NL West

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was forced to leave Saturday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds with an apparent shoulder injury.

Tatis was hurt after making a diving attempt on a ball through the left side of the infield in the top of the fifth inning.

Fernando Tatis Jr. was a little slow to get up after a diving effort on this play. pic.twitter.com/5ejcM4leQr

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 20, 2021

This is potentially another setback for the young star, who already missed time this season with a shoulder issue and oblique injury.

Any injury to Tatis is particularly concerning for the Padres given his overall importance to the franchise both in the current season and in the future. He won a Silver Slugger award in 2020 with a .277/.366/.571 slash line, 17 home runs, 45 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 59 games.

The 22-year-old has followed up with a .283/.360/.677 slash line, 22 home runs, 50 RBI and 13 stolen bases this season.

While San Diego will struggle to replicate Tatis' overall production if he is sidelined, look for Ha-Seong Kim to take over at shortstop in the meantime.

Arizona Diamondbacks executive vice president and general manager Mike Hazen has taken a leave of absence as his wife, Nicole, undergoes treatment for glioblastoma.

"First off, what I want to say, is that Nicole is doing OK," Hazen said Friday, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com).

"She's grinding along. But being realistic about the journey we're on right now, knowing what my job demands, and knowing the most important thing to me, this is demanding a percentage of my time that's starting to creep into the ability for me to do (my job) here physically."

The Diamondbacks general manager added that he "had to be honest about where I needed to be physically more often than not."

Both Hazen and Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said there is no timetable for the GM's return. 

Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye will handle day-to-day operations, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Per the Mayo Clinic, glioblastoma is an "aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord."

Nicole Hazen was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July 2020. She and Mike Hazen have four sons: Charlie, John, Teddy and Sam.

Hazen has served in his current role since October 2016. He worked for Cleveland (2001-2005) and the Boston Red Sox (2006-2016) before arriving in Arizona.

San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria will miss the next four to six weeks with a sprained left shoulder he suffered against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Longoria collided with his teammate, shortstop Brandon Crawford, when both players attempted to grab a ground ball hit by Anthony Rizzo in the top of the ninth inning. Longoria sat on the ground after the collision and exited the field after he was assessed by training staff (and assessed an error on the play). 

Scary collision between Evan Longoria and Brandon Crawford while going for a ground ball. pic.twitter.com/hB86pr7b8M

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 6, 2021

The Giants ended up defeating the Cubs 4-3. Mauricio Dubon replaced Longoria at third base for the rest of the game. 

Longoria is hitting .280/.376/.516 with 30 RBI and nine home runs for the Giants, who lead the NL West at 37-21. 

His last lengthy absence came in 2018, when he had hand surgery.

"It's going to be a major challenge to fill [Longoria's] shoes," manager Gabe Kapler told reporters Sunday. "I'm not sure we're going to have anybody be able to step right in and do what he was doing. At the same time, we have to turn the page and get ready to compete, and that's what we're going to do."

The Giants called up infielder Thairo Estrada from their Triple-A affiliate, and Wilmer Flores and Jason Vosler are players that Kapler said would step up to fill the hole.

The Giants will finish their series against the Cubs on Sunday before hitting the road for a two-game series against the Texas Rangers. 

The NL West was shaping up to be an interesting division long before the 2021 season began, but the intrigue involved the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. The defending World Series champs assembled a historically deep team, but the upstart Padres made it known they were going to challenge their neighbors to the north for West Coast supremacy in the National League.

That rivalry has not disappointed, but an old rivalry has been renewed with the San Francisco Giants putting both teams on notice.

San Francisco (35-21) is currently first in the division, though the three teams are all within two games of one another. The Giants were in first place after the first month of the season concluded with a 16-10 record, and an 18-10 record in May has them well-positioned in early June.

Are they for real? Is this like old times?

