Nursing a hamstring injury sustained during his April 26th start against the Mariners, Diamondbacks’ ace Zac Gallen is set to receive some ‘extra rest’ before returning to the mound.
Per manager Torey Lovullo, Gallen’s next start will be versus the San Diego Padres at home this Sunday.
Manager Torey Lovullo stated that Gallen’s next appearance is scheduled for this Sunday at home against the San Diego Padres. Gallen was originally slated to start Wednesday night against the Dodgers; however, an unexpected bee delay on Tuesday led to the team using several relievers, pushing Jordan Montgomery’s start a day back.
In the meantime, the Diamondbacks have called up pitching prospect Blake Walston, who started 30 games last season with the Reno Aces. When Walston eventually makes his debut, he will become the 20th pitcher the Diamondbacks have used this season.
The team has faced significant challenges with injuries, particularly to their pitching staff, with six pitchers currently on the injured list. This underscores the importance of Gallen’s timely return to the rotation.
However, Lovullo is cautious about rushing his return. Reflecting on a recent incident where Eduardo Rodriguez was hurried back from the IL only to be shut down again due to persistent lat pain—resulting in a move to the 60-day IL—Lovullo expressed regret.
Quickly after Rodriguez started his throwing program, he was shut down to continuous pain in his lat. Last week, he was then sent to the 60-day IL.
. He emphasized the lesson learned from Rodriguez’s rushed recovery, stating, “We all learned a very valuable lesson … If we could choose to do things differently, it would be to re-image, make sure everything was good and then keep pushing forward.”
Given this experience, it is no surprise that the Diamondbacks are proceeding cautiously with Gallen, preferring to ensure his full recovery, even if his symptoms are currently mild.
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Athletics rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz already had an impressive start to his career. Kurtz entered Friday having posted a .288/.360/.622 batting line in 265 plate appearances, hitting 19 homers and 17 doubles. Despite making his major league debut on April 23, Kurtz has been the A's most valuable player, leading the team with 2.6 bWAR. He appeared to be on the cusp of becoming the superstar the A's needed to sell the team to the residents of Las Vegas. That performance set the stage for what may have been the most impressive game for any rookie in major league history. Kurtz became the 20th player in MLB history to have a four-home run game and the first rookie to achieve that feat. Kurtz's performance also put the 2025 season into baseball history. Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez had a four-home run game on April 26, making this the third time that there have been two four-homer games in a season. That had happened in 2002 (outfielders Mike Cameron and Shawn Green) and 2017 (utility man Scooter Gennett and left fielder J.D. Martinez). Kurtz did not stop with those four homers. He was 6-6 in the A's 15-3 victory over the Astros, with a double and eight runs batted in. The favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year award, Kurtz put an emphatic stamp on an already impressive season with his barrage on Friday.
There is not a bigger sporting event in North America than the Super Bowl, and tickets are only getting more expensive every year. There is also a ridiculous secondary market for tickets where seats sell for well above the original face value. It is usually fans or ticket resellers going for a quick profit. But as was reported on Friday, sometimes it can be players in the NFL looking to make a profit. According to multiple reports, including the Associated Press and ESPN, more than 100 players are facing fines and potential suspensions for selling their allotment of tickets to this year's Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs for above face value. Players are reportedly facing fines of one-and-a-half times the face value they originally paid for the tickets, while they are also prevented from purchasing tickets to the Super Bowl for the next seasons. The Associated Press obtained a memo from the NFL detailing the violation and investigation. That memo was as follows: “Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket’s face value in violation of the Policy. This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less. We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.” If players are not willing to pay the fine, they could be facing suspension from the league. It seems unlikely that any of the players — none of whom have been named, or their teams — would refuse to pay such a fine. It's also one of those moments where you can say, professional athletes — they're still normal people trying to make a quick buck. The most logical answer here is perhaps some of the players caught up in this are younger players who have not yet struck it rich on a big contract or perhaps even practice squad players who are not making top dollar.
For the first time since the Las Vegas Raiders' shocking release of DT Christian Wilkins on Thursday, head coach Pete Carroll fielded questions about the move. "To make our decision, we watched our way through the whole thing," Carroll told the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Vinny Bonsignore. "We're keeping really clear with what we said. I think there was no clear path to his return, and we just had to move on." Wilkins was injured in Week 5 against the Denver Broncos last season, suffering a foot injury that would put him on the IR after five games. It was not what the Raiders had hoped for after then-general manager Tom Telesco signed him to a four-year, $110 million deal in March 2024. Initially, Wilkins did have surgery, but wasn't healthy by the time organized team activities started, and his rehab proved to be a "challenging process" as described by Carroll a few months ago. According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Las Vegas reportedly wanted Wilkins to undergo another foot surgery, but he declined, which led to the release of the six-year pro from Clemson. The Raiders are attempting to void $35.2 million in remaining guarantees that Wilkins was owed on his contract. The NFLPA filed a grievance against Las Vegas as a result. Wilkins was brought in to help star pass rusher Maxx Crosby create problems for opposing offenses. The Raiders got a brief look when Wilkins recorded 17 tackles, two tackles for loss, six quarterback hits and two sacks before he got injured in the second quarter. The injury was unfortunate for Las Vegas, which had counted on Wilkins to produce similar results, as he had in his last three seasons with the Dolphins, recording 17 sacks, including nine in 2023. Perhaps Raiders GM John Spytek saw this coming when the silver and black selected Tonka Hemingway and JJ Pegues in the 2025 NFL Draft. While there is still time to find the next player to fill the void left by Wilkins, there is a massive hole in the interior line.
One veteran NFL defender is ready to trade the football field for the golf course. Former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks announced in a post to social media on Friday that he is retiring from the NFL. Hicks is calling it quits after 10 career seasons with four different teams. “I walk away with peace knowing I gave football all I had, and that the best is yet to come,” Hicks wrote in his post. You can see the post in full here. Now 33 years old, Hicks was a third-round draft pick by the Eagles in 2015. He spent the first four seasons of his career with them and was a member of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl-winning team in the 2018 campaign. Hicks later went on to play for the Arizona Cardinals, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Cleveland Browns as well. The former University of Texas star Hicks was one of the more versatile linebackers of his era, capable of playing all three positions (inside, middle, and outside). He tied for third in the NFL with five interceptions during the 2016 season and also later ranked third in the NFL with 150 combined tackles during the 2019 season. Hicks made 12 appearances in 2024 for the Browns but is now content with walking away from the game. He also dealt with a dangerous physical condition that required hospitalization a couple years ago and has thus decided to move onto his next chapter.
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