MLB Player News

Martinez started in center field and went 2-for-4 with two doubles in Sunday's 7-2 extra-inning loss to the Tigers .

Martinez moved to center field after the Guardians placed Lane Thomas (plantar fasciitis) on the 10-day injured list, the second time he's landed on the IL with the same injury. Martinez has hit safely in five of his last six starts, but that's done little to halt the team's losing streak, which reached 10 games Sunday. Like several others in the lineup not named Steven Kwan or Jose Ramirez, Martinez is providing little impact. Going back to June 5, he's batting .210 (17-for-81) with a .296 slugging percentage and four RBI over 26 contests.

Smith (2-3) has returned from back spasms and picked up the loss in Sunday's game against Detroit. He allowed six runs (four earned) on five hits and an error over a third of an inning.

Smith came on to pitch the 10th inning after closer Emmanuel Clase's wild pitch in the ninth allowed the tying run to score. Smith, who had ceded just one regular-season home run during his MLB career, was taken deep twice in the final frame. Back spasms limited his availability over the final week of June.

Soderstrom went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and a second run scored in Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Giants.

Soderstrom's fourth-inning homer snapped his 26-game drought without a long ball. In that span, he went 19-for-83 (.229) with just one extra-base hit (a double), though he did walk 12 times. The 23-year-old had no trouble delivering power earlier in the season, so this may be just the spark he needs to get on track again. He's slashing .253/.334/.436 with 15 homers, 49 RBI, 46 runs scored, five stolen bases, 12 doubles and one triple over 91 games.

Lopez (2-5) allowed four runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight over 4.1 innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Giants.

Lopez had a shaky first inning and gave up a run when Willy Adames drew a bases-loaded walk. Adames added a solo home run in the fourth inning, and Lopez found more trouble in the fifth before his exit. In between, however, he was nearly untouchable, striking out seven straight batters at one point. The southpaw has allowed eight runs (seven earned) over his last two starts, covering 7.2 innings with a 9:2 K:BB in that span. He's walked precisely one batter in seven of his last nine outings, but the overall results have been fairly mixed. For the season, he has a 4.26 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 64:19 K:BB through 50.2 innings over 13 appearances (nine starts). Lopez is lined up to make his next start at home versus the Blue Jays.

Leiter (4-6) allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five over 3.2 innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Padres.

It wasn't an outright bad performance, but Leiter's pitch count got up early, and he was pulled at 85 pitches (54 strikes) after running into trouble in the fourth inning. He's fallen short of the five-inning mark in three of his last five starts while allowing 16 runs with a 21:10 K:BB over 23.1 innings in that span. Overall, Leiter has a 4.32 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 63:34 K:BB across 75 innings through 15 starts this season. The 25-year-old is projected to make his next start in Houston.

Smith (3-7) yielded five runs on five hits and two walks over 4.1 innings Sunday, striking out two and taking a loss against Colorado.

Smith served up a leadoff shot to Mickey Moniak in the first inning and allowed another run in the second. Smith then worked through a pair of quick frames before the Rockies plated four more runs in the fifth inning, with three being charged against the right-handed rookie. He posted a 2.37 ERA through his first 13 starts of the year but now owns a 4.20 ERA across 83.2 frames. Smith has been tagged with 22 runs (21 earned) in just 15.1 innings over his last four appearances, leading to four consecutive losses. He'll look to snap the streak in his next outing, which is projected to be at home against the Guardians.

Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said Sunday that Sanchez has been diagnosed with a moderate PCL sprain in his right knee, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Mansolino didn't offer up a timeline for Sanchez's return from the 10-day injured list, but given that his knee sprain isn't viewed as mild, the 33-year-old backstop seems unlikely to be ready to play when he's first eligible for activation at the start of the second half. Sanchez became the fourth Orioles catcher to hit the IL, joining Adley Rutschman (oblique), Maverick Handley (concussion) and Chadwick Tromp (back). None of the injured backstops have resumed baseball activities, so Jacob Stallings and the newly acquired Alex Jackson appear poised to serve as Baltimore's catching tandem though at least the All-Star break.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said prior to Sunday's 7-2 win over the Guardians that Enns will make his next appearance out of the bullpen, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Enns limited the Athletics to one hit over five shutout innings in his first start with the Tigers on June 26, but he ended up losing his spot in the rotation after he was blown up for eight runs (seven earned) over four innings in his second start Thursday in Washington. Hinch has yet to announce a replacement in the rotation for Enns, but Keider Montero is expected to be called up from Triple-A Toledo on Monday and will either start or serve as a bulk reliever in Detroit's series opener versus the Rays, per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. Enns will be available in relief Monday, but the Tigers aren't heading into the game with the plan of having him cover multiple innings.

Rasmussen took a no-decision in his start during Sunday's 7-5 extra-inning win over the Twins, striking out two while allowing one earned run on three hits and no walks over two innings.

Though the Rays didn't make a formal announcement regarding their plans for Rasmussen heading into the day, the right-hander ended up serving as a glorified opener in his shortest start of the season in terms of both innings and pitches (32). Tampa Bay called up Joe Boyle from Triple-A Durham ahead of Sunday's contest and used him in bulk relief behind Rasmussen, with the righty giving up one unearned run over five innings. The Rays' exact plans for Rasmussen moving forward aren't known, but because he's already accrued 89.1 innings on the season and is only two years removed from the third major right elbow surgery of his career, it wouldn't be surprising if Boyle piggybacks Rasmussen in his next turn through the rotation next weekend in Boston. With a 7-2 record, 2.82 ERA and 1.01 WHIP through 18 outings, Rasmussen has thus far been a screaming value for his draft-day investors, but if 2-to-4-inning starts become the norm for him, he would lose a significant amount of fantasy appeal.

Buxton went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, two runs scored and a stolen base in Sunday's extra-inning loss to the Rays.

Buxton led off the game with a 414-foot blast for his 20th home run of the year. It's the second time he's reached the 20-homer mark in his MLB career and first since 2022. The veteran outfielder later singled and swiped second base in the third inning before scoring a run in the 10th. Buxton owns a .270/.334/.544 slash line with 34 extra-base hits and 16 steals through 314 plate appearances.