MLB Player News

The entire top of the Phillies pen came in fresh on Thursday, so it’s noteworthy that they used their closer early in a tie game. It was the only hit that Keller allowed in what was otherwise an unremarkable inning. The Phillies would tie the game again in the ninth, but go on to lose in extra innings. Keller remains the safest pick to close in Philadelphia’s pen at the moment.

Misiorowski is an alien. That’s the only explanation for his first inning where his fastball averaged 103 mph. Yes, averaged 103 mph. All he threw were fastballs and missed an immaculate inning by about an inch when Aaron Judge laid off a tough pitch. While his velocity tapered off following that inning, his effectiveness didn’t. Only two runners managed to reach scoring position and was able to put all three of his pitches wherever he wanted to. He’s now gone back-to-back starts without giving up a run and has a 2.45 ERA and outrageous 70:17 strikeout to walk ratio across 44 innings this season. His next start is scheduled to come at home against the Padres.

Vaughn was part of a classic Brewers group effort to do away with Max Fried and the Yankees in this one. He scored runs in each of the second and third innings as they built their huge lead and has been swinging the bat well in his few games since coming off the injured list. He’s reached base safely in all four games to go along with one home run and four RBI.

Jones’ debut went just about as expected against Jacob Misiorowski. In his first at-bat, Miz blew him away with three fastballs that were all at least 102 mph and then a diabolical 89 mph back-door curveball that was dotted on the corner. It was a true welcome to the big leagues moment. He managed to work a walk in his next plate appearance before striking out again in his final one. There will likely be plenty of both walks and strikeouts for Jones as a big leaguer.

There’s not much to say here. Aranda was responsible for one of the Rays’ four hits on the night, all of which were singles as the Red Sox held them in check all evening. Aranda is slashing an impressive .444/.516/.481 in the early part of May, but has just one extra-base hit and four RBI to show for his efforts.

Fried fell victim to one disastrous inning here. The first five hitters reached safely against him in the second via three singles and two walks. Four of them wound up coming around to score despite very little hard contact by the Brewers. Nevertheless, the rest of his start was pretty clean despite him not having his best stuff. His next start is scheduled to come against the Orioles in Baltimore.

Chapman continues to be one of the most reliable closers in the game. The hard-throwing lefty struck out two of the three batters he faced and needed just 18 pitches to retire the Rays and secure the 2-0 victory. It’s the eighth save of the season for Chapman, whose ERA now sits at 0.71 on the season.

Smith allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base, with the lone run he allowed coming on a double play ball by Ryan Jeffers. He would retire Josh Bell on a strikeout to end things, notching his 11th save of the season and his fourth for the month of May. Despite the shaky frame, Smith remains one of the top options at closer in fantasy.

The good news is that X-rays on his injured knee came back negative for any fractures after he slid and collided with the concrete wall during Friday’s game. He suffered a deep laceration down to the bone though and it sounds like it’s going to take significant time to heal. Expect him to land on the injured list prior to Saturday’s contest.

Erceg came on in the top of the ninth inning with the game tied at 3-3 in hopes of keeping the game deadlocked to give his team a chance to pull off the walk-off win. Despite allowing a leadoff double to the first batter he faced in the frame, Erceg would dig deep to get out of the inning unscathed and found himself on the winning side of things in the bottom of the frame thanks to an RBI single by Kyle Isbel. It’s the third win of the season for Erceg, who has not allowed an earned run in his last seven outings.

Greene now has a four-game hitting streak going and is slashing an impressive .423/.464/.538 this month despite having only one RBI to show for his efforts over that span. Greene doubled in the second inning and later came around to score on a ground ball double play. Hopefully, the homers and RBI start to come for Greene, who has just one homer and two RBI in his last 12 games despite being hot at the dish.