MLB Player News

The 35-year-old spent Spring Training with the Marlins but didn’t make the 40-man roster and was granted his release. Casali has struggled offensive slashing .201/.311/.315 over the past three seasons. He spent last season with the Reds where he had a .175 batting average across 96 plate appearances — his worst average since his first season in the majors with the Rays in 2014.

He’ll presumably head for X-rays to see if there’s any structural damage. Prior to exiting, Pfaadt had allowed just one run on seven hits while punching out six opposing batters over his 4 1/3 innings of work. He also had a 2-1 advantage and lost his shot at a victory with his early removal. The Diamondbacks should have an update on his status before the night is through.

Albies got the scoring started in the home half of the first inning with an RBI single off of Ranger Suárez that scored Jarred Kelenic. He then rode home on Marcell Ozuna’s two-run blast. Albies tacked on a mammoth 431-foot (113.7 mph EV) two-run shot off of Suárez in the fifth inning that made it a 5-1 ballgame. He finished the evening 2-for-4 and is now hitting .266/.320/.423 with eight long balls and 43 RBI on the year.

Ozuna tattooed a first-pitch curveball from Ranger Suárez for a 414-foot (106.0 mph EV) two-run shot that increased the Braves’ early edge to 3-0 and proved to be the difference in the ballgame. He also smacked a double in the ballgame, finishing the night 2-for-4. On the season, the 33-year-old slugger is now hitting .298/.379/.571 with 23 homers and 72 RBI on the season.

The 24-year-old rookie right-hander scattered seven hits on the night and didn’t allow a base on balls. The lone tally against him came on a run-scoring single off the bat of Trea Turner in the third inning. Aside from that, he was terrific. Schwellenbach generated 12 whiffs on 81 pitches on the evening — five of those on his splitter — while posting an elite CSW of 37 percent. He’ll see if he can replicate this fine outing and further improve upon his 5.02 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 38/9 K/BB ratio (37 2/3 innings) when he does battle against the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Thursday.

Turner got the Phillies on the board with a run-scoring single off of Spencer Schwellenbach in the third inning that plated Johan Rojas. That would be all of the offense that they could muster in the contest. The 31-year-old shortstop has been terrific when he has been on the field this season, hitting .340/.383/.505 with seven homers, 23 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 50 games.

The 28-year-old southpaw racked up seven strikeouts on the night while issuing a pair of free passes. Most of the damage done against him came via the long ball, with Marcell Ozuna clubbing a two-run homer to cap off a three-run first inning and Ozzie Albies smacking a two-run homer in the fifth. Suárez got 13 swings and misses on 91 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 27 percent. This was the third straight rough start for Suárez who has seen his impeccable 1.75 ERA swell to 2.58. He’ll look to get back on track and finish the first half strong when he takes on the Athletics at home on Friday.

After homering in each of his final three at-bats on Friday night, Smith left the yard in his fourth straight at-bat with his 369-foot (101.6 mph EV) two-run shot off of Freddy Peralta in the opening inning on Saturday. In doing so, he became just the third player in Dodgers’ history to homer in four straight at-bats, joining Adrian Gonzalez (2015) and Shawn Green (2002). That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night, but it played a significant role in propelling the Dodgers to victory. On the season, the 29-year-old backstop is now slashing .276/.348/.509 with 15 homers and 55 RBI.

Ohtani started the home half of the first inning by working a walk off of Freddy Peralta. He then rode home on Will Smith’s two-run blast. The 30-year-old superstar was hit by a pitch with two outs in the second inning and swiped second base, but the Dodgers were unable to cash him in. He then crushed a two-out triple off of Bryse Wilson in the sixth inning but was stranded there. Ohtani also crushed a 430-foot (109.9 mph EV) solo shot off of Bryan Hudson in the eighth inning that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 5-3. He finished the night 2-for-2 officially and is now hitting .316/.402/.643 with 28 homers, 65 RBI and 18 stolen bases on the season.

The Dodgers deployed Evan Phillips in the eighth inning to face the heart of the Brewers’ lineup with a one-run lead, and he served up a game-tying homer to Christian Yelich. The Dodgers answered right back with a pair of runs of their own though and Vesia came on to make sure that it stood up. He got Rhys Hoskins on a swinging third strike, Blake Perkins on foul out to first and Andruw Monasterio on a fly ball to left to end it. He has now converted five saves while registering a stellar 1.36 ERA in 39 2/3 innings.

The 35-year-old southpaw walked two batters while striking out three on the day. The Brewers scratched out a run in the opening inning on a two-out RBI single by Willy Adames. Paxton then served up a solo homer to Rhys Hoskins in the fourth. The Big Maple got just five swings and misses on 83 pitches on the night, leading to an underwhelming CSW of just 19 percent. Paxton will look to finish the first half strong as he carries a 4.24 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 56/40 K/BB ratio (80 2/3 innings) into Saturday’s matchup against the Tigers in Detroit.