobby Witt Jr. in the sixth. He was still in line for the win at that point, but the Angels coughed up the lead in the ninth. This leaves Detmers with a 4.28 ERA after six starts, though it seems like he should be doing better with his 36/9 K/BB and three homers allowed in 33 2/3 innings. He’ll face the Mets next weekend.

The Angels already had a lefty in the game in Brent Suter, but they wanted to put in more of a power guy to face Caglianone’s power. What followed was a 109-mph homer. The Angels took another blown save in the 10th, as Joey Lucchesi, pitching with a one-run lead in the Angels debut, gave up a three-run homer to lose the game. The Halos’ pen is even more of a mess now with Jordan Romano gone. Maybe Kirby Yates or Ben Joyce will eventually fix things in the ninth, but no one seems trustworthy at the moment. If one absolutely had to roster a currently active Angels reliever, Sam Bachman, who gave up two runs while getting three outs tonight, is probably the best option.

Both hits came off Reid Detmers. The homer, hit 108.4 mph to center, came in the rain in the sixth before the game was delayed in the seventh. Witt entered today with 21 singles and nine doubles on the year. Even with this bit of a slow start, he’s batting .294.