MLB Player News

After catching the last two contests, it is not a surprise to see the All-Star catcher on the bench for the season’s final game. Unless the 32-year-old backstop makes a pinch-hit appearance he will finish the season hitting .266/.314/.408 with 14 homers and 72 RBI across 525 plate appearances. Austin Wynns will handle the catching duties in his absence.

Garcia got the call to protect a two-run lead in the ninth inning and needed just 14 pitches (10 strikes) to end it. He struck out Willson Contreras and Masataka Yoshida before getting Mickey Gasper to fly out to end it. He’ll continue handling the closing duties for Baltimore until Ryan Helsley (elbow) is ready to return at some point later this month.

Baz authored his fourth consecutive quality start, limiting Boston’s lineup to just a pair of sacrifice flies over seven strong frames. He finished with six strikeouts and only issued a pair of walks. The 26-year-old former top prospect has allowed three earned runs or fewer and completed at least six innings in four straight outings since May 9, lowering his ERA from an inflated 5.48 to a more palatable 4.29 mark during that span. He’ll close out a two-start week with a road matchup against the division-rival Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre on Sunday.

Early was burned by the long ball as homers by Coby Mayo and Pete Alonso accounted for most of the damage against him in this one. The lackluster outing snapped a streak of four consecutive starts where he had allowed three earned runs or fewer dating back to May 8. The 24-year-old southpaw holds a strong 3.26 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 63/23 K/BB ratio across 66 1/3 innings across 12 starts this season. He looks and feels like a top-40 range fantasy starter for years to come. He’ll face a tough challenge his next time out with a road tilt against the Yankees on Sunday. It’ll be a rematch of last year’s postseason when he locks horns with Cam Schlittler at Yankee Stadium.

Flaherty gave up five hits, walked two and struck out six. The win was his first of the season as he improved to 1-7. Flaherty retired the side in order in the first inning before pitching out of jams in the second, third and fourth innings. While the 30-year-old right-hander has a 4.50 ERA in 20 innings over his last four starts, his 26/3 K/BB has been impressive. Flaherty may have turned a corner in his season after a disastrous start. He’s back on the fantasy radar in mixed leagues for his next start against the Twins next week.

Not good. Miller has been pulled back from swinging a bat and is back to rehabbing a lingering back issue that he’s been dealing with since spring training. There is no timetable for Philadelphia’s top prospect to return to game action. It’s starting to feel like a lost season for Miller and the lost development time certainly will adversely impact his timeline to the majors.

Alvarez doubled twice in addition to playing five innings behind the plate. He also threw out Jonathan Ornelas trying to swipe second base. The 24-year-old backstop has made a remarkably quick recovery from last month’s surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. It’s possible he’s ready to return to New York’s lineup later this week or next week.

Millas was struck by his own helmet after it fell off on a head-first slide into third base. He was left with a bloody lip and wound up leaving the contest. Keibert Ruiz took over behind the plate.

Funderburk was shipped out ahead of Tuesday’s contest against the White Sox. The 29-year-old lefty holds a pedestrian 3.44 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 16/10 K/BB ratio over 18 1/3 innings in the majors this season.