MLB Player News

Hunter Brown (shoulder) is out for at least a month, and Cristian Javier left his start yesterday with an injury, so the Astros need to fill innings in their rotation. France has been pitching in a multi-inning role in Triple-A, so it’s unclear if he would move into the rotation or perhaps keep his bullpen role, which would allow Ryan Weiss to enter the rotation. Weiss looked good in spring training and could be an interesting name in fantasy leagues if he gets a chance to start.

Duran provided some additional breathing room for Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman by crushing a no-doubter into the right-field seats at Fenway Park against Rangers reliever Peyton Gray in the top of the ninth inning. It was his 11th big fly of the season and first time leaving the yard in nine games dating back to May 31.

Langford opened the scoring by punching an RBI single into shallow center field against Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez with two outs in the opening frame. The 24-year-old outfielder has notched back-to-back multi-hit performances and is batting .250 (8-for-32) with one homer and three RBI in eight games since returning from the injured list back on June 5.

Chapman was summoned to protect a three-run lead in the final frame at Fenway Park and managed to work around a leadoff single from Wyatt Langford to pick up just his second save since the start of June. The 38-year-old southpaw would be a logical trade candidate if Boston falls out of playoff contention. He’s converted all 14 of his save chances this season to go along with an absurd 0.44 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 28/9 K/BB ratio across 20 2/3 innings of work.

The Royals didn’t confirm that he broke the bone on his fifth-inning swing, but that’s pretty much the only hamate injury there is. If it is a break, he’ll miss at least four-to-six weeks. John Rave or Josh Rojas could replace him on the roster. Rave makes more sense, since Jac Caglianone will likely play a lot of first base.

Machado took Orioles reliever Albert Suárez deep in the ninth inning to close out a five-homer afternoon for the Padres that included blasts by Jackson Merrill, Samad Taylor, Gavin Sheets and Rodolfo Durán. The 33-year-old veteran third baseman has hit a bit of a rough patch lately, batting .196 (9-for-46) with two homers and five RBI since the start of June.

Alonso delivered one of his strongest performances of the season on an otherwise forgettable afternoon for Baltimore. He took Padres starter Randy Vásquez deep with two outs in the opening frame and also added an RBI double in the seventh inning as part of a three-hit effort. The power-hitting 31-year-old is scorching hot of late, hitting .326 (15-for-46) with five homers and 12 RBI in 12 games since the start of June.

Vásquez got off to a rocky start when he coughed up a pair of runs in the first inning, including a solo shot to Pete Alonso. However, he managed to settle in and keep Baltimore off the scoreboard into the middle innings to pick up his sixth win of the season. He struck out five and only issued two walks. He’ll face the Rangers in a road matchup on Friday his next time out.

Gibson was tagged for four runs in a calamitous opening frame, which included two-run homers by Jackson Merrill and Samad Taylor. The 24-year-old pitching prospect managed to get out of the frame without any further damage and saved Baltimore’s bullpen by working into the fifth. He was all over the place from a command standpoint, managing to punch out a season-high seven, while also handing out five walks. It’s unclear whether he’ll get another turn in the rotation, but that’ll depend on whether Chris Bassitt (back) is ready to take the ball next week.