MLB Player News

Castillo (5-5) picked up the win Saturday against the Pirates, striking out eight and giving up just two hits and no walks across seven scoreless innings.

The eight punchouts are a season high for Castillo, who got back in the win column for the first time since May 19 against the White Sox. The veteran right-hander has seen his strikeout numbers take a dip in 2025 with a career-low 7.6 K/9, but he's still been plenty effective through 18 starts with a 3.31 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 103.1 innings.

Sosa went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, four RBI and two runs in Saturday's 10-3 win against the Rockies.

Sosa entered the game in a bit of a slump with just four hits in his previous 22 at-bats, but he delivered his fourth three-hit game of the campaign Saturday while launching his seventh homer. The 25-year-old has been decently productive in a bad lineup through 73 games this year with a .275 average, 27 RBI and 24 runs, though his minuscule 2.6 percent walk rate has resulted in a .294 OBP and .713 OPS.

Short went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI on Saturday against the Dodgers.

Short made his debut with the Astros on July 2 and drew his first start Saturday while hitting ninth. He began the scoring for Houston with a two-RBI double in the third inning. Even with Jeremy Pena (rib) sidelined, Short isn't likely to see consistent playing time moving forward.

Diaz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday against the Dodgers.

Diaz led off the fourth inning with a home run, his 11th long ball of the season and fourth in his last 22 starts. After a slow start to the year, he has a .286/.309/.462 line in the last month.

Torkelson went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 1-0 win over the Guardians.

Torkelson provided all of Detroit's hits and runs in the low-scoring affair as he reached the 20-homer plateau for the second time in his career. The 25-year-old has gone deep four times over his last nine games, and he's pushed his OPS to .834 for the year. Torkelson doesn't hit for a great average, though he offsets that with his power and ability to drive in runs.

Cannon (3-7) earned the win Saturday in Colorado, giving up two runs on eight hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out one.

The right-hander surrendered two runs on three hits during the opening frame but buckled down for another four-plus innings to keep the Rockies off the board. Cannon threw just 47 of 78 pitches for strikes and allowed 10 baserunners, but he limited the damage enough to secure his first victory since May 2, which was a run of six starts between wins. The 24-year-old has a 4.50 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 56:26 K:BB over 72 innings through 14 outings in 2025.

Wacha (4-9) was charged with the loss Saturday in Arizona after allowing four runs on four hits and four walks across four innings. He struck out four.

The veteran right-hander had a 2.88 ERA at the end of May, but after Saturday's showing he now has a 1-5 record with a 5.85 ERA in six starts since the beginning of June. That poor run of form has inflated his season-long numbers to a 3.83 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 79:30 K:BB across 101 innings, with those ERA and WHIP figures being his worst since 2021. He lines up to make one more start before the All-Star break next weekend versus the Mets.

Hader notched a save against the Dodgers on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out two batters in one scoreless inning.

Hader entered with a two-run lead in the ninth frame and quickly saw the tying run come to the plate after allowing Shohei Ohtani to hit a leadoff single. However, Hader retired the following three batters in order, as none of Mookie Betts, Will Smith or Freddie Freeman could move Ohtani past first base. Hader remains without a blown save this season, and he leads all MLB relievers with 25 total saves.

Valdez (10-4) notched the victory against the Dodgers on Saturday, surrendering four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven batters over six innings.

Valdez served up a solo homer to Mookie Betts in the first inning and was tagged for another run in the second. Houston scored the game's next five runs, however, and Valdez protected a lead despite giving up a two-run blast to Miguel Rojas in the fourth frame. This was the first time the southpaw has given up four runs in a start since May 2, but he nonetheless improved his record to 8-0 over his past 10 games. With 10 victories on the campaign, Valdez is tied for the MLB lead with Tarik Skubal and Max Fried.

Higashioka went 3-for-3 with a home run, five RBI and a stolen base in Saturday's 7-4 victory versus San Diego.

Higashioka played for the Padres last season and recorded career highs with 17 homers and 45 RBI. He hadn't been able to carry that production over to Texas, as the veteran backstop came into Saturday with just one homer and 16 RBI across 44 games. Higashioka tormented his former club, though, swatting a two-run homer in the third inning before adding an RBI single in the fourth and eighth frames sandwiched around a sacrifice fly in the sixth. For good measure, the catcher swiped a bag in the eighth inning, marking his first theft as a Ranger and just his third over his nine big-league campaigns. Higashioka boosted his season OPS nearly 50 points from .573 to .621, but that's still well below the .739 mark he registered last year.