MLB Player News

It sounds like there’s a chance Rutschman is ready to return to Baltimore’s lineup for Thursday’s series finale against the Mariners. The 28-year-old backstop has sat out two consecutive games due to a lingering hamstring issue. It sounds like he’s trending in the right direction and won’t require a trip to the injured list.

Santillan was summoned to close out the game against the Diamondbacks with a one-run lead in the ninth. He worked a clean inning, inducing three straight groundouts to end the game with just his third save of the season to go with an underwhelming 5.67 ERA across 27 innings.

Lowder served up a solo homer to Corbin Carroll in the first inning. He then settled in nicely, scattering four more hits and two walks as he pitched into the sixth without allowing another run. He’d depart with two outs in the sixth with six strikeouts. The 24-year-old right-hander will carry a 4.60 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and a 37/25 K/BB ratio across 47 innings into a start against the Yankees in New York on Friday.

Soroka was brilliant against the Reds on Saturday, going seven innings of one-run ball for the second straight start. He tossed two quiet frames, then gave up a run on two hits in the third inning. He coasted the rest of the way, ending his day after seven frames with seven strikeouts. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 3.11 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 79/17 K/BB ratio across 81 innings into a start against the Twins in Arizona on Friday.

Griffin is on the IL with a strained flexor tendon in his throwing elbow. If all goes well in Florida, he could then go on a quick rehab stint and perhaps rejoin the Pirates before the end of the month.

Yandy Díaz is leading off for a seventh straight game. It’s the first time in six days that the Rays have faced a righty. Simpson was mostly leading off against righties before getting hurt last weekend and missing a few games. In three games versus lefties since, he hit third Tuesday, didn’t start Wednesday and batted seventh on Friday. As for Mullins, it’s his first time hitting in the top third of the order since May 2 and just the fourth time he’s done so this season. Mullins, who is batting in between Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero tonight, is hitting .200/.355/.560 with three homers in nine games this month.

Schneemann entered the game as a pinch runner for the injured Chase DeLauter in the first inning. He took his first at-bat in the third, taking Tarik Skubal deep for a two-run blast that would ultimately turn out to be the deciding runs. The 24-year-old outfielder is hitting .263/.337/.408 with seven homers, 24 runs scored, and 34 RBI across 270 plate appearances.

Smith took the mound in the eighth with two outs and a runner on and struck out the final batter in the inning before working out a walk and a hit in the ninth, closing it out for his MLB-leading 23rd save. The 27-year-old right-hander has been outstanding, posting a 2.48 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and a 49/6 K/BB ratio across 32 2/3 innings.

The Tigers brought a run in on Cantillo in the first inning on a pair of hits. He stranded a runner in the second and allowed the first two runners to reach in the third before retiring nine straight batters, ending his day after the fifth with just the one run allowed and four strikeouts. Cantillo needed this one after giving up 15 runs across his last three starts. The 26-year-old left-hander will take a 4.38 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, and a 67/36 K/BB ratio across 72 innings into a start against the Astros in Houston on Friday.

Skubal, making his first start in six weeks following his rapid recovery from elbow surgery, worked around a hit in the opening frame, striking out the final batter. The Guardians then brought an unearned run in to score on an error in the second. Daniel Schneemann took Skubal deep for a two-run blast in the third inning. Skubal would pitch into the fifth, leaving with two outs at 80 pitches, right at his pitch count goal for the day. Despite taking the loss on Saturday, perhaps the most important number of the day, just 38 days following surgery, was 97.8, his average fastball velocity. The 29-year-old left-hander will take a 2.81 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a 49/7 K/BB ratio across 48 innings into a start against the White Sox in Detroit on Friday.

Ramos’s return will complicate the playing time situation in San Francisco with Bryce Eldridge starting regularly and Casey Schmitt replacing Ramos in left. The 26-year-old is one of the Giants’ better hitters, but unless someone else gets hurt between now and then, he might not be a regular after returning.