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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-jackson-merrill-steals-hr-incredible-grab-phillies');   ga('set', 'title', 'Padres’ Jackson Merrill steals HR with incredible grab vs. Phillies');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Padres-news-Jackson-Merrill-steals-HR-with-incredible-grab-vs.jpg"><figcaption>Denis Poroy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Padres’ Jackson Merrill steals HR with incredible grab vs. Phillies</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-30T19:37:34-07:00">June 30th, 7:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-30T19:37:34-07:00">June 30th, 7:37pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jackson Merrill had an incredible moment take place during Monday’s matchup between the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/phillies-news-brandon-marsh-avoids-tag-incredible-swim-move">San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies</a>.</p><p>The highlight took place during the bottom of the third inning. Philadelphia was on offense as left fielder Max Kepler stepped up to plate.</p><p>There were two Phillies players on base while the Padres needed one more out to switch sides. Kepler landed a hit that nearly became a home run down center field. However, Merrill made a huge jump and <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1939829067458781197" rel="noopener">stretched his catching arm out to get the ball</a> and get Kepler out, ending Philadelphia’s turn on offense.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">JACKSON MERRILL ARE YOU SERIOUS?! 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/9zycPrPLvE">pic.twitter.com/9zycPrPLvE</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1939829067458781197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>How Jackson Merrill, Padres played against Phillies</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Padres-news-Jackson-Merrill-steals-HR-with-incredible-grab-vs-2.jpg"><figcaption>Eric Hartline-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Despite the impressive highlight from Jackson Merrill, he and the Padres were unable to score any runs as they lost 4-0 to the Phillies on Monday night.</p><p>Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a sacrifice groundout from Bryson Stott. They grew their lead to three in the fourth inning following back-to-back reaches from Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner. The Phillies scored their last run in the fifth frame after Nick Castellanos hit a solo shot to left field.</p><p>It was a brutal offensive night for San Diego. Even though they landed seven hits in 33 at-bats, they were unable to apply pressure on Philadelphia’s bullpen. They didn’t force any walks, nor did they have hits that could have been potential home runs.</p><p>Three pitches appeared on the mound for the Padres throughout the night. The player who received the loss was Matt Waldron, who lasted for 4.2 innings as he struck out three batters while allowing six hits and four runs.</p><p>San Diego fell to a 45-39 record on the season, holding the second spot in the ML West Division standings. They are 7.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot.</p><p>The Padres will look to bounce back in Game 2 against the Phillies. The contest will take place on July 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Padres’ Jackson Merrill steals HR with incredible grab vs. Phillies

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-brandon-marsh-avoids-tag-incredible-swim-move');   ga('set', 'title', 'Phillies’ Brandon Marsh avoids tag with incredible swim move');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Brandon-Marsh_9a0b74.jpg"></figure><h1>Phillies’ Brandon Marsh avoids tag with incredible swim move</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-30T19:09:47-07:00">June 30th, 7:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-30T19:37:16-07:00">June 30th, 7:37pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Philadelphia Phillies picked up the win over the San Diego Padres in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-bryce-harper-breaks-silence-wrist-recovery">Bryce Harper’s return from the injured list</a> Monday. The Phillies got a dominant outing from starting pitcher Zack Wheeler as well as some impressive base running from center fielder Brandon Marsh.</p><p>Marsh drove in a run with an RBI single off Padres starter Matt Waldron in the fourth inning, putting the Phillies up 2-0. He then stole second base. And although the throw from catcher Martin Maldonado beat him to the bag, Marsh <a href="https://x.com/CrossingBroad/status/1939833368314527835" rel="noopener">broke out</a> a nifty swim move to get around the tag, via Crossing Broad on X.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">This Brandon Marsh swim move was insane!  <a href="https://t.co/q2ySAJUkAq">pic.twitter.com/q2ySAJUkAq</a></p><p>— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrossingBroad/status/1939833368314527835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>After collecting his fifth steal of the season with a great slide, Marsh advanced to third on a wild pitch. He then scored on Trea Turner’s RBI infield single, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 advantage in the fourth inning.</p><h2><b>The Phillies look to take control of the NL East</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Brandon-Marsh2.jpg"><figcaption>Jim Rassol-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Nick Castellanos added a solo home run in the fifth. The right fielder jumped on the first pitch he saw, a 75 mph knuckleball from Waldron, and hammered it 372 feet to left.