MLB Player News

It was a much-needed bounce-back effort for Holmes after coughing up a one-run lead during Tuesday night’s showdown at Citizens Bank Park for his eighth blown save of the season. The 31-year-old righty gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Schwarber before coaxing a harmless fly out from Austin Hays and getting a game-ending double-play ball off the bat of superstar Bryce Harper.

O’Hearn got the scoring started in the ballgame with a two-out, RBI single off of Kei-Wei Teng in the top half of the first inning. He then ambushed a first-pitch fastball for a 349-foot (94.0 mph EV) two-run shot off of Teng during a four-run uprising in the sixth inning. The 32-year-old slugger hasn’t missed a beat since returning from the injured list and is now slashing a robust .295/.371/.486 with nine long balls and 33 RBI on the season.

Lowe smacked a one-out double off of Kei-Wei Teng in the top half of the first inning then scored the game’s first run on a two-out single off the bat of Ryan O’Hearn. He also doubled to open the sixth inning and scored on Bryan Reynolds’ RBI knock. Lowe has made a major impact to the Pirates’ lineup this season, slashing .257/.341/.532 with 15 homers and 40 RBI across his first 252 plate appearances.

Mlodzinski came on with the Pirates leading 5-0 in the sixth inning. He served up a leadoff homer to Isaac Paredes, then went on to shut the Astros out on three hits the rest of the way while punching out three. The 27-year-old right-hander has said the right things since returning from his brief stay on the restricted list, but unless he finds his way back into the rotation it ultimately feels like he could be on the move before the trade deadline.

Jones scattered four hits and a pair of walks on the evening. The Astros put pressure on him in the opening inning by putting the first two runners on, but Jones battled back to strike out each of the next three hitters in order to quell that threat. From there, he was on cruise control over the next four innings, needing just 74 pitches (44 strikes) to complete five innings. Jones got 12 whiffs on the night — six of those on his slider — while posting a CSW of 27 percent. He’ll look to replicate this terrific effort as he does battle against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Paredes finally got the Astros on the board in the sixth inning after Jared Jones exited, blasting a 356-foot (101.3 mph EV) solo shot off of right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski. That would be the extent of their offense in the game. The 27-year-old slugger finished the night 1-for-4 and is now hitting .238/.331/.400 with eight long balls and 28 RBI on the season.

Teng also issued a pair of walks in the ballgame while recording only one strikeout. The Pirates scratched out a run against him in the opening inning, and that was the lone run for either team in the contest through the first five frames. The Bucs broke it open in the sixth though, striking for four runs — including a two-run blast off the bat of Ryan O’Hearn. Teng got 10 swings and misses on 87 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 26 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he carries a 3.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 44/21 K/BB ratio (47 innings) into Tuesday’s battle against the Angels in Los Angeles.

Straw capped off a three-run uprising in the third inning with a two-out, two-run single off of Chris Sale that extended the Jays’ early lead to 3-0. He also added an RBI knock and scored a run during a four-run rally in the top half of the ninth inning. With his three-hit night, the speedy 31-year-old is slashing .245/.314/.340 with two long balls, nine RBI and a pair of stolen bases in 106 plate appearances on the year.

The 27-year-old slugger started a three-run rally with a one-out double off of Chris Sale in the third inning. He then came around to score the game’s first run on an RBI single off the bat of Charlie McAdoo. Guerrero also singled in the ninth and scored on an RBI knock by Myles Straw. With his three-hit attack, he’s now slashing .300/.391/.391 with just three homers, 24 RBI and five stolen bases over 258 plate appearances on the season.

Varland was called upon to get the final out of the eighth inning with the Jays holding a 3-2 advantage. He needed just two pitches to get Ozzie Albies to fly out to center. The Jays then piled on four insurance runs in the top half of the ninth before Varland returned for the ninth inning to close it out, retiring the side in order. He has been unbelievable for the Jays this season, compiling an unfathomable 0.28 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and a 43/9 K/BB ratio over 32 1/3 innings while converting each of his first nine save chances.

The Cubs’ season seemed to be at another low point after Crow-Armstrong lost a fly to center in the sky in the top of the sixth, giving Shea Langeliers an inside-the-park two-run homer. PCA did come right back with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, but the game seemed out of reach until the ninth, when the Cubs amassed seven hits and four runs to walk it off. The homer off J.T. Ginn was Crow-Armstrong’s ninth of the season and 50th as a major leaguer. He also collected his 13th stolen base tonight.