MLB Player News

The Royals desperately needed to add a fresh arm to their bullpen mix on Sunday and Black makes perfect sense as he has worked as a starter in the past and can give them multiple innings. He posted a 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a 6/5 K/BB ratio over 11 2/3 innings in his first seven appearances at Triple-A Omaha. He can continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.

Straw knocked a base hit in the third inning, then singled and scored in the fifth. He then reached with a walk in the sixth and scored on a single by Alejandro Kirk, scoring twice as the ninth hitter in the lineup. The 31-year-old outfielder is hitting .227/.286/.343 with three homers, 38 runs scored, 22 RBI, and seven steals across 269 plate appearances.

Raleigh is certainly making things up in the power department. He took Jose Soriano deep for a solo homer in the second inning to put the Mariners on the board. The home run was his sixth in his last eight games. The 29-year-old slugger is up to 19 homers and 53 RBI while slashing .169/.288/.350 across 424 plate appearances.

Varland took the mound in the top of the ninth to close out the game against the Mariners with a one-run lead. He made an excellent play to beat the runner to first on a groundout to retire the first batter, then struck out the next before inducing a weak fly-out to end the game with his 31st save of the season.

Soriano retired the first four batters before Cal Raleigh took him deep for a solo homer in the second inning. The Mariners would put two more runs on the board in the fourth after Soriano loaded the bases with a pair of walks, with Taylor Ward driving in two with a base hit. The 27-year-old right-hander settled in for three more scoreless innings, ending his day after seven with six strikeouts and in line for a win. Soriano will take a 3.45 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and a 149/67 K/BB ratio across 151 1/3 innings into a start against the Guardians in Cleveland on Thursday.

Anderson got off to an excellent start in his second career outing for the Mariners. He stranded four baserunners across four scoreless innings before getting into some trouble in the fifth. He gave up a base hit and walked a batter with one out in the inning, ending his day at 85 pitches as the team looks to limit his pitch count. Both inherited runners would come in to score. He struck out three. The 22-year-old left-hander has given up five runs with an 8/5 K/BB ratio over 10 innings across his first two starts. Anderson is in line for his third start on Thursday, taking on the Athletics in Seattle.

Cavalli suffered the injury when he was struck by a batted ball on a comebacker to end the fourth inning. It sounds like he was able to avoid any structural damage and it’s likely that he’ll be able to take his next scheduled turn in the Nationals’ rotation. Fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief.

Flores’s homer left his bat at 108.6 mph and was projected at 434 feet. He’s just 3-for-29 with a 12/1 K/BB in his last eight games, but the power is still really impressive; he’s totaled seven homers in 86 plate appearances for Pirates.

Lake Bachar again pitched in front of Mlodzinski and allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings. The win is Mlodzinski’s first since July 11 and comes after he went 0-3 with a 12.71 ERA in his previous four outings, the first three of which were starts. The Pirates likely will continue to treat him as more of a bulk guy for now, and he’s lined up to face the Angels on Thursday.

Leahy was taken out after 51 pitches today. Last time out, it was four scoreless innings and 63 pitches. The Cardinals will probably keep this up for the most part, since Leahy did spend the last three years in the pen. It’s going to make him worthless in mixed leagues, though. His next start is due to come in Colorado.

Horwitz has started eight games in the leadoff spot and 10 more in the middle of the order this month and has totaled one run scored in 82 plate appearances. He’s batting .147/.220/.160 during the span. It would make sense for the Pirates to him lower. Even when he’s going well, his extreme lack of speed is something of a problem leading off.