MLB Player News

Mountcastle fell to his side after hitting a double, and he was unable to continue. The 29-year-old was only in because of Adley Rutschman’s ankle injury, and it appears Baltimore may have another player that won’t be available. The severity of Mountcastle’s injury should be made public soon.

Moniak’s homer was a go-ahead, three-run blast off Mitch Keller in the fifth. Quite the way to celebrate his 28th birthday. The former No. 1 overall pick by the Phillies is up to 12 homers while batting .315/.358/.693 through 137 plate appearances. The Rockies have one more game in Pittsburgh before returning to Coors for a six-game home stand.

Quintana only struck out two in the outing, and his K% is down to a career-worst in his age-37 campaign. The lack of Ks plus pitching half his games in Coors makes him tough to roster outside the deepest of fantasy formats. His next start lines up at home versus the Rangers.

Keller struck out three and walked just one. He was perfect through four before a six-run outburst in the fifth, including a three-run homer off the bat of Mickey Moniak. The 30-year-old righty entered this start with a 2.87 ERA, but all his estimators suggested nothing much had changed. His next start is scheduled to come on the road in St. Louis.

He came in after veteran starter Jose Quintana only made it through four frames. Senzatela overhauled his pitch mix this season, decreasing his four-seamer reliance while his cutter usage spikes. He’s also throwing more sinkers in his transition to the bullpen, and he now has a 1.32 ERA with a WHIP well under 1. He also has two saves this season, but every one of his appearances has been for five outs or more, so he isn’t yet being used like a traditional closer.

Rumfield’s homer was his sixth of the season and gave Colorado a 7-4 lead in the eighth. He’s yet to tear the cover off the ball this year but continues to hit fourth or fifth most days. The Rockies have one more game in Pittsburgh before returning to Coors for a six-game home stand.

O’Hearn’s homer was his sixth of the season, a sixth-inning solo shot off Antonio Senzatela. Pittsburgh entered the day with the third-highest team OBP in the league, and O’Hearn’s .366 clip has certainly helped. He’s now started against six of the 10 lefties the Pirates have faced this season.

The Braves scored three runs in the eighth on singles from Michael Harris II and Ha-Seong Kim, a go-ahead double from Mike Yastrzemski off the bench (on which Kim was thrown out at home) and then a two-run homer from Dubón that took away any ninth-inning drama. Dubón’s homer was his third. He’s really cooled off at the plate after a great start — he came into the night hitting .209/.294/.297 in his previous 25 games — but the Braves are still looking at him as a regular with Kim back, which should mean plenty of starts in left field and at shortstop. Things will get a little more complicated once Ronald Acuña Jr. returns.

That’s a tough loss. Imanaga allowed one run through seven before jamming Michael Harris II to begin the eighth. Nico Hoerner fielded the weak grounder but tried a glove flip that went way over Michael Busch’s head. It should have been an error — Hoerner had time to throw it normally — but it was ruled a single. Imanaga was pulled, and Phil Maton came in to give up a single, a double and a homer. Imanaga struck out six and walked none, but he dropped to 4-3 with a 2.32 ERA. He’ll face the Brewers on Monday.

Iglesias walked Michael Busch to start the ninth, but Michael Conforto grounded into a double play on the first pitch he saw and Pete Crow-Armstrong popped up the next. Iglesias will probably be down on Wednesday after earning a save for a second straight day. Robert Suarez pitched tonight (and wound up with the win), but since he had Tuesday off, he could close Wednesday.

Ritchie departed with a 1-0 lead in the fifth after allowing a leadoff single and then a walk with one out. Tyler Kinley replaced him and immediately gave up a game-tying single. Ritchie, of course, was ineligible for the win anyway, since he didn’t finish five. Ritchie really upped his slider usage tonight, using it 20 times int he 83-pitch outing. That’s four times as often as he’d used it previously this season. He got just one whiff with it, but all four times it was put in play produced soft contact. Through four starts, Ritchie is 1-0 with a 3.32 ERA and a 17/15 K/BB in 21 2/3 innings. He’s due for starts against the Marlins and Nationals next week, making him an intriguing streaming option.