</p><p>Castellanos has been hot since he was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-nick-castellanos-benched-crossing-line-rob-thomson">benched by manager Rob Thomson</a> in the middle of June. The two-time All-Star apparently “crossed a line” with Thomson and was held out of the Phillies’ matchup against the Marlins on June 17. The benching snapped Castellanos’ streak of consecutive games started. He recently passed Jimmy Rollins to move into second-place in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-nick-castellanos-history-231st-consecutive-start">franchise history with 231 straight starts</a>.</p><p>However, the 13th-year veteran seems to have been motivated by the incident. Entering Monday’s contest, Castellanos slashed .302/.333/.558 in 11 games since being benched. He now has 3 homers, 5 doubles and 9 RBI since his manager sat him down.</p><p>Castellanos’ fifth inning home run gave Philadelphia a 4-0 lead, which was more than enough for Wheeler. The Phillies’ ace was electric, allowing six hits and no walks while striking out 10 in eight shutout innings.</p><p>Wheeler delivered the team’s second straight standout start following Ranger Suarez’s excellent outing against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-ranger-suarez-historic-run-jt-realmuto-praise">Suarez is on a historic run for the Phillies</a> with 10 consecutive quality starts.</p><p>Monday’s win over the Padres put Philadelphia two games above the idle New York Mets in the NL East. The Phillies trailed New York by 5.5 games just two weeks ago.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Phillies’ Brandon Marsh avoids tag with incredible swim move

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/gavin-sheets-does-it-all-for-padres-vs-reds');   ga('set', 'title', 'Gavin Sheets does it all for Padres vs. Reds');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/San-Diego-Padres-left-fielder-Gavin-Sheets-celebrates.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Gavin Sheets does it all for Padres vs. Reds</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-28T17:22:29-07:00">June 28th, 5:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-28T17:22:29-07:00">June 28th, 5:22pm</time><address><a>Abdullah Imran</a>Abdullah Imran works as an Associate Editor for All Sports at ClutchPoints. He’s been a sports fan his entire life and enjoys writing about every sport. He has spent three years in sports journalism and loves analyzing games. In his free time, he very much enjoys binge-watching shows and playing video games.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>A strong all-around effort <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/2-sneaky-trades-padres-must-make-boost-world-series-chances">powered the San Diego Padres</a> to a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/3-san-diego-padres-must-make-all-star-team">with Gavin Sheets leading the charge</a>. Sheets went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a three-run homer, and a critical defensive highlight, helping San Diego even the series.</p><p>With the Padres trailing 4-1 in the fifth inning and the Reds threatening with a runner on third, Sheets <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1939081352714035653" rel="noopener">made a diving catch</a> in left field on a liner off the bat of Rece Hinds. The catch ended the inning and preserved the deficit, allowing San Diego’s bullpen and offense to stage a comeback.</p><p>Sheets’ signature moment came in the seventh inning. After Jackson Merrill led off with a double and Xander Bogaerts drew a one-out walk, Sheets stepped to the plate and blasted a 422-foot three-run home run to right field off Lyon Richardson. The homer gave the Padres their first lead of the game at 6-4. It was Sheets’ 13th home run of the season, tying him with his previous career-high from 2022 with the White Sox, achieved in 124 games. Sheets now has 49 RBIs in 79 games this season.</p><p>Signed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal before the 2025 season, Gavin Sheets has proven to be an outstanding value. His performance against the Reds was pivotal, especially with San Diego going just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, Sheets delivered the only hit in that category.</p><p>The Padres’ offense started slowly, stranding runners in scoring position in the second, third, and fourth innings. Luis Arraez finally put San Diego on the board in the fifth with a solo home run off Reds starter Andrew Abbott, only his fourth homer of the season. Jake Cronenworth followed with a two-run home run in the sixth off former Padres reliever Scott Barlow, cutting the deficit to 4-3.</p><p>San Diego starter Randy Vásquez struggled, allowing four earned runs on nine hits across 4.1 innings. The Reds scored three runs in the first two innings and added one more in the fifth. Cincinnati finished 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position.</p><p>The Padres’ bullpen took over from there, allowing only three baserunners across the final 4.2 innings. Bryan Hoeing (1-0) earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings. Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam each threw a shutout inning, and Robert Suarez, returning from a two-game suspension, closed out the ninth for his MLB-leading 23rd save in 25 opportunities.</p><p>With the win, San Diego improved to 45-39, while Cincinnati dropped to 43-40. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday, with Stephen Kolek starting for the Padres against Reds lefty Nick Lodolo.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Gavin Sheets does it all for Padres vs. Reds

