MLB Player News

Vasquez was released by the Astros soon after the incident in Corpus Christi, Texas, though assault charges were eventually dropped because the victim would not cooperate with prosecutors. Vasquez got probation and was entered into an anger management program. The 24-year-old has been dropped by the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League and probably won’t ever get another chance in professional baseball.

Schultz, who missed the start of the year with elbow inflammation, had allowed four runs in eight innings since coming off the IL on Apr. 7. The Nationals will bring up another arm to replace him on Sunday.

A popout in the first inning would be the only out Kurtz recorded on Saturday. He drew a walk in the third, knocked a base hit in the fifth, then slugged a two-run homer off Jordan Leasure in the seventh. Kurtz was intentionally walked two more times before the game was done. The 23-year-old slugger is hitting .235/.429/.368 with two homers and nine RBI across 91 plate appearances.

Wilson put the A’s on the board with a solo homer off Erick Fedde in the second inning. He later added a base hit in the fourth and scored the walk-off run as the runner on second in the 11th inning. The 24-year-old shortstop has gotten going at the dish, with multiple hits in three of his last four games. He’s slashing .256/.264/.360 with two homers and 10 RBI across 87 plate appearances.

Benintendi got the nod for the leadoff spot against the A’s in Sacramento on Saturday. It was the third consecutive game in the leadoff spot against a right-handed start. He drove in three of the team’s six runs with a three-run homer off Luis Severino in the top of the second inning. The 31-year-old outfielder is hitting .200/.262/.367 with one homer and six RBI across 65 plate appearances.

Severino pitched a clean first inning, then served up a solo homer to Colson Montgomery and a three-run blast to Andrew Benintendi in a five-run second inning. Severino would pitch into the sixth, leaving with one out and two runners on at 96 pitches. He struck out three. The 32-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 6.20 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, and a 27/20 K/BB ratio across 24 2/3 innings. He’ll take on the Rangers in Texas on Friday.

After a clean first inning, Fedde gave up a solo homer to Jacob Wilson in the second. The A’s brought a run in to score in the third on a sacrifice fly. Fedde tossed a scoreless fourth, then walked the leadoff man in the fifth. He recorded the first two outs in the frame before departing at 75 pitches. The inherited runner would eventually come in to score. The 33-year-old right-hander will take a 3.92 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 15/7 K/BB ratio into a start against the Nationals in Chicago on Friday.

Ramos has finally gotten going over the series against the Nationals. After doubling and scoring a run in the second, he slugged a two-run homer in the sixth, going yard for the second day in a row. He added a base hit in the eighth for his third hit of the game. The 26-year-old outfielder is slashing .257/.304/.378 with two homers and 13 RBI across 79 plate appearances.

Wood led off the first inning with a solo blast off Adrian Houser, a 109 mph blast for his seventh of the season. He then brought another run across to score when he was hit by a pitch in the second before coming around to score. He was later intentionally walked in the ninth and scored for a third time. The 23-year-old slugger is hitting .256/.385/.570 with seven homers, 20 runs scored, 18 RBI, and four steals across 104 plate appearances.

Ryan Walker got the save chance in the ninth with the Giants up by one run and surrendered the lead on a pair of hits before going to extras. He got one more inning and held the Nationals scoreless in the tenth. Kilian worked the 11th and fell in line for the win with a shutout 12th after the Giants took the lead. It was a rare traditional save opportunity blown by Walker, who holds a 4.00 ERA over nine innings. Kilian has been outstanding, giving up one run with 14 strikeouts over 10 frames. It’s difficult to gauge how this situation will play out, but expect more mixing and matching between Walker and Kilian, with Erik Miller and Keaton Winn also in the mix.

Houser surrendered a leadoff homer to James Wood in the first inning. He got into trouble in the second, giving up four more runs, three earned, on three hits, a walk, a hit batter, and an error. Houser finally tossed a clean inning in the third and settled in nicely, keeping the Nationals from scoring again until he departed with two outs in the sixth at 88 pitches. He struck out just one. The 33-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 5.40 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and an 11/7 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings. He’s scheduled for a start against the Marlins in San Francisco on Friday.