MLB Player News

Brown, the MLB leader with a 1.74 ERA, had no-hit kind of stuff today, but he did give up three singles. Just one of 14 balls in play against him was hit hard, that being a 97.5-mph groundout from Alec Bohm. He finished with 16 whiffs and an excellent 38 percent CSW. Since Bryan King coughed up a one-run lead in the eighth, Brown was left with a no-decision for a fourth straight start. The Astros, though, have prevailed in his last six outings, a stretch in which he’s allowed a total of six runs in 36 1/3 innings. He’ll make his next start in Coors Field against the Rockies next week.

Warren racked up six strikeouts on the evening while allowing only one base on balls. The Astros scratched out single runs against him in the second and fourth innings, but aside from that Warren was in complete command. It doesn’t hurt that he was staked to an early four-run lead and just needed to keep the train on the tracks to earn a victory. Warren got seven swings and misses on 95 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 25 percent. Now 3-0 on the season, he’ll carry an impressive 2.59 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 37/7 K/BB ratio (31 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s tilt against the Rangers in Arlington.

Altuve reached on an infield single to open the second inning and scored the Astros’ first run on a two-out RBI single by Yainer Diaz. He then doubled to lead off the fourth inning and raced around to score on a ground ball off the bat of Cam Smith. With his two-hit attack, the 35-year-old infielder is now hitting .267/.362/.426 to go along with three homers, eight RBI and one stolen base across 116 plate appearances.

The 32-year-old right-hander also issued four free passes on the night while punching out three. The Yankees scored three runs (one earned) off of him in the first inning, then added on with solo shots from Ryan McMahon in the second and Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fourth. McCullers then returned for the sixth and allowed a single and an RBI double before exiting. He got just five swings and misses on 92 pitches in the ballgame, posting a CSW of 27 percent. Now 1-2 on the season, he’ll bring an unappealing 6.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP (25 1/3 innings) into Thursday’s start against the Orioles in Baltimore.

Grissom had the Angels’ only two extra-base hits of the night, with both doubles coming off Royals starter Noah Cameron. Grissom’s double in the seventh inning would kick-start the best offensive inning for the Angels on the night, and he eventually came around to score three batters later thanks to an RBI single by Zach Neto. These doubles were the first extra-base hits of the season for Grissom, who isn’t known for his power. There’s nothing to get too excited about here.

Blue Jays’ manager John Schneider told reporters after the game that he was encouraged that Lukes told him that the injury felt “cramp-like”. He’ll undergo imaging just to ensure that everything is alright, but it sounds like Lukes may have been fortunate to avoid significant injury here. Be sure to check back on his status prior to Saturday’s contest.

Jensen has now hit safely in five straight games and has multi-hit games in four of those contests. The second-year catcher/DH is hitting a healthy .288 on the season and is slashing .306/.393/.571 over his last 15 games with four homers and nine RBI. He’s leading the Royals in both homers (6) and RBI (14) this season and remains a viable fantasy option as long as he continues to stay hot.

Finally! Griffin gave himself a great birthday gift when he blasted his first career home run to break the 0-0 tie in this one. It was an impressive shot for the young right-hander, taking a fastball from Brandon Woodruff over the right-center fence and he grinned all the way around the bases. Later on, Griffin singled and stole a base to help ignite another Pirates’ rally and chipped in a two-out, two-strike, two-run single in the eighth inning to finally put his game out of reach. It’s been a slow first few weeks in the big leagues for the star prospect, but a game like this could certainly open the floodgates and help start a hot streak.

It felt like something special could’ve been brewing for Skenes here who held the Brewers hit-less through six innings and didn’t break a sweat doing it. Jake Bauers wound up lacing a single with two outs in the seventh and a collective exhale came from the home crowd. Still, Skenes was dominant. He alternated between high four-seamers and beautifully dotted sprinklers low all night and the left-handed heavy Milwaukee lineup had no answers. He now sports a 2.48 ERA, even after his blow-up on Opening Day where he failed to get out of the first inning. If Oneil Cruz had caught those fly balls, Skenes’ ERA would be under one right now as he’s absolutely on his way to another Cy Young caliber campaign. He’s scheduled to face the Cardinals next time out.

After allowing five earned runs in back-to-back outings against the White Sox and Yankees, Cameron needed this outing to right the ship. The lefty was strong for most of the night, retiring 12 of the first 15 batters he faced while not allowing a run until the seventh inning. Unlike his last outing, when he couldn’t keep the ball in the yard, Cameron did not allow a homer in Friday’s win and held the Angels to just two extra-base hits on the evening. He still allowed season highs in hits (8) and walks (3), but his ability to limit damage in high leverage spots kept things from getting out of hand. Cameron’s next start is scheduled for Thursday on the road against the Athletics.

Despite very diminished velocity, Woodruff still acts like a power pitcher out there. In the first inning, he only threw four-seam fastballs. Yet, they sat near 91 mph. It was only those fastballs and a smattering of sinkers during his first trip around the Pirates’ order. The only problem was that he didn’t have his best command here. So, mixing up lots of low-90s fastballs that mostly wound up in the heart of the zone did not yield good results. His velocity did tick up as the game wore on, so there’s no cause for alarm with his slow start. Also, it’s worth noting that this was the third time in five starts so far this season where he was pulled before reaching 75 pitches. He wasn’t pitching particularly poorly in any of those either, so it may just be a maneuver by the Brewers to manage his workload. He’s scheduled to face the Diamondbacks next time out.