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-michael-king-takes-crucial-step-towards-injury-return');   ga('set', 'title', 'Padres Michael King takes crucial step towards injury return');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/San-Diego-Padres-starting-pitcher-Michael-King-1.jpg"><figcaption>Chadd Cady-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Padres Michael King takes crucial step towards injury return</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-28T13:08:01-07:00">June 28th, 1:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-28T13:08:01-07:00">June 28th, 1:08pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Diego Padres have not been the same without Michael King. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-san-diego-gets-concerning-michael-king-injury-update">Padres’ ace pitcher suffered a shoulder injury</a> against the Seattle Mariners on May 18 and has not pitched since. Dylan Cease has done his best to step up for San Diego manager Mike Shildt, but having King and Yu Darvish on the injured list has hurt the team. However, Padres fans finally got some good news.</p><p>For the first month of his recovery, the former New York Yankee could not throw at all. According to San Diego Tribune writer Kevin Acee, King is <a href="https://x.com/sdutKevinAcee/status/1939043873604682044" rel="noopener">back to playing catch</a> and has done so multiple times this week. The seven-year pro is just happy to be making progress, his sights set on his eventual return to the mound.</p><p>“We kind of map out the week but know that it’s written in pencil,” King said. “It was really hard when I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. But now that I can see it, it’s a lot easier.”</p><p>It has been a long, tough journey for King, who has been dominant since transitioning from the bullpen to a starter role. He supplanted Cease as the Padres’ ace last season, much to the joy of Shildt. However, San Diego’s manager wants him back as soon as possible, in any capacity.</p><p>Darvish’s return could come sooner than King’s. The 38-year-old completed three simulated innings on Wednesday on the Single-A level. He told reporters that he hopes to pitch in a minor league game soon. The team has set his timetable for a return in mid-July.</p><p>King, on the other hand, is not expected back until after the All-Star break. Until then Shildt will rely on Cease to lead the way for the Padres on the mound. While it has thrown San Diego’s rhythm off, it could end up being a blessing in disguise.</p><p>In King’s absence, the Padres faced off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in two series. San Diego went 2-5 in those seven games, but were without King and Darvish in all of them. Shildt and the Padres don’t play the Dodgers again until mid-August, well after both pitcher’s tentative return dates.</p><p>Shildt will have two additional weapons to throw at Shohei Ohtani and Co.. Because of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-stories/mlb-news-dodgers-padres-get-suspensions-after-scuffle">chippy nature of their last series, all eyes will be on the Padres and Dodgers</a> when they duke it out again. San Diego would love to have King back by then, and he took a step in the right direction this week.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Padres Michael King takes crucial step towards injury return

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-a-j-preller-drops-truth-bomb-juan-soto-trade-nationals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Padres’ A.J. Preller drops truth bomb on Juan Soto trade with Nationals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/JS.jpg"><figcaption>Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.</figcaption></figure><h1>Padres’ A.J. Preller drops truth bomb on Juan Soto trade with Nationals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-27T07:57:04-07:00">June 27th, 7:57am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-27T07:57:04-07:00">June 27th, 7:57am</time><address><a href="https://linktr.ee/colinloughran">Colin Loughran</a>Colin Loughran is a NYC-based Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He has spent several years covering sports and has worked for outlets such as the New York Post, AP Radio, and FanSided. Colin is also a three-time NYSBA award winner and a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Fortune can favor the bold. San Diego Padres president of baseball operations, A.J. Preller, would seem to agree based on his recent comments regarding the 2022 trade that sent<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mets-news-juan-soto-rare-feat-last-done-1987-darryl-strawberry"> former Washington National, Juan Soto</a>, to the Padres.</p><p>Despite the fact that Washinton received coveted young prospects who have had varying levels of major league success, Preller told the Athletic’s Dennis Lin that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6451579/2025/06/26/san-diego-padres-aj-preller-juan-soto/?source=emp_shared_article" rel="noopener">the trade is a point of pride to this day.</a></p><p>“Honestly,” Preller said Wednesday, “I think in the baseball ops group we look back with a lot of pride and not regret.”</p><p>“You’re hoping that we could trade for Juan Soto with none of those guys in there, but we know that’s not realistic,” Preller said. “We had a team that ended up getting to the NLCS for the third time in franchise history and was three games away from a World Series. And from day one, I’ve talked about playing on the big stage. That’s what it’s about for our franchise, is getting to a World Series and winning a World Series for San Diego.”</p><p>Across 214 games with the Padres, Soto mashed 41 home runs, posted a .405 OBP, and earned an .893 OPS. The Padres fell short of capturing a World Series title, but received consistently competitive play from Soto.</p><p>The Padres traded Soto to the New York Yankees prior to the 2024 season, and Soto’s journey has been well-documented since then.</p><p>As far as the Nationals end of the deal, shortstop C.J. Abrams, left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore, and outfielder James Wood were the core return. They have each started to show signs of real development at the big league level, and have featured flashes of All-Star potential.