MLB Player News

The positive news here is that X-rays came back negative after Jiménez was removed from Wednesday afternoon’s contest against the Cardinals. It sounds like he’ll avoid a trip to the injured list.

Kay walked one and struck out two batters in the ballgame. The Cardinals scratched out a run against him in each of his first three innings of work. The 31-year-old southpaw got just one swing and miss on 67 pitches in the contest, posting an uninspiring CSW of 21 percent. He’ll try to bounce back as he carries a 4.53 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and a 118/51 K/BB ratio (145 innings) into Wednesday’s critical divisional matchup against the Guardians in Cleveland.

With the Guardians needing a big hit, Rocchio stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and this game tied in the ninth inning. A lot of the pressure melted away after Yoendrys Gómez threw a wild pitch that let Travis Bazzana scamper home with the go-ahead run. Just a moment later, Rocchio scorched a double in the gap to bring home two more and give Cleveland all the insurance they’d need to finish this game off. Despite a few other big hits over the last few weeks, Rocchio has ceded some starts at shortstop to Angel Genao over the last few weeks as his production has tailed off during the second half.

Atlanta’s lead is back up to five games in the NL East. The Braves scored once in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. Both teams then scored single runs in the 10th before the Braves bested the Phillies 2-1 in the 11th, with Ha-Seong Kim delivering a line-drive single to tie the game prior to Baldwin’s walkoff. The Braves won the game without the DH, as Baldwin moved from there to catcher after Sean Murphy was lifted for a pinch-runner.

He struck out six. All of the runs came with two outs in the third on a single, a walk, a HBP and a bases-loaded double. Sale allowed just one other hit and walk over the remaining six innings, but the one bad frame meant he left down 3-2 before the Braves came back. Sale is lined up to face the Astros and Reds in his final two starts.

Iglesias gave up the run in a tie game and the Braves rallied to score a run in the bottom of the 10th, so there was no blown save or loss for Atlanta’s closer. This is his second straight day pitching, so he’ll probably be down on Saturday. Dylan Lee might get a save chance then.

Nola gave up a homer to Matt Olson in the first and another to Austin Riley in the second, but the Braves did nothing else against him, even though he finished the night with just two strikeouts and three walks. It’s the sixth straight start in which Nola has allowed two runs or fewer, and though he wasn’t involved in the decision tonight, he’s improved from 3-9 with a 5.61 ERA to 7-9 with a 4.69 ERA. He’ll get the Mets next week.

Bowlan allowed two groundball singles with one out, with center field Derek Hill committing an error on the second that allowed DeShawn Keirsey Jr. to score from first. The run was ruled earned afterwards, since Ronald Acuña Jr.'s flyout to center surely would have been a sac fly had the runner been on third. Bowlan had the ninth tonight because Duran pitched the previous two days. It’s the fourth straight appearance in which he’s allowed exactly one run, taking his ERA from 2.82 to 3.27.

Smith worked around a measly single with a game-ending double play to finish off this win for the Guardians after they stormed ahead in the top of the ninth. It was his 36th save on the season which tied him with Riley O’Brien for second-most in the league to go along with a 2.18 ERA and 1.05 ERA. He’s cemented himself as one of the game’s best closers in his first full season with the role.

Yastrzemski singled to start the ninth-inning rally and then DeShawn Keirsey Jr. scored the tying run in his place after pinch-running. It’s just his second three-hit game of the year.

While not his sharpest, Messick turned in yet another strong start here. He couldn’t command his fastball well at all, consistently missing the edges he usually hits, falling behind in the count, and then needing to come in the middle of the plate with it. Still, he stole just enough strikes with his slider and changeup to keep chugging along and giving his team a chance to win. He’s still squarely in the American League Rookie of the Year race with a 2.51 ERA through 172 1/3 innings this season and is set to face the reeling White Sox at home next time out.