MLB Player News

Torkelson had a good day at the plate in his first game back with the Tigers since June 1. He doubled to lead off the second inning and scored on a base hit by Zach McKinstry. Torkelson later knocked a triple in the sixth, then reached for a third time with a walk in the eighth. The 24-year-old first baseman will look to finish strong after posting just a .597 OPS before earning a demotion to Triple-A, where he slugged 11 homers over 58 games, but posted a strikeout rate of 30 percent.

Logue elected free agency last week after he was waived by the Braves. Logue was a ninth round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2017 MLB Draft and one of the prospects Toronto sent to Oakland in the trade for Matt Chapman. He wasn’t successful as a starter with the Athletics in 2022 and last appeared in the majors as a reliever with the Tigers last year. Logue isn’t eligible for the playoff roster, but could make an appearance with Los Angeles in the regular season if the Dodgers clinch and need a fresh arm to eat some innings.

It’s unclear when Refsnyder suffered the injury or how long he’ll be out. He was replaced by Wilyer Abreu in right field and batting eighth.

Hendricks had an MRI on his elbow after taking a break from pitching. Cora said the team will wait to hear from the doctors, but it’s likely Hendricks will be shut down. The 35-year-old was working his way back from Tommy John surgery, but might have to wait until next year to complete the comeback.

Heyward’s homer accounted for the only runs in seven innings against Mitch Spence, but the Astros rallied for four runs in the eighth to prevail. Heyward is 3-for-21 with four RBI in 12 appearances since joining the Astros on Aug. 29.

Valdez, who had a 20-inning scoreless streak going, was pulled from a 2-1 game right after the lone run in the seventh. The A’s came back to tie the game in the eighth, leaving Valdez with a no-decision for his effort. Valdez isn’t going to win the AL Cy Young Award this year, but he should place on ballots once again. He’s 14-6 with a 2.91 ERA.

Spence remained 0-3 in his last eight starts, even though he’s posted a solid 4.01 ERA during that stretch. In 18 starts since the beginning of June, he’s picked up just three wins, all of them coming against the Angels. Unfortunately, there are no more games versus those Angels on Oakland’s schedule. Spence will likely face the Cubs in his next outing.

No runs batted in for Diaz today, as Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez combined to go 0-for-9 in front of him. Diaz has eight hits in his last four games.

It’s the eighth time in the last nine games that he’s had exactly one hit. Butler is the first A’s player to hit in 20 straight since Eric Byrnes made it 22 games in a row in 2003.

Altuve suffered an oblique injury before leaving Wednesday’s game. Espada said, “Things look OK. Nothing I can tell you I’m worried about.” Altuve seems to have avoided a serious injury. He’s still day-to-day.

Skubal was hit on his glove hand by a liner during the game against the Rockies, but he stayed in and finished the inning. More tests are expected, but Skubal believes he’ll be just fine.