MLB Player News

“I think I’m more of a security blanket in case 14 injuries [to starting pitchers] happen,” Medlen said. “I keep getting asked what I want to do, and you obviously know the answer. But I know my role, which is to be a bullpen guy or a backup starter. I’ve accepted it and whatever. I’m ready to play baseball. That’s pretty much it.” Medlen, 25, was effective in 14 starts during the 2010 season, but is just a year removed from Tommy John surgery. He returned to make two relief appearances in September.

It’s a disappointing result considering Miami’s lineup has been downright pedestrian through two months this season and Yesavage was coming off a brilliant five-start stretch with a sublime 1.07 ERA and 29/8 K/BB ratio across 25 1/3 innings of work. The dynamic 22-year-old top pitching prospect held the Marlins to a pair of runs before the metaphorical wheels came off in the sixth inning when he gave up run-scoring doubles to Kyle Stowers and Javier Sanoja with two outs in the frame. He finished with six strikeouts and only issued two walks. He’ll wrap up a two-start week with a road tilt against the Orioles on Sunday.

Alvarez, who was back in Houston’s lineup after missing his first game of the season due to a minor back issue over the weekend, mashed a 415-foot no-doubter to right-center field off Rangers starter Kumar Rocker. Clearly, he’s feeling just fine from a physical standpoint. The 28-year-old run-producing force is hitting .301/.415/.606 with 32 runs scored, 16 homers, 33 RBI and one stolen base through 54 games this season.

There weren’t a ton of bright spots for the Rangers in this one as Tatsuya Imai and a pair of Astros relievers combined on a no-hitter. Nimmo walked twice in the contest and struck out looking to end it against rookie reliever Alimber Santa on a nasty sweeper that just caught the bottom of the zone. Texas has been struggling to get anything going offensively for a couple games as they’ve dropped four straight and have scored just three runs combined over their last three games.

Walker tattooed a gargantuan 401-foot blast to left-center field against Rangers reliever Peyton Gray for his 15th big fly of the season. The35-year-old veteran slugger has been sizzling-hot at the dish recently, homering four times in his last three games and eight times since the start of May. It’s probably flown a bit under the radar this season, but Walker is on pace to easily eclipse the 30-homer mark for the first time since 2023.

Imai authored one of the strangest performances of the season, somehow holding the Rangers hitless for six innings despite issuing four walks and recording just two strikeouts. He threw only 57 of 97 pitches for strikes, but stayed around the zone enough to avoid damage, retiring 15 of the final 16 batters he faced. Okert followed with a scoreless seventh before Santa made his big-league debut, retiring the final six hitters in impressive fashion to complete the first combined no-hitter in the majors since 2024. Imai remains a challenging pitcher to forecast given that he’s barely throwing his splitter in games at this point. He’ll face the Brewers at home to wrap up a two-start week on Sunday.

Coming off one of the strongest outings of his career while pitching behind an opener, Rocker returned to a traditional start here and ran into trouble early. He hit leadoff batter Jeremy Peña, who eventually came around to score on Yordan Alvarez’s sacrifice fly. He settled in briefly before Alvarez connected for a leadoff homer in the fourth, and he was tagged for two additional runs in the fifth before exiting. He finished with five strikeouts and two walks. He’ll close out a two-start week with a favorable home matchup against the Royals on Saturday.

Rumfield was drilled on the right hand by a 97-mph heater from Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan in the opening frame and immediately left the contest. The 26-year-old rookie, who has an .810 OPS with seven homers through 54 games this season, will head for X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Schwarber took Padres starter Griffin Canning deep to right field in the opening frame for his first big fly since missing three games due to illness last week. The 33-year-old veteran slugger has done most of his damage since the start of May, leaving the yard an astounding 10 times in 20 contests during that span. He’s spent the last few years cementing his legacy as one of the most consistent power hitters of his generation and is on pace to eclipse the lofty 45-homer plateau for the fourth time in the last five years.

It’s an undeniable fact that Tatis hasn’t lived up to fantasy managers’ lofty expectations as a borderline first-round pick in most leagues based on his unexpected power outage. However, he’s at least found a way to be productive in other ways recently, hitting .417 (10-for-24) with two steals over his last seven games. He reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances and picked up his 13th steal of the season in this one. It may be impossible to salvage this season overall, but there’s no reason to think Tatis can’t be an impactful fantasy contributor, just not a five-category superstar, for the rest of the year.

Duran got the call to protect a three-run lead in the final frame and managed to work around a two-out single by Ty France, needing just 17 pitches (nine strikes) to end it. The 28-year-old stopper has converted all 10 of his save opportunities this season to accompany a microscopic 1.72 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 23/5 K/BB ratio across 15 1/3 innings of work.