MLB Player News

Hernandez went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, an additional run and a double in Saturday's 6-3 victory against the Rangers.

Hernandez broke a 1-1 tie and gave Los Angeles a lead it would never lose with a three-run blast off Jack Leiter in the first inning. The slugger was in a mini three-game slump coming into Saturday, going 1-for-11 with four strikeouts over that span, but he's been very good overall at the outset of the campaign. Hernandez is slashing .306/.327/.531 with three home runs, 11 RBI. 10 runs and a stolen base through 13 games.

Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a 6-3 victory versus Texas on Saturday.

After the Rangers' Brandon Nimmo led off the game with a homer, Ohtani returned the favor with a long ball of his own leading off the Dodgers' half of the first inning. The two-way star didn't go deep until his seventh game this season, but he's now homered four times over his past eight games. Ohtani has yet to steal a base this yet, but he's otherwise been quite productive, slashing .283/.412/.528 with the four long balls, nine RBI, eight runs and 11 walks through 14 games as a hitter while having yet to allow an earned run across 12 innings spanning two starts on the mound.

Leiter (1-1) allowed five runs on five hits and four walks while striking out four batters over 3.2 innings in a loss against the Dodgers on Saturday.

The Rangers handed Leiter a 1-0 first-inning lead, but he quickly gave that back when Shohei Ohtani led off the bottom of the first with a homer. Teoscar Hernandez went deep for a three-run shot five batters later, and Texas never made up the deficit. In addition to the long balls, Leiter struggled with his control, throwing just 54 of 93 pitches for strikes and issuing four walks after handing out just two free passes over his first two starts. Leiter had been pitching well coming into Saturday, with a particularly impressive 17:2 K:BB across his first 11 frames, so the poor outing against a star-studded Dodgers lineup shouldn't cause fantasy managers to give up on him just yet. The right-hander's next start is lined up to come on the road versus the Athletics.

Manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that the Dodgers are monitoring Diaz's fastball velocity, Jack Harris of the California Post reports.

Diaz had a rough outing Friday, allowing three runs in the ninth inning against Texas to blow his first save since joining the Dodgers. More notably, his fastball velocity is averaging 95.9 mph in the early going, which is over a tick below his 97.3-mph average velocity last season. Diaz wasn't available to pitch Saturday after throwing 23 pitches Friday, and Roberts didn't commit to having him available Sunday either, saying, "We'll see how he feels tomorrow," per Harris. However, Roberts also noted that Diaz's velocity isn't much of a concern while pointing out that it's usually lower early in the campaign, so fantasy managers probably have no need to panic.

Vesia struck out the only batter he faced to earn a save Saturday against the Rangers.

The Dodgers took a three-run lead into the ninth inning and turned to Blake Treinen to close things out. Treinen got two outs but also allowed two baserunners on a walk and an error, and Vesia was brought in to face lefty Evan Carter, who was then swapped out for pinch hitter Danny Jansen. Vesia got the job done, fanning Jansen on six pitches to end the contest. The save was Vesia's first of the season after he recorded five saves each of the past two regular seasons. He's one of Los Angeles' top setup men but probably won't see many more save chances since Edwin Diaz, who was unavailable Saturday (per Jack Harris of the California Post) after throwing 23 pitches Friday, is locked into the closer role.

Sheehan (2-0) earned the win over Texas on Saturday, pitching six innings and allowing three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six batters.

Things didn't start out promisingly for Sheehan, as he served up a homer to Brandon Nimmo to begin the game. Nimmo added another homer -- this time a two-run shot -- off Sheehan in the sixth, but that wasn't enough to prevent the right-hander from logging a quality start and finishing with the victory. Sheehan has allowed four homers and 11 total earned runs through 15 innings for a 6.60 ERA, but he has two wins under his belt and doesn't seem to be at any risk of losing his starting role in the near future. He's projected to next face the Rockies in Colorado.

Julien went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a stolen base, two walks and two runs scored Saturday against the Padres.

Julien led off for the sixth consecutive game, and he continues to excel in the role. He has 10 hits across 21 at-bats in that span, driving in five with five runs scored and two stolen bases. While Julien began the season as a bench bat, he should continue to get regular run at second base and designated hitter so long as he remains productive.

Moniak went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four total RBI in a loss to the Padres on Saturday.

Moniak opened the scoring with a two-run blast in the first inning and added a solo shot in the third. He later singled in the eighth frame for his fourth RBI of the game. Moniak is thriving in the early portion of the campaign, slashing .300/.313/.800 with five home runs, nine RBI and six runs through nine contests. He's started each of Colorado's past seven games and seems to have an earned an everyday spot in the lineup.

Meidroth went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Saturday against the Royals.

Meidroth began the season relatively well, hitting .270 with three doubles and five runs across 10 games. However, he's gone just 1-for-16 in his last four starts, striking out seven times in that span. Meidroth has an elevated 25.4 percent strikeout rate through 59 plate appearances this season and is hitting only .208.

Machado went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run against the Rockies in a 9-5 victory Saturday.

Machado's third-inning, two-run blast pulled the Padres to within a run after Colorado built a big early lead. The star third baseman has struggled to get his bat going, hitting just .193 through 14 games, so he'll look to Saturday's homer to spark a hot streak. Machado does have a 13:12 BB:K this season, and he's managed to get on base at a .367 clip despite the low batting average.