MLB Player News

Doval was charged with three unearned runs on three hits while striking out one over one inning, picking up a blown save during Friday's 10-9 extra-innings win over the Mariners.

Doval entered Friday's game with a 6-5 lead in the sixth frame and struck out the first batter he faced. The 27-year-old followed the strikeout by allowing two singles, with both runners stealing bases and later coming around to score. On the bright side, Doval escaped the inning with no earned runs. The right-handed reliever has made four appearances this season, recording a 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 2:0 K:BB and two saves across four frames.

Maldonado went 1-for-2 with a solo home run Friday in a 3-1 loss to the Cubs.

Maldonado supplied San Diego's only run of the game with a solo blast to left field in the third inning. The veteran catcher had gone just 2-for-11 heading into Friday, and his homer against Chicago was his first of the campaign. Maldonado and Elias Diaz have split work behind the plate for the Padres pretty evenly so far this season -- the former has played in five games and logged 13 plate appearances while the latter has registered 16 plate appearances and has also appeared in five contests.

Betts went 0-for-3 with a walk, a run and a stolen base in a 3-2 loss to the Phillies on Friday.

While Betts didn't notch a hit in the contest, he gave his fantasy managers some cause for celebration with a ninth-inning steal of second base. The star shortstop then came around to score when the next batter, Tommy Edman, launched a two-run homer. Betts is a pretty good bet to reach double-digit steals given that he has achieved that mark in every season since 2015, though he can be regarded as more of a consistent than a prolific base-stealer given that he hasn't swiped more than 16 bags in a regular season since 2019.

Edman went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Friday in a 3-2 loss to the Phillies.

The Dodgers trailed 3-0 heading into the ninth inning before Edman made things interesting with a two-run blast off Jordan Romano. The long ball continued a surprising early-season power surge for Edman, who is tied for second in MLB with five homers through nine games. While his current .428 ISO is unsustainable, it's worth noting that Edman's ISO increased every season from 2021 to 2024, and he posted a career-best .180 ISO during the regular season last year (albeit in a limited sample of 153 plate appearances).

Candelario went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Brewers.

Candelario rapped his first extra-base hit of the season to deliver the second run of Cincinnati's two-run eighth inning, the first runs the Reds scored in 35 innings. He's batting .214 (6-for-28) as part of a team-wide batting malaise to the start the season. Other than the 14-run outburst Monday against the Rangers, the Reds have averaged 1.71 runs per game over seven contests.

Espinal started at second base and went 2-for-3 with a walk in Friday's 3-2 loss to Milwaukee.

Espinal filled in for an injured Matt McLain (hamstring), who was available as a pinch hitter. That McLain entered the game suggests he might be ready to go Saturday. Espinal has appeared in six games this season while seeing time at second base, third base, left field and right field.

Encarnacion-Strand went 0-for-3 with an RBI in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Brewers.

Encarnacion-Strand ended the Reds' 35-inning scoreless streak with a run-producing sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. It was the first productive plate appearance in a while for Encarnacion-Strand, who doesn't have a hit over his last 20 plate appearances.

Happ went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Friday's 3-1 win over the Padres.

The Cubs only had three hits as a team, and Happ provided most of them from the leadoff spot in an effective performance. The veteran outfielder is off to a bit of a slow start, batting .214 with a .630 OPS through 10 games, but he should be able to get going. Happ has had an OPS of .750 or better in each of his previous eight MLB seasons.

Turang went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 3-2 win over the Reds.

A number of middle infielders classified as light-hitting have been displaying surprising power early in 2025, a group led by the Dodgers' Tommy Edman (five homers in nine games), but Turang has put himself among that group with some loud contact of his own. The 25-year-old absolutely smoked a Nick Martinez cutter in the fifth inning Friday, depositing it 418 feet away over the right-center-field fence for what proved to be the winning runs. Turang had seven homers in 155 regular-season games last year with an average exit velocity in the 14th percentile, and a hard-hit rate in the ninth percentile. Through his first eight games of 2025 he's already gone yard twice, and while the sample size is very small, he boasts an AEV in the 84th percentile and a hard-hit rate in the 60th percentile.

Miller retired all three batters faced in a scoreless seventh inning to earn a hold in Friday's 6-4 win over the Nationals.

Miller logged his first hold of the season. He entered after the Diamondbacks took a two-run lead in the top of the seventh. This was Miller's first high-leverage outing and might not be the last given how well he's performed. Over five innings this season, the right-hander has yet to allow a run or a hit while striking out five with one walk.