MLB Player News

There goes the two-game win streak. It’s the fifth time this season that Steele has allowed as many as five runs. The other four all came in a five-start span in May and June, so hopefully that doesn’t repeat. He’d given up a total of 11 runs in his previous seven starts.

Rodríguez also singled. He’s now up to 18 homers on the year, and he hit a three-run homer to the pull side and a two-run shot to the right. The overall numbers for the 23-year-old — worth pointing that age out — aren’t where fantasy managers were hoping they’d be, but the talent is unquestionable.

Kirby wasn’t as good as his last start against the Rangers when he threw seven innings of shutout baseball allowing one hit, but he was plenty good enough. The right-hander didn’t walk anyone, and he struck out four while lowering his ERA to 3.60. Kirby hasn’t taken the step forward that many fantasy managers were hoping for, but more often than not, you get results like this. He’ll face the Astros next time out.

He allowed three hits and one walk along with the aforementioned five punchouts. It was another reminder of how incredible deGrom can be when he’s on the mound, even while allowing a solo homer to Josh Rojas in the third frame. The 36-year-old has allowed just that one run in his two starts — both against Seattle — with nine strikeouts against a single walk. It could change, but right now deGrom is scheduled to make his final start of the year against the Angels on Friday.

Burger got the party started with a frozen rope that bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double and came around to score on a sacrifice fly later that inning. He and the rest of the Marlins’ lineup made it tough on Charlie Morton all night and did just enough to preserve their lead. While he’s cooled off a bit of late after his red-hot summer, Burger is on the precipice of his second straight 30 home run season.

Tinoco seems to be the de facto Marlins’ closer after nailing down his second save in eight days. That may not seem like a lot, but Miami only has three wins over that span. He breezed through this ninth inning in just eight pitches and can be a sneaky source of saves over the final week of the season.

Laureano’s sixth inning home run brought the Braves within one run after they’d trailed for this entire game. The momentum seemed like it was starting to shift as he emotionally rounded the bases while being cheered on by his teammates. Then, he reached on an error to start the eighth inning and it immediately felt like Atlanta was going to tie this game up until Laureno was caught stealing just a few pitches later. Nevertheless, he’s been a key cog for the injury-riddled Braves and has been playing his best ball of late with five home runs and a .917 OPS over his last 30 games.

Bellozo worked around plenty of traffic on the bases and lots of hard contact to earn a surprising win over a Braves team that desperately needed it. A true throwback, Bellozo mixes five pitches that he can spot all over the strike zone without any dominant swing-and-miss stuff. Command is vital when one’s fastball tops out at 92 MPH and Bellozo’s was good enough in this one. He’s scheduled to face the Twins in Minnesota next time out.

It’s a shame Morton has fallen so far that he can’t even cash in on a smash spot against the Marlins at loanDepot Park. Alas, no one can be great forever. His curveball was the only pitch that could get a swing-and-miss which has been the story of his season. Otherwise, he simply missed too many spots and fell into too many long at-bats to be effective. He’s penciled in to face the Mets at home next week.