The Buzz — Thursday, September 10

Josue De Paula

The take Direct Double-A call-up to DH for IL'd Ohtani

The Dodgers have never called up a position player directly from Double-A. They are about to do it for a 21-year-old with no Triple-A seasoning because Shohei Ohtani's 15-day injured list stint opened a designated hitter spot and the organization decided the bat was ready now.

In 124 games at Double-A Tulsa, De Paula slashed .303/.401/.547 with 27 home runs, 31 stolen bases, 104 RBIs and 106 runs scored — MLB Pipeline's No. 6 overall prospect producing like a player who has nothing left to prove at that level. The power-speed-on-base package is the entire case for skipping the standard ladder, and it is a good case.

He joins the club Friday in Miami for the start of a seven-game road trip and is expected to take most of the DH at-bats over the next 11 games, with some corner-outfield reps mixed in. The 40-man roster move is not yet official — a spot must be cleared first — but the role is already mapped. This is not a cup of coffee. It is a deliberate choice to find out whether the bat plays in the middle of a season, with Ohtani's absence as the reason and De Paula's production as the warrant. The debut Friday is the real test.

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Kyle Schwarber

The take Schwarber 44th HR grand slam fuels Phillies comeback

Schwarber's 44th home run — a grand slam, the 10th of his career — capped a six-run sixth inning that erased deficits of 4-0 and 6-4 in an 11-7 win over Houston. It was his fourth home run in five games, the ball traveling 408 feet off a sweeper. He leads the majors in home runs, and the timing is what separates it: Philadelphia moved within three games of the NL East lead with 16 to play, and the bat carrying them there is getting hotter.

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Jose Altuve

The take Altuve celebrated 2,500th hit on a double

The milestone came on a double off Cristopher Sánchez in the third inning — career hit No. 2,500, making Altuve the second Astro to reach the number after Craig Biggio's 3,060 and the 103rd player in baseball history to do so. He is the 11th primary second baseman on that list, and he and Freddie Freeman are the only active players with 2,500.

He reached it in his 2,095th career game, tied with Ted Williams for pace. What the number captures is a career spent entirely with one franchise — a bat that found its way to a baseball almost every day. Trea Turner and Luis Arraez paused to congratulate him on the field; the dugout emptied to the top step. Altuve said it means a lot, that it is a big number. Joe Espada carried the weight better: twenty-five hundred hits is hard just to get one, and this guy has been doing it for a very long time. The line was 1-for-4 in an 11-7 loss, but the milestone outlasts the standings.

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Francisco Lindor

The take Lindor three-run HR keys Mets wild 15-14 win

A 15-14 game is not where you expect a clean turning point, but Lindor's three-run homer in the seventh — his 18th of the season — put the Mets ahead to stay after they had blown an early lead. Since the August 3 trade deadline, the Mets are 21-12 and have won four straight. Lindor said the dugout knew someone would come through without needing a hero. His blast was the loudest answer in a game that had too many of them.

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Jackson Merrill

The take Two-homer six-RBI game fuels fantasy hype

Merrill went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a triple and six RBI in a 9-2 win over the Nationals — a season-high RBI total and a near-cycle that matched his career best with his 24th home run. He became the third Padre in franchise history with two homers and a triple in one game, joining Ryan Klesko and Greg Vaughn.

The fantasy crowd will chase the box score, and the night was real — but the season line is .245, and he entered the series hitless in his previous four games. What you saw was a streaky hitter catching fire again. What matters is where it landed: the Padres completed a sweep, finished their homestand 5-1, and were tied for the final NL Wild Card spot with 16 games to play.

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