MLB Player News

Duran was responsible for all three runs the Red Sox scored on the evening. Stepping up with two runners on and no outs in the third inning, Duran belted a curveball from Mike Burrows 425 feet into right center to put the Red Sox up 3-1, which proved to be enough for the win. It was just the second homer of the season for Duran, who has struggled at the plate in the early part of the season. With just one hit in his last five games, it’d be nice to see Duran string a few hits together so we can get back to trusting him in our lineups.

Okamoto sure had Twins’ starter Simeon Woods-Richardson’s number here. He homered off him in consecutive innings to help build a lead that the Blue Jays would never relinquish. Something has clicked of late with Okamoto, who had a poor .553 OPS just two weeks ago. After this game, that’s up to a .743 OPS as he continues to grow more comfortable in his first major league season.

While it wasn’t a save opportunity – the Blue Jays were up by four runs – we got another data point proving that Varland is the closer in Toronto. Former closer Jeff Hoffman came into this game in the seventh innings and allowed a run while Varland trotted out for the ninth and pitched another scoreless frame. He is undoubtedly the best option for saves in this bullpen.

It’s borderline surreal to watch Corbin out there reinventing himself and pitching better than he has in years. In this start, he threw his changeup 27% of the time, nearly twice as often as he has in any other start this season. It was a wrinkle the nearly all right-handed Twins’ lineup didn’t appear to expect and it helped him keep them off-balance for most of this game. Somehow, he’ll take a 3.65 ERA into his next scheduled start against the Rays down in Tampa Bay.

Buxton has been scalding hot of late. He’s not hit a home run in four of his last five games and all nine of his long balls this season have come in his last 16 games. Just in the last week, he’s gone from a .705 OPS to an .845 OPS. It’s a good reminder as to how early in the season it still is and that when Buxton is on, the homers can come in bunches.

There’s a phrase for outings like this one by Woods-Richardson: he got pieced up. Of the 20 balls the Blue Jays put in play against him, 12 were hard-hit and Kazuma Okamoto took him deep twice. He doesn’t have an out-pitch, high-end velocity, or particularly good command. It’s hard to see the Twins continuing to send him out there every fifth day much longer.

Muncy doubled in the top of the second inning to drive home Andy Pages and give the Dodgers their first run of the night. On a night where Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5 at the plate, Muncy’s double was one of the very few bright spots for the Dodgers’ offense on Friday. He has now it safely in seven of his last eight games, and is slashing .353/.441/.745 over his last 15 games with five homers and eight RBI.

Walker continues to be one of the hottest hitters in the Cardinals’ lineup. The 23-year-old got things started with a single in the first inning and was eventually driven in thanks to a Nolan Gorman home run, and then doubled to drive home Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera in the seventh inning to put the Cards up 6-2. Walker has now hit safely in four-straight games and is slashing a blistering .407/.469/.593 over his last seven games. After a slow start to his career, Walker continues to show the promise that made him a top prospect.

It was a disastrous first inning for Sheehan, who allowed two of the first four batters he faced to reach base, one of whom came around to score on a balk. After said balk, Sheehan would allow a two-run homer to Nolan Gorman to give the Cardinals an early 3-0 lead, but eventually escaped the inning without allowing any additional runs. Sheehan would give up another homer in the third inning, this time to Alec Burleson, to put the Cardinals up 4-1, but came back out to pitch a scoreless fourth inning before being pulled with two outs in the fifth inning. With his ERA now sitting at 5.23 on the season, Sheehan has struggled to be consistent despite good strikeout totals. His next start is scheduled for Wednesday against the Astros.

Liberatore held the potent Dodgers’ lineup in check for most of the night, with his two blemishes coming on an RBI double by Max Muncy in the second inning and a sacrifice fly RBI by Kyle Tucker in the sixth inning. It was a much-needed bounce-back game for Liberatore, who was fresh off allowing five earned runs in his last outing against the Mariners. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his seven starts this season and will look to stay on track in his next start, which is set for Wednesday against the Brewers.

Marsh was drilled in the elbow by a pitch that just missed his elbow guard and caught him flush. Fortunately, X-rays came back negative for any fractures and he feels like he should be fine. He’s considered day-to-day.