MLB Player News

Harper drove in the only run of the game for the Phillies with a groundout in the fifth inning. He would have needed to do that 11 more times for Philadelphia to win this game. Harper looks much better as of late after his struggles at the end of the month, and his line is up to .281/.370/.543 with 72 RBI.

Alvarez’s three balls in play tonight checked in at 114.2, 113.8 and 108.3 mph. The AL MVP favorite is now tied with Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead with 33 homers. He’s second in the majors with a .324 average and 75 RBI and first with a 1.083 OPS.

He allowed just two hits, but unfortunately, those were both two-run homers that followed walks. Blanco averaged 94.0 mph with his fastball, which is up a tad from 93.4 mph during his breakthrough 2024 and 93.2 mph in his nine starts prior to surgery last year. He doesn’t warrant an immediate pickup in shallow leagues after this, but it was a promising outing that suggests he might be of some use once he settles in. He’ll likely face the White Sox on the road on Sunday.

All of the runs came in the second, which featured three walks, two singles and two homers before Jose Altuve grounded into a double play to end things. Dating back to before his month-and-a-half IL stint, Junk has given up two homers and at least six runs in three of his last five starts. His rotation spot should be safe with Max Meyer just landing on the IL, but he doesn’t seem like a very good bet right now. He’s due to face the Padres this weekend.

Peña’s slam off Janson Junk gave the Astros a 5-2 in the second, and Yordan Alvarez made it back-to-back shots afterwards. Peña’s homer was his seventh in 54 games during an injury-plagued season. He was back in the lineup tonight after leaving Saturday and missing Sunday’s game due to a hamstring cramp.

Walker missed a second straight start with hip tightness, but it looks like he’ll be good to go on Tuesday. LaMonte Wade Jr. went 0-for-2 with a walk before Walker replaced him at first base tonight.

Sears gave up three hits, walked none and struck out three. He fell to 2-3 with the loss. Sears allowed an unearned run in the fifth inning when a catcher’s interference allowed Mauricio Dubon to reach base and later score. Sears has a 4.38 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Marlins on the road this weekend.

Elder gave up five hits, walked one and struck out four. He improved to 6-6 with the win. Elder had only allowed a solo home run to Manny Machado after six innings. He was removed after allowing another solo home run to Ty France to begin the seventh inning. The win was Elder’s first since June 2 and the quality start was his first since June 7. He’s lined up to face the Orioles on the road this weekend.

Lawrence Butler took over for Thomas in right field to open the fourth inning after he was hit by a pitch on the left hand area earlier in the contest. He’ll head for X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures.

Montgomery is day-to-day, according to the team. The power-hitting 24-year-old shortstop appears to have checked out fine after fouling a ball off his right leg during a seventh-inning at-bat. It’s possible he’ll need some extra time off, but Montgomery doesn’t appear to be facing a lengthy absence since initial X-rays ruled out any fractures.

Betts now has 13 home runs this season. He hit two home runs off the Phillies’ bullpen on Monday. Betts helped fuel a Dodgers comeback attempt, but the team was in too big of a whole down 8-3 and ended up losing 10-7. He’s hitting .237 with a .731 OPS and 34 RBI.