MLB Player News

Crook is the most notable inclusion among the latest cuts for the Red Sox, but he batted just .125 (4-for-32) with two homers in 18 games this spring in Grapefruit League action. The 27-year-old outfielder, who got into four games last year for the Cubs, will presumably head to Triple-A Worcester as extra organizational outfield depth.

The Pirates scored three runs in the top of the seven to go up 8-3, only to lose after the Astros rallied with two in bottom of the inning and six in the eighth. Smith’s triple on a grounder down the first base line gave the Astros the lead. It was his first of this season after he had three as a rookie last year. He’s currently hitting .221/.312/.358 in 235 plate appearances. It’s almost a perfect match for last year’s .236/.312/.358 line in 493 plate appearances.

Arrighetti got through 3 2/3 scoreless, but then with one more out to go in the fourth, he gave up a single, hit a batter, walked another and gave up a grand slam to Henry Davis. It proved to be a 33-pitch inning, so he didn’t come back out for the fifth afterwards. Arrighetti was named AL Pitcher of the Month for May earlier in the day, but there’s never been much in his underlying numbers to suggest he’s going to keep it up. The 1.94 ERA he’ll take into his next start against the Angels is two-to-three runs lower than his xERA, SIERA and FIP.

Hader walked one and struck out one. He averaged 95.8 mph with his sinker, which is very encouraging. That’s actually a little better than his 95.5-mph average from last season and it’s nearly two mph better than in his four Triple-A starts. Of course, there’s no guarantee that he’ll remain healthy from here, but based on the way he was throwing tonight, he could go right back to performing as a top-notch closer.

Skenes exited with a 4-3 lead after allowing two singles, striking out two and then giving up an RBI single in the fifth. Yohan Ramírez took over and retired Jake Meyers to end the inning. Of course, that left Skenes ineligible for the win in a game in which he averaged about eight pitches per out. Skenes struck out seven and wasn’t hit very hard; the two-run rally in the third started out with a bunt single and a walk before Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes delivered RBI singles. This makes four straight mediocre starts for Skenes, but his strikeout rate is holding up fine and he’s allowed only two homers since the beginning of March. Things should turn around soon, though perhaps not against the Dodgers next time out.

Soto entered with the Pirates up 9-6, two on and two out in the eighth and never made it out of the inning. Yordan Alvarez singled to make it 9-7. Christian Walker then hit a slow roller to the right side with Brandon Lowe pulled toward second and Lowe failed to make the play for a cheap infield single. After that came a bases-loaded walk and a Cam Smith triple. Soto was having a fantastic season, but outings like this were always on the way. He’s still the clear favorite for saves in Pittsburgh right now, but that might change at some point. There’s the chance that Carmen Mlodzinski could enter the mix after getting sent to the pen.

Peña started slow in his return from the injured list, but he’s now hit in nine consecutive starts, going 14-for-37 with three homers, 14 runs scored and nine RBI. Tonight was the second time in a week and the seventh time in his career that he scored three runs in a game.

Incredibly, the slam is just Davis’s second ever extra-base hit with RISP; he was a lifetime .105/.185/.121 hitter with 220 plate appearances in those situations. Tonight, though, he managed to sock a 91.0-mph fastball (Arrighetti’s slowest of the game) 389 feet to left for a no-doubter over the Crawford Boxes. Davis struck out in his other three at-bats tonight before being removed for a pinch-hitter in the ninth. He’s at .143/.239/.294 for the season.

It sounds like a precautionary move since the Angels were leading by a touchdown in the fifth inning when Soler was replaced by Jo Adell in right field. He finished 0-for-2 with a walk out of the leadoff spot. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Schwellenbach has progressed to throwing high-intensity bullpen sessions and should be ready to face hitters at some point soon. The 26-year-old has been working his way back from surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow back in mid-February. He’ll need a handful of rehab starts before he’s ready to return to Atlanta’s rotation, most likely after next month’s All-Star break.

Javier allowed two hits and a pair of walks, throwing 28 pitches (16 strikes) in his lone inning of work. The 29-year-old will continue building up his pitch count and stamina for the next couple weeks before returning to Houston’s rotation.