MLB Player News

Alonso hit balls 111.8, 108.5 and 106.8 mph today. With his average bat speed up nearly one mph from last month, he’s batting .276/.316/.546 with five homers in May.

Lasko and Taylor dove headfirst into each other while trying to catch a liner to right-center. Taylor was able to get up right away and retrieve the ball, but Lasko remained down for several minutes before being carted off. An update on his condition is expected Wednesday.

Chapman has been able to tolerate the strain, but he aggravated the injury in the sixth inning against the D-backs and was forced to depart. If he needs to go on the IL, the Giants will likely stick Casey Schmitt at third base and give more outfield time to Victor Bericoto and Drew Gilbert.

We thought the 28-year-old Harris would likely clear waivers, but he never even got there, as a Red Sox team dealing with a few infield injuries thought it was worth picking him up. The 28-year-old Harris has hit .194/.307/.289 in 213 plate appearances since debuting for the A’s in 2024. He has options left, so the Red Sox could stash him in Triple-A. If the Red Sox were to activate him immediately, it could be at Andrew Monasterio’s expense. The return for the A’s, Hansen, was a 2024 20th-round pick. The 24-year-old has a 4.75 ERA in High-A this year.

Emerson singled and stole a base in the second inning, then collected his second hit with a single in the fifth. With the bases loaded in the seventh, he knocked his third hit of the day to drive in two runs. The 20-year-old infielder is hitting .218/.295/.454 with seven homers, 15 runs scored, and 19 RBI across 132 plate appearances.

The Angels could not break through against Bryan Woo as they were held scoreless through six innings. The team finally put some runs on the board in the seventh, including a two-run single by Zach Neto to drive in two of the team’s three runs in their defeat to the Mariners. The 25-year-old shortstop is hitting .227/.322/.453 with 18 homers, 59 runs scored, 42 RBI, and 11 steals across 379 plate appearances.

Woo quieted the Angels’ bats over six shutout innings before giving up two hits with one out in the seventh. That would end his day at 106 pitches. He scattered four hits and one walk while striking out five. The two runners he left in the seventh would eventually come in to score. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 4.17 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and a 97/19 K/BB ratio across 99 1/3 innings into a start against the Marlins in Miami next Wednesday.

Soriano cruised through five scoreless innings before running into trouble in the sixth. Seattle started the inning with three straight hits to bring home a run, knocking Soriano from the game at 91 pitches. Both inherited runners would come in to score. He generated 16 whiffs to collect nine strikeouts. The 27-year-old right-hander will take a 3.42 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and a 111/49 K/BB ratio across 100 innings into a start against the Rangers in Texas next Tuesday.

Although Velázquez was the star of the game, the Cardinals still had Alec Burleson hit for him in the eighth. Burleson wound up striking out against Ian Hamilton. Starting almost exclusively against lefties, Velázquez is 12-for-38 with three homers since being brought up on May 29. It doesn’t seem destined to lead to an expanded role, but the Cardinals will keep rotating out Burleson, Lars Nootbaar or Nathan Church to make room for him against southpaws.

The one run came in the third, when Jorge Mateo singled, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sac fly. With two lefties due up, the Cardinals brought Liberatore back out for the sixth at 92 pitches. However, he walked Matt Olson to start the inning and was pulled. Liberatore’s nine strikeouts came up one shy of his career high from last month. He fanned 10 Brewers in a loss on May 25 and then went his last five starts without ever striking out more than four batters. The rebound ensures that he’ll continue to stick in the rotation and face the Cubs on Sunday. Still, there’s not a lot to like here at the moment.

O’Brien has turned in three nice outings in a row after struggling for most of May and June. He had a 7.11 ERA and an 18/11 K/BB in 19 outings from Apr. 25 to June 21, but he’s walked none in three scoreless innings in earning three saves over the last nine days.