MLB Player News

Martinez heads back to the minors to make room on Houston’s active roster for veteran reliever Héctor Neris. The 29-year-old has made a career-high 42 relief appearances this season for the Astros and figures to return at some point in September.

Merrill had been in a 1-for-18 (.056) slide in his last six games before breaking out with three hits on Friday. The two doubles give him 25 on the year to go with his 23 home runs. It’s been an excellent rookie campaign for the 21-year-old. Merrill is hitting .289 with an .819 OPS and 83 RBI on the year.

Tatis Jr.'s home run was his 17th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Logan Webb in the first inning. Tatis Jr. has hit a home run in three straight games. He’s dealt with injuries once again this year, but is heating up as the Padres head into the playoffs. Tatis Jr. is hitting .275 with an .820 OPS and 43 RBI on the year.

Webb gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out four. He’s won only one of his last five starts and has a 5.59 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 29 innings in that time. The trouble started early for Webb on Friday as he allowed three runs in the first innings on a two-run home run by Fernando Tatis Jr. and an RBI double by Xander Bogaerts. Webb is 12-10 with a 3.53 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 161 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings on the year. The 27-year-old right-hander is set to face the Orioles on the road next week.

Cease gave up four hits, walked two and struck out 10. The win was his 13th of the season and first since August 17th. It was the fifth time that he had double-digit strikeouts this year. Cease has been excellent in his first season in San Diego. He has a 3.58 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 215 strikeouts in 176 innings. The 28-year-old right-hander is set to face the Astros at home next week.

Moniak’s home run was his 14th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Yusei Kikuchi in the fourth inning. Moniak has six home runs and 12 RBI in his last 14 games as his power surge continues. He’s hitting .226 on the year, but has provided a decent amount of power and speed with 14 home runs and seven stolen bases.

The save was Hader’s 30th of the season, but only his first save since August 29th. He had two strikeouts in a perfect ninth inning. It was a good bounce back outing after Hader had been scored on in three of his last four appearances entering play Friday. He lowered his ERA to 3.36 on the year.

Alvarez’ home run was his 33rd of the season. He hit a solo shot off Brock Burke in the ninth inning. Alvarez also had a sacrifice fly in the second inning. He’s hitting .289 with five home runs and 11 RBI in 11 games so far in September. Alvarez is hitting ..310 with a .961 OPS and 82 RBI on the year.

Bregman’s home run was his 23rd of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Samuel Aldegheri in the third inning. It was his second home run in his last five games. Bregman’s hitting .258 with a .761 OPS and 67 RBI on the year.

Aldegheri gave up six hits, walked five and struck out none. In three major league starts, he’s had one fair start, one good start and one bad start. He hasn’t been consistent enough to trust in fantasy lineups just yet. Aldegheri has a 4.85 ERA, 1.92 WHIP and 10 strikeouts in 13 innings. The 22-year-old left-hander is set to face the White Sox at home next week.

Kikuchi gave up three hits, walked two and struck out six. The win was his ninth of the season. Since the Astros acquired Kikuchi prior to the trade deadline, he’s 5-0 with a 3.19 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in 48 innings. That’ll play. Kikuchi has a 4.29 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 189 strikeouts in 163 2/3 innings on the year. The 33-year-old left-hander is set to face the Padres on the road next week.