MLB Player News

Peña went 2-for-5 with a stolen base on Friday during his season debut after sitting out Thursday’s opener. Fantasy managers should anticipate the Astros continuing to closely manage his workload after missing a couple weeks earlier this month recovering from a fractured finger. It’ll be Carlos Correa handling shortstop with Isaac Paredes at the hot corner to face Angels lefty Reid Detmers on Saturday night.

Guerrero Jr. will hit second and play first base. The 27-year-old missed two games while dealing with soreness in his elbow, but he’s good to go for the series finale against the Marlins on Wednesday. Fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief.

The Rangers exploded for eight runs in the first tonight and then held on to win as the Astros kept threatening. Carter had a two-run triple in the first and added a little insurance with his homer in the sixth. There’s still some hope for him turning into a useful mixed-league outfielder, but it hinges on him establishing himself in the top half of the Rangers’ lineup and the team as a whole producing more offensively. Carter is at .178/.293/.350 to date, but he has eight steals in eight attempts. He’s 27-for-29 stealing bases in 644 plate appearances as a major leaguer.

Leiter’s mission was to throw strikes after getting eight runs to work with in the bottom of the first, but he did go on to walk three batters anyway. Still, it proved to be a pretty easy victory for the 26-year-old, and he definitely deserved one after going 0-4 in his previous nine starts, including a loss to the Astros on May 15 in which he allowed just one run over seven innings. Leiter still isn’t pitching up to his potential, but since he has a very favorable home park backing him up, he seems worth rostering in mixed leagues. He’s due for another home start Sunday against the Royals.

Jeremy Peña homered in the ninth, but Latz, who qualified for the save because he entered with a 9-6 lead in the eighth, had a four-run cushion at that point. The homer was just the second Latz has allowed in 25 innings this season. He has a 2.16 ERA, and he’s set to remain the Rangers’ primary closer going forward.

The Rangers were angry that day, my friends. After getting no-hit on Monday, the club responded with eight runs in the first inning Tuesday. Alexander survived the thrashing and allowed just one run over the following five innings, but this still leaves him with a 9.33 ERA after two starts and two relief appearances. The Astros have Monday off, so Alexander will probably head to the pen for a spell.

Alvarez hit one 449 feet off Jack Leiter and another 422 feet versus Jalen Beeks. He has 18 homers this year and 50 points of OPS on anyone else in the league (1.045 to Ben Rice’s .993).

Marte gave the D-backs a pair of insurance runs with a two-run homer off Erik Miller in the seventh inning. It was an absolute tank, 113.7 mph off the bat while going 452 feet to left field. The 32-year-old second baseman has been on a tear over the last two weeks, with eight multi-hit games in his last 12. Marte is up to nine homers on the season while slashing .273/.324/.478 with 34 runs scored and 32 RBI across 222 plate appearances.

Schmitt put the Giants on the board with a solo homer off Eduardo Rodriguez in the first inning, then drove in a run with a base hit in the third. The 27-year-old slugger is enjoying a red-hot May, with his sixth homer in the last ten games and eighth this month. Schmitt is up to 12 on the season while hitting .298/.339/.567 with 26 runs scored and 31 RBI across 192 plate appearances.

Sewald entered in the ninth to close out the game with a three-run lead. He gave one run back on a solo homer by Willy Adames before striking out Casey Schmitt to end the game with his 13th save of the season.

Rodriguez surrendered a solo homer to Casey Schmitt in the first inning. A double and a base hit brought a second run in for the Giants in the third. Rodriguez settled in nicely, giving the Diamondbacks three more scoreless frames, ending his day after six with six strikeouts on his way to a win. The 33-year-old left-hander will take a 2.31 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a 49/25 K/BB ratio across 66 1/3 innings into a start against the Dodgers in Arizona on Monday.