MLB Player News

Doing this but sticking with Chris Paddack is a choice. Ramírez, though, isn’t doing enough offensively to justify putting up with his defense, even if he has shown some improvement there this year. Mack is a weaker bet than Ramírez on offense, but he’s an excellent defensive catcher who takes walks and hits the occasional homer. He’s batting .244/.388/.378 in Triple-A. Liam Hicks and Mack figure to split time behind the plate, with Hicks also serving as a DH. Mack won’t get Ramírez’s DH at-bats, so that could open some playing time for Christopher Morel.

Harper’s home run was his 26th of the year. He hit a three-run shot off Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez in the sixth inning. Harper’s home run was his first since August 8 against the Blue Jays, a span of 11 games. He’s hitting .257 with an .870 OPS and 75 RBI this season.

Mize was first checked on while warming up for the third and was pulled from the game after giving up balls in play of 106, 107 and 108 mph to the three batters he faced that inning. Fortunately, two of those were outs, but Mize still gave up three runs in 2 2/3 innings. Mize averaged just 90.4 mph with his fastball in the third, putting him three mph below his season average.

Mathews gave up 10 hits, walked one and struck out three. He fell to 0-2 with the loss. With two on and two outs in the first inning, Mathews allowed back-to-back hits, leading to three runs for the Phillies. In the third inning, a stretch of six batters included five hits and a sacrifice fly, which led to four Phillies runs. Mathews is lined up to face the Pirates at home next weekend, but he’s not ready to be trusted in mixed leagues yet.

Quite the snakebit season for Donovan. Hopefully, he’ll avoid the IL, but if not, at least the Mariners do have J.P. Crawford about ready to return.

Painter gave up five hits, walked none and struck out eight. He improved to 3-8 with the win. Painter bounced back after allowing five runs in his last start that also included a first inning grand slam. The eight strikeouts tied a career-high for the 23-year-old rookie right-hander. Painter has a 6.04 ERA and 4.54 xFIP in 19 appearances (17 starts) this year. He’s lined up to face the Angels on the road next weekend.

Bohm left the rout of the Cardinals early, but it’s something he’s been playing through without it bothering him at the plate. We’ll call him probable for Sunday.

Burger was hit on the back of his hand in the third inning. He stayed in to run and played another inning on defense, but he was replaced by Nicky Lopez after that.

Marsee has a nice .281/.379/.474 line this month, though that comes with just two RBI (both on solo homers). Still, the big news is that he finally stole his 20th base of the season today. He had been stuck on 19 since July 10, going 0-for-2 on his only attempts of the second half. If Marsee starts running again, he’d have some value in mixed leagues.

Not quite as sharp today as in his previous two starts, which saw him pitch a total of 13 scoreless innings, Pérez allowed three hits, walked three and struck out four. He’s set to face the Nationals again next weekend in D.C.

The Marlins declined to use Pete Fairbanks today after he threw 25 pitches Friday, so Faucher was given his first chance to close since Apr. 29. He’s had a terrific August, pitching 7 2/3 scoreless innings with an 11/1 K/BB ratio. It’s lowered his ERA from 4.63 to 3.98.