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Ben Rice finished 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI against the Rays on Thursday.
Rice put five balls in play, the softest of which was a 94.6-mph single. His one out was a 107.0-mph grounder. To think he’d probably be in the minors right now if Giancarlo Stanton was healthy, and even with Stanton out, the Yankees weighed picking Dominic Smith over him this spring. Rice is batting .317/.414/.650 in 17 games.
Brandin Podziemski had 11 points (3-of-14 FGs), three rebounds, one assist and four steals in Game 4 against the Timberwolves on Monday.
Podziemski was 3-of-14 from the field and missed all four of his three-point attempts. His 22.5 field goal percentage in this series is the worst for any player (min. 35 attempts) since Pero Antic shot 16.7 percent in the Hawks vs. Pacers series in 2014, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press. Down 3-1 in the series now, the Warriors need Stephen Curry to return from his hamstring injury for Game 5, a miracle or both to get back in this series.
Jimmy Butler had 14 points (5-of-9 FGs), six rebounds, three assists and one block in Game 4 against the Timberwolves on Monday.
Despite the Warriors win in Game 1, Butler warned in postgame interviews that Stephen Curry is the team’s best player and it was going to be difficult to win games without him. After what’s transpired over the last three games, which the Warriors have all lost, he might’ve been underselling it. Butler wasn’t able to fill Curry’s shoes in Game 4. In fact, he was a team-worst -30 in 34 minutes in the seven-point loss. The Warriors will have their backs against the wall facing elimination in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Julius Randle had 31 points (11-of-21 FGs), five rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block and four three-pointers in Game 4 against the Warriors on Monday.
Anthony Edwards had 30 points (11-of-21 FGs), four rebounds, five assists, two steals and six three-pointers in the Timberwolves’ 117-110 victory over the Warriors in Game 4 on Monday.
670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports the Cubs are calling up top prospect Moises Ballesteros on Tuesday.
Levine adds that Ian Happ, who has missed three straight games with an oblique injury, is headed to the injured list as the corresponding move. The 21-year-old backstop has put up impressive numbers this season for Triple-A Iowa, batting .368/.420/.522 with four homers and three steals as one of the youngest hitters in the Pacific Coast League. He could make an impact for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues, especially if he’s playing regularly at DH, which makes him worthy of a speculative pickup. The biggest development for fantasy purposes here is that emerging star Pete Crow-Armstrong will continue leading off for at least a couple extra games until Happ returns.
Jhony Brito underwent UCL surgery with an internal brace procedure last month.
Brito will miss the remainder of the season and most likely a significant portion of next season as well. The 27-year-old righty made a career-high 26 relief appearances last year for San Diego.