MLB Player News

Cowser is batting .237/.275/.289 with 15 strikeouts in 40 plate appearances. His status as the Orioles’ primary center fielder hasn’t really come into question, but maybe it should, given that he hit just .196/.269/.385 in 92 games during a miserable 2025 in which he suffered a broken thumb and a concussion. Really, though, unless the Orioles want to sacrifice a fair amount of defense by playing Dylan Beavers in between Taylor Ward and Tyler O’Neill, they’re just going to have to hope that Cowser starts making more contact.

Langeliers ended a scoreless tie in the fourth when he connected on a Kevin Gausman splitter that sailed 388 feet into the left field stands. It was the first homer of the season for Langeliers, who came up clutch again in the ninth inning when he took Jays closer Jeff Hoffman deep to tie the game at 2-2. Langeliers hit second for the A’s on Friday and is coming off a season in which he belted a career-high 31 homers.

Gausman held the Athletics scoreless through 3 1/3 innings until Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers took him deep on a solo homer to put the A’s up 1-0. It was the only hit and baserunner Gausman would allow all game, as the veteran righty was nails all night. Gausman threw 60 of his 83 pitches for strikes and relied almost exclusively on his fastball and splitter to get the job done. It was a strong first start of the season for Gausman, who will make his next start on Wednesday against the Rockies.

Severino was solid through the first 4 1/3 innings, but things turned disastrous in the fifth inning when a walk to Kazuma Okamoto and a double allowed to Ernie Clement put runners on second and third with one out. A misplayed ball by outfielders Denzel Clarke and Tyler Soderstrom resulted in a two-RBI triple for Andrés Giménez, which gave the Jays a 2-1 lead. Severino would make it out of the inning, but did not return in the sixth. It was an unfortunate ending for Severino, who allowed just three hits on the night. His next start is scheduled for Wednesday against the Braves, where he will oppose Chris Sale.

The 2025 NL Rookie of the Year got on the board in the third inning when he took Royals starter Cole Ragans deep for his first homer of the season. Baldwin DH’d on Friday and also fell victim to three ground ball outs, and is coming off a spring in which he slashed .349/.391/.674. Despite serving as DH on Friday, we would expect him to see a few starts at catcher with Sean Murphy (hip) on the 10-day IL.

Albies wasted little time getting on the board for the first time this season. The switch-hitting second baseman took an 83 MPH changeup from Cole Ragans into the left field seat in the bottom of the first to give the Braves an early 1-0 lead. Albies was surprisingly listed third in Thursday’s lineup, but the decision paid early dividends for manager Walt Weiss who made his managerial debut for the Braves. Albies would single to right in the third inning for his second hit on the night, but was caught stealing a few pitches later. Albies is looking to rebound from a disappointing .240/.306/.365 line in 2025 and is off to a strong start after hitting .188 this spring.

Sale had an up-and-down start to this one, striking out four batters through the first three innings while also walking three and allowing two hits. The veteran lefty would settle in for the final three frames, however, allowing just one hit the rest of the way while striking out an additional two batters to end the day with six punchouts. Sale got plenty of run support in this one, as three Braves homers gave them an early 4-0 lead, which proved to be more than enough to give Sale his first win of the 2026 campaign. Sale’s next start is scheduled to come on Wednesday at home against the Athletics.

Ragans retired the first two batters he faced to start this one, but gave up a solo homer to Ozzie Albies with two outs, and followed that by allowing a single to Matt Olson and a walk to Austin Riley. An Eli White groundout ended the early threat, but Ragans would fall victim to the homer again in the third inning when Drake Baldwin took him deep to extend the Braves’ lead to 2-0. Ragans would allow two more runs in the fourth inning courtesy of a two-run homer by Michael Harris, and did not return to start the fifth inning. It was an uncharacteristic outing for Ragans, who allowed just seven homers in 13 games last season. He’ll look to get back on track in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday at home against the Twins.

Fairbanks is officially one-for-one in save opportunities as a member of the Marlins. the veteran righty allowed just one hit in a scoreless ninth inning and ended the game with a line drive out to short. Fairbanks saved 27 games for the Rays last season and figures to be the regular closer for the Marlins in 2026 as long as he can stay healthy.

Caissie was scheduled to sit against lefty Kyle Freeland, but a late scratch to first baseman Christopher Morel thrusted Caissie into the lineup as the DH. Caissie’s first hit as a Marlin came in the bottom of the second when he doubled off of Freeland to score Xavier Edwards from first. Caissie would come around to score on the next at-bat when Javier Sanoja responded with a double of his own to put the Marlins up 2-0. Caissie had a chance to add to the Marlins’ lead in the eighth inning with two outs and a runner on third, but was called out on strikes to end the inning. We wouldn’t expect Caissie to see too many starts with lefties on the mound, but this was an encouraging outing for the 23-year-old in a spot-start situation.

It was easy to forget that Griffin had never played a game at Triple-A during all of the fanfare around him this spring. He wasted no time making an impact out of the leadoff spot with a first inning walk and stolen base before coming around to score just after. He smacked a 102 mph single through the hole later on as well and looks like he’ll be able to handle this level just fine.