MLB Player News

Romero now has a nine-game hitting streak going to begin the Triple-A season and is slashing .342/.395/.553 with one home run, nine RBI, and a 5/2 K/BB ratio. It’s a tremendous start for the 2022 first-round pick, who also has a 62 percent hard-hit rate to begin the year. Last year, Romero played second base, shortstop, and third base, so he could be an interesting option in Boston if any of their infielders gets hurt or struggles for an extended period of time.

Gore has 25 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings to start the year. When the Mariners were able to make contact against him today, they hit the ball pretty hard, with four of their six balls in play exceeding 104 mph off the bat. Still, it resulted in just one hit, a line drive single from Mitch Garver. That and a Cole Young single in the ninth were the Mariners’ only hits of the day. Gore is 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA. He’s due to pitch in Sacramento against the A’s next time out.

Winn gave up a leadoff single to Cole Young, but he then retired Luke Raley, Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez in order. Winn has thrown 6 1/3 scoreless innings to begin the year, and his velocity, which has been down about two mph from last year, came back up some today; he averaged 95.8 mph with his fastball, compared to 94.1 mph in his first six outings and 96.2 mph in his 33 appearances last year. Though we do have to note that Jakob Junis, who earned saves the last two days, wasn’t available in this one, Winn seems like a threat for more saves in Texas.

Woo threw 42 pitches through four scoreless innings and then 41 in the fifth alone. With one out, he gave up three straight singles and then went without an out on a routine grounder to first with the bases loaded because Connor Joe threw wide of home, allowing two runs to score. After a walk and a sac fly, he finally retired Jake Burger to end the frame. The Mariners, though, didn’t bring him back out after the marathon inning. Woo took the loss for his first decision in three starts this season. He has a 1.50 ERA and a 17/4 K/BB in 18 innings, but that hasn’t been enough with the way the Mariners are hitting. Woo will likely face the Padres on Tuesday.

Smith’s cold start has gotten him dropped from sixth to eighth in the Rangers lineup, but it’s partly been bad luck; he entered the day 3-for-32 with no extra-base hits in spite of having collected 10 hard-hit balls. That bad luck continued initially today, as he was robbed of a homer by Rob Refsnyder in the second inning. However, he did get two line drive singles afterwards, raising his average to .143.

No word yet on the reason for the move. Leo Jiménez takes over at shortstop in his place to face Reds starter Brady Singer.

The five-game ban, which was reduced from seven originally, goes into effect immediately. The 32-year-old righty won’t be eligible to start again until next week’s series against the Marlins after being involved in a wild on-field brawl with former teammate Jorge Soler where the two traded punches before being separated during the fifth inning of Tuesday’s game in Los Angeles.

Carpenter is back in right field and batting cleanup on Wednesday night at Target Field following a two-game absence due to a stomach bug. The 28-year-old slugger is off to a slow start at the plate, hitting .188 (6-for-32) with two homers and six RBI through 10 games this season.

Happ is available off the bench but remains out of Chicago’s lineup for the second consecutive contest while dealing with a bruised left heel. It doesn’t sound like a massive concern. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now. Michael Conforto takes over left field in his absence.

Gray struck out only two, but a Brewers lineup minus William Contreras, Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio just didn’t put up much of a fight. Greg Weissert, Tyler Samaniego (in his MLB debut) and Ryan Watson finished the shutout. Gray is 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA in three starts against his old National League foes. He’ll take on his first AL team this year next week against the Twins.

Drohan opened up with two scoreless innings, but his wildness cost him in the third after the Red Sox got a bunt single and David Hamilton couldn’t handle Wilyer Abreu’s one-hopper to second. He walked two that inning, including one with the bases loaded, and was pulled after 63 pitches, only 28 of which were strikes. Drohan will most likely return to Triple-A now. The Brewers have Thursday and Monday off, so they’re not going to need a fifth starter for a while.