MLB Player News

Gomez is back up to fulfill a bullpen role with Josh Maciejewski sent back to Triple-A Saturday night in the corresponding transaction.

Kremer was excellent against the Rays’ paltry offense. He had pinpoint command of his four-seamer and left nearly all of them right on the edge of the strike zone. That pitch forced six swings-and-misses and beautifully set up both his splitter and curveball which combined for seven swings-and-misses. Kremer looks like a stud when he’s locating those pitches along with his sinker and cutter. He’ll have a chance to stay hot in his next scheduled start against the Red Sox in Fenway Park.

In a game starved for offense, Henderson’ blast accounted for the only earned run allowed by either side. He got the best of Shane Baz in his third at-bat when a 2-2 slider didn’t quite make it to his back foot and he turned it around for a home run. Henderson cooled for a moment earlier this summer, but has ratcheted it back up with three homers in his last seven games.

The Rays got the tying runs into scoring position after a single, error, and double-steal before Domínguez got Ben Rortvedt to pop-out and end this game. He dealt with some drama in the eighth inning too after his own wild pitch moved Jonathan Aranda to second base, but found a way out of both jams. He’s now closed out five saves in a row and has still only allowed runs via the solo homer as an Oriole.

The Rays offense was almost completely silent in this game. They didn’t record an extra-base hit and didn’t have a runner reach base until the seventh inning. Lowe managed to reach third in the ninth after singling, advancing on an error, and then leading a double-steal to get the tying runs in scoring position before Ben Rotvedt popped out to end it. Lowe’s had a disappointing season overall, but has now stolen five bases in his last seven games.

Finally word on why Cabrera didn’t pitch. Austin Kitchen got the late nod in his place and gave up seven runs — six earned — in two innings against the Phillies. The Marlins didn’t comment on when Cabrera might pitch again, but we imagine he’ll get the call this weekend if he feels better.

Baz turned in a great start here. His only mistake was a two-strike slider to Gunnar Henderson that got too much of the plate and wound up in the seats. Otherwise, his command was excellent against an Orioles’ lineup that featured eight left-handed hitters. Baz kept his fastball up and away and his curveball low and out of the zone to force 15 total swings-and-misses. Yet, it just doesn’t look or feel the same for Baz as it did his first time around the league. His velocity dipped by nearly two ticks and struggled to put hitters away. He’s scheduled to face the Phillies on the road in his next start.

Rafaela is second among AL rookies with 15 homers, 67 runs scored and 17 steals and first with 65 RBI. He’s expected to slide from shortstop to second base on Saturday to make room for the returning Trevor Story.

Pivetta needed to go one more inning for the win, as the Red Sox didn’t take the lead until the bottom of the seventh. It’s Pivetta’s second straight quality start, but he still hasn’t won since July 29. He’s sporting a 5-10 record on the season, even though the Red Sox are 12-11 in his starts. He’ll face the Orioles next.

The Red Sox decided against using Kenley Jansen with a two-run lead tonight after he struggled through a 28-pitch outing Wednesday. More surprising was that they also stayed away from Chris Martin, who hadn’t pitched since Tuesday. Still, it’s not like the Red Sox needed them against this lineup. Zack Kelly, Brennan Bernardino and Winckowski combined to retire nine of 10 batters after Nick Pivetta departed.

He also walked just one, but he did hit three batters, two of them back-to-back with back-foot breaking balls. It’s the fourth time in seven starts that Martin has allowed one or no runs. Of course, he remains winless anyway. He’ll take on Cleveland next.