MLB Player News

Bynum had an operation for a blood clot in his right shoulder in Sept. 2004, so there’s going to be no fooling around here. If he needs to go on the DL, it means that Matt Murton will definitely hang around following Derrek Lee’s return.

The 33-year-old hurler exercised the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Angels on Monday, but after exploring the open market he decided that staying with the Angels makes the most sense for him at the moment. He’ll continue to serve as extra rotation depth at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Seager smacked a one-out single off of Michael Wacha in the top half of the first and raced around to score the game’s first run on Brandon Nimmo’s RBI double. He then increased that lead to 3-0 as he ambushed the first pitch of the third inning for a 391-foot (100.0-mph EV) solo shot to right. He has been swinging a hot bat since returning from the injured list but is still slashing a woeful .186/.284/.373 on the season with nine long balls and 24 RBI in 204 plate appearances.

Nimmo opened the scoring in the ballgame with an RBI double off of Michael Wacha in the top half of the first, but he was cut down trying to stretch it into a triple. He also led off the sixth inning with a double but was erased on a fielder’s choice. With his two-hit afternoon, the 33-year-old outfielder is now slashing .259/.334/.408 with seven homers, 23 RBI and two stolen bases over 287 plate appearances in his first season with the Rangers.

Latz actually came on with a 4-2 lead to protect in the eighth inning and looked poised to earn a six-out save. He was absolutely dominant, retiring all six hitters that he faced in order — three of them on strikeouts — while throwing 14 of his 15 pitches for strikes. It was so good, in fact, that the official scorer awarded him with the victory in the game instead of the save. Latz now holds a brilliant 1.69 ERA and 0.63 WHIP over 32 innings on the season while converting 10 of his first 12 save chances.

The 26-year-old righty issued a pair of walks on the day while punching out three opposing hitters. All of the damage done against him came in the fourth inning. The Royals loaded the bases with no outs, then he got Michael Massey to hit into a double play that pushed a run across, and Kameron Misner followed with an RBI single. Rocker got seven whiffs on 83 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll bring a 3.56 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 52/28 K/BB ratio (65 2/3 innings) into Tuesday’s battle against the Twins.

Caglianone singled during the Royals’ rally in the fourth inning and ultimately scored on an RBI knock by Kameron Misner. He also started the sixth inning with a single but was quickly erased on a double play ball. With his two-hit attack, the 23-year-old slugger is now hitting .279/.351/.457 on the season with eight homers, 19 RBI and three stolen bases on the season.

Wacha walked one and struck out two on the day. Most of the damage done against him came early, as the Rangers scratched out single runs in each of the first three innings — the last on a solo blast by Corey Seager. The lone tally after that came on a run-scoring single in the sixth. Wacha generated seven whiffs on 102 pitches on the day, posting an underwhelming CSW of just 22 percent. Now 4-5 on the season, he’ll carry a solid 3.58 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and a 69/27 K/BB ratio (88 innings) into Tuesday’s battle against the Nationals in Washington.

Suzuki’s homer off Ryan Feltner, which gave the Cubs their first runs of the day in the fourth, was his 10th of the year. He has three homers during an eight-game hitting streak in which he’s had exactly one hit each game. He’s batting .248/.332/.421 with 26 RBI through 55 games.

Cabrera gave up a couple of homers in Coors, but both were solo shots. He struck out five and walked two. Cabrera’s velocity was again very good; he averaged 96.9 mph with his fastball today, just down from 97.3 mph last Friday in his return from the injured list. In 10 starts before missing time with a blister, Cabrera averaged 95.7 mph, and the only time he was over 96.0 mph previously was when he came in at 96.5 mph in his season debut. Obviously, he’ll be a better bet if the velocity sticks around, though he should be fine either way next week, as he’ll be facing the Rockies outside of Colorado.

Feltner gave up two hits, a walk and a Seiya Suzuki grand slam in the fourth and then walked two more batters before being pulled with one out in the fifth. Both runners went on to score after Blas Castaño took over. Feltner was effective in his first two starts off the IL, but his season ERA is back up to 5.20 after this. He’ll face the Cubs again next week, though he won’t have to deal with Coors then.