From 2010-2016, the Dodgers were often the best team in the division, but there wasn't much to show for it in the postseason. Instead, it was the Giants who put together a dynasty, winning World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. San Francisco tried for one more even-year run in 2016, defeating the New York Mets in a thrilling NL Wild Card Game, but the dynasty ended soon thereafter with the Giants falling to the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs in the NLDS. A half-decade of being in win-now mode left the team with an aging core and a depleted farm system.

There were some down seasons, which was to be expected, and this season figured to be one of them. They weren't going to be able to manufacture enough runs, the rotation wasn't deep enough and the best players were past their prime.

But that starting rotation has the third-best ERA in baseball (3.04), and Kevin Gausman is starting to garner some Cy Young attention. Of course, the award might as well already have Jacob deGrom's name on it, but Gausman's 6-0 record and 1.40 ERA certainly puts him in the early conversation. And the Giants are managing to manufacture runs, as they're one of the top-10 scoring teams in MLB, and their plus-67 run differential shows they're doing just fine in that area.

Those veterans are also the ones leading this resurgence. Catcher Buster Posey has already surpassed his 2019 home run total (he opted out of the 2020 season). He's been hitting above .300 with an OPS of nearly 1.000 and a 168 wRC+ at age 34.

The 35-year-old Evan Longoria was looking more like his younger self before being sidelined with a mild intercostal strain. The third baseman has nine home runs and an .869 OPS. Brandon Crawford, 34, and Brandon Belt, 33, have also recaptured some of their youth, though Belt is currently on the injured list with an oblique strain.

The Giants have withstood injuries to key players by utilizing a rebuilt farm system. Their No. 2-rated prospect, catcher Joey Bart, hasn't even been used this season outside of one game despite some big numbers with Triple-A Sacramento. Offseason improvements have paid off, especially with the rotation. But still, few could have predicted San Francisco would be in this position before the season.

So here comes the tough part: Do they buy or sell at the trade deadline?

Last year, the team missed out on the expanded postseason by a single game. President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi previously said he wanted to make a move for a left-handed bat but that nothing came together. Putting deals together this season will likely require him to sacrifice some organizational talent, and the Giants need that emerging talent considering Belt, Crawford and Gausman will be free agents after the season. Longoria has one year left on his contract (club option in 2023), while Posey and Johnny Cueto have $22 million club options for 2022.

Still, the Giants have no choice but to do something at the July 30 trade deadline. Doing nothing would send a message that the club doesn't intend to compete this season. Thanks for the contributions, Brandon and Brandon, but you can take your championship rings elsewhere. You gave us your best years, Buster, but the pitching staff belongs to Joey now.

General manager Scott Harris and Zaidi owe it to the clubhouse and manager Gabe Kapler to fortify the roster. Right now, there is a lot of pressure on the starting pitchers, and another reliever would help them keep pace and take pressure off Jake McGee and Tyler Rogers. The team will also get a boost when Tommy La Stella and Darin Ruf come off the IL, but getting a younger bench piece wouldn't hurt.

Don't expect any blockbuster trades. The Giants are on the rise, and they'd like to continue that rise over the next few years. They shouldn't want a one-off playoff trip; they should want a long-term contender. They're surely not going to mortgage the future for one season.

There are similarities to the dynasty teams of the 2010s. A rotation anchored by Cueto and Gausman and supplemented by Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood might not be the flashiest, but they get the ball on the ground and rely on their defenders behind them to do the work. The rotation was the lynchpin for those previous Giants teams, and although this one might not have Madison Bumgarner, it's collectively looking as dominant as some of those past units.

And, of course, there are still those familiar faces. They know how to win. But they'll need to hope their age doesn't catch up to them in August and September. That is where some depth trades could help.

Are the Giants for real? Right now, the answer appears to be yes. They might be ahead of schedule, but that shouldn't stop the club from making some necessary moves this summer to help them keep pace in a tight NL West race.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with left shoulder inflammation.

The Diamondbacks recalled Humberto Castellanos from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Bumgarner is 4-5 with a 5.73 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 12 starts this season.

