MLB Player News

Baty’s homer was crushed, leaving his bat at 110 mph and traveling 432 feet. He also had a pair of well-hit groundouts tonight. There’s still progress to be made here, but in spite of his disappointing campaign, he’s probably yet on his way to becoming an above average regular.

Albies’ only hit of the game gave the Braves an insurance run in the eighth inning as he took Shaun Anderson deep for a solo homer to right field. It was the third home run of the young season for the 29-year-old second baseman. He’s slashing .277/.333/.468 with seven runs scored and four RBI across 51 plate appearances.

Iglesias entered in the eighth inning with one out and two runners in scoring position to protect a three-run lead. He stranded the runners with a pair of strikeouts before returning to close out the game in the ninth despite the Braves adding two more runs. Iglesias worked around two hits before securing the win and his second save of the season.

Kikuchi tossed a clean first inning, then surrendered a run on a pair of hits in the second. He ran into more trouble in the fourth, giving up three runs on a walk and three hits before getting out of the frame with a pair of strikeouts. Kikuchi returned for a clean fifth, striking out two batters to end his day with eight punchouts. The 34-year-old left-hander has allowed 11 runs over 14 2/3 innings across three starts, but a 16/6 K/BB ratio with a .404 BABIP suggests some bad hit luck in the early going. He’ll look for better fortune when he takes on the Yankees in New York on Monday.

Consider him day-to-day. If he can’t play Wednesday, then Rafael Marchan will do the catching.

Chapman continues to see the ball well as he collected three hits on Tuesday for his third straight multi-hit contest. He started with a pair of base hits in the first and third before knocking a double 111.7 mph off the bat in the fifth to drive in a run before scoring. The 32-year-old third baseman has just an 18 percent strikeout rate while hitting .304/.360/.478 with one homer, seven runs scored, and seven RBI across 50 plate appearances.

Walker’s last appearance, in which he pitched the sixth inning, raised some questions surrounding his role. He got the call once again in a high-leverage spot, with two runners on and two outs in the seventh with a four-run lead. Walker recorded the final out in the frame, then stranded two runners in a scoreless eighth. The Giants would tack on two more runs in the top of the ninth before Keaton Winn entered to close it out in a non-save situation. It appears this may be more of a committee situation than initially anticipated, with Winn possibly in the mix for saves.

Ray was outstanding on Tuesday in San Francisco, holding the Phillies scoreless into the seventh. He scattered three hits and three walks while collecting seven strikeouts on 12 whiffs. The 34-year-old left-hander has allowed four runs with an 18/6 K/BB ratio over 17 1/3 innings across his first three starts. Ray lines up for a start against the Reds in Cincinnati next Tuesday.

A double, a base hit, and a groundout brought one run in to score against Sánchez in the first inning. He stranded two more runners in the second, then later gave up two more runs on three hits in the fifth. Both were charged as unearned runs to Sánchez following an error. He returned for the sixth and gave up two hits, ending his day at 92 pitches. One of the inherited runners would come in to score. Sánchez gave up 11 hits in all while striking out six. Despite a bloated .429 BABIP through three starts, the 29-year-old left-hander has allowed just three earned runs with a 23/4 K/BB ratio across 16 1/3 innings over his first three starts for a 1.65 ERA. He’ll take on the Cubs at home on Monday.

Soler and López traded punches during a chaotic donnybrook that erupted during the fifth inning at Angel Stadium after a high-and-inside pitch. Soler clobbered a two-run homer off López back in the opening frame before being drilled hit by a pitch his next time up. Amazingly, it was Braves manager Walt Weiss who delivered a textbook tackle to bring Soler to the ground and help break up the brawl while Mike Trout managed to corral López, who somehow held onto the baseball throughout the entire incident. There will undoubtedly be suspensions handed out by the league after one of the wildest on-field melees in recent years.

Castro enjoyed a big day at the plate, starting with a base hit in the second inning to put the Rockies on the board with a run. He then took Mike Burrows deep for a two-run blast in the fourth for his first home run of the season. The versatile 28-year-old is slashing .250/.318/.400 with seven runs scored and seven RBI across his first 44 plate appearances with the Rockies.