MLB Player News

In sending down Elder and Nacho Alvarez Jr., the Braves have opened spots for Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson. Elder returns to Triple-A after doing an excellent job in a spot start against the Brewers last night (1 ER, 7 K in 6 1/3 IP). The Braves could bring him back if Reynaldo López suffers a setback with his arm and needs to go on the IL, but he’s not one of the top five options right now.

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.

This is why a team like the Orioles trades for a pitcher like Burnes. Reeling for weeks and coming off a dramatic win the day before, this was a game they had to have to stop the bleeding and build some momentum. Enter Burnes who took the ball and twirled seven shutout innings in a gem. Only three Tigers reached scoring position and none made it to third base as Burnes was in complete control from the jump. His cutter was dominant and he willed Baltimore in a crucial game for them and fantasy managers everywhere. He’s set to face the Yankees in New York next time out.

Tigers’ starter Keider Montero had no answer for Cowser in this one. He jumped on a first-pitch fastball for his first long ball and smacked it over the left center field fence in an impressive display of power. Then, he turned on a hanging curveball as Baltimore put this game out of reach. Cowser has been one of the most impressive rookies in the American League with 22 homers, 64 RBI, and a .774 OPS.

Sweeney’s ninth inning single plated Spencer Torkelson and saved the Tigers from a shutout. He’s held his own fairly well through his first stint in the major leagues with a .703 OPS and has found some power with three home runs in his last 15 games.

Montero simply could not keep the ball in the yard. Colton Cowser and James McCann each took him deep twice and the rout was on in Baltimore. This was the first start in which Montero allowed multiple home runs since the start of August and also, weirdly, his most strikeouts in one outing since August 6th. His changeup was still lethal despite his poor performance overall with eight swings-and-misses on just 10 swings and the Orioles never even put one in play. He’s scheduled to face the Rays at home in what should be his final start of the (regular) season.

Aranda’s blast was the only run scored in this pitchers’ duel. It came on a two-strike slurve from José Berríos that didn’t have enough bite down and in the strike zone. Aranda has pushed his OPS up to .762 over his last 30 games as he vies for a regular role in this Rays’ lineup next season.