12 hours agoBaltimore Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg launched a solo home run in the eighth inning to help seal the comeback victory on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox. Trailing 3-0 in the game, the Baltimore bats exploded for a five-run inning capped off by Westburg's solo shot with two outs. While the Orioles were held in check most of the afternoon, Westburg kept the O's offense rolling, going 3-for-4 along with the HR, RBI, and run scored. Westburg was having a rough week at the plate, coming into the game with a .154 average over the last seven days before his Memorial Day Weekend bash. Overall, this year, Westburg has enjoyed a rotisserie-friendly sophomore season and is now up to a .285 batting average with eight homers and 31 RBI in 48 games; the power is a very nice surprise after only three home runs in 68 games in 2023.--Jay Skadooley - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
14 hours agoLos Angeles Dodgers rookie outfielder
Andy Pages will head to the bench on Saturday night for their tilt against the Cincinnati Reds. Pages has struggled in May, hitting .200 in 85 plate appearances. Overall, Pages has five home runs, 16 RBI, 19 runs scored, and a stolen base with a .238 batting average. Veteran
Chris Taylor will start in center field tonight and bat ninth. Look for Pages to get back in the lineup in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: Los Angeles Dodgers on X
14 hours agoArizona Diamondbacks catcher
Gabriel Moreno is out of the lineup Saturday night against the Miami Marlins. Moreno will take a seat on the bench in favor of veteran
Tucker Barnhart, who will bat eighth. Moreno is hitting .228 with one home run, 17 RBI and 13 runs scored this season. The young catcher has outstanding rates of 14.1 K% and 12.7 BB%, but his BABIP is only .265 thus far. Expect better numbers from Moreno with continued playing time. Moreno was 0-3 in the series opener on Friday night.
--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: Arizona Diamondbacks on X
14 hours agoThe Texas Rangers' starting pitcher
Michael Lorenzen exited his Saturday start with a knee cramp. Lorenzen tried to pitch through it, but manager Bruce Bochy pulled him rather than risk further injury. Lorenzen was removed from the game in the seventh inning after pitching six innings, surrendering three hits and one earned run to go with four strikeouts. Veteran reliever
David Robertson gave up three earned runs on a three-run homer to
Alex Kirilloff, earning the loss in a 5-3 game.. There was no immediate word on if Lorenzen would miss any time with the knee cramp. Lorenzen is 2-3 with a 3.35 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 37 strikeouts in 48 innings this season.
--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: Shawn McFarland on X
15 hours agoDetroit Tigers outfielder
Kerry Carpenter hit his eighth home run of the season Saturday afternoon, providing all the runs needed to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1. Carpenter is having an excellent season thus far, hitting .285 with eight home runs, 29 RBI and 20 runs scored in 144 at-bats. Five home runs have come in the last 15 games, where Carpenter has hit a robust .340. Carpenter should continue to see regular playing time in right field for the Tigers, and as long as he keeps hitting, he should be batting cleanup.
--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: Detroit Tigers
15 hours agoThe San Francisco Giants plated five runs in the top of the tenth inning Saturday in a 7-2 win against the New York Mets. A bases-loaded clearing triple by veteran outfielder
Mike Yastrzemski was the big blow in the inning. Yastrzemski is hitting .224 with five home runs, 18 RBI, and 16 runs scored in 134 plate appearances this year. Interestingly, beleaguered closer
Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth inning and gave up two hits and a run, blowing his fourth save of the year.
Sean Reid-Foley then surrendered the five runs in the following inning, although none of them were earned runs.
Luke Jackson earned the win for the Giants and
Camilo Doval pitched the tenth in a non-save situation.
--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: San Francisco Giants
16 hours agoChicago Cubs outfielder
Ian Happ is out of the lineup on Saturday for the Cubs' tilt against the St. Louis Cardinals. Happ was also out of Chicago's lineup for last night's game before it got postponed. This is likely to simply be scheduled time off for the 29-year-old along with the fact that, with a healthy outfield, the Cubs have a bit of a logjam between Happ, Suzuki, Bellinger and a resurgent Tauchman. Happ had gone 4-11 in his last three games with three doubles so there shouldn't be any injury concerns here, rather just a mix of rest and the Cubs having a plethora of outfielders.
Mike Tauchman will start in left field while
Christopher Morel will start at DH. Expect Happ to make a return on Sunday against Cardinals pitcher
Sonny Gray.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
16 hours agoCincinnati Reds outfielder
Stuart Fairchild is out of the lineup on Saturday. Fairchild, though not a platoon matchup, has not fared well against right-handers this season and has been much better against lefties. With
Walker Buehler starting for the Dodgers today the Reds are finding it best to find a matchup against a left-handed reliever later in the game. Fairchild hit a solo shot off left-hander
James Paxton on Friday, so there's no reason to worry about Fairchild's overall health and instead this is just a matchup play.