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/nationals-news-james-wood-sets-mlb-benchmark-blistering-bomb-vs-dodgers">Wood has been particularly good</a> in 2025. The 22-year-old has his 22 home runs and earned a .926 OPS through 81 games this season.</p><p>While the Nationals might have a bright future, Preller and Padres seem to be just fine living in the present.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Padres’ A.J. Preller drops truth bomb on Juan Soto trade with Nationals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/2-sneaky-trades-padres-must-make-boost-world-series-chances');   ga('set', 'title', '2 sneaky trades Padres must make to boost World Series chances');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mitch-Keller-throws-for-Pittsburgh.jpg"><figcaption>© John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>2 sneaky trades Padres must make to boost World Series chances</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-26T08:05:44-07:00">June 26th, 8:05am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-26T08:05:44-07:00">June 26th, 8:05am</time><address><a>Cameron Zunkel</a>Cameron Zunkel is a former college athlete for the University of Illinois, Springfield. During that time, he earned his masters degree in Communication. After graduating in 2022, Cameron signed to play independent professional baseball with the Joliet Slammers, but his time was cut short due to injury. Nonetheless, his love for baseball and all sports never faded.Cameron loves the sports media and sports journalism side of things and does some light writing for a Chicago Cubs blog, as well. To go along with that, he loves sports betting and fantasy sports. He also loves digging on the research and creating content for both sports betting and fantasy sports!</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Diego Padres have made the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. Last year, the Padres lost in the NLDS to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and 2022 saw San Diego lose to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. This season should be no different for them. However, if San Diego wants to be true World Series contenders, they will have to make a few moves at the MLB trade deadline.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-stories/mlb-rumors-cubs-5-teams-red-sox-rafael-devers-trade-giants-deal">Padres were in on Rafael Devers</a> before he was traded in division to the San Francisco Giants. Interest in a superstar shows that San Diego wants to win this season. There is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-stories/mlb-rumors-padres-diamondbacks-refuse-sell-trade-deadline">no reason for the Padres to head to the trade deadline as sellers</a>, and they will most likely not be.</p><p>With San Diego poised to be buyers, there are a few players that would make an immediate impact on the team, allowing them be World Series contenders.</p><h2><b>Padres team needs</b></h2><p>The easy answer right now is pitching. Specifically, the Padres need starting pitching. They have been hit with the injury bug pretty hard this year, and the rotation is taking a hit because of it. Joe Musgrove has been out all year after he received elbow surgery last year, while Yu Darvish suffered a setback in his rehab. Neither of those pitchers have taken the mound this year, and it is not looking good for the rest of the season, either.</p><p>Along with them, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-michael-king-provides-confident-injury-update">Michael King is dealing with a nerve injury</a>, but he should be back before the end of the season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-ryan-bergert-incident-nationals">Ryan Bergert is hitting the IL</a> after taking a line drive off the side of his body. That leaves four starters on the IL, and the Padres have to find a way to fix that. Going out an getting a starting pitcher would be the best thing for San Diego to do.</p><p>Along with a starting pitcher, San Diego needs a catcher that will produce at the plate. Elias Diaz has an OPS of just .604, and Martin Maldonado’s is lower at .562. These two catchers might be doing a good job defensively, but they are providing no help at the plate this season. If the Padres can find a productive catcher, it would be a huge help.</p><h2><b>The Padres should reach out about Mitch Keller</b></h2><p>Mitch Keller is <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/17730/mitch-keller" rel="noopener">not a free agent until after 2028</a>. That means his price could be significantly higher because of his years of club control. Even with the higher price, Keller could be a great fit in San Diego, and he would immediately make an impact in the rotation.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/mlb-rumors-cubs-pirates-trade-deadline-talks">Pirates seem to be open to trading Keller</a>, as well. The Chicago Cubs are in contact about the starting pitcher, and with conversations happening, it means the Pirates will trade him away for the right price. San Diego needs to be the highest bidder in that case.</p><p>On the season, Keller is 1-10 with a 4.02 ERA through 94.0 innings pitched. He has struck out 73 batters, walked 24, and opponents are batting .249 off him. The record should be taken with a grain of salt. He is not on a great team, and in order for Keller to earn a win, he would have to throw a shutout it seems. Point being, the right-hander is a lot better than his stats suggest.</p><p>If the Padres can find a way to acquire Keller, it would help them become World Series contenders.</p><h2><b>Ryan Jeffers would fill a big whole in the lineup</b></h2><p>Not much has been said about the Minnesota Twins plans for the deadline. However, they are four games under .500, and they do not seem to be competing for a playoff spot. With Minnesota most likely going to miss out on the postseason, they should try to sell off some of their better players to help build for the future.</p><p>That is where Ryan Jeffers come into play. Jeffers is a free agent after the 2026 season, and he is 28 years old. Along with that, Minnesota has a few catchers in their <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/twins/" rel="noopener">top prospect list</a> that will be ready for the MLB in the next year or two.</p><p>On the season, Jeffers is slashing .248/.346/.402 with six home runs, 29 RBI, and just 47 strikeouts to 28 walks in 63 games played. The right-handed batter would be better than both the catchers San Diego is putting out there daily. His defense is just average, but his bat makes up for it. He might take a few prospects to acquire, but the Padres would be smart to pursue Ryan Jeffers. Doing so would make San Diego World Series contenders.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2 sneaky trades Padres must make to boost World Series chances

