MLB Player News

The procedural move earlier this week opened up a spot on Oakland’s 40-man roster. The 26-year-old southpaw is close to starting a throwing program, but isn’t expected to return until sometime around midseason.

The 35-year-old backstop tattooed a Keegan Thompson fastball in the fifth inning, launching a 416-foot (107.7 mph EV) three-run shot that gave the Pirates a 9-8 lead. He also singled and rode home on Michael Taylor’s two-run blast in the fourth inning. Grandal finished the night 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and is now hitting .235/.278/.471 with a homer and three RBI.

Hoerner tagged Pirates’ phenom Paul Skenes for his 380-foot (99.5 mph EV) wall-scraping solo shot to get the Cubs on the board in the fourth inning. The 26-year-old infielder also drew the first of the Cubs’ six bases-loaded walks in the fifth inning. That’s right, six bases-loaded walks in the fifth inning. He finished the day 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored and is now hitting .272/.351/.397 with two homers, 12 RBI and four stolen bases.

The soft-tossing right-hander has really struggled through his first five starts on the season, registering a 12.00 ERA, 2.10 WHIP and a 16/7 K/BB ratio over 21 innings. It’s a decent matchup, but those looking for streaming options in fantasy leagues should steer clear.

Bednar continues to pitch at a shaky level, but at least he was able to procure a save; his seventh of the season. The run allowed sees his ERA still sit at an unhealthy 9.64, and fantasy managers have a right to be a little discouraged by how Bednar has pitched over this first month-plus of the season.

Steele’s start was officially cut short because of a long rain delay, but it’s unlikely he was going to continue based on how well — or more accurately, not well — he was throwing. The southpaw allowed six hits and three walks with three strikeouts, and he allowed a Pittsburgh lineup that had been awful as of late to break through. These things happen. Steele will be back on the bump with a rematch against Paul Skenes and Pittsburgh next week.

Skenes allowed six hits while issuing two walks and throwing 54-of-84 pitches for strikes. Of those 84 offerings, 17 of them were clocked above 100 mph. The top pitching prospect in baseball held the Cubs scoreless for the first three innings, but he allowed a solo homer in the fourth to Nico Hoerner, and two more runs were charged to the 21-year-old in the fifth after he left without recording an out in that inning. A bit of a disappointing result, but anyone who watched Skenes pitch Saturday saw the makings of a frontline starter. He’ll face the Cubs again in Chicago on Thursday.

The severity of the injury remains unclear, but the fact that they’re calling the issue just soreness bodes well for Morel’s outlook. It’s likely that he’ll receive a day off on Sunday as a precautionary measure, but it seems plausible that he’ll avoid a trip to the injured list.

Carpenter put the exclamation point on a seven-run second inning with a 350-foot (106.5 mph EV) two-run blast that chased Astros’ starter Cristian Javier. He also added a 384-foot (102.6 mph EV) solo shot off of Hunter Brown in the fourth inning that extended the Tigers’ lead to 8-2. It’s the third multi-homer game of Carpenter’s young career. The 26-year-old slugger finished the evening 2-for-5 is now hitting .275/.333/.523 with five homers and 18 RBI on the season.

Riley Greene drew a bases-loaded walk in the second inning to push the first run across, then Canha broke the game wide open with his 393-foot (102.9 mph EV) four-run blast off of Astros’ right-hander Cristian Javier. He also drew a pair of walks in the contest, finishing the night 1-for-3. On the season, the 35-year-old outfielder is now hitting .242/.365/.452 with six long balls, 20 RBI and one stolen base.

Perez drew a walk off of Cristian Javier in the opening inning and swiped second base, but the Tigers couldn’t cash him in from there. He then smacked a double off of Javier in the second and rode home on the first of Kerry Carpenter’s home runs on the night. The 24-year-old outfielder finished the night 1-for-4 and is now hitting .282/.363/.493 with three homers, eight RBI and three stolen bases in his first 23 games of big league action.