MLB Player News

Kikuchi carried a shutout into the sixth inning before coughing up a two-run shot to Royals leadoff man Maikel Garcia, which accounted for the only damage against him in this one. He piled up four strikeouts and didn’t hand out a free pass in this one. The 32-year-old southpaw is putting together one of the best stretches of his career, allowing two earned runs or fewer in each of his last four starts, while also completing six frames in three of those outings. He’ll carry a pristine 2.28 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 33/8 K/BB ratio across 27 2/3 innings (five starts) into a challenging home outing on Saturday against the Dodgers.

Definitely better than some of the alternatives. The Brewers are off Thursday, so if Ross feels better quickly, the team might not need to replace him in the rotation. If he does go on the IL, either Bradley Blalock or Tobias Myers could replace him in the rotation.

Phillips will likely make 2-3 appearances in Triple-A. The first of those should come this week, and he should rejoin the Dodgers pen before the end of next week.

It’s an odd diagnosis, being that this was a sudden injury sustained while diving for a ball, but it’s what we’re left with after the Padres couldn’t initially find anything serious going on within the shoulder. He obviously was not included in the lineup for the second game of today’s doubleheader.

Jared Koenig replaced Ross against the Marlins. Assuming that this is an IL-type situation, perhaps Bradley Blalock could join the rotation.

Marte couldn’t let it go after being (correctly) called out to end the top of the fourth and was tossed as he was beginning to walk out to right field for the bottom of the inning. Tyrone Taylor replaced him versus the Guardians.

Crawford’s pregame workout today was impressive enough to get him back on the roster tonight after his absence due to an oblique strain and a subsequent bruised hand, but he won’t return to the starting lineup until tomorrow. Dylan Moore will return to his utility role then after spending the last 3 1/2 weeks as a starting shortstop.

Not given much of a chance with Dylan Moore playing well at shortstop, Rivas went 2-for-6 with a triple in 25 days with the Mariners.

Jansen, who hadn’t batted higher than fifth this season until today, had his big game from the second spot in the lineup. He’s batting .333/.397/.681 with five homers and just nine strikeouts through 78 plate appearances. It seems like more than just a hot streak, so he’s probably a top-10 fantasy catcher for the short term. Still, staying healthy has been quite an issue for the 29-year-old.

Three things worked in favor of Berríos on a day in which he was lacking his best stuff: he was facing the White Sox, he had CB Bucknor working his own special brand of magic behind the plate and he was facing the White Sox. Berríos allowed eight hits, including a Paul DeJong homer that was the seventh he’s surrendered in his last five outings. He’s currently 5-3 with a 2.98 ERA.

Fedde gave up five runs for the third time this season. Fortunately, he’s allowed a total of six runs in his other seven starts combined, leaving him 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA.