MLB Player News

Cron was activated off the IL on Saturday but has yet to make a start until today. Before landing on the injured list, he was hitting .252/.299/.441 with 12 homers and 37 RBI in 254 at-bats between the Rockies and Angels. Cron will start at designated hitter with Jared Walsh moving to right field and Brandon Drury playing first base. Nolan Schanuel will get a day off and Michael Stefanic will play third base.

Lugo struck out eight and walked one. The Astros actually had the nine hardest-hit balls of this game, all off of Lugo, but they produced two singles and eight outs (the hardest of all was a double-play ball). It’s some much-needed good fortune for the Royals and Lugo, who came into the day 1-3 with a 3.90 ERA. Lugo will take on the Rays next week.

Carlos Estévez was spared from making what would have been his fifth appearance in seven days. Erceg set up for Estévez on Tuesday and in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader, but he had shorter outings in both and some time off before that. He likely will be down tomorrow, but Estévez should be fine to go if there’s another save chance.

Without much in the way of swing-and-miss stuff tonight, Wesneski gave up eight hits despite allowing only three hard-hit balls (two of which were outs). He finished with just one strikeout. The loss leaves him 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in advance of a home start against the Tigers.

Massey had a 366-foot fly to right that would have been a homer in 23 ballparks, but it was an out in Kauffman. There have been no homers or steals this year for Massey, who is batting .191/.211/.225 through 96 plate appearances. The Royals have an alternative in Triple-A in Nick Loftin if they’d like to go in a different direction. Loftin is mostly playing third this year, but the Royals would still have Maikel Garcia and Jonathan India as options at second.

Abrams made his presence known fresh off his return from a hip injury. He hit a run-scoring triple early that was just a few feet shy of clearing the fence and then came around to score the walk-off run on a ground ball by James Wood that barely left the infield. Abrams was running on the pitch, but he genuinely flew around the bases and barely beat the tag at home plate. He runs like a gazelle when he gets going and few players in the league are more dynamic than Abrams when he’s playing well.

Finnegan was called upon with the bases loaded and two out to face Mark Vientos. He forced a shallow fly ball that was just out of Dylan Crews’ reach. However, Crews dove for the ball and it rolled past him allowing all three runs to score and the Mets to take the lead. That’s a tough break for Finnegan who’s had an excellent season so far and got saddled with a blown save he didn’t necessarily deserve.

Irvin seems to have the Mets number. He twirled an eight inning, one hit, eight strikeout gem against them last July and it felt like Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez was trying to channel that same eight inning magic when he sent Irvin out to start this eighth with 95 pitches. Well, he allowed a lead-off single, was pulled, and then the Mets mounted their comeback. Nevertheless, Irvin’s curveball was nasty as he managed to evade tons of hard contact and stay out of trouble. He’s scheduled to face the Phillies next time out.

Vientos was briefly the hero for the Mets in this one after hitting a shallow fly ball with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning that Dylan Crews dove for, missed, cleared the bases, and briefly put the Mets ahead. It was nice to see Vientos catch a break after a terrible first few weeks of the season and after the Mets fell victim to a faulty triple play earlier in this game on a missed call. Vientos also smoked a 106.0 mph single and 100.9 mph lineup earlier in this game, so hopefully he’s finally set to go on a hot streak.

The Mets called on Stanek for the save with Edwin Díaz unavailable following a hip cramp in his last appearance on Wednesday. He allowed a triple and single which set the stage for the Mets to eventually lose this game. Stanek took the blown save and the Mets are certainly hoping Díaz will be ready to pitch soon.

The Nationals stacked their lineup with eight left-handed batters and Senga still managed to cut right through them. He didn’t force tons of swings-and-misses, but consistently challenged the opposing hitters and rarely fell behind in the count. There was a point from the third inning after CJ Abrams hit a run-scoring triple with no outs where Senga stranded him on third and went on to retire 11 batters in a row. He seemed to hit a stride in those middle innings too. His fastball reached 98 mph for the first time this season and his patented ghost fork was dancing below the zone. He also meaningfully introduced his sinker in this game for the first time all season. The only problem was a lack of run support. He now has a sterling 1.26 ERA on the season and will look to stay on track in his next scheduled start against the Diamondbacks.