The four-time All-Star has gone through wildly inconsistent stretches throughout 2021. He began the season with three straight games giving up five or more runs in five or fewer innings, then transitioned to a run of six straight outings where he gave up two or fewer runs.

In his three final starts before hitting the injured list, Bumgarner took another downturn, giving up 19 runs in 12 innings. He left Wednesday's start against the New York Mets after being shelled for five runs on eight hits in two innings. 

After the game, Bumgarner said he had been feeling the discomfort for two or three weeks.

"This is just bad judgment on my part," Bumgarner told reporters. "I thought it was going to get better and go away sooner. The last three to four days it's gotten worse and affected my pitching."

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Madison Bumgarner exited Wednesday's 7-6 loss to the New York Mets with left shoulder discomfort and will undergo an MRI.

Bumgarner said his shoulder has been bugging him for two to three weeks, although not nearly as much as it bothered him today.

— Zach Buchanan (@ZHBuchanan) June 2, 2021

Bumgarner allowed five earned runs and eight hits in two innings.

Injuries derailed Bumgarner's 2020 season, his first with the Diamondbacks, so any additional problems are cause for concern.

The veteran went on the injured list in early August with a mid-back strain, and he ended his year with a 6.48 ERA in nine starts. Though it was a shortened season, his ERA, WHIP (1.44) and strikeouts per nine innings (6.5) were all the worst in his career.

Bumgarner fared better in his second year with the team, producing a 5.15 ERA prior to Wednesday's game.

Arizona had high hopes for the starter after signing him to a five-year, $85 million deal. He had been one of the top pitchers in baseball during his 11 seasons with the San Francisco Giants, earning four All-Star selections while accumulating a 3.13 ERA.

The 31-year-old was especially known for his postseason heroics, helping the Giants win three World Series while totaling a 2.11 playoff ERA in 16 appearances.

Though the Diamondbacks are looking for similar production out of Bumgarner, the first challenge will be keeping him healthy.

Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster Bob Brenly apologized and announced he will undergo sensitivity training after making a comment about New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman wearing a do-rag:

Broadcaster Bob Brenly issued the following statement through the Diamondbacks about his remark last night on Marcus Stroman. pic.twitter.com/zXcdAWtx5J

— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) June 2, 2021

During Tuesday's broadcast on Bally Sports Arizona, Brenly noticed the do-rag and said he was "pretty sure that's the same do-rag that Tom Seaver used to wear when he pitched for the Mets."

Stroman made it clear after the game he didn't find the attempt at humor at all funny:

Onward and upward...through all adversity and racist undertones. The climb continues through all! 🗣

— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) June 2, 2021

Mets manager Luis Rojas called the comment "completely inappropriate" on Wednesday:

Luis Rojas on Bob Brenly's comments about Marcus Stroman's durag:

"It's completely inappropriate. I was very disappointed when I heard it. If it was a joke, I didn't get it. That will not help the baseball crowd grow in this game" pic.twitter.com/Y3c9htfhnh

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 2, 2021

Brenly previously drew criticism in April 2019 when he commented that San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. might run faster around the base paths "if he didn't have that bike chain around his neck."

Tatis brushed the observation aside:

I asked #Padres SS Fernando Tatis Jr. about the comments made by Diamondbacks broadcaster Bob Brenly, that Tatis would run easier without that "bike chain around his neck." Here's what he said about it. Just a reminder: He's 20 years old. pic.twitter.com/AKRokdrxgY

— Annie Heilbrunn (@annieheilbrunn) April 16, 2019

Byrdie's Saleam Singleton wrote about the history of the do-rag, which originated as "a necessary tool for Black men, used to train their curl patterns or to lock down hairstyles during sleep."

Through the years, the piece has evolved to become a more general fashion statement.

For some MLB players such as Stroman, the do-rag can be a valuable tool to keep a long head of hair in place over the course of a game.

In an unprecedented move, the San Francisco Giants will wear uniforms recognizing Pride Month, which is celebrated every June to recognize the LGBTQ+ community.

