MLB Player News

He is batting sixth against Derek Lowe on Thursday. Nava is hitting a blistering .316/.421/.505 this season at Triple-A. He’s never had a problem in the minors, raking a .900-plus OPS over his career. Nava was a mini-sensation for the Sox in 2010 after he hit a grand slam on the first major league pitch he saw, but he ultimately batted just .242/.351/.360 with the one home run in 60 games. He didn’t crack the Red Sox roster last season.

Abrams’ hit off Keaton Winn tied the game. He then stole second base and scored the go-ahead run on a Daylen Lile single. Abrams is batting .289/.382/.533 while making a strong bid for his second All-Star appearances. He’s second in the majors with 51 RBI. Last year, he finished tied for 130th place with 60 in 144 games

It’s the third time in his eight bulk appearances that Mikolas has gone without allowing a run. He entered the season looking like the best 20-loss candidate in many years and then dropped each of his first three starts, amassing a 12.41 ERA in the process. However, since becoming primarily a bulk guy, he’s 1-2 with a 4.28 ERA in 48 1/3 innings over 11 appearances. He’s due to next pitch against the Mariners on Sunday.

Clayton Beeter, who has reemerged as the favorite for saves in D.C., entered in the seventh and wound up with the win despite allowing two runs in the eighth, giving the Giants a 3-1 lead. The Nationals, though, came back with three in the top of the ninth, and Varland shut the door from there. We’re not sure any Nationals reliever is worth rostering in 10- or 12-team leagues at the moment, but Beeter is probably still the best bet of the group. Varland’s save was his first since May 7.

Webb struck out seven and walked none before leaving with a 3-1 lead that got blown by Keaton Winn in the ninth. At least it’s Webb’s second straight outstanding start, as he pitched seven scoreless innings with one hit allowed last week against the Brewers. Given how shaky he was in April, casting some doubt on how he’d perform while losing that extra margin for error he seemed get from umpire pre-ABS, before spending much of May on the IL, there’s suddenly a lot more to be encouraged about here. He’ll face the Cubs on Sunday.

This is a big failure for Winn, who was trying for his second save of the year and instead saw his ERA jump from 2.40 to 3.23. Give the advantage back to Caleb Kilian in the San Francisco pen.

His one out tonight was actually a liner to left with an .800 xBA. Lee went without an RBI, as the three guys ahead of him in the order combined to go 2-for-14. This is his fourth four-hit game in his last 11 starts, a stretch in which he’s raised his average from .268 to .333. He’s tied with Brandon Marsh for second in MLB in average, three points behind Otto Lopez.

Bellinger slapped Shawn Armstrong pitch to the left side and through a drawn-in infield to plate two in the 10th. He’s up to 43 RBI on the season, which is tied for 14th in the majors. Of the 25 players with at least 40 RBI, only Bellinger (nine) and Alec Burleson (eight) are still in single digits in homers.

All of the runs came in the third, which featured a walk, a double, two singles and then a Brayan Rocchio throwing error. Warren got pulled with a 4-3 lead in the fifth after a HBP, a strikeout and then an odd catcher’s interference on a one-two pitch to José Ramírez. The curve from Warren came close to Ramírez’s back foot and catcher J.C. Escarra gloved both ball and shoe while making the catch. It was ruled catcher’s interference on replay, though Ramírez wasn’t swinging and wasn’t affected by it at all. Warren was lifted immediately afterwards, and Brent Headrick finished the inning without incident. Warren ended up with five strikeouts, and he allowed two earned runs or fewer for the 11th time in 13 starts this season. He’ll take a 3.28 ERA into his next start, which will probably come Sunday against the Blue Jays.

He struck out three and walked one. Bednar threw 27 pitches tonight after 11 on Sunday, so he’ll most likely be down on Tuesday. Fernando Cruz could be a candidate for a save then.

Williams reached 100.4 mph on the gun tonight, and his 98.7-mph average on his fastball was 2.1 mph better than his season norm. Still, it didn’t stop him from giving up two homers, one on a cutter and another on a curve. It would have been nice to see Williams do a little better in consecutive starts against Aaron Judge-less Yankees lineups — he allowed two homers and three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings last time out — but it could have gone worse. He’s still tied for the major league lead with nine wins. He has a 3.95 ERA in his last seven starts after coming in at 2.73 in his first seven. Williams will face the Tigers next.