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-xander-bogaerts-absent-from-lineup-after-injury-scare');   ga('set', 'title', 'Padres’ Xander Bogaerts absent from lineup after injury scare');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Xander-Bogaerts.jpg"><figcaption>Credit: Denis Poroy</figcaption></figure><h1>Padres’ Xander Bogaerts absent from lineup after injury scare</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-25T11:45:32-07:00">June 25th, 11:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-25T11:45:32-07:00">June 25th, 11:45am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/chris.spiering.3" rel="facebook">Chris Spiering</a>Chris Spiering graduated from the University of San Diego with a Communication Studies Degree. He spent his final year as the Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris manages the betting team at ClutchPoints and contributes about the NFL, MLB, and NBA, but he follows most sports, including NCAA Basketball. Chris also covers San Diego State men's basketball for East Village Times.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-rumors-insider-gives-brutally-honest-prediction-on-padres-trading-for-braves-star">San Diego Padres</a> are set to take on the Washington Nationals for the rubber match of a 3-game series at Petco Park. On Tuesday, the Padres bounced back from a Game 1 loss and took Game 2 to force the rubber match. During the game, Friars’ shortstop Xander Bogaerts ran home on a grounder to third and was called out at the plate. As he was sliding, he seemed to have injured his shoulder. You could see signs of pain when he didn’t get up immediately.</p><p>The Padres tried to give him a go on Wednesday, but <a href="https://x.com/padres/status/1937936980803018868?s=46" rel="noopener">he was scratched from the lineup</a>. Tyler Wade has taken his place in the lineup to play second base while Jose Iglesias shifts over to shortstop.</p><p>This is a big loss for the Padres. The hope is that he does not need an IL stint, but he has had shoulder issues in the past. The shortstop has been on fire the last week as he reached base nine straight times while also playing very good defense. It was a rough start to the season for Bogaerts, and he was catching fire as summer started. However, the hot streak will be put on hold for now as he will take today and Thursday off before potentially returning to the lineup for the series against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. The Reds are hot, so the Padres will need Xander Bogaerts to be in the lineup.</p><p>Bogaerts is hitting .246 with four homers, 29 RBIs, and an OPS of just .668. Those numbers are low, but he just had 11 hits in a five-game span.</p><p>The Friars are 43-36 on the season. They are 5.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West. The San Francisco Giants are 4.5 games back, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are 7.5 games back. The division is LA’s to lose, but all four NL West teams have a chance to make the postseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Padres’ Xander Bogaerts absent from lineup after injury scare

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-ryan-bergert-incident-nationals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ryan Bergert shares outlook after painful incident vs. Nationals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Jun-24-2025-San-Diego-California-USA-San-Diego-Padres-starting-pitcher-Ryan-Bergert-38-walks-off-the-field-with-San-Diego-Padres-medical-staff-.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Ryan Bergert shares outlook after painful incident vs. Nationals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-25T11:12:40-07:00">June 25th, 11:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-25T11:12:40-07:00">June 25th, 11:12am</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Four days ago, the San Diego Padres <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-stories/mlb-news-dodgers-padres-get-suspensions-after-scuffle">got into a scuffle with the Los Angeles Dodgers</a>. On Tuesday, they bore witness to another fracas, albeit of a different sort.</p><p>Starting pitcher Ryan Berger<a href="https://x.com/TalkingFriars/status/1937702527295721476" rel="noopener"> took a line drive</a> to his side in the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals. Ultimately, he had to leave the game.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ryan Bergert exits the game after getting hit on a line drive <a href="https://t.co/pewc3Cu1BK">pic.twitter.com/pewc3Cu1BK</a></p><p>— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalkingFriars/status/1937702527295721476?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Bergert pitched 3 innings and gave up 3 earned runs along with 5 hits. He also had four strikeouts.</p><p>Nevertheless, the Padres won the game 4-3.</p><p>Afterward, Bergert<a href="https://x.com/973TheFanSD/status/1937735542797664501" rel="noopener"> provided an update</a> in which he said he feels sore, but in one piece, per 97.3 The Fan.