MLB Player News

Gomez socked a two-run shot off of Jon Gray in the second inning, and the outfielder now has two homers on the year to go along with seven RBI over seven games. He’s also hitting just .203 with a .633 OPS, and he’s not a recommended fantasy option at this point in his career.

Montero exited Friday’s game in position to pick up his third win of the season, but the Royals managed to chip away at the Tigers’ lead after Montero left to start the seventh inning. Despite the no-decision, it was a solid night on the mound for Montero, who has now allowed one earned run in back-to-back starts while pitching out of the sixth inning in both starts. Montero’s lone blemish on the night came in the second inning when Isaac Collins singled to drive home Jac Caglianone, but the righty was otherwise in control for most of the evening. Montero will look to pick up his third win of the season in his next outing which is scheduled for Thursday against the Mets.

Isbel came up clutch twice for the Royals in this one. He singled to drive in Michael Massey from second in the eighth inning to cut the Tigers’ lead to 3-2, and drove in Nick Loftin with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to give the Royals the win. Isbel continues to be a steady option for the Royals at the bottom of their order, and is now slashing .283/.351/.424 on the season. While he’s a reliable option for the Royals, fantasy managers can continue to leave him on waivers.

Things could have gone much worse for Bubic in this one, as he struggled to keep the ball in the strike zone, but managed to hold the Tigers to just one run through the first five innings before they finally got to him in the sixth inning. With two outs and a runner on first in the top of the sixth inning, Bubic gave up an RBI double to Wenceel Pérez to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead, and was responsible for Pérez coming around to score on the following at-bat after he was pulled for reliever Nick Mears. Bubic has walked three or more batters in six of his eight starts, but has been able to limit runs despite putting runners on. His next start is scheduled for Thursday on the road against the White Sox.

Buxton hit his 12th homer of the season off Matt Festa in the seventh inning to cut the Guardians’ lead to 4-3. The veteran centerfielder continues to put on an impressive display of power, blasting his 12th homer of the season while also doubling to lead off the first inning. Buxton remains one of the premier players at his position and is slashing .267/.313/.700 this month.

The Phillies scored five runs in the eighth to tie the game, but they couldn’t finish the comeback from there. Goodman’s homer also was part of a five-run inning that knocked Jesús Lazardo out of the game in the fourth. He entered the night in a 2-for-25 slump, but he now has 10 homers on the season.

Dollander’s velocity was down by about one mph tonight, and he wound up with only eight whiffs and a 22 percent CSW. He also walked five. He was quite effective anyway, but it might have been his most discouraging outing of the season. He’ll pitch in Pittsburgh next time out.

Victor Vodnik also came up big tonight, throwing hitless ninth and 10th innings for the win. Vodnik remains the favorite for saves in Colorado pen, but Mejia is probably next in line. He has a 4.66 ERA and a 25/9 K/BB in 19 1/3 innings.

Luzardo allowed one run through three before failing to retire any of the seven batters he faced in the fourth. He was finally pulled with two on after his second walk of the frame, and Jonathan Bowlan came in and stranded both baserunners afterwards. It’s the fourth time this season that Luzardo has allowed at least five runs. He’s given up four runs combined in his other four starts. He also had a stretch like this in the middle of last year, alternating between excellent and horrendous with little in between. His strikeout and walk rates are both quite strong, so there shouldn’t be any thoughts of giving up on him, even with his ERA currently sitting at 5.98. He’ll face the Red Sox next week.

Duran hadn’t pitched since throwing an inning in his return from the IL on Tuesday, so the Phillies decided to get him some work while being down 7-2 in the eighth tonight, not knowing that they were going to score five runs right afterwards to come back and tie game. They ended up losing in 11 after Brad Keller gave up two runs, one of which was the automatic runner.

Crawford would have been the hero tonight if the Phillies had prevailed, but they lost in 11. Crawford’s homer, a 361-fly into the second row in right, completed a five-run rally in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 7-7 game. He should be good for a handful more of those over the course of the season, but to help much in fantasy leagues, he really needs to start stealing bases. He’s just 3-for-5 through 34 games. Last year, he was 46-for-57 in 112 games in Triple-A.