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.

Myers extended the Astros’ lead to 6-1 with a three-run blast off Tyler Anderson. The 28-year-old appeared to be having a breakout season after a strong first two months, but he’s struggled considerably since to drop his slash to an unhealthy .220/.286/.366.

Bregman hit one of three homers for the Astros on Friday, and his was a two-run bomb off Tyler Anderson that broke a 1-1 tied in the third inning. Bregman has gone deep 24 times and driven in 70 runs. There’s still lots of baseball left for Houston, but it will be interesting to see how big of market Bregman has in the free-agent market. In a so-so class, it should be relatively sizeable.

Tucker singled for his other three hits. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. He scored three runs in the contest, and one of them came on his 21st homer of the season. Fantasy managers are well aware that total is only that “low” because of how much time Tucker missed with his heel injury, and his .278/.403/.575 slash helps explain just how effective he’s been when available in 2024.

Hader didn’t allow a hit and threw 11-of-16 pitches for strikes. He’s now picked up saves in both games of the series, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s not available Saturday. Hader now has 33 saves on the season.

Verlander struck out four with one walk, and he allowed eight hits. It was not an impressive outing for the 41-year-old, and the right-hander just hasn’t looked sharp since his return the injured list. It very much looks like Houston is going to win the AL West — again — but the way Verlander has pitched doesn’t exactly suggest “playoff starter” even when acknowledging his HOF career. His final chance to impress is scheduled for next Friday versus the Guardians.