MLB Player News

With the Dodgers and Padres set to open the regular season sooner than the rest of the league, expect them to trim down their rosters more quickly than the rest of the league. Knack, 26, had been a dark horse to see occasional starts as part of a six-man rotation to begin the season, but he’ll start out as excess depth at the Triple-A level instead.

Clarke covered an unbelievable amount of ground and smashed into the wall at an all-out sprint, yet somehow managed to hang onto the baseball for the third out of the fourth inning. He remained in the game for another inning but was replaced defensively when the Athletics took the field in the sixth. It’s likely that he’ll undergo further evaluation and may need to pass through the concussion protocol before he’s cleared to return to action. Expect the A’s to have an update on his status after the game.

The game-ending sac fly to left with the bases loaded in the ninth wasn’t especially close to being a walkoff grand slam in PNC Park, but it would have been a homer in 12 stadiums, according to Statcast. Gonzales has hit sixth, fourth and now second in three games since coming off the injured list. It’s quite a show of faith for a guy with a career .687 OPS who just hit .194/.211/.250 during a nine-game rehab assignment, but it’s not like he’s displacing Willie Stargell.

Falter had a brilliant May, posting a 0.76 ERA in 35 2/3 innings, but June failed to start on a similar note. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out two in the 65-pitch outing. The Pirates offense picked him up, so he’s still without a loss since April. The club is now 7-6 in Falter’s outings, compared to 5-8 when Paul Skenes pitches. Falter will face the Marlins next time out.

Bednar fanned JT Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott in a 4-4 game before the Pirates walked it off. Incredibly enough, it’s the first time since May 7, 2022 that Bednar has struck out all three batters he’s faced. He’s now turned in six straight scoreless outings.

Not much to be done about this. Romano gave up 68- and 75-mph singles before Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was just looking to sacrifice, dropped down one of the greatest bunts you’ll ever see; it simply hugged the third-bast line before dying inches away from foul territory. Romano was able to strike out Oneil Cruz afterwards, but Nick Gonzales ended the game with a sac fly. Romano also took a loss on Wednesday, but we can’t see this hurting his standing in the Philadelphia pen.

Turner’s steal was his 17th in 61 games, leaving him just two shy of his total in 121 games last season. He’s batting .333 with five homers, 15 RBI and seven steals in his last 17 games.

That makes nine homers and nine steals in 34 games for Chisholm, who started the scoring with a three-run homer off the top of the wall in center during the first. He would have been a solid bet to go 30-30 had he been able to start 140 games this season. Alas, he already sat out 28 due to his strained oblique, and there’s a pretty good chance he’ll miss additional time at some point.

The Yankees were up 8-1 before Warren gave up a triple and three walks while retiring just one batter in the sixth. It might actually have been better for Warren’s ERA had the game been closer, because then the hook almost certainly would have come more quickly. Still, the win is the bigger deal for fantasy leaguers. Warren has three of those in his last six starts and is 4-3 with a 5.34 ERA overall. He’s a decent play in mixed leagues with the Royals next on the schedule.

It looked like Williams might open the door for the Red Sox when an awful sequence to Jarren Duran led to a HBP on a 3-0 pitch with one out. However, he rebounded to retire Rafael Devers and Kristen Campbell. Williams improved to 7-for-8 in his save chances this season.

Too bad the Bombers couldn’t do that seven months ago. Buehler might not have deserved it anyway, but he didn’t have much luck tonight. Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s three-run homer came on a curve well below the knees and hit the top of the wall before bouncing over. Anthony Volpe’s three-run homer was a 369-footer that would have left three ballparks. Buehler dropped to 4-4 with a 5.18 ERA ahead of a start at home next week against Tampa Bay.