MLB Player News

Reggie Willits will take his place in right field and bat ninth against Derek Holland.

Castro was lifted from Wednesday’s game after being drilled on the hand by a Spencer Arrighetti fastball. Fortunately, imaging revealed no structural damage and he’s considered day-to-day. Tyler Freeman will draw a start in right field and will bat second against Ryan Weiss and the Astros on Thursday evening in Houston.

The 27-year-old right-hander told reporters, through his interpreter, that he felt good after the session but isn’t sure when he’ll be cleared to throw off of a mound. It sounds like it could wind up being a while before he’s ready to contribute to the Astros’ rotation.

The 29-year-old infielder was shelved at the end of the spring due to a right oblique strain. He had already been playing at Triple-A El Paso on a minor league rehab assignment where he has hit .276/.364/.310 with zero homers, 10 RBI, zero stolen bases and a 17/8 K/BB ratio over 66 plate appearances. He’ll remain there in an everyday role until he’s needed at the big league level.

It’s still notable that with similar workloads over the last few days, it was Santana and not Gregory Soto that took the mound at the start of the tenth inning. Santana did not exactly reward the confidence by leaving a pitch right in the middle of the plate for the go-ahead RBI single by James Wood. The committee should remain interesting in Pittsburgh, but perhaps this was a tell-tale sign of trust we should attach some real meaning to.

Beeter couldn’t find his command, walking two and hitting Ryan O’Hearn with a pitch in a game he entered in the ninth with a one-run lead. He didn’t exactly get hit up -- Brandon Lowe’s game-tying single hit two gloves on its way through the infield -- and he also finished out the inning. But it also wasn’t the kind of performance that puts Washington’s closer situation into the “no doubt” category. Orlando Ribalta wound up with the save in the bottom of the 10th, stranding the Manfred Man to close it out.

Wood had earlier struck out with the bases loaded and nobody out against Braxton Ashcraft, but Pirates-Nationals was long enough to be two games and Wood was able to finally get some revenge in the tenth with a go-ahead RBI single. The 23-year-old superstar is off to a .256/.376/.526 start, with five homers and four stolen bases in his first 19 games of the season. Seems alright.

It was his first of the year and a towering blast that went deep into the left field stands off Foster Griffin. Ozuna started the year off ice cold, hitting .051 in his first 10 games of the season. But he’s now hit in four straight games and is trying to bash his way back into the deep league conversation.

On the plus side, Boyd racked up six strikeouts on the afternoon while allowing only one base on balls. He threw 64 pitches in the contest — 46 of them for strikes — while his fastball topped out at 94.5 mph. The expectation is that he’ll now be cleared to rejoin the Cubs’ rotation next week, likely at the expense of Jaiver Assad.

Griffin gave up plenty of hard contact in this one, and perhaps most disappointingly, gave up a 4-0 lead immediately by allowing an Oneil Cruz RBI double and a three-run blast to Marcell Ozuna that hit off the facade in left field. Griffin did still manage to leave the game with a one-run lead, but Washington’s bullpen immediately squandered it. Nothing about Griffin’s 3.05 ERA has felt sustainable so far and we wouldn’t be excited about streaming him against the Braves next week.

Ashcraft cruised through the first four innings, while allowing just three singles and a walk, but sandwiched a hit by pitch and walk around a double to load the bases in the top of the fifth. Ashcraft struck out James Wood, but a grounder from Luis Garcia Jr. knocked in all three runs when Konnor Griffin tried to take it to the bag himself, was a step late, and then spiked the throw into right field. Ashcraft, not to be outdone, fired a pickoff throw into center field to allow a fourth run. Jorbit Vivas singled in the sixth, chasing Ashcraft, and Pittsburgh’s bullpen allowed the inherited run to come in. Tough one for Ashcraft, as he allowed just three hard-hit balls. He’ll look to bounce back against the Rangers next week.