MLB Player News

Stott has been mired in a prolonged slump with a .540 over his last 20 games entering play Friday. The homer was just his second since May 19th as he hopes to finally break out.

The game was halted with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and never resumed afterwards. Steer particularly liked the result, as he collected his sixth homer and 11th double in 265 plate appearances. Playing time is set to again become an issue in the Cincinnati infield with Christian Encarnacion-Strand back, Jeimer Candelario soon to be activated and Noelvi Marte perhaps returning at the end the month. The Reds want Steer to be a regular, but he needs to do better than this current .631 OPS in order to justify regular playing time.

Lodolo allowed three hits, walked two and struck out four in his 10th quality start this season. It’s a cheap way to get a complete game, but he deserves some good luck after often being limited by non-arm injuries and a lack of run support since debuting in 2022. The win makes him 20-19 with 4.31 ERA in 63 career starts. He’ll face the Yankees next.

The game never resumed after the delay, so it goes down as Ober’s second career complete game. The right-hander struck out five and walked none, but he gave up nine hits. Maybe that’s the norm for him this year, but he was unluckier than usual tonight; he allowed just six hard-hit balls and only two over 100 mph, and the 371-foot homer he surrendered would have left only 12 ballparks. The loss leaves him 4-4 with a 4.54 ERA ahead of a start against the Mariners.

Smith also drew a walk. This comes a day after the rookie 22-year-old went 4-for-5 in the blowout win over the A’s on Tuesday, and his average has increased over 20 points from .253 to .276 in the process. It has been far from a perfect rookie campaign for Smith, but there have been more than enough good moments to suggest he’s going to be a player in this league for a long time.

That’s the third-straight homer for Kurtz that has come in the ninth inning, but this one came with the A’s trailing by nine. He also doubled and singled, and raised his average to .252 while increasing his slugging percentage to .496. Kurtz has had some downs in his rookie campaign, but the ups — and the upside — has also been readily apparent.

Caratini also scored a pair. One of those runs was on a three-run blast to left field that extended Houston’s lead to 9-1. The 31-year-old was hitting just .132 in June coming into Wednesday’s affair, but he now has back-to-back appearances with multiple hits.

Altuve was one of five Houston hitters who ended up with three-hit nights in a game where the Astros picked up 20 hits and three homers. Altuve’s came with a pair on off Caleb Ferguson, and it extended the lead to 5-1 for Houston while also giving him a dozen homers on the season. Altuve has really picked things up since being moved out of the leadoff spot, and his slash is up to .277/.322/.442.

Valdez, 31, dealt his fair share of traffic but was able to keep that traffic from crossing the plate. He walked five in the contest, and he allowed five hits while striking out three in a start that could have gone so much worse. He’s now the proud owner of a 3.09 ERA in 2025 with a K/BB ratio of 99/33 across 96 innings. Valdez will look to be a a little more efficient with similar results against the Phillies on Tuesday.

Severino was fortunate to give up just the pair, as he allowed nine hits in the contest. He also struck out five against one walk, so credit to him for making some big pitches in the outing. One run came via a solo homer by Mauricio Dubon in the third, and an inning later he gave up a run-scoring single to Jake Meyers. Severino has been wildly inconsistent all year, and his 4.42 ERA only partially tells the story of his highs and lows in 2025. His next start is scheduled for next week versus the Tigers.

Suarez came in to pitch in a tie game, but the game was untied on a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth by Will Smith to the opposite field. It’s an unfortunate follow-up to his disaster Saturday where he allowed five runs, and his ERA has jumped up to 3.48 from the 1.78 mark he possessed prior to his struggles. Suarez will remain the closer, but fantasy managers have the right to be frustrated.