MLB Player News

Gore continues to frustrate. Six strikeouts and two earned runs is totally solid, sure. Yet, the Royals laced 11 hard-hit balls and the eight hits he allowed led to constant traffic on the bases. He didn’t have a single clean inning and as usual, didn’t have great command. He did work his cutter a bit more against right-handers, but too many weren’t in competitive spots. Still, that’s a fun development and something to watch moving forward. He’ll take a 4.18 ERA with 76 strikeouts and 33 walks over 71 innings into a two-start week coming up against the Twins and Padres.

Tucker’s sixth homer was hit 384 feet off Nick Martinez in the second inning. Although he still hasn’t gotten hot at any point this season, he has managed to drive in 12 runs in the Dodgers’ last 11 games. The nice things about playing for a powerhouse is that Tucker is tied for 30th in the league in runs scored and 41st in RBI without doing much of anything to deserve it. It’s still likely that he’ll flip the switch at some point.

Everyone would rather see River Ryan making these starts for the Dodgers, but the team is now to 4-0 in Lauer’s outings, even though Lauer has just one win during the span. He’s posted a 3.22 ERA and a 14/5 K/BB in 22 1/3 innings since being acquired from the Blue Jays. Most likely, he’ll stay in the rotation and face the Twins next Monday.

Scott got two groundouts to go along with one strikeout. Edwin Díaz appears to be on track to return from elbow surgery next month, but until then, Scott will be well worth using in all formats.

All of the runs scored on a double, a single and a Kyle Tucker homer to start the third. Martinez’s peripherals have gotten worse of late, but he’s still sitting on a 2.60 ERA through 14 starts. He’ll likely face the Nationals at home on Sunday.

Rojas made it a 4-3 game in the seventh in his first action since leaving Saturday’s game with a minor shin injury. He later indicated that he could have stayed in that contest, but he thought Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s chances of completing a perfect game would have been better with Santiago Espinal replacing him.

Vilade’s roster spot might have been in jeopardy earlier this season if not for the Rays’ injuries, but he’s now up to .299/.361/.477 with a rather incredible 25 RBI while starting mostly against lefties. He’s fourth on the Rays in RBI and 11th with his 123 plate appearances.

Kurtz had two homers for the fifth time and five RBI for the third time in his young career. He’s first in the majors with 57 RBI, 67 walks and a .443 OBP this season. He’s tied for fourth with 51 runs scored and tied for ninth with 18 homers. His OPS is currently 1.006, which is practically a match to his 1.002 mark as the AL Rookie of the Year last season.

The lone run came in the fourth after a Zack Gelof error opened the frame. The RBI single was on a jam shot from Jake Mangum that fell in between the shortstop and left fielder in shallowed left. Ginn has been one of the nicest surprises for the A’s after getting left out of the rotation initially, amassing a 5-3 record with a 2.91 ERA. Still, in such a tough situation in Sacramento, he remains a poor bet for long-term value. He’ll face the Angels on Saturday.

Jones allowed only five hard-hit balls, but two of those were two-run homers. This leaves Jones with a 6.23 ERA in four starts since returning from elbow surgery. His 18/6 K/BB in 17 1/3 innings is fine, but he’s given up four homers and a .360 BABIP, even though the contact against him hasn’t been particularly hard. It seems worth sticking with him for now, even if his next start in Coors Field doesn’t bode particularly well.

McNeil’s homer was a 359-footer to right that would have stayed in play in 18 ballparks, but that’s pretty much the typical McNeil homer. There’s the chance he could lose additional playing time with Max Muncy back and Zack Gelof still putting up solid numbers, but nights like this will help keep him in the lineup against righties. He’s hitting .238/.311/.324 in 236 plate appearances for the season.