MLB Player News

Verlander sat around 92-94 MPH and touched 95 MPH on the stadium’s radar gun in his first of two sim innings. If the Astros are happy with his performance, the next step for the 41-year-old is a minor league rehab assignment. He’ll start the season on the injured list and we’ll likely be ready around late April to early May.

Hamilton has allowed three runs on two hits in one inning this season. His fastball velocity is down a bit, but he has a 3.75 career ERA in 151 1/3 MLB innings, so somebody is likely to give him another shot.

Fuentes is getting called up and, according to Barrett Sallee of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network. will also start Wednesday’s game against the Nationals. Martín Pérez had originally been slated to start this game, so he will most likely have his start pushed back to later in the weekend. There’s no word yet on whether this is a spot start for Fuentes or if the Braves will move to a six-man rotation or move somebody else out of the rotation. Fuentes has been tremendous in Triple-A with a 2.16 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 20/6 K/BB ratio in 16 2/3 innings, so he is a great streamer for today.

McNeil led off the second inning with a single, then took Luis Castillo deep for a solo homer in the fourth. The 34-year-old second baseman gets on the board with his first home run of the season while hitting a solid .278/.361/.389 with seven runs scored and five RBI across 83 plate appearances.

Raleigh knocked a base hit in the third inning, then took Jacob Lopez deep for a solo homer in the fifth. It was the fourth home run of the season for the 29-year-old slugger. He’s gotten off to a slow start, slashing .177/.266/.333 with the four homers and 13 RBI across 109 plate appearances.

With Joel Kuhnel, Hogan Harris, and Mark Leiter Jr. all pitching in two of the last three days, Perkins got the call in the eighth inning with a two-run lead and closed out the game with a pair of perfect frames with two strikeouts for his first save. The 26-year-old right-hander has some of the best strikeout stuff in the A’s bullpen, but has been used in a multi-inning role through five appearances and likely won’t factor into regular save chances just yet.

Lopez tossed two scoreless frames, then gave up one run in the third on two hits and a sacrifice fly. He later served up a solo homer to Cal Raleigh in the fifth inning. Lopez would work into the sixth, striking out the first batter before he was relieved at 86 pitches. Despite collecting just one strikeout, it was one of Lopez’s better starts of the season. The 28-year-old left-hander will take a 5.70 ERA, 1.90 WHIP, and a 17/19 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings into a start against the Royals in Sacramento next Tuesday.

Castillo walked the leadoff man in the first inning. Tyler Soderstrom made him pay for it with a double, putting the A’s on the board with a run. Jeff McNeil later took Castillo deep for a solo homer in the fourth inning. He’d give Seattle a scoreless fifth before his day was done at 95 pitches with six strikeouts. The 33-year-old right-hander will take a 5.01 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, and a 23/9 K/BB ratio across 23 1/3 innings into a start against the Twins in Minnesota on Monday.

Murakami had another big day at the plate, starting with a single and a run scored in the first inning. He then took Merrill Kelly deep for a solo homer in the second. It was his fourth straight game with a home run and ninth of the season. The 26-year-old slugger is hitting .234/.394/.584 with 18 runs scored and 17 RBI across 99 plate appearances.

Antonacci put his speed on display against the D-backs on Tuesday, starting with an RBI triple deep off the center field wall in the first inning. He later hit one down the left-field line in the ninth inning and touched them all for an inside-the-park home run. While not conventional, he gets credit for his first career round-tripper. The 23-year-old is 4-for-21 at the plate so far with just one strikeout.

Thomas knocked a base hit in the third inning, then later took Sean Burke deep for a solo homer in the fifth for his first of the season. The 25-year-old outfielder has struggled so far on the year, hitting .185/.221/.338 with seven runs scored, eight RBI, and three steals across 69 plate appearances.