Munetaka Murakami goes 0-for-4 to continue slump

Carroll was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup with low back discomfort, and it appears the injury may be an actual issue. The Diamondbacks are off on Thursday and then home against the Rangers on Friday, so there is a chance that Carroll could return for that game if his imaging comes back clean. We likely won’t know for sure until Friday morning, but Carroll has really been struggling since the All-Star break, and this might be the reason why.

Crochet was in full uniform on Tuesday to throw a bullpen before the Red Sox’s game against the Angels. It was his second bullpen in the last four days and another big step forward in his plan to join the team as a reliever for the playoffs. The left-hander is scheduled for another bullpen on Friday or Saturday and then may get a chance to pitch in a rehab game or two in Triple-A before the season ends on September 20th. While the Red Sox have said that they won’t stretch him out beyond three innings given the short timeline, interim manager Chad Tracy has said that using Crochet as an opener is on the table.

Arnold immediately dropped his glove and walked into the dugout with the trainer. He was taken to the hospital for further evaluation, but the team has not released any additional information as of now. The 22-year-old is the Athletics’ fourth-ranked prospect and was making his first Triple-A start.

This is Nelson’s second rehab appearance, and both have been just one inning. He needed just 11 pitches to get through this innings, but he was not pushed any farther, which lines up with earlier reports that he would return in a bullpen role. Nelson sat 95.7 mph on his four-seamer and mixed in some cutters and sliders too. He could be back in Arizona in the next week or so, but he would lose all fantasy value in a bullpen role.

Bautista needed just eight pitches, six of them strikes, to collect three outs. He had just one whiff and sat 94.8 mph on his sinker, but he had much better command of his arsenal in this one. He likely needs a few more appearances, but there is a chance that he could rejoin the Orioles as soon as next week if he continues to pitch well.

There is some speculation that Gonzalez was removed for an impending call-up. Since being sent to Triple-A on August 4th, Gonzalez has gone 30-for-79 (.380) with three home runs, 20 RBI, 14 runs scored, and a 15/8 K/BB ratio. The Red Sox were forced to rush him back from shoulder surgery quickly in July due to injuries on the big league club, but it seems like the 30-year-old just needed some more time to get his timing back. He could be an option for the Red Sox instead of Andruw Monasterio, who has been struggling of late.

Houck threw 20 pitches, which was the plan from the start of the day, but he threw only eight for strikes. He walked two and induced a flyout and an RBI groundout. The 30-year-old is 13 months removed from Tommy John surgery and was making his first appearance in an official game, so some rust was expected. He will have one more outing in Portland before the plan is to move up to Triple-A, where we’ll get some more data on his velocity and pitch shapes.

Gonsolin threw 64 pitches in this one, with 66 percent of them landing for strikes. His four-seamer sat just 91.9 mph, but he commanded it well and got a few whiffs. The splitter was his best swing-and-miss offering, and he commanded that well too. He also showed off slightly different movement profiles on his curve and slider, which could be worth keeping an eye on. Coming off last year’s elbow surgery, it seems likely that Gonsolin could be up with the Royals for his next start or the one after.

Thorpe is making his way back from Tommy John surgery and hoping to make a handful of starts for the White Sox down the stretch. He threw 62 percent of his pitches for strikes in this one but had just a 10 percent swinging strike rate and didn’t get a single whiff on his four-seamer, which sat just 91.6 mph. His changeup got plenty of whiffs outside of the zone, and he got a few on his slider as well, but it’s hard to get overly excited right now about a low-velocity right-hander whose main weapon is a changeup. The 25-year-old was part of the Juan Soto trade that sent him from the Yankees to the Padres and then was later sent from the Padres to the White Sox as the headliner in the Dylan Cease trade.

Michael Lorenzen will be available to go long, but the Jays might try to get through the game using primarily short relievers if it stays close. Spencer Miles, who threw two innings as the only reliever used by the Jays on Tuesday, should be the lone unavailable member of the pen.