MLB Player News

Lowder (2-1) earned the win Wednesday against the Giants, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four over 6.2 innings.

Lowder ran into trouble in the second inning, allowing three straight baserunners, capped by a two-run double from Daniel Susac, but Lowder settled in well after that, tossing four straight scoreless frames. The 24-year-old found himself running into traffic again in the seventh, when he exited with runners at the corners, and one inherited runner later came around to score. Despite the late blemish, Lowder delivered another strong outing and has now posted quality starts in two of his last three appearances. Through 23 innings, the right-hander owns a 3.52 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a 15:7 K:BB, with a road matchup against Tampa Bay on deck.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with an RBI on Wednesday against the Nationals.

Ozuna drove in one of Pittsburgh's two runs with a single in the first inning. That extended his hitting streak to three games and continued some needed improvement, as he had only two hits across his first 39 at-bats of the year. During his modest three-game hit streak, Ozuna has one double, two RBI and a run scored.

Albies went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Marlins.

It was homer No. 4 on the campaign thus far for Albies, who opened the scoring Wednesday with his second-inning blast. The switch-hitting second baseman is off to a nice start in 2026, slashing .288/.338/.466 with five extra-base hits, eight RBI and 13 runs scored over 80 plate appearances. Albies has hit safely in 10 of his 13 outings in the month of April.

Iglesias picked up the save Wednesday against the Marlins, allowing one hit and no walks in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out three.

The veteran right-hander pounded the zone Wednesday, with just one of his 12 pitches landing for a ball. Iglesias continues to show no signs of slowing down in his age-36 campaign -- he's up to 7.2 shutout innings so far to go with a 10:0 K:BB and four saves in as many opportunities. As long as he continues to deal, Iglesias should remain locked in as Atlanta's primary closer over Robert Suarez.

Paddack (0-3) took the loss Wednesday against Atlanta, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out four.

Paddack held Atlanta in check for the most part, but he wasn't particularly efficient with his pitch count. The right-hander couldn't get through the fifth inning, finishing with 92 pitches and failing to cover at least five frames for the third time in four starts to begin the season. Paddack appears to have a soft matchup against the Cardinals in his next scheduled start, but he still won't be a recommended option for most fantasy managers while carrying a 5.59 ERA and 1.45 WHIP across his first 19.1 innings of 2026.

Elder (2-1) notched the win Wednesday against the Marlins, allowing four hits and two walks in 5.2 scoreless innings. He struck out seven.

Given how well he was pitching, it was pretty surprising to see Elder get pulled from the outing at just 79 pitches. The right-hander threw 53 strikes on the evening, submitting his third scoreless start already this year. Elder hasn't yet touched the 90-pitch mark this season -- Atlanta could have some form of workload restrictions in place -- but he has a microscopic 0.77 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 23:7 K:BB over 23.1 innings thus far, making him close to a must-roster fantasy player ahead of a favorable matchup against Washington next week.

Santana picked up the save Wednesday against the Nationals, hitting a batter but allowing no other baserunners in a scoreless ninth inning. He did not record a strikeout

After it looked as though left-hander Gregory Soto was Pittsburgh's preferred closer earlier this year, Santana might be taking back over as the club's favorite for saves. The right-hander sports a 1.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 6:4 K:BB with two saves over his first nine innings, though he did blow a save Saturday against the Cubs. Soto has four holds to one save chance, whereas Santana has two holds to his three save opportunities.

Mlodzinski (1-0) earned the win Wednesday against the Nationals, allowing no runs on two hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out five.

Working in long relief behind opener Mason Montgomery, Mlodzinski delivered six sterling frames for the Pirates on Wednesday. It was easily the best outing of the year so far for the right-hander, who set a season high in innings and gave up a season-low two hits. Mlodzinski has a 1.77 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 20:8 K:BB over his first 20.1 innings (three starts), and it remains to be seen how Pittsburgh will opt to deploy him in his next scheduled appearance versus Texas.

Irvin (1-2) took the loss Wednesday against the Pirates, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out five.

It was a bit of a hard-luck loss for Irvin, who yielded just four singles but did struggle with his control. The right-hander tossed five innings for the third time in four starts to begin the year, though he's yet to give up fewer than two runs in any of them. Irvin has a lackluster 6.16 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 21:11 K:BB over his first 19 innings, so he'll remain difficult to trust in fantasy lineups against Atlanta next week.

Perez will be called up from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Friday's game against the Phillies, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Perez elected free agency Tuesday, returned to Atlanta on a minor-league pact Wednesday, and he's now set to rejoin the big-league rotation Friday. The 35-year-old lefty owns a 3.14 ERA and 0.91 WHIP through 14.1 innings on the season, and he'll match up against a Philadelphia offense that's posted just a .229 batting average (22nd in MLB) across its first 18 games.