MLB Player News

Gutierrez, 22, has only logged 27 1/3 innings this year with Single-A Wilmington due to right shoulder inflammation, but has posted and impressive 25/7 K/BB ratio and 1.65 ERA in the time he’s been healthy. Baseball America rated him as the Royals’ No. 7 prospect.

The slam off Matthew Liberatore was Kurtz’s third in 15 career at-bats with the bases loaded. It was also his first homer in 63 plate appearances against lefties this season. He’s previously gone 7-for-43 with two RBI in his 12 games in which the opposition started a lefty. Fortunately, he’s done plenty of damage against righties along the way, and he’s currently sporting a .267/.418/.453 line for the year.

Ginn gave up at least one hit each inning, but eight were singles and only four came on hard-hit balls. He induced a double play ball in the first, and the Cardinals went on to make outs on the basepaths in the fourth and sixth. Ginn, who opened 0-1 in five starts and three relief appearances, has pitched 14 innings with one earned run allowed while winning his last two starts. He’ll take his next turn in Anaheim against the Angels. It’s a two-start week, as he’ll also face the Padres on the road, but he’d make for a risky streaming pick.

It’s obviously not a save, but it would have been one if the A’s hadn’t expanded their lead from three runs to four in the bottom of the eighth. The ninth is wide open again in Sacramento after Perkins blew his most recent opportunity on May 6, but he’s clearly still very much in the mix after having gone 3-for-3 last month.

Liberatore’s velocity was a little better than usual tonight and he had great success in amassing a 58 percent CSW on the 19 curveballs he threw, but thanks to Nick Kurtz’s grand slam in the fifth, the results just weren’t there in the end. The loss leaves him 2-2 with a 4.40 ERA. That’s not much different than his 4.21 ERA from last year, but his strikeout and walk rates are both significantly worse now than they were then. If he’s just going to be a fifth starter, it might be worth dropping his changeup and cutter and taking another look at him as a reliever at some point.

Both of his singles came on grounders, one hard and one soft. That was probably to be expected from a guy with a 58 percent groundball rate in Triple-A. Being tied for the highest batting average of all-time (although not the highest OBP of all-time) should earn Bolte another start Thursday against righty Michael McGreevy. He’s only guaranteed to play against lefties after getting the call Tuesday, but the A’s definitely need to see if they can catch lightning in a bottle here.

If Lars Nootbaar can pull off a successful comeback later this month, Scott is probably going to find himself in Triple-A for a spell. He’s hitting just .178/.243/.228, dropping his career line to .202/.277/.283. He’s even disappointed a bit on the basepaths, getting caught on three of his nine steal attempts. Last year, he was 34-for-38.

Benge had his finger prints all over this game for a variety of different reasons. First, he misjudged a line drive from Colt Keith amidst heavy winds at Citi Field that clanked off his glove, turned into a double, and set-up a two-run first inning for the Tigers. Then, he knocked a couple singles and stood at third base as the go-ahead run in the seventh. The Mets ran a cheeky first and third double steal, but Benge hesitated every so slightly and was thrown out at the plate. Finally, he stepped to the plate in the 10th inning and poked a walk-off single up the middle. After a disastrous first two weeks of his career, Benge has maintained a .271 batting average over his last 30 games and found some more power lately with an .817 OPS over his last 15 games. He’s also hit lead-off in two straight games, including here against a left-handed pitcher. It’s officially time to put him back on our radars.

It was a grind for Scott in nearly every inning he pitched, but he dug deep to hold the Tigers to just two runs. Both scored in the first inning after heavy wind blew a line drive from Mets’ right fielder Carson Benge before Riley Greene knocked a liner over a drawn-in infield. Why the infield would be in during the first inning is a valid question, but Scott stopped the bleeding right there. The Tigers struggled to square him up, but he also struggled to put hitters away. Especially left-handers as Scott continues to search for the splitter that was supposed to be his new weapon against them. Nevertheless, his fastball, sweeper, and cutter are all nasty and keep him at least mildly effective on most nights. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Nationals and Marlins.

Greene came through with a two-run knock in the first inning to give the Tigers an early lead. Those stood as their only two runs in an extra inning loss against the Mets. Oddly enough, Greene has foregone power this season in favor of more contact with just four home runs, but a .325 batting average so far this season. His strikeout rate remains relatively high, so expect that average to dip while the home runs likely follow as the weather warms up in Detroit.

It was smooth sailing for Valdez most of the night here. The Mets barely challenged until a two out walk by their nine-hitter Luis Torrens and a bloop single by Carson Benge to follow chased Valdez from the game. Bo Bichette matched Benge with a bloop single of his own to tie this game and take the opportunity to earn a win from Valdez. Still, he was sharp in his return from suspension forcing 11 swings-and-misses, with four different pitches forcing at least two, and getting tons of ground balls. It was a nice bounce back performance before what is scheduled to be a two-start week for Valdez against the Guardians and Orioles up next.