MLB Player News

Bickford heads to Triple-A Lehigh Valley as extra organizational relief depth for Philadelphia after being released last week by the Cubs following a couple months in their system. The 29-year-old former first-round pick has made 187 relief appearances in the big leagues dating back to the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. He got into eight games last year for the Yankees.

Strider saw the velocity on his fastball drop suddenly into the 87-88 mph range in the fourth inning, which prompted the visit from the training staff and his eventual removal. He’ll head for further evaluation. Strider allowed seven runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three in his three-plus innings of work. Stay tuned.

Henderson reached on a single in the opening inning, but was cut down attempting to steal second base. He then singled again in the second and scored on a two-run single off the bat of Pete Alonso. Henderson then swatted a 386-foot solo shot off of Griffin Canning in the fourth inning, extending the O’s lead to 7-2. With his three-hit night, the 24-year-old superstar is now slashing .226/.293/.421 with 14 homers and 33 RBI.

Alonso drew a two-out walk in the opening inning and scored on a two-run blast by Samuel Basallo. He then delivered a two-out, two-run single in the second inning that extended the Orioles’ lead to 6-2. Alonso is now slashing .245/.329/.457 to go along with 15 long balls and 46 RBI on the season.

Hicks scored on a Kyle Stowers single in the second inning, came around on a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, and took an Antwone Kelly changeup off the right field foul pole in the eight inning for a two-run shot. After a .224/.325/.367 May raised concerns that April was a fluke, Hicks has raised his overall line from .268/.344/.468 on May 31 to .274/.355/.489 as we stand today.

The Rangers put up three hits on Gray in the first inning, with the first run coming around to score on an RBI single by Wyatt Langford. It would be the only run Gray would allow on the night, as the veteran righty locked in to fire five-straight scoreless frames while allowing just two hits and no free passes. Gray has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight straight starts and has made it through six innings in five of those outings. He remains as reliable an option as any and is scheduled to make his next start on Thursday at home against the Blue Jays.

Baz struck out just one batter in the ballgame while issuing a pair of free passes. The Padres scratched out single runs against him in the first, second and fifth innings, but were never able to sustain a rally against him. The 26-year-old righty got 13 whiffs on 103 pitches on the evening, registering a CSW of 24 percent. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling as he carries a 4.06 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and a 67/32 K/BB ratio (82 innings) into Thursday’s skirmish against the Mariners in Seattle.

Leiter ran into trouble early in this one. After walking the first batter of the game, Cedanne Rafaela would later reach on a fielder’s choice and then come around to score on a sacrifice fly by Wilyer Abreu. Willson Contreras would hit a solo homer in the next at-bat to put the Red Sox up 2-1. Leiter would settle in to pitch three straight scoreless frames after that, but surrendered four more runs in the fifth inning. Leiter’s night would end after that, as the Red Sox did enough to spoil what was otherwise a decent outing for the righty. Leiter has now allowed five earned runs in back-to-back games and has struggled to get through the fifth inning in both of those starts. We’ll see if he can turn it around in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday against the Twins.

Sheets got the Padres on the board first with an RBI double off of Shane Baz in the top half of the first. He then capped off the scoring in the ballgame with an RBI single in the fifth. The 30-year-old is now hitting .230/.317/.449 with 10 homers, 29 RBI and three stolen bases in 221 plate appearances on the season.

It’s Stowers’ first multi-hit game of the month — the power has still mostly been there for Stowers this year, but he’s hitting .220 on the season and his expected batting average of .228 isn’t screaming fluke. The strikeout rate has climbed back to the 30 percent range and his barrel rate has fallen from 19.1 percent in 2025 to just 8.8 percent this year. In other words: He’s not a must-roster player in shallow leagues at this point, even if he is hitting in the middle of Miami’s lineup.

Canning also issued five walks on the evening while striking out six. The Orioles got to him early in this one, as Samuel Basallo blasted a two-run homer as part of a three-run first inning. They added another pair in the second before Gunnar Henderson swatted a solo homer in the fourth. Canning generated eight swings and misses on 93 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 32 percent. He now sports an unsightly 7.17 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and a 39/22 K/BB ratio over 37 2/3 innings in eight starts with the Padres this season. He’ll try once again to earn his first victory when he takes on the Cardinals in St. Louis on Wednesday.