Will Benson will man center field for the Reds on Saturday. Expect Fairchild back in the lineup soon, though he's not scheduled to face another left-handed starter until June 2nd when he faces Cubs starter
Justin Steele.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: Cincinnati Reds
16 hours agoToronto Blue Jays starting pitcher
Jose Berrios was sharp on Saturday but still picked up the loss in Toronto's 2-1 loss to the Tigers. Berrios made just one real mistake on a 2-0 changeup to Tigers outfielder
Kerry Carpenter that Carpenter hit just well enough to sneak out. Berrios didn't give up a single run after that and threw seven innings while recording five strikeouts and giving up seven hits. The 29-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.94 on the season. While his ERA is continuing to stay low, expected stats suggest Berrios has been a bit lucky this season. Fantasy managers and DFS players should take this into consideration if starting Berrios against a solid offense, though he should continue to cruise against subpar hitters. Berrios' next scheduled start is Friday when the Blue Jays will host the Pittsburgh Pirates.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
16 hours agoDetroit Tigers outfielder
Kerry Carpenter smashed a two-run shot off Toronto starter
Jose Berrios in the first inning of the Tigers' 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Saturday. Carpenter would also add on a single and go two-for-three on the day, but his first inning blast was all the Tigers needed to get past the Blue Jays. Carpenter increased his team-leading OPS to .916 and is second on the team in HR. The lefty has mainly been used as a platoon matchup against righties and fantasy managers should take that into account when inserting him into their lineups. Expect Carpenter to sit on Sunday vs Toronto lefty
Yusei Kikuchi, but he'll be back in the lineup the next two days against Pittsburgh against standout rookies
Jared Jones and
Paul Skenes.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
17 hours agoDetroit Tigers starting pitcher
Reese Olson was dominant against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, pitching into the 7th inning and picking up his first win of the season in the Tigers 2-1 victory. Olson gave up just three hits and recorded four strikeouts with his only blemish in the box score being three walks. The only run Olson gave up came in the 7th inning and was unearned. The 24-year-old lowered his ERA to 1.92, the lowest in a Tigers rotation that includes Cy Young candidate
Tarik Skubal. Fantasy managers in need of starting pitchers should look to take advantage of Olson's hot start and snag him off the waiver wire if available. Olson's next scheduled start will be next Friday at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
17 hours agoColorado Rockies right-hander
Dakota Hudson will look to get back into the win column on Saturday when he takes on the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. It hasn't been a great season overall for the former Cardinals rotation member as he sports a 5.89 ERA through nine starts and 44 1/3 innings of work on the 2024 campaign. The good news is Hudson has induced ground balls at a massive 58% clip, although he has long been a ground-ball pitcher with a 55.3% ground-ball rate for his career. He will take on a Phillies team that is tied for fourth with a .332 wOBA on the season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
17 hours agoMinnesota Twins relief pitcher
Brock Stewart (shoulder) has been working on throwing plyo balls to build up for a potential rehab assignment. Stewart was placed on the IL in early May with right shoulder tendonitis. The 32-year-old had been one of Minnesota's more reliable relievers, sporting a miniscule 0.68 ERA and notching seven holds in 13 appearances. Stewart is unlikely to return to the majors any time soon and will need to start working off a mound before being able to be considered for a rehab assignment. Fantasy managers shouldn't need to worry about having Stewart on their radar for at least another month or so. Once he's able to complete a rehab assignment then he can be targeted on the waiver wire.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: Twin Cities Pioneer Press
17 hours agoMiami Marlins right-hander
Sixto Sanchez will look to get straightened out on Saturday when he takes the mound against the hosting Arizona Diamondbacks. The 25-year-old former top prospect surrendered four earned runs across four innings of work in his last start against the New York Mets and has yet to reach five innings of work on the season, although his season entails five starts and seven bullpen outings as he works his way up as a starter in a depleted Marlins rotation. All told, Sanchez sports a 6.41 ERA on the season but his 5.05 SIERA at least suggests some positive regression moving forward.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
17 hours agoCincinnati Reds right-hander
Hunter Greene will look to keep the good times rolling when he takes the bump for a Saturday contest against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. Greene has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts and has tossed 13 1/3 innings of four-run ball over his last two outings with 13 strikeouts against just three walks in that time. For the season, the former second-overall pick has pitched to a 3.22 ERA and a 27% K% across 10 starts and 58 2/3 innings of work while his four-seam fastball sits at a tidy 98.1 mph clip. He has his hands full against a Dodgers club that ranks second in baseball with a .337 wOBA on the season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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