MLB Player News

Schimpf took Logan Verrett deep for his first career grand slam in the first inning before connecting for a two-run shot against him in the third inning. This is the second two-homer game of his brief major league career. While the 28-year-old is hitting just .218, he has surprised with 12 homers and a .917 OPS in just 47 games. 24 of his 31 hits have gone for extra bases. With his power, he can’t be ignored in mixed fantasy leagues.

It wasn’t a pretty first save for Keller, who needed 26 pitches to get through the frame and started things off with a leadoff walk to Javier Sanoja. Sanoja would eventually come around to score on an RBI single by Otto Lopez, but got Xavier Edwards to fly out to center to end the inning on a full count fastball. Given the dicey outing, we’ll see if interim manager Don Mattingly calls on Keller again the next time a save situation arises, or if he opts to go with someone else while Jhoan Duran is on the 15-day IL.

Lopez’s double came in unconventional fashion after a solo homer was overturned via a challenge when instant replay revealed the ball had hit the wall before being knocked out of play by outfielder Justin Crawford, resulting in a double for Lopez. He would come around to score on the following at-bat, and was driven home again in the eighth inning when Augustín Ramírez singled to cut the Phillies’ lead to 6-4. Lopez raised his average on the season to .333 with Friday’s performance and has hit safely in his last four games.

Oblique injuries are rarely day-to-day types of injuries, but Cash was optimistic that they caught it early enough for it to not be a bigger problem. Fantasy managers should expect him to at least get a day off on Saturday as a precautionary measure.

Pérez held the Phillies scoreless through the first three innings and struck out the side in order in the third inning. In the fourth inning, he ran into a bit of trouble with runners on first and second with two outs. He would allow a single to Alec Bohm to give the Phillies their first run of the night, and surrendered an RBI double to Justin Crawford on the following at-bat to put the Phils up 2-1. He would return to pitch a scoreless fifth inning before being pulled for Cade Gibson to start the sixth inning. Pérez did a good job at limiting baserunners aside from his one bad inning and has allowed two earned runs or less in two of his last three starts. His next outing is scheduled for Wednesday against the Orioles.

Wheeler had a home run allowed to Otto Lopez overturned to a double after a successful challenge by interim manager Don Mattingly in the first inning, but on the following at-bat, he would allow a double to Xavier Edwards to give the Marlins their first run on the evening. That run would be the only run Wheeler would allow on the evening, as he would go on to settle in and blank the Marlins for the next five innings while firing seven strikeouts over that span. Wheeler has been solid in his first two starts of the season, allowing just three earned runs over 11 innings while striking out 14. His next outing is scheduled for Wednesday at home against the Athletics.

Stott got a hold of a slider from Cade Gibson with two runners on in the top of the seventh inning and deposited it into right-center field to push the Phillies’ lead to 6-1. It was the first homer of the season for Stott, who entered the day slashing .207/.258/.276. It was a much-needed good day for Stott, but this shouldn’t do anything to move his fantasy stock.

No word yet on the severity of the injury or how much time he may miss. The 23-year-old has been pushing for a promotion, so any time missed here due to injury would push his arrival back. Expect the Twins to provide an update on his status as soon as more information becomes available.

Rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett, the 39-year-old hurler has opted to peddle his wares on the open market. With so many pitching injuries around the league and team’s constantly in search of quality rotation depth, it shouldn’t take long for Carrasco to land on his feet elsewhere.

Warren’s excellent start to the season continued with a gem here against the Orioles. His sweeper was lethal as always, forcing six of his 12 total swings-and-misses, but it was especially impressive how he was able to steal strikes with it early in the count against left-handed batters. He threw four sweepers as the first pitch to a lefty, and all four landed for called strikes. They’ve always been a problem spot for him, so just getting ahead of them is a big deal. Plus he had a nice feel for his changeup in this one too, a very important pitch for him to get lefties. Overall, he has a sterling 2.39 ERA on the season with a 46:8 strikeout to walk ratio over 37 2/3 innings. He’s scheduled to face the Rangers next time out.

There’s just no stopping this guy, even against a lefty! Rice’s third inning, three-run shot gave the Yankees a commanding 5-1 lead and more importantly, it was his fifth homer of the season off a left-handed pitcher. While manager Aaron Boone was hesitant to unleash Rice against lefties when the season began, he’s now started against six of the last seven which the Yankees have faced. Rice’s 1.169 OPS is the highest among all qualified players as he continues to establish himself as one of the league’s best hitters.