Yainers Club
Yainer Diaz (HOU): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2R, 5 RBI
Going into Friday night, Yainer Diaz only had two hits all season and no extra-base hits. He started slowly with a single in the second inning, then grounded out in the fourth. After Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz was forced out of the game by loading the bases in the fifth, lefty reliever Garrett McDaniels was brought in to face Diaz. After two pitches out of the zone, Diaz drove a low sinker out to center field for his first home run and the Astros’ first grand slam since 2023.
But Yainer and his club were not done for the night – one inning later, he added his first double for the season to make the score 10-2. He had one last chance to hit a triple for the cycle with bases loaded in the seventh inning, but grounded out.
The 14-run onslaught by the Astros on Friday also featured firsts for other players, as Cam Smith and Isaac Paredes hit their first home runs for the season. The six runs scored in the fifth inning were the most scored by the Astros in a single frame since 2014.
Is this an isolated offensive explosion for Houston or a sign that the offense is starting to come around? Despite all the achievements made in this game, marquee players like Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve only had three singles, suggesting the Astros need more consistency from their lineup to be competitive.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Friday
Danny Jansen (TBR): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI.
Continuing the story of slumping catchers who decided Friday was the time to wake up, Danny Jansen tripled his hit total for the season in one game and drove in four of Tampa Bay’s six runs vs Atlanta. The Braves had a lengthy rain delay followed by extra innings the night before and didn’t reach their hotel in Tampa until 5 a.m. Friday, making them a prime target to exploit.
Christopher Morel (TBR): 3-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB.
Morel was the other Tampa Bay bat to take advantage of the matchup, hitting his first home run and stealing his first bases of the season on Friday. Morel has a home run and two doubles in his last four games – along with eight strikeouts – displaying the good and bad sides of the full Christopher Morel experience.
James Wood (WSN): 2-5, 2B, HR, R, RBI.
James Wood’s power has been unlocked. After a quiet first week to the season, Wood has six extra base hits in his last six games, including his fourth home run in the last four games. This one came in LoanDepot Park, which is not an easy place to hit bombs for lefties. Lucky for Wood, he got all the wood on the ball and smashed the hardest hit homer of the night, with 110.5 exit velocity on a 3-0 count. Real men swing on 3-0. Here’s how you do it:
Jung Hoo Lee (SFG): 1-2, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB.
The Giants’ season thus far has been an interesting story. They currently sit 2nd in the division just behind San Diego and started the season with an 8-1 record. However, when you look at their opponents – CIN twice, HOU, SEA – the competition can only get tougher from here. Looking closer at their wins, one name stands out as their most consistent player – Jung Hoo Lee. He’s averaging more than one hit per game and is tied with Kyle Tucker for the most doubles with seven. Surprisingly, he is only around 50% owned in Yahoo fantasy leagues, despite being a stud in both batting average and runs scored categories.
Byron Buxton (MIN): 1-4, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB.
Despite going 0-4 in his last two games, Byron Buxton produced a home run, a stolen base, and scored half of the Twins’ total runs vs. Detroit on Friday. Given Buxton’s injury history, when he has games like this, you take note and be thankful … and maybe sell high.
Pete Alonso (NYM): 3-3, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.
Is there a player hotter than Pete Alonso right now? Since March 31, Alonso has had six multi-hit games out of ten, including six doubles and 3 home runs. His 18 RBIs are second only to Aaron Judge. This home run was not overly flashy, but it shows how a guy like Alonso can make hitting in Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park look easy:
Fernando Tatis Jr. (SDP): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB.
Tatis missed Wednesday’s game after aggravating his shoulder during an at-bat on Tuesday (and made it worse during a slide). No better way to show your fans you’re just fine by taking another aggressive swing (out of the park) and stealing a base.
The Padres are dealing with several on-again/off-again injuries to primary players, so Tatis proving there’s nothing to worry about with him is assuring.
Notable Injury News:
CJ Abrams left Friday’s game in the bottom of the fourth – he was out earlier in the week with thigh tightness, now it’s described as a potential hip flexor injury. Given that he’s had multiple flare-ups this week, it’s worth watching for a potential IL stint.
Masyn Winn was replaced in the top of the second with back spasms – likely day-to-day.
Earlier in the day, Jake Cronenworth was placed on the 10-day IL with a fractured rib.
Gleyber Torres and Freddie Freeman both returned to action on Friday after serving minimal time on IL.
