MLB Player News

Skenes stranded a runner in the first inning, then escaped a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the second. He struck out two in the third inning for his first clean frame, then tossed a perfect fourth, collecting five strikeouts before an extended rain delay cut his outing short. Still, the 23-year-old right-hander has given up one or fewer runs in each of his last four starts since his five-run Opening Day start. He’ll take a 3.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and a 23/7 K/BB ratio across 22 innings into a start against the Brewers in Milwaukee on Friday.

Busch homered to tie things up in the eighth and then delivered a game-winning single in the 10th. It elevates his line to .229/.331/.366 in 131 at-bats. Busch’s bat speed and exit velocity numbers have plummeted this year, and the Cubs might be better off turning him back into a platoon guy at some point. The production, though, has gotten better so far this month, and it seems worth sticking with him in shallow leagues.

JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe hit the homers. That brings Taillon’s season total to 11 homers allowed, but he still has a reasonable 4.24 ERA. Something is going to have to give there eventually. His next matchup is a good one, though, as he’ll be facing the Rangers in Texas. The Rangers are hitting just .217/.294/.322 with seven homers in 15 home games this year.

Palencia didn’t pitch in his first two days off the IL, and he wasn’t going to have the chance to close tonight with the Cubs at home and tied in the ninth. Still, he threw very well while facing four batters. He topped out at 101.9 mph and averaged 100.2 mph with his heater, which is 1.2 mph better than his season average,

Abbott allowed four hits, walked four and struck out four before departing with a 2-0 lead that failed to hold up. It’s his first scoreless start since he shut out the Red Sox for six innings in Opening Day, and it dropped his ERA from 5.97 to 5.13. He’ll take on the Astros at home on Sunday.

Santillan gave up a long homer to Michael Busch to tie the game. However, he still has a nice 2.87 ERA on the season, and he figures to be the choice to close for the Reds with Pagán almost certainly IL bound. Maybe Graham Ashcraft would get a shot if Santillan blew one of his first opportunities.

Rodríguez heads back to the minors to clear a rotation spot for Carlos Rodón (elbow) to return from the injured list this weekend. The Yankees will bring up some bullpen help until then. The 22-year-old pitching prospect walked four batters and allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings on Tuesday in a no-decision against the Rangers. He figures to get another shot in New York at some point later this summer.

With Bryan Baker having thrown on back-to-back days, the Rays turned to Cole Sulser to protect a one-run lead on Tuesday, and he did without allowing a baserunner to pick up his second save of the season. What’s interesting here is that Garrett Cleavinger hadn’t thrown since Saturday, and the Blue Jays started the inning with a left-handed hitter and a switch-hitter. Perhaps they’re not ready for Cleavinger to step back into late-inning situations so soon after returning from the IL, or maybe Sulser has simply leapfrogged him in the peaking order, but the 36-year-old Sulser appears to be next in line behind Baker for saves.

It’s a zero-risk gamble for the Rockies after Romano was cut loose by the Angels last week. The 33-year-old veteran opened they year as Los Angeles’ closer but wound up being released just a couple weeks later after struggling to an catastrophic 10.13 ERA over eight innings. It would be a surprise to see him closing games for Colorado later this season, but stranger things have happened before.

Williamson knocked an RBI single to center field off of Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Rays a one-run lead they would not relinquish. Williamson has been a pleasant surprise for Tampa Bay this year, slashing .266/.330/.340 while playing multiple positions around the infield. He has just 11 RBI and three steals with no home runs, so he doesn’t bring a lot to the table in fantasy, outside of AL-only formats.

McMahon’s homer to right would have been an out or maybe a double in most parks, but it was the product of a very nice at-bat against Jacob deGrom. McMahon’s glove hasn’t been quite as strong as usual this year, and with his .637 OPS and Anthony Volpe being healthy, he’s under some pressure to pick it up. This was a nice start.