MLB Player News

Alvarez stuffed the stat sheet in another monster performance, finishing a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. He blasted a two-run homer -- his fourth round-tripper of the season off Rangers lefty Andrew Heaney in the second inning before drilling a go-ahead RBI double off southpaw reliever Brock Burke in the fourth inning. The 26-year-old fantasy superstar is batting a robust .295 (13-for-44) with nine runs scored, four homers and nine RBI through 11 contests.

Johnson was pulled off his rehab assignment two weeks ago because of a hamstring issue, but the right-hander has recovered and faced live hitting in Arizona. The 23-year-old will likely need a few rehab appearances before being ready to join the Angels’ pitching staff.

Moncada gets a breather after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and he’s already whiffed 36 times in 103 plate appearances this season. He’ll sit with Oswald Peraza hitting eighth and handling the hot corner.

Simpson was up for just a day and didn’t pitch. The Mariners want another right-hander in the bullpen, so Nick Davila is called up to replace Simpson in the relief corps.

Davila will have a chance to make his MLB debut if/when he gets into a game. The right-hander was an undrafted signee who forged a 2.00 ERA and 10/1 K/BB over nine innings in Double-A. He’ll likely be a low-leverage option in this turn with Seattle.

Springer has been battling a fractured toe and just came off the injured list Wednesday because of it, but the imaging revealed no new damage. The 36-year-old was going to get Sunday’s game off regardless, but now likely will miss a couple more games before getting back into action. For now, consider the slugger day-to-day.

Happ provided all the offense for the Cubs in Saturday’s win, starting with a leadoff homer in the second inning. After walking the third, he added a double in the sixth and tripled to lead off the eighth before scoring the team’s second run. He fell a single short of the cycle. The 31-year-old outfielder is hitting .246/.373/.517 with eight homers, 23 runs scored, and 15 RBI across 142 plate appearances.

After seven scoreless innings from Shota Imanaga, Brown took over in the eighth and gave the Cubs two clean frames to close it out for his first save of the season. The 26-year-old right-hander has been incredibly effective in this multi-inning relief role, posting a 1.82 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and a 23/7 K/BB ratio across 24 2/3 innings. Daniel Palencia (oblique) is expected to be activated in the coming days to resume closing duties.

Imanaga was lights out on Saturday, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless over seven innings. He scattered four hits and one walk while striking out five batters on 14 whiffs. It was a nice bounce-back after giving up five runs against the Dodgers in his last start. The 32-year-old left-hander will take a 2.40 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and a 43/10 K/BB ratio across 41 1/3 innings into a start against the Reds in Chicago on Thursday.

Nelson tossed a clean first inning, then surrendered a solo homer to Ian Happ to start the second. He then worked through a bases-loaded jam in the third. Nelson would pitch into the sixth, leaving with one runner on and two outs at 84 pitches. He struck out four. The one-run outing ends a rough stretch for Nelson, who surrendered 14 runs over his last two starts. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 6.61 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and a 28/13 K/BB ratio across 31 1/3 innings into a start against the Mets in Arizona on Friday.

Okamoto followed a two-homer game with another excellent day at the plate. He took Justin Topa deep for a solo homer in the sixth inning, an absolute blast at 111.7 mph going 453 feet. He then knocked a base hit in the eighth to bring home a run. The 29-year-old third baseman is up to eight homers and 20 RBI while slashing .235/.316/.454 across 133 plate appearances.