MLB Player News

The Mets’ offense had been silenced over their last two games before Alonso smacked his 18th long ball to mercifully break what would’ve been their second consecutive shutout. He’s begun to heat up with five extra-base hits in his last six games after what was a miserable six week stretch through June and July.

Boushley returns to the big leagues with ace Nathan Eovaldi (shoulder) likely to miss the rest of the season. The 31-year-old righty holds an inflated 5.22 ERA across a career-high 39 2/3 innings (21 appearances, one start) this season in the majors.

Rangers president Chris Young told reporters earlier this week that Eovaldi is likely to miss the rest of the season. The 35-year-old was putting together one of the strongest campaigns of his career with a stellar 1.73 ERA and 129/21 K/BB across 130 innings (22 starts). There should be a definitive update on his return timeline at some point in the coming weeks, but he’s most likely done for the year. It sounds like he won’t require offseason surgery and should be fully healthy heading into spring training.

Kyle Manzardo had the game-ending hit off Griffin Jax after the Rays failed to score in their half of the 10th. Jones already had a single on the day before his 428-foot blast. It was just his second start in seven games, but he might have a bigger role going forward with the Guardians seemingly partly or fully moving on from Carlos Santana. Jones is batting just .215/.309/.305 in 344 plate appearances, but Statcast thinks he’s been pretty unlucky. Today’s homer was only his fifth, even though he has 18 barrels. His hard-hit rate sits at 47%, and his 26.7% strikeout rate, while not great, is considerably better than his career mark of 30.4%.

Cecconi showed a little more velocity than usual today, averaging 94.9 mph with his fastball and topping out at 97.5 mph, but he still wound up with just six missed swings and a 25% CSW. Since improving to 5-4 with a 3.84 ERA on July 18, he’s 0-2 with a 5.35 ERA in his last seven starts. It’s possible he’ll finish the season in the pen if the rehabbing John Means is added to the rotation next month.

Smith retired Carson Williams, Nick Fortes and Chandler Simpson with the automatic runner on, and the Guardians went on to score in the bottom of the inning. It’s Smith’s fourth win to go along with five saves this month.

Rasmussen left with a 3-2 lead after 85 pitches, but that wound up being blown in the ninth. Rasmussen has completed six innings in four straight outings. The Rays are trying to limit his workload, but he’s just been so efficient that he keeps making it through six anyway; he hasn’t thrown more than 92 pitches in a start this season and he’s totaled just 331, an average of 83 pitches, during this four-start run. He’ll face the Mariners at home next week.

Griffin Jax then took the loss after allowing the automatic runner to score in the 10th. It’s Fairbanks’ fifth blown save of the year, but it won’t hurt his stock in Tampa Bay with Jax still laboring. Fairbanks has a 2.92 ERA, and he hasn’t walked a batter in 13 1/3 innings during the second half.

It appears to be a routine off day for Marte, who rarely gets a breather. The 31-year-old fantasy star has put together a torrid stretch at the dish this month, batting .300 (27-for-90) with three homers and 18 RBI in 23 games since August 1. It’ll be Ildemaro Vargas handling the keystone on Wednesday night.

Call has done a nice job for the Dodgers, batting .278/.381/.444 with one homer and one steal in 17 games since coming over from the Nationals at last month’s trade deadline. He suffered a lower back injury during Tuesday’s game and is likely to need at least a couple games off.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Freeman is dealing with a “stinger” in his neck and shoulder area but is expected to be ready for Friday’s pivotal series opener against the fading Diamondbacks. The 35-year-old fantasy stalwart finds himself in the middle of another phenomenal campaign as he leads the entire National League with a robust .302 batting average in 120 games.