MLB Player News

McCarthy was released by the Red Sox in late August after struggling to a 7.13 ERA in 35 1/3 innings at Triple-A Rochester. The 29-year-old will serve as organizational relief depth for Chicago.

Santander gave the Jays a bit of breathing room as he swatted a 369-foot (110.4 mph EV) two-run shot off of Dylan Cease in the fifth inning that extended the Jays’ lead to 3-0. The 30-year-old slugger also whiffed twice in the ballgame, finishing the night 1-for-3. On the season, he’s slashing a miserable .185/.265/.327 with just six homers and 18 RBI.

The 26-year-old slugger opened the scoring in the home half of the first inning, blasting a 371-foot (98.1 mph EV) solo shot that gave the Jays an early 1-0 advantage. That would be his only hit in the ballgame, but also all of the run support that Chris Bassitt and company would require. On the season, Guerrero is now slashing .289/.393/.439 with six long balls and 21 RBI.

The 32-year-old right-hander made it look easy in this one, mowing through the heart of the Padres’ lineup in just 10 pitches (nine strikes). He got Manny Machado on a ground ball to short, Jackson Merrill on a swinging third strike and Xander Bogaerts on a bouncer to third to end it. He still holds an unsightly 5.48 ERA over 21 1/3 innings on the season, but that comes with a terrific 1.13 WHIP and a 32/5 K/B ratio.

Bassitt piled up six strikeouts on the evening while allowing only one base on balls. The biggest threat that the Padres had against him came as Luis Arraez smacked a one-out double in the first inning. They never put multiple runners on base against him and no runner ever reached third. The 36-year-old right-hander generated nine whiffs on 100 pitches on the night — getting at least one whiff on six different offerings — while posting a CSW of 33 percent. He’ll carry a brilliant 2.83 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 61/11 K/BB ratio (57 1/3 innings) into Sunday’s showdown against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Arraez ripped a one-out double off of Chris Bassitt in the top half of the first inning, but he was left stranded right there. That would be the only extra-base hit that the Padres would have in the contest. The 28-year-old infielder has performed about as expected this season, slashing .296/.333/.414 with three homers, 15 RBI and a pair of stolen bases through his first 176 plate appearances.

The 29-year-old hurler punched out six batters on the evening while allowing one free pass. All of the damage that was done against him came via the long ball, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slugging a solo shot in the opening inning and Anthony Santander adding on a two-run blast in the fifth. Cease generated 14 swings and misses on 100 pitches on the night — nine of those on his slider — while registering a strong CSW of 33 percent. He’ll look to get back in the win column as he totes a 4.50 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 64/19 K/BB ratio (54 innings) into Sunday’s tilt against the Braves in Atlanta.

Falter knows what you have to do to earn wins on the Pirates: give up zero runs. He’s done so over at least six innings three times this year and won all three games. He’s 0-3 over his remaining seven outings, though a couple of those were quality starts. Falter will face the Brewers at home on Sunday, but while that’s a pretty good matchup, he’s a difficult guy to trust in fantasy leagues, especially on a team that provides so little support.

Dennis Santana, who had the Pirates’ only save this month until tonight, worked a perfect eighth. Bednar allowed a single to start the ninth, but he then got Santiago Espinal (still batting second for some horrible reason) to ground into a double play, and Elly De La Cruz flew out to end the game. Bednar was handed the ninth tonight despite giving up two runs in the eighth on Monday. It’s a good sign for his fantasy value, but he’ll almost certainly be down Wednesday after throwing 41 pitches the last two days. Santana could close if the Pirates have another lead then.

Martinez has five quality starts in a row after failing to reach the threshold in any of his first five starts. Still, he’s been limited to two wins. Even though he has a 3.44 ERA, the Reds are 2-8 in his starts. Martinez will face the Royals next, making him a decent option in mixed leagues.

All three of his balls in play were hard hit. The intentional walk came after a 3-0 count in the eighth. Horwitz entered the night 1-for-7 in three games since coming off the IL on Saturday. He has second base eligibility in fantasy leagues, and it’s easy to imagine him posting a solid OPS while starting against all righties and some lefties. Still, it’s going to be tough for him to amass mixed-league value in a lineup as bad as Pittsburgh’s.