MLB Player News

Vazquez took Aaron Nola deep for the Twins’ only run of the game. The veteran has gotten the shorter end of the playing time in a committee with Ryan Jeffers. He now has three home runs and 14 RBI to go along with a .194/.276/.280 slash line.

Alonso made an early departure from Tuesday’s one-sided blowout against the Cardinals after going 4-for-4 with his 31st home run of the season. It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time with Baltimore leading by nearly two touchdowns, but it sounds like he could be dealing with a minor physical issue. It’s a situation that fantasy managers should monitor heading into the final two games of the club’s current series in St. Louis.

Nusbaum adds that the Nationals plan to continue using Perales in relief for now. The story remains much the same from a development standpoint for the 23-year-old top prospect, who came over from the Red Sox in the Jake Bennett trade last offseason. He possesses some of the most intriguing raw stuff in the minors, but leaves much to be desired from a command standpoint. He’s 3.64 ERA and 97/55 K/BB ratio across 96 1/3 innings on the doorstep of the majors this season. It wouldn’t be surprising if he excelled in relief, but there was optimism he could make a leap in the command department and blossom into an effective mid-rotation arm that misses plenty of bats.

The move frees up a rotation spot for the Nationals to bring up pitching prospect Luis Perales. The 30-year-old came over in the Luis Garcia Jr. trade with the Yankees earlier this month. He’s posted a respectable 3.24 ERA across 8 1/3 innings for the Nationals over the last few weeks.

Kwan also drew a walk, so it was a six-reach day for the 28-year-old leadoff hitter. All five hits were singles, not that anyone is complaining. The power hasn’t been there all year for Kwan, but the five knocks up his average to .274 with a .378 on-base percentage.

Ramírez’s final double was in the 10th inning to score a pair, and it gave Cleveland an 8-6 lead and ultimately the victory. The stolen base is the 30th of the season for the perennial MVP candidate. Because of injury and inconsistent play, he won’t be in those discussions this year, but Tuesday showed that he’s nowhere close to done being an impactful player.

Grissom hit a two-run homer in the first inning off a wholly ineffective Gavin Williams, and then took Logan Allen deep in the fifth. The 25-year-old is just organizational depth at this stage in his career, but it’s fun to be reminded why Grissom was considered a potential star when coming up in the Atlanta organization.

Smith hit Cristian Moore to begin the inning, and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out. Smith was able to whiff the next two, and it gives him 35 saves on the campaign and lowers his ERA on the season to 2.40.

Ureña and Gavin Williams have been two of the more solid options in the American League this year, and surprisingly, they both stunk, as both gave up a five-spot in the outing. Ureña couldn’t find the strike zone before being pulled, as he walked five and threw just 50-of-89 pitches for strikes before being bounced. The 22-year-old is likely starting to tire in his first MLB campaign, and while he still has an excellent 2.94 ERA, there’s just as much risk as reward for the rest of the season. He’ll try and show he’s still got juice in the tank against the Yankees next week.

In terms of following up his 11-strikeout effort against the Giants, Williams did not. He gave up six hits while getting just four outs, and two of those hits went over the fence. It’s a disappointing outing regardless of the situation, but after dominating for so much of that last outing against San Francisco, and then facing one of the worst teams in baseball, it just adds to said disappointment. He’ll get a chance to bounce back against the Blue Jays next week.

Devers drew a walk and scored a run in the first inning, then later extended the Giants’ lead with a solo homer off Brady Singer in the fifth. It was his third home run in his last five games. The 29-year-old first baseman is slashing .244/.322/.480 with 28 homers, 73 runs scored, and 74 RBI across 559 plate appearances.