MLB Player News

In 18 games with the Angels, Hicks hit just .140/.222/.193. The outfielder was solid with the Orioles in 2023, but was anything but — albeit in a limited sample — over his month with the Angels. He can either report to Triple-A, or hit free agency if the Angels don’t decide to release him.

Both hits came off Connelly Early. He would have added a second double later in the game if not for a fantastic catch from Ceddanne Rafaela at the wall in center. Stanton was in a 4-for-38 slump coming into tonight, leaving him at just .240/.296/.360 for the season.

Credit to Gil, but a lot of this was bad hitting. Gil’s velocity was actually down about 1.5 mph on his fastballs and 3.5 mph on his slider, and he ended up with just two strikeouts and three walks. He gave up eight hard-hit balls, but those produced one single and eight outs (one was a GIDP). Gil now has a 4.11 ERA and a 9/8 K/BB over 15 1/3 innings over three starts. He’ll face the Astros on Sunday, but he’s in line to be replaced in the Yankees rotation sometime next month.

Early has a nice 2.88 ERA, but there just isn’t much backing it up. His strikeout rate is average. His walk rate is high. His exit velocity numbers are bad. There’s still reason for optimism for the long term, but aside from the ERA, most everything right now suggests he’s currently a slightly below average starter. He’s currently lined up to face the Orioles on Sunday, though if the Red Sox make some moves this weekend, he could be pushed back to Monday against the Blue Jays.

Abreu was great in the WBC and the first 10 games of the season, but his OPS is already back under .800 now, as he’s gone 4-for-34 with no extra-base hits in his last nine games. He’ll bounce back and he should retain some mixed-league value, but it doesn’t look like that a big breakthrough is going to materialize here.

Keaschall was Johnny-on-the-spot here with a game-tying single in the seventh inning followed by a go-ahead poke in the ninth. That final blow was a true chopped that only scored a run because the Mets’ infield was in, but for a guy like Keaschall who’s trying to get off the schneid and still has a paltry .557 OPS, every little bit helps.

Things looked like they could’ve spun out of control early for Woods-Richardson when Francisco Lindor tattooed a three-run homer into the upper deck in the third inning. Yet, despite putting a runner on in four of five innings, Woods-Richardson stopped the bleeding right there. He still has an unsightly 5.96 ERA and poor 14:9 strikeout to walk ratio over 25 2/3 innings so far this season. He’s lined up to face the Rays in Tampa Bay next time out.

What a mess. Williams entered a tie game in the ninth inning and proceeded to walk the first two batters he faced. Then, a sacrifice bunt turned into a failed fielder’s choice when Mark Vientos tried to be a hero and get the runner heading to third. Then, with the infield in and still no one out, a Baltimore chop from Luke Keaschall bounced over Bo Bichette’s head to give the Twins the lead. Williams then walked in another run before he was mercifully pulled. Over his last three outings, Williams has allowed seven runs and recorded four outs. That has pushed him to a 9.95 ERA on the season.

It seemed like Lindor exercised some demons – both his own and the Mets’ – with an upper-deck three-run home run in the third inning. That moment of serenity eventually faded as the Mets blew yet another game, but Lindor appears to finally be on the right track. He has a .259 average and .805 OPS over his last seven games. Any hint of a breakout is much appreciated after the first few weeks that he’s had.

Watching McLean pitch doesn’t even make sense sometimes. He was perfect through five innings in this one and the way he can break off wicked sweepers and curveballs leaves opposing hitters dumbfounded. Same for sinkers that can saw-off righties and shock lefties when they land on the inner edge after that started behind their back. Yet, once the Twins turned the lineup over they found some success. Byron Buxton launched a 3-1 cutter for a two-run homer in the sixth inning and then they scratched across another run in the seventh. That soured McLean’s final line on a night where it looked like he could’ve gone all nine early on. Alas, McLean is lined up to face the Rockies at home next time out.

Harris appears to have avoided serious injury after being hit by a pitch during the fourth inning of this one. He’s presumably day-to-day heading into Wednesday’s series finale.