MLB Player News

Espino drew the starting assignment for Wednesday’s matinee at Camden Yards after Toronto pivoted to a full-scale teardown at the trade deadline. It was his first outing back in the majors since April 12. The soft-tossing 37-year-old journeyman gave up five hits, including a second-inning solo shot to Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser. He struck out one and handed out three free passes. He’ll presumably take the ball next Wednesday in a rematch against the Orioles back in Canada.

The 28-year-old superstar crushed a 421-foot (104.9-mph EV) solo shot off of Jake Irvin in the fourth inning that increased the Braves’ advantage to 3-0. He also drew a walk in the sixth inning and raced home on a two-run single off the bat of Ozzie Albies. Acuña is now slashing .244/.365/.416 with eight homers, 23 RBI and 15 stolen bases (in 22 attempts) on the season.

Yastrzemski did his damage off of Jake Irvin in the fifth inning, with his 413-foot (104.7-mph EV) two-run blast tying the score at three runs apiece. It has been a rough season overall at the plate for the 35-year-old outfielder, slashing just .226/.313/.363 to go along with seven long balls and 30 RBI in 281 plate appearances.

Iglesias started the inning by getting a pair of ground outs, then he made things a bit more interesting by issuing a two-out walk to James Wood. Not to worry though, as he battled back to retire Luis Garcia Jr. on a fly ball to right to end it. For the season, the 36-year-old righty now sports a 2.31 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 43/9 K/BB ratio across 39 innings while converting 23 of his first 25 save chances.

Holmes also issued a pair of walks in the contest while punching out four. All of the damage done against him came via the long ball, as Daylen Lile crushed a pair of solo homers and Luis Garcia Jr. added one of his own. The 30-year-old righty got 10 swings and misses on 69 pitches on the evening, registering a CSW of 28 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he brings a 3.88 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and an 87/45 K/BB ratio (102 innings) into Wednesday’s battle against the Marlins.

The 26-year-old infielder obliterated an 0-1 curveball from Grant Holmes for a 455-foot (111.1-mph EV) solo shot in the third inning that extended the Nationals’ lead to 2-0. He also delivered an RBI triple in the seventh inning that pulled them to within a run at 5-4. That would be as close as they would get. With his three-hit attack, Garcia is now slashing a healthy .286/.316/.566 with 23 homers, 76 RBI and four swipes on the season.

Irvin struck out one batter on the evening while issuing a pair of walks. He blanked the Braves through the first three innings, then served up a solo homer to Ronald Acuna Jr. in the fourth and a two-run blast to Mike Yastrzemski in the fifth. Irvin then started the sixth with a pair of walks before turning the ball over to the bullpen — and both inherited runners came around to score. Irvin generated five whiffs on 61 pitches on the night, posting a miserable CSW of just 16 percent. He’ll try to improve upon his 5.56 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and a 59/24 K/BB ratio (56 2/3 innings) when he takes on the Phillies in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Crawford has now missed each of the Mariners’ last two games due to soreness in his wrist. While Mariners’ skipper Dan Wilson noted that no roster move is imminent just yet, they did acknowledge that there’s a chance Crawford winds up on the injured list.

The next steps for both veteran right-handers are still to be determined, but they’re inching closer to beginning minor league rehab assignments. Both should be expected to rejoin the Padres’ rotation at some point during the month of August.

Bolte has been a fixture in center field since his arrival in the big leagues, so he’ll get a hard-earned day off in this one. Lawrence Butler will slide over to take his place in center with Carlos Cortes starting in right field and batting eighth for the A’s against Sonny Gray and the Red Sox on Thursday evening in West Sacramento.

Vitello noted that Bader was expected to miss the rest of the season due to his existing plantar fasciitis issue and that his absence wasn’t impacted by the scooter accident he was involved in over the weekend. He can be safely dropped in all redraft leagues.