MLB Player News

The 28-year-old took batting practice on the field once again on Sunday without issue and participated in fielding drills. He has made quick work in his recovery from a fractured ring finger and it’s starting to sound increasingly likely that he’ll be in the Astros’ lineup when the regular season begins.

The man they call PCA hit his fifth homer of the season with a two-run shot off Trevor Richards in the ninth inning. He also drew a free pass, and his slash now sits at .238/.312/.381 on the campaign. That’s not ideal, and a far cry from the numbers Crow-Armstrong was forging at this point in 2026. We’ll see if that changes, but it’s not hard to be skeptical at this point.

Vargas gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead with the five homers on the day off Jameson Taillon. The 26-year-old has really come alive after his ugly start, and he’s already up to 11 roundtrippers to pair with a .247/.373/.506 slash. That’ll play.

Murakami hit two of the five homers the White Sox procured against a wholly ineffective Jameson Taillon. That brings the rookie’s season total to 17, and he also drew a walk and scored a third run for good measure. Murakami’s power is undeniable. Whether or not the severe swing-and-miss will come around to make that power not matter is still a question mark, but there’s simply no denying that impact he’s made to begin 2026.

It’s yet another strong outing for Martin, and if the season did somehow end after Saturday’s outing, he might be the Cy Young favorite. Weird, but impressive. He struck out seven, and allowed just a solo homer in terms of run-prevention. His ERA lowered slightly to 1.61 from 1.62, and his K/BB improves to a video game-esque 59/10. He has to be in fantasy lineups next weekend against the Giants.

Taillon gave up five homers on the day, including two to Munetaka Murakami. The right-hander struck out just two batters on the evening, and he allowed eight hard-hit balls before leaving the contest. Yikes. It’s a disappointing effort regardless, but especially considering how well Taillon had pitched in his previous two efforts where gave up three total runs. He’ll have a chance to bounce back next weekend versus the Astros.

Nick Allen replaced him at the end of Friday’s game. If Altuve lands on the IL, the Astros could give Brice Matthews some time at second base. He’ll be less needed in the outfield with Jake Meyers and Joey Loperfido nearly ready to return. Braden Shewmake could also play some second base after Jeremy Peña is activated.

It’s important to see Contreras back on the board again, as he had been 2-for-21 since leaving a May 6 game with a left-hand issue that caused him to temporarily switch bats. And that was separate from the right-hand contusion he sustained on a HBP in May 10. He hit the homer tonight 106 mph and also had a 113-mph groundball single.

Tolle needed just 85 pitches to get 24 outs tonight, finishing with four hits allowed, one walk and three strikeouts. He gave up a 421-foot homer to Drake Baldwin and had two flyouts that projected as homers in 15 and five ballparks, according to Statcast. Still, it was a pretty impressive showing, especially because he averaged the same 96.5 mph with his fastball in the eighth that he did in the first. Tolle is 2-2 with a 2.05 ERA through five turns, and he’ll be a worthy mixed-league play next week against the Twins.

There wouldn’t have been a jam, except Andruw Monasterio airmailed a throw from short to first on what should have been the final out of the game. Chapman then walked two to lead the bases. Ha-Seong Kim came up and hit a 104-mph comebacker off Chapman’s right ankle. Fortunately, though, Chapman was able to gather himself, run down the ball and make the play at first. Chapman didn’t seem to favor the ankle on his way off the field, so hopefully he won’t miss any time. The save tonight was his 377th, moving him into a tie with Joe Nathan for 10th place on the all-time list.

Elder had a 2-1 lead until Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer in the eighth. It was just the fourth homer allowed by Elder in 62 2/3 innings this year, and it led to his second defeat in 10 starts. He’ll take a 2.01 ERA into next week’s outing, which will probably come Friday against the Nationals.