On Saturday—the third game of a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs—the Giants will replace the traditional logo on their hats with one that incorporates the 11 Pride colors, and a San Francisco Pride patch will be on the right sleeve of their jerseys, the team announced Tuesday. 

"We are extremely proud to stand with the LGBTQ+ community as we kick off one of the best annual celebrations in San Francisco by paying honor to the countless achievements and contributions of all those who identify as LGBTQ+ and are allies of the LGBTQ+ community,"  Giants president and CEO Larry Baer said in a statement.

In addition to the uniforms, Oracle Park will be decked out for the affair. Palm trees outside the ballpark have been wrapped in the 11 colors featured in the new Pride logo, which incorporates the original rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple) with the addition of black, brown, light blue, pink and white to recognize community members of color and people who are transgender. 

The scoreboard at the park will display the colors throughout the month, and the league's first ambassador for inclusion, Billy Bean, will participate in events on Saturday, according to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. 

Manager Gabe Kapler said he is "very proud" to be a part of a franchise that is "taking this step." 

While the move is a first for an MLB team, the Giants set the precedent in the minor leagues back in 2019. The Eugene Emeralds, San Francisco's High-A affiliate, became the first minor league team connected to a major league club to wear Pride gear. 

Every day we're honored to be an @SFGiants affiliate, but having been the first affiliated @MiLB team to wear custom #PRIDE jerseys back in 2019, today we feel just a liiittle more honored seeing this news 🥰

Flashback: https://t.co/FDhNLzpdbz#GoEms x #SFGiants https://t.co/scVYanTmml pic.twitter.com/A0fDnSqbzG

— Eugene Emeralds (@EugeneEmeralds) June 1, 2021

Special tickets are being sold for Saturday's game, and some proceeds from event tickets sold will be donated to San Francisco Pride, according to MLB.com's Paul Casella. 

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. suffered an oblique injury Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and was pulled from the game after five innings.

The Padres later announced he was removed for precautionary reasons.

Update from the clubhouse: Fernando Tatis Jr. was removed from tonight’s game for precautionary reasons with right oblique tightness.

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 2, 2021

Tatis has rapidly emerged as one of MLB's best players, finishing third in 2019 National League Rookie of the Year voting and fourth in 2020 NL MVP voting. He accumulated 6.9 WAR across 143 appearances over his first two seasons with the Padres, per Baseball Reference.

He's posted a 1.091 OPS with 16 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 38 games so far in 2021.

The 22-year-old Dominican Republic native played in just five games to open the 2021 campaign before he landed on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder injury. More specifically, he suffered a shoulder subluxation and a slight labrum tear in his left shoulder.

Ha-Seong Kim should receive the lion's share of the playing time at short when Tatis is out of the lineup. Jorge Mateo could also get some spot starts to help fill the void.

Tatis is such a major part of the Padres offense that it's hard to predict how the group would perform without him for an extended period. The presence of Manny Machado as another cornerstone helps, but it will take a collective effort to keep the club's run-scoring rates up.

San Francisco Giants infielder Mauricio Dubon didn't miss a chance to troll Trevor Bauer during Sunday's game even though the Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander wasn't even on the mound.

He launched a two-run homer off Clayton Kershaw in the first inning of San Francisco's 5-4 win and then busted out Bauer's signature sword celebration while crossing the plate.

⚔️ pic.twitter.com/LLm76z7pok

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 30, 2021

⚔️ pic.twitter.com/PIw5tVVBaY

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 22, 2021

"He did it over there and I did it over here," Dubon told reporters after the game. "It's fun."

Bauer, as he so often does, took to Twitter after the game to address the situation and suggested the celebration would have been more effective if he was on the mound.

"People out here covering an eye after hitting with two eyes open and swording the wrong pitcher y'all fools," he tweeted.

Regardless, the Giants won the latest edition of the rivalry and took three of four in the series. San Francisco is also two games ahead of the third-place Dodgers in the National League West and just a half-game behind the San Diego Padres.