MLB Player News

Shawn Armstrong will start and function as an opener for the Rays with Alexander coming in behind him. The 30-year-old southpaw holds a 5.88 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and a 52/13 K/BB ratio over 59 2/3 innings in 12 appearances (six starts) for the Rays this season.

Knack had a clear plan to challenge the Marlins and they could not make him pay. He threw a career percentage of fastballs – 60% – and the bulk of them wound up in the heart of the plate. Yet, Miami either swung through them or just let them whiz by for a called strike. Knack did get that pitch up to 96 MPH which is a few ticks above his season average and apparently that was enough for it to dominate. He’s scheduled to face the Padres at home next time out.

Talk about a power surge. This blast was Edman’s sixth in eight games as he seems to have unlocked a new gear since arriving in Los Angeles. For context, his career-high is 13 home runs and that came in 137 games last season. He’s playing every day at either short stop or center field for a Dodgers team that desperately needed his defense and this unexpected thump is a huge added bonus.

Edwards has been nothing short of a revelation since being called-up. The two steals pushed his total to 30 in just 62 games with a .319 batting average and 31 runs scored. That puts him on pace for over 70 steals in a full season. It’s going to be fascinating to see how high he’s pushed up in drafts this winter and spring.

Weathers just couldn’t hold it together against the Dodgers. This was his first start since June 7th as he’s been recovering from a strained finger and he couldn’t quite pitch through some understandable rust. The swing-and-miss stuff was there, but he allowed three home runs – two of which came in the fifth inning and resulted in five runs – as the Dodgers seemed to get very comfortable their second time around the order. Weathers is scheduled to face the Twins in Minnesota next time out.

The home run was Ozuna’s 38th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Tony Santillan in the seventh inning. Ozuna was in a bit of a slump to start September, but got going with a big game against the Reds. He’s hitting .306 with a .942 OPS and 100 RBI on the season.

Bello was scheduled to start Friday against the Twins, but the Red Sox will move the right-hander up one day. He’ll still work on regular rest, and Richard Fitts will likely get the start over the weekend against Minnesota.

It’s great to see Story simply healthy and playing well. He hasn’t looked great, but what can we really expect from someone who’s played less than a full season’s worth of games since 2022. The steals are a great sign that he trusts his legs and his home run was his second in five games. Also, this was his third multi-hit effort over that span. Hopefully he can build some momentum in what could possibly be a healthy 2025. Fingers cross.

Jansen made this one more difficult than he needed to as he walked two and then allowed a double-steal with two outs before slamming the door for his 27th save. He’s remained remarkably consistent at 36-years-old and seems to be putting himself in position for another year as a closer for whoever he chooses to play for in 2025.

Shocker: the Rays’ offense was only able to muster one run. There may not be a more feeble non-White Sox lineup in the league right now. Lowe had their only extra-base hit, scored their only run, and accounted for their only two hard-hit balls.

This start was a great reminder of how high Pepiot’s ceiling still is. Striking out 12 batters in six innings is downright disgusting. Doing it with only 76 pitches is pure madness. His fastball forced 15 swings-and-misses on its own and was visually stunning as Boston’s batters continued to miss it at the top of the zone. His lone blemish came on a Trevor Story solo home run off a fastball that caught a little too much of the heart of the plate, but all in all this was a gem to the highest degree. He’s scheduled to face the Tigers in Detroit in his next start.