</p><p>“It felt pretty typical, what you’d expect from a line drive coming back at you,” he said. “Obviously it sucks to have it happen so early. It’s a little sore, but should be good.”</p><p>When asked whether he expects to be back soon, Bergert reiterated it was too soon to say so.</p><p>“It might be a little too early to say, but I’m feeling hopeful,” Bergert said. “It feels good relatively right now so X Rays are good, just sore. ”</p><p>Contrary to what some believed, Bergert said that the pitch affected his forearm and not his ribs.</p><p>“I didn’t feel it, but I know a few guys have said that to me but I didn’t feel it in the ribs, mainly forearm,” he said.”</p><p>In addition, Bergert gave credit to the Padres bullpen for providing relief and getting the job done.</p><p>“It was great,” he said. “One of my goals today was to go out and get some innings for them and wasn’t able to do that today, but them being able to do that and being tired and sore it was very cool to watch.”</p><p>Adrian Morejon came in and threw two scoreless innings. Then, Jason Adam threw 1.2 innings with a strikeout and no runs.</p><p>Also, Jeremiah Estrada added two strikeouts in 1.1 innings pitched. Finally, Padres closer <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-robert-suarez-suspension-reduced-hitting-ohtani">Robert Suarez, recently suspended for hitting Shohei Ohtani</a>, sealed the deal.</p><p>Additionally, Bergert talked about the hectic Padres schedule in which they had virtually one day off in a month. He spoke about his performance and that of the team as a whole.</p><p>“I think we handle it pretty well. I feel like myself I could have been better over the stretch and go deeper in the games, but as a team as a whole no-one’s really complaining, everyone’s just kind of getting ready for the next day.</p><p>Bergert’s X Rays on his forearm<a href="https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/padres-ryan-bergert-x-rays-negative/" rel="noopener"> came back negative</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ryan Bergert shares outlook after painful incident vs. Nationals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/mlb-rumors-insider-gives-brutally-honest-prediction-on-padres-trading-for-braves-star');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Insider gives brutally honest prediction on Padres trading for Braves star');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/MLB-Insider-gives-brutally-honest-prediction-on-Padres-trading-for-Braves-star.jpg"><figcaption>Credit: Bill Streicher</figcaption></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Insider gives brutally honest prediction on Padres trading for Braves star</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-25T10:26:55-07:00">June 25th, 10:26am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-25T10:27:14-07:00">June 25th, 10:27am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/chris.spiering.3" rel="facebook">Chris Spiering</a>Chris Spiering graduated from the University of San Diego with a Communication Studies Degree. He spent his final year as the Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris manages the betting team at ClutchPoints and contributes about the NFL, MLB, and NBA, but he follows most sports, including NCAA Basketball. Chris also covers San Diego State men's basketball for East Village Times.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Braves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/2-padres-who-must-be-on-trade-block-ahead-of-2025-deadline">San Diego Padres</a> are a threat in the National League. If they want to remain competitive and have a chance to return to the MLB playoffs, they must become buyers and acquire elite major league talent to improve their lineup. One player who could be an option is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/atlanta-braves/2-braves-trade-block-ahead-2025-deadline">Atlanta Braves</a> catcher Sean Murphy.</p><p>The biggest need for the Friars is left field. They cannot rely on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-gavin-sheets-gets-injury-update-scary-wall-collision-pirates">Gavin Sheets manning left field</a> for the rest of the season. SD would prefer Sheets at DH. Furthermore, an offensive-minded catcher is another big need. It’s unclear what Padres general manager A.J. Preller will do, but he is usually very aggressive. If Atlanta is willing to trade Murphy now, rather than later, then San Diego is a great fit.</p><p>The Braves have one of the best catching duos in the league. Drake Baldwin is the Braves’ future at the position, and he currently has a .826. Atlanta may not want to break that up. However, the Braves started the season losing seven straight games, and while they have slowly climbed back, they are not going to win the NL East and are six games out of a Wild Card spot, behind seven teams. There is plenty of time for the Braves to fight back and make the playoffs. But do they need Sean Murphy to do so?</p><p>Preller could acquire a right-handed catcher to bolster the lineup and give the Padres a better chance at reaching the playoffs and having an opportunity to win a World Series. MLB insider Mark Feinsand believes that Murphy <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/nl-west-2025-mlb-trade-deadline-questions" rel="noopener">will be the only controllable player</a> on the Braves that they are willing to deal. He also believes that the Braves will end up holding onto him for now.</p><p>“Murphy might be the only controllable player the Braves consider moving, as Drake Baldwin could step in as the everyday catcher right away. Atlanta needs starting pitching, though this week against the Mets and Phillies could help determine just how much of a buyer (or seller) the Braves could be next month.”</p><p>“I would say it’s more likely that Murphy stays with Atlanta through the season, after which the Braves could potentially shop him during the winter. It’s also possible that Murphy and Baldwin share catching and DH duties next season, with Marcell Ozuna set to become a free agent at the end of the year — assuming he’s not traded, of course.”</p><p>Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonaldo have put the Padres 13th in the NL in OPS at the position at just .607.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Insider gives brutally honest prediction on Padres trading for Braves star

