MLB Player News

Walker took Kyle Freeland deep for a solo homer in the second inning to put the Astros on the board. It would be the only run Houston could get across against the Rockies on Tuesday. Walker has been hot at the plate in the early going, with Tuesday’s blast his third in four games.

Grissom started at first base with Nolan Schanuel (calf) still out. He had a two-run single in the third inning before a big hit late. With the Angels trailing in the eighth inning, Grissom hit a two-out grand slam. It was his third home run in his last 206 at-bats. He’s hitting .233 with a .687 OPS.

McGonigle’s two-run triple in the fifth inning tied the game 4-4. The 21-year-old infielder had three hits total and was on base four times in the loss. He’s hitting .291 with an .822 OPS. McGonigle has four home runs, 33 runs scored, 21 RBI and eight stolen bases.

Adell’s home run was his eighth of the season. He hit a solo shot off Keider Montero in the fourth inning. Adell hit 37 home runs last year with 30 of them coming after May. With two home runs in the last week, Adell could be ready to go on a homer streak soon.

Vest was brought in to get out of the seventh inning and he did just that, retiring Jorge Soler and Wade Meckler in order to end the inning. Vest even got two of the first three batters out in the eighth inning before things went off the rails. A double by Logan O’Hoppe drove in a run, cutting the Tigers lead to a single run. Zach Neto singled on the ninth pitch the at-bat before Mike Trout walked on six pitches. With Vest now over 30 pitches, he was inexplicably allowed to face Vaughn Grissom with the bases loaded. Grissom’s grand slam was just his third home run in his last 206 at-bats. Vest’s blown save was his third, the loss was his second and his ERA sits at 7.88.

Montero gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out seven. The 25-year-old right-hander had his strikeout stuff on Tuesday. Montero entered play with a 16 percent strikeout percentage before striking out seven of 26 batters face against the Angels. He was in line for the win when reliever Will Vest coughed up the lead in the eighth inning. Montero has a 4.09 ERA in 10 starts. He’s lined up to face the White Sox on the road on Sunday.

Kochanowicz gave up six hits, walked two and struck out six. His worst inning was the fifth inning. Kochanowicz allowed a single and a walk ahead of a triple to Kevin McGonigle, who also scored after Kochanowicz was removed. His ERA is 4.99, keeping him off the fantasy radar in most leagues. Kochanowicz is lined up to face the Rays on the road on Sunday.

Disaster was averted early in this one, as Wood and CJ Abrams collided on a shallow fly to left that went for a hit. Fortunately, it was only a glancing blow, and though Wood was down for a minute, both All-Star candidates were able to continue. Wood now has 15 homers, and he’s scored six more runs (49) than anyone else in baseball. He’s 9-for-10 stealing bases, which is a nice improvement after he went 14-for-22 as a rookie and 15-for-22 last year.

It was another efficient outing for Cavalli, who got 18 outs on 87 pitches. Last time out, he needed just 84 pitches over seven innings. Cavalli moved to 3-3 with a 3.62 ERA. It seems like he should have a better record with the way the Nationals have scored, but there were two times earlier in the season in which he wasn’t as efficient and was pulled with a lead before completing five innings. He also had the bullpen blow a lead for him once. Cavalli will make his next start against the Marlins, a team he limited to two runs over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision a couple of weeks ago.

Parker came in with the score 6-1 and worked scoreless seventh and eighth innings. A shaky ninth followed, but he was left in after three of the first four batters reached, and he retired José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter to end the game. It’s the second career save for Parker. The other was also of the three-inning variety after he was removed from the Nationals rotation late last season. He has a 5.33 ERA over 27 innings in his 12 relief appearances this year.