News
Joey Bart delivered a walkoff hit in the bottom of the 13th as the Pirates edged the Cardinals 2-1 on Wednesday.
This hideous game was the first to go scoreless through 11 innings since baseball added the automatic runner in extras. The Cardinals finally scored first on a single from pinch-hitter Jordan Walker in the 12th, but the Pirates answered then and won it on Bart’s fly to left in the 13th. It would have been a sac fly under normal circumstances, but with a man on third just one out in the inning, the outfield was way in. Bart previously was involved in a scary collision with first baseman Endy Rodríguez in the eighth; he lost a popup barely down the third base line in the sun, and Rodriguez ran into him trying to catch it. It ended up being a fair ball that should have resulted in a run, but with both Pirates players laying in the baseline, Thomas Saggese had nowhere to go and ended up being tagged out by a heads-up Ke’Bryan Hayes (who probably could have been called for obstruction for further cutting off Saggese’s path but obviously wasn’t). Fortunately, both Bart and Rodriguez were able to continue. If they weren’t, the Pirates would have lost both of their catchers.
Sam Hauser (ankle) is out for Game 4 against the Knicks on Monday.
George Kirby (shoulder) is expected to make another minor league rehab start.
Kirby looked sharp on Saturday in his second rehab outing for Triple-A Tacoma, striking out five batters and throwing 54 pitches (36 strikes) over three innings. The 27-year-old fantasy ace is expected to need one final tune-up before rejoining Seattle’s rotation for his season debut in late May.
Kumar Rocker (shoulder) threw a 26-pitch bullpen session on Monday.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Rocker felt good during the session and could progress to facing hitters in a live batting practice session in the coming days. The 25-year-old righty hit the injured list back in late April with a shoulder impingement and isn’t expected back until sometime in June.
Diamondbacks released RHP Brandon Bielak.
Bielake underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last month and is expected to be ready for next year’s spring training, according to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. The 29-year-old righty, who has made 76 appearances (21 starts) in the majors between the Astros and Athletics since 2020, signed a minor league contract with Arizona back in late February.
Willy Adames has been moved down to the sixth spot in the lineup for Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks.
Giants manager Bob Melvin has finally decided to shake things up with Adames hitting just .217/.297/.335 with four homers, 19 RBI and two steals through 41 games in his San Francisco debut. It’ll be Matt Chapman and Heliot Ramos hitting second and third, respectively, with Jung Hoo Lee in the cleanup spot. The hope for fantasy managers is that the move will reduce some of the pressure on Adames and help get him going at the dish. He’s too talented to continue flailing, especially since his plate skills and underlying batted ball metrics remain mostly in line with previous seasons.
Luis Rengifo is not in the lineup for Monday’s series opener against the Padres.
Rengifo is out of the lineup for the third time in the last five games with Tim Anderson at second base. He’s in the midst of an extended tailspin at the plate, batting .191 (9-for-47) with zero homers and one steal over his last 15 games. He’s hitting .091 (2-for-22) over his past seven contests.