MLB Player News

Jim Johnson is the fill-in closer, but there’s little doubt who the Braves’ most interesting reliever is at the moment; Cabrera is throwing 100 mph and doing so with fine results. He’s sporting a 2.55 ERA and a 16/6 K/BB ratio in 17 2/3 innings. He could be a closer candidate next year if the Braves trade Arodys Vizcaino.

Williams took the mound with the Guardians already up 5-0. The righty promptly allowed a leadoff double to Nathan Lukes,, and an RBI grounder by Vlad Guerrero a few batters later drove in the first run of the night for the Jays. On the following at-bat, Jesús Sánchez hit a solo homer to cut the Guardians’ lead to 5-2, but that would be all Williams would allow in the inning. Williams would allow a solo homer to Kazuma Okamoto in the second inning, but retired the side in order in the third and fourth innings to settle in. He would allow two more runs before being pulled at the start of the seventh inning, but left with a lead and a chance to secure a win in the high-scoring affair. This was easily the worst out of the season for Williams, who allowed season highs in both hits and runs, but he never trailed while on the mound. His next start is scheduled for Wednesday against the Rays.

Kazuma Okamoto and Andrés Giménez singled to start proceedings in the ninth, but Smith got pinch-hitter Eloy Jiménez to ground into a double play to quash the rally before Davis Schneider popped up to end the game. Smith’s 4.15 ERA and 1.50 WHIP weren’t what you were hoping for when you sprung an early pick on a closer, but he’s underperforming his xERA by almost a full run and his strikeout rate remains high.

Martinez barely scraped over the wall in right-center field with a two-run homer in the first inning -- then cleared his second in essentially the same spot, but a few rows deeper as he chased Max Scherzer. The Guardians have started pivoting away from Martinez of late as he has just three starts in his last six games while George Valera plays more often. Maybe this will get him back in the starting lineup conversation. On the season he’s hitting .284/.329/.541 with five long balls and four stolen bases.

He walked three and didn’t strike out a single batter -- he actually was one punchout from 3,500 in his illustrious career, but couldn’t get it. The Guardians bludgeoned him for two long balls in the first inning, then Angel Martínez got him again in the third inning to chase him from the game. With one strikeout over his last two starts, Scherzer looks like a do not start until further notice. His fastball was pounded as it averaged just 92.8 mph on the gun. Carrying a 9.64 ERA and complaining of forearm tendinitis a few starts ago, we can only say that his next scheduled start is against Boston while implying it might not happen.

Lee put the Twins on the board in the top of the fifth inning when he hit a 402-foot solo homer off Drew Rasmussen to cut the Rays’ lead to 3-1. Lee has tallied three-hit nights in back-to-back games and has pushed his homer run total to four on the season with his latest bomb. He’s slashing .296/.356/.556 over his last 15 games and seems to be heating up after his slow start.

Williams’ first real dud of the season -- it didn’t seem like there was anything particularly wrong under the hood here, and he somehow escaped with a win anyway. His average fastball velocity was up to 97 mph. He just didn’t seem to be able to spot his curveball, allowing four of his nine hard-hit balls on 25 of those pitches. Homers continue to be a sneaky problem as he’s now allowed six in six starts. He’ll try to pick up the pieces against the Rays next week.

It’s the fifth save of the season for Baker, who faced the minimum three batters on Friday while striking out Byron Buxton to pick up the second out of the inning. It’s Baker’s first save since April 16th, but he continues to be the go-to option in the ninth with Edwin Uceta still on the mend.

Caminero got things started with a bang for the Rays when he took former Ray Taj Bradley deep to center field for a 466-foot homer to give his team an early 1-0 lead. Caminero wasn’t done yet, however. The Rays slugger again got the best of Bradley in the seventh inning, sending a two-run shot into the stands to push the Rays’ lead to 6-1, and ending the night for Bradley. Caminero has been on a heater as of late, registering a hit in nine-straight games while homering six times over that stretch.

Rasmussen bounced back nicely from his rough outing against the Pirates in his previous start. The righty retired eight of the first nine batters he faced and didn’t allow a run until the fifth inning when Brooks Lee blasted a solo shot with one out to cut the Rays’ lead to 3-1. Friday marked the fifth start of the season for Rasmussen, who has allowed one earned run or fewer in four of his starts on the young campaign. He’ll look to close out the month of April with one more solid outing when he takes the mound on Wednesday against the Guardians.

Bradley gave up a solo homer to Junior Caminero with one out in the first inning to immediately fall behind 1-0. He gave up his second run of the game in the third inning on an RBI ground out by Chandler Simpson, and was taken deep by Jonathan Aranda in the fourth inning as the Rays pushed their lead to 3-0. Bradley would pitch his way into the seventh inning but would not survive the inning, as a two-run homer from Caminero officially knocked him from the game. It was the worst outing of the season for Bradley, who hadn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his previous five starts. He’ll look to bounce back in his next outing, which is scheduled for Wednesday against the Mariners.