MLB Player News

Imai was dominant in Sacramento on Saturday, holding the A’s scoreless into the sixth. Two walks in the inning would put just the second runner in scoring position on the day before Imai’s day was done at 94 pitches. The 27-year-old right-hander generated an impressive 18 whiffs to collect nine strikeouts. It was a nice bounce-back after giving up four runs in his debut. Imai lines up for a start against the Mariners in Seattle on Friday.

Leahy walked three and gave up five hits, but the only damage came on Kerry Carpenter’s two-run homer in the third. He struck out four. It’s going to be interesting to see how Leahy lasts as a starter, since his arsenal seems much better designed to take on righties and opposing teams can just stack lefties against him now. He’s held his own so far with a 5.40 ERA against two quality teams (he loss to the Mets last time out). He’ll be hoping Boston’s bats are still cold when he faces the Red Sox on Saturday.

Ryne Stanek set him up with a hitless eighth. It seems clear that the only reason Stanek was the Cardinals’ choice to close initially was that O’Brien was still ramping up after his spring calf injury. O’Brien has two saves now and has yet to allow a run in 5 1/3 innings this season.

Torkelson opened the season batting fifth, but he’s been down to eighth the last two days, and he entered tonight with a .143/.200/.179 line. Playing time against right-handers could be at risk if he continues to have issues. What he really needs is for the Tigers to take on some lefties. They’ve faced nothing but right-handed starters thus far, and the streak is set to continue with seven games against the Twins and Marlins this week. Those in shallow leagues might want to try an alternative.

Montero had pitched just once since the regular season started, throwing four scoreless innings for Triple-A Toledo last Sunday. That’s how he started off tonight, too, but the Tigers pressed their luck in the fifth and Montero gave up a single, a walk and an RBI single before pulling him with one out. Enmanuel De Jesus took over then and, after botching a sac bunt, gave up a two-run knock to finish off a four-run inning for Detroit. Montero allowed one hit, walked none and struck out three through four. He should stay in the rotation for now and face the Marlins next weekend.

Bolton last pitched Tuesday, getting a three-inning save against the Red Sox. This will be his first major league start after 35 relief appearances. If he gets through three innings again, the Astros will probably be pretty happy.

Edwards hit seventh versus Max Fried today, as the Marlins have been dropping him in the lineup against lefties. It hasn’t seemed necessary so far, though, as he’s 5-for-11 versus southpaws and 11-for-23 against righties. It doesn’t seem like a total fluke, either. Edwards has added strength while still making a ton of contact. He won’t hit .467 all season, but he seems underrated at this point.

Paddack needed one more out in the seventh to get the win, as the Marlins scored four runs to take the lead just after he left the game. Instead, it went to John King, who retired the only batter he faced after replacing Paddack. The Marlins didn’t start Paddack today because of their desire to use Pete Fairbanks before he left to join his pregnant wife. He probably will start Friday against the Tigers team that he finished last year with.

Bender was closing in place of Pete Fairbanks, who pitched the first ahead of his paternity leave stint. Lucky for him, he had a three-run lead before walking two and giving up a two-run double to Jazz Chisholm Jr. with two outs. He then intentionally walked Austin Wells before striking out J.C. Escarra, pinch-hitting for José Caballero, to end the game. Bender threw 31 pitches today on the heels of 15 on Saturday, so he’ll need Monday off. Calvin Faucher will also need a break, so Tyler Phillips might be in line to close.

Fried, who won his first two starts, left with a 4-3 lead, but the Marlins scored four runs in the eighth to spoil things. He’ll bring a 1.35 ERA into his fourth start against the Rays.

Rice’s contact rate is down and his groundball rate is way up, but that certainly hasn’t mattered yet; he has three homers, four doubles and 11 RBI in eight games. His homer today was a 410-footer against an unusual opener in Pete Fairbanks, who had other things on his mind before leaving during the game to join his pregnant wife.