MLB Player News

The 28-year-old hurler was a fixture in the Royals rotation in 2019, working 136 innings over 31 appearances (23 starts). He was limited to just four outings out of the bullpen in 2020 before hitting the injured list with a forearm strain. Sparkman owns a 5.99 ERA and 1.59 WHIP over 180 1/3 career innings at the big league level. He’ll likely have to settle for a minor league deal and an invitation to spring training.

The Red Sox plan on activating Alex Bregman from the injured list on Friday and someone needed to get bumped from the roster to make room for him. Unfortunately, Hamilton drew the short straw this time around. He’ll continue to bide his time at Triple-A until he’s needed once again.

Contreras sparked a five-run uprising with a leadoff single in the sixth inning and ultimately scored on an RBI single off the bat of Nolan Arenado. He then capped off the Cardinals’ scoring with a 406-foot (104.7 mph EV) blast off of Jackson Rutledge in the seventh inning that made it an 8-0 ballgame. On the season, the 33-year-old slugger is now hitting .254/.343/.430 with the aforementioned 12 homers and 52 RBI.

The 23-year-old shortstop plated Victor Scott II with a run-scoring double in the sixth inning that extended the Cardinals’ lead to 7-0. He has done a nice job at the dish for the Cardinals this season, slashing .263/.324/.391 with seven homers, 32 RBI and four stolen bases.

Donovan led off the home half of the first inning with a single and scored the Cardinals’ first run on a bounce out off the bat of Alec Burleson. He also led off the third inning with a single and was once again driven in by Burleson — that time on an RBI single. With his two-hit attack, the versatile 28-year-old is now hitting .296/.367/.435 with eight homers, 35 RBI and three swipes on the season.

It’s probably the victory of the year for the Yankees, who were being no-hit by Bryan Woo while down 5-0 after seven. Stanton hit the homer after Matt Brash entered the game in the eighth, and the Yankees scored twice off All-Star Andrés Muñoz to tie things up in the ninth. They won in the 10th on an Aaron Judge sac fly. Anthony Volpe looked like he’d be out at home on a great throw from Julio Rodríguez, but Cal Raleigh missed the tag, ending the game. Stanton was a career .104/.228/.146 hitter in 57 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter before taking Brash deep tonight.

Stroman’s velocity was a little better tonight, as he averaged 90.6 mph with his sinker. He was still hit fairly hard, but most of the contact was on the ground and he kept the Yankees in the game while they were getting no-hit by Bryan Woo. Stroman did get checked on towards the end of his outing, as it looked like he tweaked his knee running to cover first. However, he was able to remain in after one warmup throw. He ends the first half with a 6.66 ERA in six starts.

Williams struck out Randy Arozarena and then got soft outs from Jorge Polanco and Luke Raley in the tie game. Even though it was just seven pitches, it probably will rule Williams out for Friday, since he also worked Wednesday and the Yankees generally don’t use relievers three days in a row. Luke Weaver might close then.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. broke up the no-hitter with a single through the infield. That was followed by another single and a sac fly, at which point Woo was lifted. Matt Brash took over and went on to give up a two-run homer, adding a second run to Woo’s total. Woo finished the night with five strikeouts and two walks. He’s bringing an 8-4 record and a 2.75 ERA with him to the All-Star game.

Matt Brash and Muñoz combining to blow a four-run lead in the final two innings isn’t something you see every day. It’s just the second time this season Muñoz has allowed more than one run or even one hit in an outing. He’d given up a total of four earned runs before allowing two tonight. Brash had allowed one run in 19 1/3 innings since coming off the IL.

That’s a bad night, but it could have been much, much worse. J.P. Crawford drilled Rodríguez in the shin with a foul ball as Rodríguez was in the on-deck circle in the ninth. Rodríguez was checked on by the trainer, but he was able to stay in. He didn’t react at all before the ball hit him, and if the ball had been six feet off the ground, rather than two, it could have been a disaster.