MLB Player News

The Mariners entered the ninth inning trailing 2-1, but they got things going with back-to-back singles by Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore off of Aroldis Chapman. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Ty France drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Jonathan Hernandez then came in and coaxed weak pop outs from Mike Ford and Josh Rojas to leave it up to Crawford. The 28-year-old crushed a 1-1 sinker over the head of Evan Carter in left field — allowing Raleigh and Moore to come around and score and bringing about mania in Seattle. With the victory, the Mariners pull to within one game of the Astros for the final Wild Card berth heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Sikkema was the 38th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft but has been unable to stick with the Yankees, Royals, or Reds prior to this season. He allowed five runs on 10 hits in five innings for the Red Sox this season. At one point, it seemed like Seth Martinez was destined for a spot in the Red Sox bullpen, but he got hit hard in his last outing and will now re-evaluate his next move. Song is the only one with minor league options remaining, and the former fourth-round pick looked good in spring, allowing just one run on three hits in eight innings while striking out nine and walking four. The Red Sox will hope to keep him in the organization.

Horton got 21 whiffs on 47 swings, leading to an exceptional 47% CSW. He had struck out four and given up three homers in 5 2/3 innings in his first two outings this spring, but he showed his potential tonight. He makes plenty of sense as a fourth or fifth starter in mixed leagues.

Williams fanned seven, which is more important at this point than him giving up some runs in Arizona ballparks. It seems like the hype that was building for him down the stretch last year hasn’t really materialized in his ADPs this spring, probably because there isn’t much in his numbers that’s particularly appealing. Still, he throws plenty hard and he’s in an organization that has turned lesser arms into a really good pitchers; he still might find another gear.

Both of Jones’s balls in play were hit hard, but they went for outs anyway, which is the story of his spring so far; he’s 4-for-32 even though 12 of his 18 balls in play have been hard hit. Of course, it’s not helping that he’s also struck out 14 times. Jones seems unlikely to make the Guardians, even though he’s out of options. A rebuilding team might gamble on him, but it seems more likely that he’d clear waivers and report to Triple-A.

Jansen is up to seven RBI with his homer and four doubles in 27 at-bats this spring. He and Kyle Higashioka project to divvy up playing time pretty equally behind the dish in Texas, but that could always change if one of the two exceeds expectations.

Gore didn’t give up much hard contact tonight, but the 3/3 K/BB wasn’t great. He actually had a 3/3 K/BB in 6 1/3 innings coming into the game, so no help there. Still, there wouldn’t seem to be much reason to be concerned.

Garcia has allowed three runs — two earned — in 3 1/3 innings this spring, but it comes with a 5/0 K/BB. He’d seem to be the current favorite to lead the Rangers in saves this year, though since he’s their best left-hander, it’d be beneficial if the club could play matchups with him. Hopefully, one of the Rangers’ young right-handed relievers will step up eventually.

Burke lowered his spring ERA to 4.97. He was throwing more sinkers in his early starts, which seemed to get him into some trouble, but he backed off that tonight. Five of his 78 pitches against the Rangers were sinkers, which is basically a match for the five percent of the time he threw it last year. He was at 16% sinkers through three outings.

The triple should have been caught, but Derek Hill appeared to lose the ball. Still, it’s good to see Jung back in action after more than two weeks off due to an adductor strain. He’s still in line to be the Rangers’ primary third baseman, though after hitting .252/.294/.390 in 131 games last year, he has a lot to prove as he enters his fourth full season.

Suárez’s homer off Aaron Nola put Venezuela on the board with the score 2-0 on the fourth, and the team rallied for three runs on a walk and then four straight two-out singles from Jackson Chourio, Ronald Acuña Jr., Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez in the seventh. Eduardo Bazardo, Andrés Machado and Daniel Palencia shut the door from there. It’s Venezuela’s first time in the finals of the WBC. They’re expected to start Eduardo Rodriguez against Team USA and Nolan McLean.