MLB Player News

Shugart gets a chance to make his debut for the Phillies if he gets into the game. He’s a fresh arm with Seth Johnson heading to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Not a great sign. Whitlock has been dealing with the issue on-and-off recently, according to Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. It certainly explains why he wasn’t summoned during Wednesday’s eighth-inning meltdown when Tyron Guerrero and Alec Gamboa combined to allow five runs. The 30-year-old has had a phenomenal season, posting a sparkling 2.05 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 49/7 K/BB ratio across 44 innings as one of the premier setup specialists in the game. There should be some additional clarity on his status later this week.

Conine is unstoppable right now. This home run was his 13th of the season and 10 of those have come in his last 28 games. His .944 OPS is also the third-highest among all players with at least 150 plate appearances trailing only Yordan Alvarez and Juan Soto. That’s right, Alvarez, Soto, and Conine. Since Kyle Stowers went on the injured list earlier this week, Conine has started consecutive games at first base and hit third in the Marlins’ lineup. It’s wheels up for him right now, just be aware that he’ll likely still sit against many left-handed pitchers.

Junk did a great job of pitching to contact after his offense spotted him a healthy lead. The Marlins jumped all over Pirates’ starter Carmen Mlodzinski and Junk responded with a nearly 70% strike rate. He didn’t miss many bats – only two total whiffs – but kept his four-seamers high and breaking balls low to get through six innings at just 81 pitches. At his best, he can command a deep arsenal and be mildly effective. He’ll take a 4.41 ERA, 64 strikeouts, and 24 walks through 87 2/3 innings into a two-start week against the Phillies and Nationals.

Gonzales has just not stopped hitting. Two more knocks here raised his batting average to .307 which is the fifth-highest mark in the entire league. That hasn’t come with much power – Gonzales only has six home runs and his .093 ISO is fifth-lowest in the league – but that high average makes him an asset in many leagues.

Moving Mlodzinski back into the rotation has not gone well so far. The Marlins were on him from the start with two hard-hit balls to begin the game and of the 11 total balls they put in play, eight were hit harder than 95 mph. He also hasn’t thrown more than three innings since June 10th. There’s no league where he should be a factor at the moment.

Young was experiencing dizziness, which led to him being replaced at second base by Leo Rivas in the seventh inning. He was 1-for-4 with a run scored prior to departing.

The Brewers got one in the top of the 11th, but it wasn’t enough. It initially looked like Jackson Merrill hit the game winner with one out and runners on first and third in the bottom of the inning, but right fielder Luis Lara made a fantastic leaping catch to turn it into a sac fly. After a stolen base put the winning run on second, Campusano hit a low liner to right for a clean single. Lara’s throw home seemed to be in time to retire the runner, but Gary Sánchez jumped to catch the ball when it really didn’t seem like he needed to and then couldn’t get the tag down in time. It gave the Padres a three-game sweep with two one-run victories and an 11-2 blowout.

Ray’s first two starts with the Padres have seen him increase his changeup usage at the expense of his curve and sinker. It’s not working out so far, but that might be primarily because of how wild he’s been; he’s allowed six runs and walked eight over nine innings for his new team. It’s worth sticking with him for his start against the Mets next week, but he might be droppable in shallow leagues if he doesn’t show some improvement then.

May was tested in the fourth, when he walked the leadoff man and gave up a single with one out. He then induced a double play ball, only for David Hamilton to botch it at short and get no outs. So, May just went and got another double play ball, and the defense converted it this time. It was the third time this year that May completed seven innings. The first time, in May, he was facing the Brewers team he pitched for today. The second time was his one-hit shutout in June against the team he faced today. He’ll take on the Mariners next.

Megill entered with the winning run on second in the ninth and preserved the tie with some help from a diving Garrett Mitchell on a sinking liner to center. He then worked a scoreless bottom of the 10th after the Brewers failed to score in the top of the inning. Megill was put in line for the win in the 11th, but Antonio Senzatela went on to give up two runs in the bottom of the inning to take the loss. Megill threw just 15 pitches to get his five outs, so he should be fine to close on Thursday.