Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker (hip) is back in the team's Cactus League lineup against the San Francisco Giants and right-hander Sean Hjelle on Wednesday. Walker is starting at first base and is hitting cleanup. The 31-year-old was removed from Monday's game as a precaution after being hit by a pitch on his left hip, but it was obviously nothing serious. With Walker back in there after missing just one game, he should be just fine for Opening Day at the end of March. He hit a career-high 36 home runs and contributed 94 RBI for fantasy managers in 2022. Walker isn't the sexiest fantasy name, but he's a fine target at first base once the big names come off the board.

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said that first baseman Christian Walker (hip) was removed from Monday's Cactus League game against the San Francisco Giants as a precaution after getting hit by a pitch above his left hip. The 31-year-old should be considered day-to-day for now, and he should return to Cactus League play sooner than later. Walker improved his plate discipline last year and struck out less than 20 percent of the time. It led to a career-high 36 home runs, 94 RBI and 84 runs scored to go along with a .242/.327/.477 slash line and .804 OPS in 160 games played in his sixth year in the desert. Fantasy managers may forget about Walker, but he's not a bad target if you wait at the position in drafts.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker has been among the most underrated sluggers in fantasy baseball all season, and he came through yet again on Sunday, going 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, four RBI, and a run scored in a 7-4 win over the Colorado Rockies. Walker has 27 home runs, 67 RBI, and 53 runs scored on the season with a .218 batting average that has suffered as a result of a .206 BABIP.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker (head) was removed from the game early on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds after he was hit in the head by a pitch. The good news is that Walker walked off the field under his own power, but he'll almost certainly be put through the league's concussion protocols and could miss some time as a result. Walker went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout before leaving the contest. The 31-year-old came into the day hitting just .202 with a .295 on-base percentage, but he's been useful for his power with 15 home runs in 198 at-bats. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now, but there's a good chance he'll be out on Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker has recorded only two hits in the last seven games. On the positive side, those two hits were both home runs. Despite his .195 batting average, his .746 OPS suggests that hes still productive power-wise. There are only four players who have hit more home runs than him in the league. Interestingly, his plate discipline improved with a different swing approach. On top of that, his .183 BABIP indicates good days will be coming sooner than later. Fantasy managers need to be patient until he starts hitting.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against right-hander Elieser Hernandez and the Miami Marlins. Seth Beer will be getting the start at first base and batting cleanup in the game. While Walker is batting just .163 over 24 games on the year, he's launched six home runs already, two of which came over his last three games. The 31-year-old has an alluring Statcast profile that's covered in red as of now. He ranks in the 93rd percentile in both xSLG (.613) and average exit velocity (93 mph). Additionally, his .245 xBA suggests he's had some bad luck so far. Walker is worth keeping an eye on for fantasy managers in NL-only leagues and extra deep leagues as he could wind up being a potential power source this year.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker went 1-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored in a 7-6 loss to the Phillies on Friday night. It was his seventh homer of the year, as he's now slashing .242/.313/.371 with 37 RBI and 42 runs scored over 87 games this season. Needless to say it's been a rough year for Walker, but he has started to heat up at the plate recently, as he's now slashing .298/.431/.489 with two homers, eight RBI and nine runs scored over his last 15 games. If he keeps this up, he could be a serviceable fill-in down the stretch in the fantasy playoffs in deeper formats.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker helped the team defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 on Wednesday. He went 0-for-1 with three walks and a run scored in the game. It was his second three-walk game of the year. Walker has been doing a good job of getting on base in August. While he's batting just .242 this month, his 11 walks this month have helped lead to a solid .351 on-base percentage. It's been a rough year overall for Walker. Over 85 games, he's slashing .233/.304/.355 with just six home runs, 29 RBI and 40 runs. He can be left on waivers in all fantasy leagues at this point.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in a 6-2 loss to the Padres on Saturday. That was Walker's fifth homer of the year as he has had a disappointing performance at the plate so far, slashing .236/.293/.355 with 29 RBI and 33 runs scored over 71 games. He's only an option in deep NL-only formats as a corner infielder, and should be left on the waiver wire in the majority of leagues.