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-robert-suarez-suspension-reduced-hitting-ohtani');   ga('set', 'title', 'Padres’ Robert Suarez has suspension reduced for hitting Shohei Ohtani');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Robert-Suarez_2b834e.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Padres’ Robert Suarez has suspension reduced for hitting Shohei Ohtani</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-25T07:07:06-07:00">June 25th, 7:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-25T07:07:06-07:00">June 25th, 7:07am</time><address><a>Guillermo Guajardo</a>Guillermo Guajardo is a dynamic sports presenter with experience on various television channels and digital platforms, most recently with A Tiempo.TV. He is also a multidisciplinary artist with 10 years of experience in acting, directing, writing, and hosting. His work in film has been recognized at international festivals, earning awards for both his performances and directorial projects.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Diego Padres pitcher Robert Suarez, found himself in the middle of a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-news-dodgers-padres-get-suspensions-after-scuffle">heated showdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers</a> that <a href="https://x.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1937717129907949777" rel="noopener">escalated from mere tension to a suspension</a>. During the eighth inning of last Thursday’s game, Suarez hit Shohei Ohtani in the shoulder with a blazing 99.8 mph fastball, which led to his immediate ejection and triggered disciplinary action from MLB.</p><p>This incident unfolded right after Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit in the wrist by a pitch from Dodgers rookie Jack Little, <a href="https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/3303979" rel="noopener">igniting a benches-clearing brawl.</a> Both managers—Mike Shildt and Dave Roberts—were thrown out of the game and later received one-game suspensions as part of the league’s response to the growing conflict.</p><p>Initially, MLB slapped Suarez with a three-game suspension and an undisclosed fine, citing intent behind the pitch. The right-hander appealed, insisting he had no intention of hitting Ohtani and was merely trying to finish the game.</p><p><a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/breaking-news/article/padres-closer-robert-suarez-reportedly-has-suspension-reduced-to-2-games-after-brawl-plunking-shohei-ohtani-035704094.html" rel="noopener">Through an interpreter,</a> Suarez told reporters he was “not trying to run into trouble or hit anybody,” but he understood the consequences once the pitch was thrown.</p><p>On Tuesday, Suarez’s appeal saw some success. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6449891/2025/06/24/padres-robert-suarez-suspension-appeal/" rel="noopener">His suspension was cut down to two games,</a> and he’s expected to start serving it during the Padres’ series against the Washington Nationals, which will temporarily shrink San Diego’s roster to 25 players.</p><p>This incident wrapped up an intense four-game showdown between the division rivals. Ohtani had already taken a hit earlier in the series, just like Tatis, which only added to the growing tension. When Suarez got ejected, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-gesture-los-angeles-padres-rivalry">Ohtani calmly waved off his teammates,</a> stepping in to keep things from escalating any further.</p><p>With the suspension now resolved, Suarez can look forward to making his return over the weekend. Meanwhile, San Diego is still battling for position in the NL standings, having secured a 4-3 victory on Tuesday against Washington, bringing their record to 43-36 for the season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Padres’ Robert Suarez has suspension reduced for hitting Shohei Ohtani

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-giving-away-incredible-fernando-tatis-jr-bat-flip-bobblehead');   ga('set', 'title', 'Padres giving away incredible Fernando Tatis Jr. bat flip bobblehead');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Padres-outfielder-Fernando-Tatis-Jr.-23-comes-off-the-field.jpg"><figcaption>Denis Poroy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Padres giving away incredible Fernando Tatis Jr. bat flip bobblehead</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T18:36:53-07:00">June 23rd, 6:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T18:36:53-07:00">June 23rd, 6:36pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-fernando-tatis-smashes-107-9-mph-bomb-royals">San Diego Padres are playing well of late</a>, having won three of their last four games, including the last two of the just concluded Kansas City Royals series at Petco Park. The Padres will look to keep it going when they kick off a three-game series against the visiting Washington Nationals this Monday evening.</p><p>Making the night more exciting for Padres fans are the team’s fantastic Fernando Tatis Jr. bobblehead <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1937302204127256617" rel="noopener">giveaways</a>, as mentioned as well by MLB on social media.</p><p>“The Padres are giving away this incredible Fernando Tatis Jr. bat flip bobblehead … that spins 🔥,” MLB shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter) before the game.</p><p>The bobblehead figure <a href="https://www.mlb.com/padres/tickets/giveaways" rel="noopener">features a bat that rotates</a>, designed to imitate Tatis’ batflips.