MLB Player News

It’s a significant step for Sandlin as he ramps up his throwing program. The 29-year-old righty is in Angels camp as a non-roster invitee this spring and has a decent shot at making their season-opening bullpen, if healthy. He boasts a respectable 3.19 ERA — 3.81 xERA — across 211 2/3 innings in the majors since 2021.

Burrows allowed four hits in the first inning, but managed to hold the Rangers to just one run despite the early trouble. After pitching a scoreless second inning, Burrows would be taken deep by Joc Pederson for a solo homer in the third inning to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead, but he would settle in from there. Burrows didn’t allow another run on the night while getting through seven innings, and left with the game deadlocked at 2-2. Burrows has struggled throughout most of this season and ends this month with a 5.11 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. His next start is scheduled for Tuesday against the Pirates.

The first run deGrom allowed on the evening came on a sacrifice fly in the second inning that scored Taylor Trammell from third after he doubled to lead off the inning. deGrom would later surrender a solo homer to Yordan Alvarez in the fourth inning, but otherwise did his part to limit runs and keep players off base. The veteran righty struggled in May, allowing four or more earned runs in three of his five starts while posting a 6.45 ERA on the month. His next start is scheduled for Monday on the road against the Cardinals.

Soler and Donovan Walton were the only players to register a hit for the Angels in Wednesday’s loss to the Tigers. Soler’s single in the second inning pushed his hitting streak to five straight games, but the right-handed slugger has just one extra-base hit in the past week and only two RBI over that span.

Things have not gone well for the Mets despite another tremendous season from Soto. His first inning home run gave them their first lead since last Friday, which they also got from a Soto first inning home run. Also, he was caught stealing for the second time this season in seven tries. For comparison, he was 38-for-42 as a base stealer last season. Even without carrying his newfound speed into this campaign, he has 12 home runs, a .301 batting average, and a .986 OPS through 39 games this season.

Williams did his best Houdini impression here, walking the first two batters he faced in a two-run game and eventually walking the bases loaded. Eventually, he struck out the other three batters he faced to secure the stressful save. After throwing 10 straight scoreless outings and only allowing two hits over that span, Williams coughed up a walk-off grand slam last time out and was shaky once again here. It looks like this could just be a Jekyll and Hyde type of season from the right-hander.

Tong was not as sharp here compared to his season debut against the Marlins last time out. There was some shoddy defense behind him – including his own error which led to an unearned run – but his changeup lacked serious bite and his curveball was literally all over the place. The one saving grace was his cutter. While also being erratic, it flashed as the exact swing-and-miss offering he’s desperately searching for to pair with his lively fastball. Tong is taking baby steps and should be left on waiver wires as he tries to build up his repertoire while working in this bulk relief role.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: a batter coming to the plate six times in a game where their team only scored two runs. Just about the only way to do that is by stranding 17 runners on base like the Reds did here. Dunn contributed to that number himself too, by making two outs with runners in scoring position including a game-ending strikeout with the bases loaded. Nevertheless, this was his fourth straight game hitting lead-off – against a mix of right and left-handed pitchers – and he has instant fantasy value in that role.

Abbott did well to attack the zone here and dare the Mets’ floundering lineup to hit him. They did though, to a certain extent. Both Juan Soto and Eric Wagaman socked solo home runs to account for Abbott’s only two earned runs and an untimely Elly De La Cruz error followed by Carson Benge run-scoring single brought home the unearned run. While those were the only runs, the Mets stung 10 total hard-hit balls and there were more than a few balls caught by Reds’ outfielders on the warning track. Nevertheless, that made it six straight starts by Abbott in which he’s allowed two or fewer runs. The underlying stuff still isn’t strong with a 42:27 strikeout to walk ratio over 62 2/3 innings so far this season. He’s scheduled to face the Royals at home next time out.

Buxton put the Twins on the board early, slugging a leadoff homer off David Sandlin to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. It was the 17th homer of the season for Buxton, who continues to swing a hot bat for the Twins. The veteran righty is slashing .270/341/.703 on the month with nine homers and 16 RBI.

Now this is Gerrit Cole. He was utterly dominant facing just three batters over the minimum and forcing 15 swings-and-misses. He got some help from his defense too when Aaron Judge threw a strike to nail Michael Massey at home plate. After that, just one more Royal reached scoring position as the righties had fits trying to put a bat on Cole’s slider and lefties the same with his changeup. It was all held up by his fastball that consistently sat around 97 mph and Cole was able to spot it wherever he wanted. This looked like one of the best pitchers in the league, as Cole has been for the better part of the last decade. Keep an eye on his workload, as he hasn’t gone above 80 pitches yet in two starts off the injured list. He’s scheduled to face the Guardians next time out.