Martin Prado is back in action…
The Miami Marlins have reinstated the 31-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player from the disabled list in time for Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Prado, the team’s third baseman, had been out since June 15 with a right shoulder sprain.
Prado, an MLB All-Star selection in 2010, is batting .272 with four home runs and 24 RBIs for Miami (38-51), which is 11 games back of the Washington Nationals in the NL East.
Ricky Nolasco has made a major impression in his first game on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 30-year-old Latino-American baseball right-hander pitched seven strong innings in his debut with the Dodgers to lead his brand new team to a 6-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Nolasco, acquired by the Dodgers from the Miami Marlins this weekend in exchange for a trio of pitching prospects, allowed four hits, one earned run and struck out five Tuesday night at Chase Field in Phoenix.
He was credited with the win, improving his record this season to 6-8.
The Dodgers’ hitters, meanwhile, gave their new starter plenty of run support, with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez leading the way by driving in three runs to increase his RBI tally for the season to 57.
Nolasco also helped his own cause by singling in the game’s first run in the top of the second inning.
Rookie sensation Yasiel Puig had a hit and two walks, while shortstop Hanley Ramirez went 0-for-4 as his career-best 19-game hitting streak was snapped.
Diamondbacks third baseman Martin Prado singled in second baseman Aaron Hill in the bottom of the 7th inning for Arizona’s only run.
Relievers J.P. Howell and Ronald Belisario pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, for the Dodgers.
The win improved the Dodgers’ record for the season to 44-45, which leaves them just 2.5 games behind the NL West division-leading Diamondbacks with the second half of the season just starting.
Martin Prado could be called the $40 Million Dollar Man…
The 29-year-old Venezuelan pro baseball player has agreed to a $40 million, four-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks only a week after being acquired in a team trade that sent Justin Upton to the Atlanta Braves.
Prado, who made the All-Star team as the Braves’ second baseman in 2010, has been tapped to play third base for the Diamondbacks.
Prado, who will play for Venezuela in this year’s World Baseball Classic, is a career .295 hitter. Arizona sent two-time All-Star Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson to the Braves for Prado, right-hander Randall Delgado and three minor leaguers.
Prado, who said that the trade initially took him by surprise, has a new outlook.
“Now I see everything more clear, and I’m happy to be aboard with the Arizona Diamondbacks,” he said.
Prado will earn $7 million this season, then $11 million each of the following three years. He could have gone through arbitration and become a free agent after this season, perhaps getting a more lucrative deal.
“Since I got to the big leagues I’ve been looking to be more secure,” he said, “to be in the right spot and not have to worry about going through free agency,” said Prado. “The way I am right now, I’m happy. I’m going to play more relaxed. I think I needed it.”
General manager Kevin Towers said that adding a contact hitter in Prado should help the team be less reliant on the home run.
Prado prides himself on being able to do “the little things” to make a team successful.
“You know that in the National League, more often you can play the game and do the little things right, you can take advantage of the other team,” he said. “That’s my thing, just trying to make that as a routine because in small games, that can make a difference, and one game can make a difference at the end of the year.”
Prado hit .301 last season with 42 doubles, 10 home runs and 70 RBIs in 156 games. He led the National League with 60 multi-hit games and was fourth in hits and fifth in doubles. He played several positions, primarily left field but also third base, second base, first base and shortstop. He has never played an entire season at third base.
Pitchers and catchers report to the Diamondbacks’ Scottsdale spring training facility on February 11, with all players reporting three days later.
He’s been playing major league baseball for less than two decades, but Alex Rodriguez has already matched the record of one of the sport’s all-time greats.
During the New York Yankees’ 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, the 36-year-old Dominican American baseball star hit his 23rd career grand slam, matching Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig‘s record.
The Yankees had only been 10 for 67 (.149) with the bases loaded this season before Rodriguez hit his tying shot. Minutes later, Rodriguez paused to savor his shared place with Gehrig in baseball history.
“It means a lot,” Rodriguez said. “It’s very special. This game is very, very difficult. If you’re not going to enjoy these great moments, then it’s not any fun. Lou Gehrig is not only one of the all-time greats, but he’s one of ours.”
Yankees manager Joe Girardi called it “absolutely incredible” that Rodriguez equaled Gehrig’s mark.
“It’s hard to fathom what he’s been able to do in his career,” Girardi said. “To be mentioned with Lou Gehrig, that’s special.”
Rodriguez had been 1 for 10 this season with the bases loaded before he lined the full-count pitch over the left field wall. Braves left fielder Martin Prado barely moved as he watched the homer clear the wall.
“I made a bad pitch and he crushed it,” said Braves pitcher Jonny Venters. “I have no excuses. I felt great mechanically. I felt great physically. I
just fell behind some hitters. … I threw a pitch right down the middle, 3-2, to one of the best hitters in the game. I feel bad I let my team down.”
Rodriguez’s homer was his 10th of the season and first grand slam.