MLB Player News

That’s never what you want to hear just before the off-season begins. Smith fired 1 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball on Wednesday -- striking out three in the process -- before exiting. He’ll undergo an MRI exam on Thursday to see exactly what’s going on there. Smith finished the 2022 campaign with a 4.11 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 64/39 K/BB ratio across 70 innings.

The 21-year-old slugger smacked a 347-foot (98.0 mph EV) solo shot off of Jesús Luzardo in the opening inning. He then gave the Rays their first lead of the day with a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Caminero finished the day 1-for-3 plus a walk and is now hitting .244/.276/.444 with seven homers and 16 RBI on the season.

Díaz provided the Rays with some valuable insurance as his 362-foot (103.0 mph EV) three-run shot off of Tanner Banks transformed a 2-1 lead into a 5-1 advantage. That would be his only hit in five at-bats in the contest. For the season, the 33-year-old first baseman is hitting .255/.307/.430 with six long balls and 20 RBI.

The Rays carried a 5-1 lead into the eighth inning on Thursday, but that advantage was cut to one when Bryson Stott blasted a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning. Fairbanks then came on for the ninth and allowed a leadoff single to Kyle Schwarber. He then tried to pick off pinch-runner Johan Rojas, but threw the ball down the right field line, allowing Rojas to get to third. He eventually scored on a ground ball off the bat of Max Kepler. Fairbanks has been terrific overall on the season, registering a 1.76 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and a 14/7 K/BB ratio over 15 1/3 innings. His job isn’t in any danger at all.

Pepiot struck out three batters on the evening while issuing a pair of walks. The only run that the Phillies were able to muster against him came on a sacrifice fly by Bryce Harper in the opening inning after Bryson Stott had doubled and advanced to third on a fly ball. He exited with the Rays leading and in line for a victory but the bullpen was unable to hang on for him. Pepiot generated seven swings and misses on 95 pitches on the night, posting an underwhelming CSW of 22 percent. He’ll attempt to replicate this fine performance as he carries a 3.86 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 38/16 K/BB ratio (44 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s tilt against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Marsh didn’t waste any time, smacking the first pitch that Manuel Rodriguez threw in the 10th inning for a go-ahead RBI double into left field. He then came around to score what would stand as the winning run on an RBI knock by Trea Turner. Marsh also singled and scored on Bryson Stott’s three-run blast in the eighth inning. The 27-year-old outfielder finished the night 2-for-4 and is now hitting .170/.274/.264 with one homer, seven RBI and zero stolen bases through his first 22 games on the season.

Stott led off the game with a double, advanced to third on a fly ball and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Bryce Harper. He then tagged Edwin Uceta for a 409-foot (104.2 mph EV) three-run blast with two outs in the eighth inning, pulling the Phillies to within a run at 5-4. With his two-hit attack, the 27-year-old infielder is now hitting .277/.340/.415 with three homers, 20 RBI and seven stolen bases on the season.

Strahm took over with a two-run advantage in the 10th inning. He allowed the inherited runner to score on a two-out RBI single by Danny Jansen and then allowed another single to Chandler Simpson before rallying to strike out Jose Caballero to end the ballgame. The 33-year-old southpaw has done a nice job out of the Phillies’ bullpen this season, posting a 2.87 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 20/5 K/BB ratio over 15 2/3 innings.

The 27-year-old southpaw punched out four batters on the evening while issuing two free passes. All of the damage done against him came from Junior Caminero — who slugged a solo homer in the opening inning and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Luzardo generated 13 swings and misses on 105 pitches on the evening — seven on his sweeper alone — while registering a CSW of 29 percent. He’ll bring a 2.11 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 51/13 K/BB ratio (47 innings) into Tuesday’s showdown against the Cardinals.

The 31-year-old right-hander was cut loose by the Cubs earlier in the week after he posted a 7.27 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and a 12/7 K/BB ratio over 8 2/3 innings in seven appearances at Triple-A Iowa. He’ll add extra bullpen depth for the Royals at Triple-A Omaha.

Torres three-run double off of Tanner Gordon broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish. It was his only hit in five at-bats on the evening. The 28-year-old infielder has been outstanding so far for the Tigers, slashing a healthy .290/.348/.460 with four homers, 20 RBI and four stolen bases through his first 25 games.