MLB Player News

Mikolas retired the side in order in the first inning, but was taken deep by Manny Machado to kick off the second inning. Mikolas allowed a double to Jackson Merrill two batters later, and saw Merrill come around to score after Luis Campusano singled with one out to tie the game at 2-2. Unfortunately for Mikolas, the damage didn’t stop there, as Mason McCoy and Luis Arraez would both drive in runs before the inning was over, putting the Cardinals in a 4-2 hole after two innings. Mikolas would be pulled after retiring the first two batters he faced in the sixth inning, and has now allowed four or more earned runs in four of his five starts this month. He’ll look to get off to a stronger start in September when he takes on the Yankees on Sunday.

Bassitt allowed three runs on six hits, including a homer by Wilyer Abreu, over three innings of work. He didn’t look comfortable during his final frame before being replaced by Albert Suárez after throwing just 56 pitches (35 strikes). There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Woods Richardson provides Toronto’s injury-ravaged pitching staff with some much-needed rotation depth after being jettisoned from Minnesota’s roster last weekend. The 25-year-old was shipped to the Twins as part of the José Berríos trade a half-decade ago. He’s struggled mightily this season with a bloated 7.74 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and 25/26 K/BB ratio across 47 2/3 innings. However, he makes sense as a temporary stopgap solution for the Blue Jays until Dylan Cease (hamstring), Max Scherzer (forearm) and Shane Bieber (elbow) are ready to return from the injured list.

Roberts added that Ohtani will be available off the bench, but won’t be in the lineup after a two-way outing during Wednesday’s contest at Chase Field. It makes sense that the Dodgers want to build in some extra rest to keep the 31-year-old unicorn fresh for the full season. He’s had a remarkable year with a 0.82 ERA across 55 innings on the mound.

Freeman is back in right field and hitting second after a one-game absence due to lower leg soreness. The 27-year-old outfielder has been locked-in at the plate recently, hitting .400 (10-for-25) with one RBI and one steal over his last seven games.

Raleigh will head to Triple-A Tacoma next week before potentially making it back to Seattle at some point around mid-June. The 29-year-old slugging backstop has been on the shelf recovering from a right oblique strain since mid-May. It was his first-ever trip to the injured list during his six-year career. There’s stil plenty of time for him to turn things around in the second half following a slow start to the year at the dish.

Schanuel was diagnosed with ankle tendinitis after hitting the injured list back on May 27. The 24-year-old first baseman isn’t expected to miss too much time and it sounds like there’s a strong possibility he returns for this weekend’s series against the Dodgers.

Pushard heads back to Miami after passing through waivers unclaimed earlier this week. The 28-year-old Rule 5 pick posted a lackluster 5.14 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 6/4 K/BB ratio across seven innings for the Cardinals.

Henderson is estimated to return in late June or early July, according to the Brewers, after hitting the injured list with a lower back strain last week. The 24-year-old top prospect has been outstanding with a 2.74 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 30/6 K/BB ratio across 23 innings over five starts this season. He’s worth hanging onto in all fantasy formats on the chance that he’s back by the end of the month.

Peralta did well to wash away a lead-off home run from J.P. Crawford and made sure that would be the only Mariners’ run on the afternoon. Now, he still wasn’t super sharp. There was traffic on the bases in all but his sixth and final frame and he still let his pitch count get too high based on how little damage was being done against him. One huge positive to pull from this start, this was the best Peralta’s slider has looked all season. He’s been oddly reluctant to use it thus far, but leaned on it with a 48% usage rate against right-handed batters and it forced five swings-and-misses while rarely being squared up. Also, as his confidence grew in the pitch, he broke off a nasty front-door one to strike out Randy Arozarena looking as the penultimate batter he’d faced. This is very encouraging for Peralta who has a great 3.38 ERA to go along with an iffy 1.31 WHIP without being able to pitch deeply in many games so far. He’ll have a chance to build on this next week at home against the Cardinals.

Is this it? Is Bichette finally waking up? This felt like a vintage game for him, dunking singles left and right while coming through on multiple occasions with runners in scoring position. Still, he doesn’t have an extra-base hit in more than two weeks – his second drought that long over the last five weeks, somehow – and it will take more to convince us this wretched start is behind him. Even after a four-hit day, his batting average sits at .226 with a lowly .590 OPS.