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the team's 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. Walker has been hitting better lately as he's now in the midst of a four-game hitting streak that's included two doubles and three RBI. However, it's been a rough year overall for him. Over 68 games on the year, Walker is slashing .234/.292/.347 with four home runs, 26 RBI and 30 runs. He isn't someone worth rostering in fantasy leagues for now, but managers in NL-only leagues and deep leagues should have him on their radar in case he heats up.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alcides Escobar homered in the eighth inning and hit a winning single in the ninth Sunday as the Washington Nationals wrapped up a disturbing weekend with an 8-7 win over the San Diego Padres. A day after the game was suspended in the sixth inning because of a shooting outside Nationals Park, the Padres completed a 10-4 victory. Washington then came back to end a six-game losing streak. Tres Barrera singled off Mark Melancon (2-2) with one out in the ninth and, after failing on a bunt attempt, Victor Robles was hit by pitch. Escobar hit a flyball that center fielder Trent Grisham couldn’t corral and Barrera scored. Brad Hand (5-2) earned the victory. Juan Soto joined Josh Harrison with three hits and added a two-run homer. Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Jackson Profar homered for the Padres. Nationals ace Max Scherzer allowed four runs on four hits in seven innings. He struck out eight. In the completion of Saturday's suspended game, Fernando Tatis Jr. had his third four-hit... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alcides Escobar homered in the eighth inning and hit a winning single in the ninth Sunday as the Washington Nationals wrapped up a disturbing weekend with an 8-7 win over the San Diego Padres. A day after the game was suspended in the sixth inning because of a shooting outside Nationals Park, the Padres completed a 10-4 victory. Washington then came back to end a six-game losing streak. Tres Barrera singled off Mark Melancon (2-2) with one out in the ninth and, after failing on a bunt attempt, Victor Robles was hit by pitch. Escobar hit a flyball that center fielder Trent Grisham couldn’t corral and Barrera scored. Brad Hand (5-2) earned the victory. Juan Soto joined Josh Harrison with three hits and added a two-run homer. Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Jackson Profar homered for the Padres. Nationals ace Max Scherzer allowed four runs on four hits in seven innings. He struck out eight. In the completion of Saturday's suspended game, Fernando Tatis Jr. had his third four-hit... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 31st homer in the third, and Juan Lagares ended it with a two-run double in the ninth inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ 6-5 comeback victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. Cedric Mullins hit a tiebreaking homer for Baltimore in the ninth in his first game after making his first All-Star team, but the Angels jumped all over Cole Sulser (2-1) without making an out in the bottom half. After Los Angeles loaded the bases on a walk and two short singles, Lagares doubled to the gap in right-center, extending the Angels’ winning streak to five games. Raisel Iglesias (6-3) got the win. Ohtani tied the MLB record for the most homers in a season by a Japanese-born player when he blasted a 459-foot solo shot off Thomas Eshelman to straightaway center. It was his 14th homer in 17 games overall. Less than an hour later, Ohtani became the first player in major league history to be picked for an All-Star Game as both a hitter and... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks snapped their record 24-game road losing streak by routing the San Diego Padres 10-1 on Saturday night, getting six scoreless innings from Merrill Kelly and four hits and five RBIs from Eduardo Escobar. Escobar and Christian Walker homered for the Diamondbacks, who hadn’t won away from Chase Field since April 25, when Madison Bumgarner pitched seven no-hit innings at Atlanta. The Diamondbacks had dropped 20 of 21 games and 34 of 37 overall. Escobar connected for a two-run homer, and drove in runs with a double, a single and a groundout. He finished a triple shy of the cycle. Kelly (4-7) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked none. Dinelson Lamet (2-3) took the loss, allowing four runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings. METS 4, PHILLIES 3 NEW YORK (AP) — Jacob deGrom gave up two runs for the first time this season and New York rallied after he exited, beating Philadelphia on Michael Conforto’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. DeGrom’s bid to... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for the Angels, but the San Francisco Giants rallied for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Steven Duggar had an RBI double in the 12th and a two-run single in the 13th for the Giants, who finally blew it open while the Angels had outfielder Taylor Ward playing catcher and starting pitcher Griffin Canning playing left field as the fallout from an untimely injury to Kurt Suzuki and a series of strategic decisions made to allow Ohtani to hit for himself. Mike Tauchman struck out five times before hitting a three-run homer to cap the Giants’ 13th-inning rally. Brandon Crawford put San Francisco ahead to stay with a bases-loaded walk from Alex Claudio (1-2), who walked three straight in the 13th. The 13-inning game matched the longest in the majors since the institution of the runner-on-second-base rule to open extra innings last season. Dominic Leone (1-0) won despite... