If you only read one thing…

Hunter Pence is back. He was 2-for-3 in his first game back with the Giants on Saturday with a single, double, walk and three runs scored.   It was very encouraging for Pence owners to see him return from a broken forearm as well as he did. He looked comfortable at the plate and could possibly be the spark that the Giants needed, along with Brandon Belt heating up, to get the defending champions heading in the right direction.

Just As We Expected…

Giancarlo Stanton hit his fourth home run in as many games on Saturday, bringing his total up to 11 on the year with a league best 36 RBI. Stanton hit an absolute BOMB on Friday, and he followed that one up with an even bigger shot against the Braves on Saturday. In fact, I’m pretty sure the ball JUST landed from the shot he hit today. He signed the biggest contract in MLB history this offseason, but it doesn’t appear to be getting to his head, which is good for fantasy owners and for Marlins fans.

But We Didn’t See This Coming…

Matt Shoemaker brought a 6.61 ERA into his start at Baltimore Saturday, a place that hasn’t been friendly to pitchers of late. He has not allowed less than three runs in a start this season, but he was brilliant against the Orioles at Camden Yards. He allowed just three hits and did not walk a batter while striking out seven, picking up his third win of the season. Shoemaker had 16 wins in just 134 innings pitched last season and was a strong consideration for a breakout pitcher in my opinion coming in to the season. He hasn’t been good this season, but maybe this could be the start that gets him going in the right direction and helping return to the 3.04 ERA he had in 2014, instead of the 5.63 ERA he has now after this start.

Save Chances

Jason Grilli gave up yet another run on Saturday but still notched the save for the Braves. It’s hard to tell if his back is still giving him issues, which has caused the faltering of late, or if it might be time for the Braves to start thinking about letting someone else take over if this continues. Grilli was an All-Star for the Pirates just a couple years ago, but he’s struggled with consistency ever since.

Jonathan Papelbon, Glen Perkins, Joakim Soria, Luke Gregerson, Trvis Wood and Drew Storen also got saves on Saturday.

Injury Update

Devon Travis left the game against the Astros Saturday with what appears to be a shoulder injury.

Wil Myers continues to sit with a wrist injury for the Padres but doesn’t appear to be in danger of landing on the DL, however, it’s getting closer and closer to that being a possibility every day.

There doesn’t appear to be a very clear timetable on Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, but he is likely to be out another two weeks at least.

Yoenis Cespedes injured his thumb in Saturday’s game against the Cardinals and should be considered day-to-day.