MLB Player News

Dubon is dealing with a sore thumb that was jammed during Friday’s game against the D-Backs. Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters before Sunday’s tilt that Dubón is showing improvement, but he wants to give the 30-year-old another day or two before getting him back in the lineup. With the Houston lineup essentially healthy, there’s a chance he won’t see as much playing time even when the thumb is fully healed.

Chapman extended the Giants’ lead to 3-0 after hitting a two-run blast off Spencer Strider in the fifth. He’s homered 14 times in 2025, and it’s nice to see he’s gone deep twice in the past four games after not homering at all in July prior to those roundtrippers.

Devers has his first two-homer game as a member of the Giants, and probably not the last. He hit a solo homer in the fifth of Spencer Strider, and an inning later he swatted a three-run shot off Dylan Todd. The 28-year-old has really picked things up since the All-Star break with three straight multi-hit games, and he should be an excellent source of offense over the final two months of the 2025 campaign.

Strider was outstanding over the first four innings, but he then allowed a solo homer to Devers in the fourth and a two-run homer in the fifth. He labored through those five frames, as he threw 104 pitches thanks to those strikeouts and also three free passes. Strider will look to be more efficient while continuing to punch out hitters against the Royals on Tuesday.

It took 103 games, but Verlander finally has his first win as a member of the Giants. The future Hall of Famer allowed just one hit, but he did walk five, so he had to wiggle out of some self-inflicted jams. Three strikeouts did help him escape those occurrences, and it was certainly one his better outings since joining San Francisco. Verlander still has an ugly 4.70 ERA, and he’ll hope to keep lowering it next week against the Pirates.

Cruz drove in a run in the third with a sac fly off Troy Melton. The pair of swipes now puts him at 33 on the season, while the pair of hits helps improve his slash to .219/.319/.419. Even if the strikeouts will prevent Cruz from ever hitting for a high average, the other tools will keep him fantasy relevant for a long time. A recent report has linked Cruz as someone teams are trying to acquire before the July 31 deadline, and with all due respect to the Pirates, it’s ever-so-intriguing to think what he could do with a better baseball team.

McCutchen’s solo blast in the first inning gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead. The 38-year-old veteran still has some thump in his bat as seen in his nine homers, but his .385 slugging percentage also shows that it’s nowhere close to what it was in McCutchen’s prime.

Horwitz rudely welcomed Troy Melton to the majors with a bases-clearing homer to center that gave Pittsburgh a 5-0 lead. The 27-year-old has homered just three times in an injury-shortened season, but he’s starting to swing the bat more effectively as of late. Those who are desperate corner-infield help may want to give Horwitz a look; the worst thing that happens is you drop him if the hot streak ends.

In what very well could be Falter’s final start with the Pirates, the left-hander showcased why he should be of interest from pitching-needy teams against a good Detroit lineup. He struck out eight without issuing a free pass while scattering four hits. Assuming he stays in Pittsburgh for at least one more outing, Falter will take on the Giants in San Francisco on Tuesday while taking a 3.82 ERA and 7-5 record into that bout.

If you take away a grand slam from Spencer Horwitz, this line looks a lot better. That’s not possible, so it’s a shaky — at best — MLB debut for Melton. The 24-year-old did strike out seven, but that wasn’t enough to overcome two homers allowed; particularly the salami from Horwitz. Melton is slated to pitch against Atlanta on Monday, and he probably did enough to justify at least one more shot.

Machado gave the Padres their only run off Sandy Alcantara with a single in the fourth, and it’s worth noting that run was unearned because of an error by Nick Fortes. Machado also doubled, and he’s now slashing an excellent .285/.346/.485 with 61 RBI.