MLB Player News

Murakami’s homer off Drew Pomeranz gave the White Sox a 7-5 lead in the seventh. Miguel Vargas then made it back-to-back blasts, and the White Sox held on from there despite giving up two runs in the ninth. Murakami is alone in first in the majors with 12 homers. He’s also tied for third with 41 strikeouts and tied for last with zero doubles, so it’s hard to know exactly what to make of him at this point. The White Sox, though, are probably wishing they had signed him for three or four years, instead of two.

It’s his first outright assignment, so he has to accept it. Martinez, who was up briefly in May to serve as a backup catcher, was removed from the 40-man roster a week ago.

Helsley, who is coming back from elbow inflammation, averaged 97.9 mph with his nine fastballs, which is just a tad down from his 98.7 mph average on the year. He might be activated after the off day Monday, though the Orioles might have him set up for Rico Garcia a time or two before returning him to the closer’s role.

Duran provided some additional breathing room for Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman by crushing a no-doubter into the right-field seats at Fenway Park against Rangers reliever Peyton Gray in the top of the ninth inning. It was his 11th big fly of the season and first time leaving the yard in nine games dating back to May 31.

Langford opened the scoring by punching an RBI single into shallow center field against Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez with two outs in the opening frame. The 24-year-old outfielder has notched back-to-back multi-hit performances and is batting .250 (8-for-32) with one homer and three RBI in eight games since returning from the injured list back on June 5.

Chapman was summoned to protect a three-run lead in the final frame at Fenway Park and managed to work around a leadoff single from Wyatt Langford to pick up just his second save since the start of June. The 38-year-old southpaw would be a logical trade candidate if Boston falls out of playoff contention. He’s converted all 14 of his save chances this season to go along with an absurd 0.44 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 28/9 K/BB ratio across 20 2/3 innings of work.

Suarez allowed six hits and issued two walks, managing to keep Boston within striking distance for an eventual comeback win. The 30-year-old southpaw has rebounded from a couple poor performances at the end of May by allowing just three runs over 11 1/3 innings across two starts since the start of June. He boasts a strong 3.21 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 70/21 K/BB ratio across 70 innings over 13 starts in his Red Sox debut. He’ll face the Mariners in a challenging cross-country road tilt on Friday.

It was smooth sailing for deGrom his first time through Boston’s order, but they managed to tag him for a pair of run-scoring singles in the third inning, which were enough to saddle him with a no-decision. The 37-year-old fantasy ace has allowed just two runs combined over 17 innings across three starts since June 1. He’ll face off against the Padres at Globe Life Field on Friday.

The Royals didn’t confirm that he broke the bone on his fifth-inning swing, but that’s pretty much the only hamate injury there is. If it is a break, he’ll miss at least four-to-six weeks. John Rave or Josh Rojas could replace him on the roster. Rave makes more sense, since Jac Caglianone will likely play a lot of first base.

Machado took Orioles reliever Albert Suárez deep in the ninth inning to close out a five-homer afternoon for the Padres that included blasts by Jackson Merrill, Samad Taylor, Gavin Sheets and Rodolfo Durán. The 33-year-old veteran third baseman has hit a bit of a rough patch lately, batting .196 (9-for-46) with two homers and five RBI since the start of June.

Alonso delivered one of his strongest performances of the season on an otherwise forgettable afternoon for Baltimore. He took Padres starter Randy Vásquez deep with two outs in the opening frame and also added an RBI double in the seventh inning as part of a three-hit effort. The power-hitting 31-year-old is scorching hot of late, hitting .326 (15-for-46) with five homers and 12 RBI in 12 games since the start of June.