MLB Player News

O’Neill had a good day at the plate after collecting just one hit over his last three games. He drew a wall in the second and scored on a base hit by Gary Sánchez. After a double in the fourth, O’Neill drove in two runs with a triple in the seventh. The 29-year-old outfielder is 11-for-29 with one homer through eight games.

Rafaela deserves more attention for what he’s doing right now. He jumped all over a 1-2 slider at his knees from Pete Fairbanks for a walk-off home run to send his Red Sox to victory. It was a shot too: traveling 406 feet, clearing the Green Monster, and winding up on the street behind the park. That came after Rafaela hit a two-out, game-tying single in the second inning just after Red Sox starter Hunter Dobbins had to leave this game due to injury. He’s been one of the hottest hitters in baseball lately with four homers in his last seven games. In fact, he’s taken legitmate strides forward as a player this season with an incredible .985 OPS over his last 30 games. His athleticism is shining through both in center field, where he’s incredible on defense, and at the plate, where something has clicked and allowed him to pull the lion’s share of his fly balls. This could be the blossoming of a special player in Boston.

This was a disastrous game for the Rays to lose. Red Sox starter Hunter Dobbins was removed due to injury in the second inning and they didn’t score after the third. To make matters worse, Fairbanks missed with some very close pitches that rookie Roman Anthony showed some real guile to take in a walk that set up Ceddanne Rafaela to hit a walk-off home run. This was Fairbanks’ first blown save in more than a month and he should not be in danger of losing save opportunities in this bullpen.

Aranda began a bit of a chaotic rally for his Rays in the third inning of this one that featured an error and two more passed balls which turned into three runs. Oddly enough, that was the last time the Rays would score in a game where Red Sox starter Hunter Dobbins had to leave in the second inning due to injury that they eventually lost on a walk-off home run by Ceddanne Rafaela. Still, the double was Aranda’s 20th of the season as he nears the All-Star break with an excellent .898 OPS.

As the Rays have ordained, Boyle came on in relief to pitch in bulk following starter Drew Rasmussen. This plan has been in an effort to limit Rasmussen’s workload after his third major arm surgery, but labored through his two innings of work and still through 53 pitches. Regardless, this outing was the first time Boyle has faced any resistance in the big leagues this season. The Red Sox put traffic on the bases every inning and Boyle was fortunate to only allow the __ runs, thanks in part to some timely double plays and fantastic defense overall. His ___ swings-and-misses were out of the norm as well considering how impressive he’s been so far this season. Fenway Park is a difficult place to pitch though and this Red Sox lineup has been scalding hot, so this iffy outing shouldn’t alter our view of Boyle much.

The 31-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment earlier in the week and passed through waivers unclaimed. Rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre though, he’ll hit the open market. It shouldn’t take him long to land on his feet elsewhere.

The 24-year-old superstar transformed a tight 2-1 advantage into a 4-1 lead with a mammoth 440-foot (109.6 mph EV) two-run shot in the fifth inning. That would be his only hit in the ballgame, though he also drew a walk in the ninth inning. The All-Star outfielder is now slashing .244/.301/.392 with 12 long balls, 46 RBI and 15 stolen bases on the season.

Raleigh did some damage in the eighth inning, smacking a 383-foot (98.1 mph EV) solo shot off of Tyler Holton that extended the M’s advantage to 5-3. He then put it way out of reach with a 405-foot grand slam off of Brant Hurter in the ninth inning that made it 12-3. The 28-year-old slugger has had a first half for the ages, slashing a robust .264/.377/.645 with a jaw-dropping 38 home runs and 81 RBI, plus nine stolen bases for good measure.

Solano got the Mariners on the board first with an RBI triple in the second inning on a ball that Parker Meadows dove for and couldn’t come up with. He also led off the fifth inning with a walk and scored on an RBI single by J.P. Crawford. Solano then singled in the ninth inning and scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Crawford. On the season, the 37-year-old is hitting .254/.296/.352 with three homers and 19 RBI.