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for the Angels, but the San Francisco Giants rallied for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Steven Duggar had an RBI double in the 12th and a two-run single in the 13th for the Giants, who finally blew it open while the Angels had outfielder Taylor Ward playing catcher and starting pitcher Griffin Canning playing left field as the fallout from an untimely injury to Kurt Suzuki and a series of strategic decisions made to allow Ohtani to hit for himself. Mike Tauchman struck out five times before hitting a three-run homer to cap the Giants’ 13th-inning rally. Brandon Crawford put San Francisco ahead to stay with a bases-loaded walk from Alex Claudio (1-2), who walked three straight in the 13th. The 13-inning game matched the longest in the majors since the institution of the runner-on-second-base rule to open extra innings last season. Dominic Leone (1-0) won despite... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for the Angels, but the San Francisco Giants rallied for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Steven Duggar had an RBI double in the 12th and a two-run single in the 13th for the Giants, who finally blew it open while the Angels had outfielder Taylor Ward playing catcher and starting pitcher Griffin Canning playing left field as the fallout from an untimely injury to Kurt Suzuki and a series of strategic decisions made to allow Ohtani to hit for himself. Mike Tauchman struck out five times before hitting a three-run homer to cap the Giants’ 13th-inning rally. Brandon Crawford put San Francisco ahead to stay with a bases-loaded walk from Alex Claudio (1-2), who walked three straight in the 13th. The 13-inning game matched the longest in the majors since the institution of the runner-on-second-base rule to open extra innings last season. Dominic Leone (1-0) won despite... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: STUCK UP Major League Baseball begins its crackdown against pitchers using sticky substances when umpires start making regular, random mound checks. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole isn’t sure what to expect. “I think I’m in the same boat as everyone else, just waiting for this to play out,” he said. Pitchers will be ejected and suspended for 10 games if caught using foreign substances to doctor baseballs. Such grip aids — ranging from a tacky mix of rosin and sunscreen to heavy duty concoctions designed for use in strongman competitions — have long been illegal, but the ban has rarely been enforced. Umps will check all starters multiple times and all relievers either at the end of his first inning or when removed, whichever occurs first. Caps, gloves and fingertips will be checked. “It definitely will be probably a little awkward,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “But we’ll get through it, adjust.” ALL EYES ON JAKE Jacob deGrom is still listed as... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Monday: STUCK UP Major League Baseball begins its crackdown against pitchers using sticky substances when umpires start making regular, random mound checks. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole isn’t sure what to expect. “I think I’m in the same boat as everyone else, just waiting for this to play out,” he said. Pitchers will be ejected and suspended for 10 games if caught using foreign substances to doctor baseballs. Such grip aids — ranging from a tacky mix of rosin and sunscreen to heavy duty concoctions designed for use in strongman competitions — have long been illegal, but the ban has rarely been enforced. Umps will check all starters multiple times and all relievers either at the end of his first inning or when removed, whichever occurs first. Caps, gloves and fingertips will be checked. “It definitely will be probably a little awkward,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “But we’ll get through it, adjust.” ALL EYES ON JAKE Jacob deGrom is still listed... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees turned their record-tying third triple play this season to strand the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, bailing out closer Aroldis Chapman and closing down a 2-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. Gary Sánchez spoiled Sean Manaea’s gem with a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning, and Jonathan Loaisiga (7-2) and Lucas Luetge turned a 2-1 lead over to Chapman. Jed Lowrie and Chad Pinder walked, and Sean Murphy grounded to Gio Urshela, who stepped on third and threw to DJ LeMahieu. The second baseman relayed the ball to first to get Murphy by a step. New York also turned a triple play Thursday in Buffalo against the Blue Jays and also had one May 21 against the Chicago White Sox. Chapman’s 16th save sent Oakland to its first road series loss this season after eight wins and a split. BLUE JAYS 7, ORIOLES 4 BALTIMORE (AP) — Reese McGuire had three doubles during a four-hit performance. Hyun Jin Ryu (6-4) gave up one run and three hits in seven... [More]