MLB Player News

Higashioka went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 13-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Higashioka has hit three homers over four games in June. His increased success at the plate has seen him split the starts at catcher with Luis Campusano, who should still be considered the Padres' primary backstop. Through 62 plate appearances this year, Higashioka is slashing .180/.194/.410 with four long balls, six RBI and six runs scored. His OPS was as low as .377 on May 26, but it's up to .604 now thanks to his increased display of power.

Kim went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in Saturday's 13-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Kim has gone deep in back-to-back games, and he's logged seven extra-base hits among his 10 knocks over the last 10 games. The shortstop started the season slow, but it appears he's starting to find a groove. He's up to nine homers, 32 RBI, 35 runs scored, 13 stolen bases and a .224/.333/.404 slash line through 67 contests.

Kinley earned a save against the Cardinals on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over one scoreless inning.

Kinley entered with Colorado holding a one-run lead in the ninth inning and allowed a one-out double to Brendan Donovan, but he was able to close out the contest without further trouble. The right-hander was pretty sharp in throwing 10 of 13 pitches for strikes. Kinley has now picked up each of Colorado's past two saves while Jalen Beeks -- who leads the club with six saves on the campaign -- has notched a hold in both of those contests. It's worth noting that Beeks has blown four saves this season while Kinley is a perfect 4-for-4 in save chances despite owning a 7.71 ERA. It appears Kinley may be the slight favorite for ninth-inning opportunities moving forward, though that's far from certain given the rockiness of Colorado's bullpen as a whole.

Cronenworth went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run, an RBI single and an additional run scored in Saturday's 13-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Cronenworth's fourth-inning blast turned the game into a rout, and he tacked on one more RBI in the fifth. The infielder has hit well lately, going 10-for-38 (.263) with nine RBI and four extra-base hits over his last nine games, though his homer Saturday was his first since May 19. On the year, he's slashing .261/.322/.446 with nine homers, 44 RBI, 27 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples and one stolen base over 64 contests.

Waldron (4-5) allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings to earn the win over the Diamondbacks on Saturday.

Waldron submitted his third straight quality start, and he was able to cruise to the win after an explosive showing from the Padres' offense. The right-hander has allowed two runs over his last 19.1 innings, though he's faced the Angels, Marlins and Diamondbacks in that span, which hasn't been much of a test of his skills. Waldron is now at a 3.76 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 68:21 K:BB through 69.1 innings over 13 starts this season. He's tentatively projected for another favorable start on the road versus the Mets in his next outing.

Nelson (3-5) allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits and four walks while striking out one over 3.1 innings to take the loss versus the Padres on Saturday.

Nelson threw 80 pitches over 7.2 innings in his last start versus the Giants, but the Padres made him work much harder. The right-hander needed 91 pitches (58 strikes) to get 10 outs, putting Arizona's relievers under pressure ahead of Sunday's bullpen day. Nelson continues to post fairly low strikeout numbers, and he's now walked three or more batters in three of his last four starts. He's at an ugly 5.96 ERA, 1.69 WHIP and 33:17 K:BB through 51.1 innings over 11 appearances (10 starts) this season. Nelson's next start is tentatively projected to be at home versus the lowly White Sox.

Feltner allowed four runs (all unearned) on two hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over 5.1 innings in a no-decision against St. Louis on Saturday.

Feltner held the Cardinals scoreless through five frames but ran into trouble when the first two batters reached base against him in the sixth. The right-hander responded by striking out Masyn Winn, but his defense then let him down with errors on each of the following two balls hit in play. That led to Feltner's departure and spoiled his chance at what could have been his first victory since April 12. Despite the disappointing finish, this was a much-needed bounce-back effort from Feltner after he allowed a combined 15 runs (13 earned) across 9.2 innings over his previous two starts.

Taylor went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base Saturday against the Twins.

Taylor was away from the team from Tuesday to Thursday while on paternity leave, with Saturday marking his first start since being activated. It was a productive effort, but he figures to serve in a short-side platoon role behind Jack Suwinski in center field.

Ortiz allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three across 4.1 scoreless innings Saturday against the Twins.

Ortiz entered the game in the second inning in a designed bullpen game for the Pirates. He threw 58 pitches and turned in his longest outing of the season. Though Ortiz wasn't able to get the run support to earn a win, he has now turned in 10 scoreless innings with a 9:1 K:BB across his last three appearances out of the bullpen.

McGough will serve as the Diamondbacks' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Padres, Jesse Friedman of GoPHNX.com reports.

McGough was called up from Triple-A Reno on Saturday and threw a scoreless inning (11 pitches) in the Diamondback's 13-1 loss. Saturday's usage should not alter plans to have him open Sunday. Though McGough will make his second career start, he can be considered an opener after exclusively working out of the bullpen in both the majors and minors in 2024 and having yet to throw more than two innings in any of his 26 appearances. Manager Torey Lovullo didn't reveal if the Diamondbacks would lean on a primary pitcher out of the bullpen behind McGough, though the skipper suggested that Arizona would call up another arm from Triple-A to help cover some innings. Among the available pitchers currently in the Arizona bullpen, Bryce Jarvis (three days' rest) and Justin Martinez (four days' rest) are the freshest arms who could be part of the pitching plan Sunday. Over his 16 outings with the big club this season, McGough has logged a 6.35 ERA and 1.65 WHIP across 17 innings.