MLB Player News

Pérez was simply wild. He only allowed four hard-hit balls -- though one of them was a monster Aaron Judge blast -- but walked in a run with the bases loaded, hit Judge with the bases loaded to force in another run, and allowed three stolen bases along the way. We’re still excited about Pérez despite the shaky outing, and he averaged 98.3 mph with the fastball today. He simply needed to land more of them in the zone today.

16 total bases for hitters in this game and Walker was responsible for nine of them. The rest of the Astros had four, while the Cubs singled three times. Walker came into the game in a 6-for-52 slump that had dropped his OPS from .950 to .808, but he’s back up to .861 now. He’s tied for ninth in the majors with 13 homers and 12th with 34 RBI.

The Giants better turn catcher Jancel Villarroel into a legitimate prospect because giving up on Teng over the winter is looking like another clear miscue for Buster Posey and company. Despite never throwing more than three innings in a game previously this season, Teng has won back-to-back starts against the Rangers and now the Cubs, pitching 11 scoreless frames in the process and now has a 2.19 ERA in 37 innings overall. Unfortunately, assuming the Astros stick with their six-man rotation, it looks like he’ll face the Brewers at home rather than the Rangers on the road next week, making him a much poorer streaming option in mixed leagues.

Two saves in two days for King, who did need to throw 21 pitches while giving up one hit today. He and Enyel De Los Santos will probably both be off Sunday, opening the door for Bryan Abreu to potentially get a save chance.

Two line-drive homers from Christian Walker accounted for all three runs. The second of those was a homer in only three ballparks. Rea allowed just two other hits and struck out four in his longest outing of the season. He’ll take a 4-3 record and a 4.83 ERA into his next start in Pittsburgh.

None of Peña’s four balls in play today were hit hard. He’s 4-for-20 with no walks since coming off the injured list earlier this week and he’s batting just .238/.279/.302 in 15 games overall, so perhaps he shouldn’t be leading off right now. Alas, the alternatives aren’t great, either. Besides Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes (currently hitting third, fourth and second, respectively), the only healthy Astro with a .300 OBP this year is Christian Vásquez at .324.

Alvarez told reporters that he won’t be in the lineup for the tilt against Chicago, but he cautioned reporters that Sunday was a scheduled day off for the slugger. The 28-year-old exited with back discomfort during Saturday’s game against the Cubs, but it sounds like this was more of a precaution than a serious injury. It’s something fantasy managers do have to keep a close eye on from a player who has dealt with injuries over the past few campaigns.

Willits missed four games while dealing with tightness in his lower back. The 18-year-old has enjoyed a quality first full professional season with an .852 OPS and 24 stolen bases in 36 games for the Low-A Nationals

This isn’t a big surprise, as Suárez was just activated off the injured list Friday after missing 25 games with his oblique strain. He’ll get the second half of the twin-billing off with JJ Bleday in the lineup as the designated hitter. Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson are also out of action with Nathaniel Lowe and P.J. Higgins getting the starts in their absence.