</p><p>Here’s more about the bobblehead from MLB’s website: “Your head will spin if you don’t get your hands on this electrifying bobblehead, limited to the first 40,000 fans in attendance. The Tatis Jr. Bat Flip Bobblehead, presented by SERVPRO, features Nando and a 360-degree rotating bat flip!”</p><p>Most fans seem to love the bobblehead based on the reactions to MLB’s post.</p><p>“That is awesome!”<a href="https://x.com/fateiscrypto03/status/1937302864273211688"> shared</a> an X user.</p><p>“I want one or a dozen,”<a href="https://x.com/lconwaynd93/status/1937309445609902562"> chimed in</a> a commenter, who is 100 percent sold on the bobblehead’s look and feature.</p><p>“A spinning Tatis bat flip? That’s not a bobblehead — that’s art in motion. 🔥🌀,” read a<a href="https://x.com/DisciplineCodex/status/1937304564681892227"> different comment</a>.</p><p>“This is going to sell out quick,” another commenter<a href="https://x.com/Spademeta/status/1937302504787837131"> noted</a>.</p><p>“Finally a bobblehead that looks like the player! This is dope!”<a href="https://x.com/Brendan_1999_/status/1937308817471209860"> said</a> a fan.</p><p>“OH MY GOD CAN A PADRES FAN PLEASE GET ME ONE I AM BEGGING,” an overly excited fan<a href="https://x.com/redsoxkatelyn/status/1937305348244676939"> posted</a>.</p><p>“A bobble head where the head stays still and the body moves,”<a href="https://x.com/tinfoilmask/status/1937303452666732651"> critiqued</a> a fan.</p><p>Tatis will enter the Nationals series slashing .268/.359/.460 so far in the 2025 MLB regular season. The two-time All-Star has 14 home runs to go with 11 doubles, 34 RBIs and 15 stolen bases through 75 games. While his batting average isn’t much to write home about, he has a 127 OPS+ with a solid .293 BABIP and an<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/tatisfe02.shtml"> 11.2 percent walk rate</a> — his second-best in a season so far in his career in the big leagues.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Padres giving away incredible Fernando Tatis Jr. bat flip bobblehead

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-fernando-tatis-jr-sues-big-league-advance-fund-after-2017-deal');   ga('set', 'title', 'Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. sues Big League Advance Fund after 2017 deal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Fernando-Tatis-Jr.jpg"><figcaption>Credit: Denis Poroy</figcaption></figure><h1>Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. sues Big League Advance Fund after 2017 deal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T15:25:54-07:00">June 23rd, 3:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T15:25:54-07:00">June 23rd, 3:25pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/chris.spiering.3" rel="facebook">Chris Spiering</a>Chris Spiering graduated from the University of San Diego with a Communication Studies Degree. He spent his final year as the Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris manages the betting team at ClutchPoints and contributes about the NFL, MLB, and NBA, but he follows most sports, including NCAA Basketball. Chris also covers San Diego State men's basketball for East Village Times.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/2-padres-who-must-be-on-trade-block-ahead-of-2025-deadline">San Diego Padres</a> are set to take on the Washington Nationals for a 3-game series at Petco Park. Ahead of the series, Padres’ star Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the news as he made a legal decision dating back to an old complaint.</p><p>Tatis Jr. has sued Big League Advance Fund after a complaint regarding a 2017 deal that essentially offers players upfront money for a percentage of their later earnings. According <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6446404/2025/06/23/fernando-tatis-jr-big-league-advance-fund-lawsuit/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=mlbtw&amp;source=mlbtw">to the New York Times</a>, Tatis Jr. is stating “exploitative, predatory business practices, which shamelessly push illegal loans on young, vulnerable athletes, most from economically disadvantaged Latin American countries.”</p><p>Here is what Tatis Jr said in his statement.</p><p>“I’m fighting this battle not just for myself but for everyone still chasing their dream and hoping to provide a better life for their family,” Tatis states in the release. “I want to help protect those young players who don’t yet know how to protect themselves from these predatory lenders and illegal financial schemes — kids’ focus should be on their passion for baseball, not dodging shady business deals.”</p><p>The Padres’ star won’t miss any time dealing with this matter, but this is something that may have been distracting him the last couple of weeks. On Saturday against the Kansas City Royals, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-fernando-tatis-smashes-107-9-mph-bomb-royals">Tatis Jr. hit his first home run</a> in about a month to help propel the Padres to a series win over the Royals. The Padres need Tatis Jr. to be playing at his elite form, which puts him in a conversation as one of the best players in the game right now.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/padres-news-surprise-jackson-merrill-move-injury-return">Jackson Merrill recently returned to the team</a> after a concussion, and now that the team is getting healthier, the Padres are hoping they can make a run back to the postseason. The MLB Trade Deadline is approaching, and this team could be buyers as they aim for their first-ever World Series title.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. sues Big League Advance Fund after 2017 deal

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	WINS
28	8.68	7	1.71	1

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	WINS
28	8.68	7	1.71	1

Matt
Waldron

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