MLB Player News

Grisham played another couple of innings after being hit by a pitch before getting lifted before his spot in the lineup came around again. He underwent an initial CT scan that revealed no structural damage. His availability for the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader remains in doubt, but he shouldn’t be looking at any sort of extended absence.

Altuve smacked a two-out, two-run double off of Chris Paddack in the second inning that increased the Astros’ early lead to 5-0. He was then cut down attempting to steal third base. Altuve then tagged Paddack for a 342-foot (94.4 mph EV) solo shot to open the fourth inning, making it a 9-1 ballgame. On the season, the 35-year-old outfielder is now hitting .278/.324/.432 with 10 homers, 30 RBI and six swipes.

Peña led off the home half of the first inning with a single off of Chris Paddack and scored the game’s first run on a two-out, two-run single by Cam Smith. He then singled in the second inning and scored on a two-run double off the bat of Jose Altuve. Peña also doubled in the third inning and then delivered a run-scoring single in the eighth that extended the Astros’ lead to 10-2. He has been locked in at the dish this season, slashing .333/.386/.498 with nine homers, 34 RBI and 14 stolen bases.

Melton delivered a two-out, RBI single off of Chris Paddack in the opening inning that extended the Astros’ early advantage to 3-0. He then smacked a two-run triple off of the Twins’ right-hander in the third and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Mauricio Dubon. The 24-year-old outfielder has held his own in his limited action thus far, slashing .241/.290/.310 with zero homers, six RBI, three stolen bases and a 12/2 K/BB ratio across his first 31 plate appearances.

The 26-year-old hurler walked one batter on the night while striking out five. The Astros staked him to an eight-run lead in the first three innings and all Gordon had to do was keep the train on the tracks to earn a victory in this one. The only damage done against him came on solo homers by Willi Castro in the fourth inning and Royce Lewis in the sixth. Gordon generated 10 swings and misses on 102 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 25 percent. Now 1-1 on the season, he’ll bring a 4.70 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 30/4 K/B ratio (30 2/3 innings) into Thursday’s matchup against the Athletics in West Sacramento.

Lewis crushed his 425-foot (105.0 mph EV) solo shot off of Colton Gordon in the sixth inning, trimming the Twins’ deficit to seven runs at 9-2. He also singled off of Steven Okert in the ninth inning. With his two-hit attack, the 26-year-old third baseman is now slashing .194/.275/.296 with two long balls and nine RBI through his first 109 plate appearances on the season.

Woof. Paddack also walked a batter while recording only one strikeout in the ballgame. He entered Friday’s outing having allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last 12 starts. The Astros jumped on him early and often in this one, scoring three times in the opening inning, twice in the second and three times in the third — all without the benefit of a home run. Paddack then served up a solo homer to Jose Altuve in the fourth inning. He got 12 swings and misses on 85 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 26 percent. All of the good work that he had done on his ratios over the past two and a half months was erased in four innings on Friday, as his ERA ballooned from 3.53 to 4.30 in one fell swoop. He’ll attempt to rebound when he takes on the Reds in Cincinnati on Thursday.

Aranda opened the scoring for Tampa Bay with a solo home run off Clay Holmes in the fourth inning and then was in the middle of their six-run sixth with a single to load the bases before coming around to score a few batters later. He now has eight home runs to go along with a .322 batting average and .907 OPS as one of the most surprising success stories through the first half of the season.

Things got a bit hairy for Fairbanks after Jeff McNeil squeaked a single past Brandon Lowe into right field and then he walked Brett Baty to put the tying runs on base. He beared down though to strike Ronny Mauricio out on three straight sliders to end the game. This was his first appearance since blowing a save against the Red Sox on Monday, so it felt even better to watch him weasel out of this jam.

Bradley cruised through the first three innings of this game before losing focus after some defensive miscues – one being his own – during the fourth and fifth. None of the runs charged against him were earned, but he let that fourth inning especially get out of hand and didn’t seem sharp as the chaos ensued. Also, the Mets torched his fastball for a 105.4 mph average exit velocity on five balls in play. They didn’t hit a ball softer than 101.1 mph against it. Nevertheless, he’s scheduled to face the Orioles next time out.

Marte has turned his season around in a big way. He has a .960 OPS over his last 15 games and has worked his way back into a nearly full-time role at designated hitter for the Mets since Mark Vientos went out with a hamstring injury. Sadly, as he’s now 36 years old, he’s no longer anything close to the prolific base stealer he once was with four on the season.