MLB Player News

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.

Armstrong earned a save against the Padres on Saturday by retiring the only batter he faced.

Texas held a three-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning, and manager Bruce Bochy turned to top closer Robert Garcia to close things out. Garcia struggled, however, loading the bases with two outs. Bochy then turned to Armstrong, who got Xander Bogaerts to ground into a fielder's choice to end the game. The save was the third of the season for Armstrong, who notched his other two saves across a three-game span in mid-May. Garcia has been a bit shaky of late, but he's still the most likely reliever to get the call the next time a save situation arises.

Corbin (5-7) earned the win against the Padres on Saturday, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out three batters over six innings.

Corbin served up a two-run homer to Jake Cronenworth in the second inning, but that was the only time the Padres scored against him. The veteran lefty wasn't dominant, recording just nine whiffs and three punchouts, but he picked up his second straight quality start and fifth overall this season. Corbin is by no means a Cy Young contender, but he's been a pleasant surprise for Texas in his inaugural campaign with the club. After posting ERAs north of 5.00 each of the previous four seasons, he's at a more tolerable 4.18 ERA across 16 starts this year.

Chisholm went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk against the Mets in a loss Saturday.

Chisholm put the Yankees on the board with a 387-foot solo shot in the first inning, The veteran third baseman has now gone deep five times over his past 10 games, compiling 10 RBI and scoring seven runs during that span. Chisholm has been quite productive when healthy this season, registering a .245/.341/.500 slash line, 15 home runs, 38 RBI, 34 runs and 10 stolen bases over just 59 contests.

Volpe went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Mets on Saturday.

Volpe temporarily brought the Yankees to within two runs with his 408-foot solo shot in the seventh inning. It was just his second long ball over his past 27 games and his first since June 21. Volpe will look to use the homer as a springboard to busting a slump that has seen him bat just .129 (9-for-70) over his past 20 contests.

Garcia was pulled in favor of Shawn Armstrong in the ninth inning of Saturday's 7-4 win over San Diego with two outs and the bases loaded.

Garcia began the ninth inning with the most favorable save situation of a three-run lead and empty bases, but the Padres chipped away and had the winning run at the plate with two outs. Manager Bruce Bochy had seen enough and chose to go with a righty-righty matchup for what turned out to be the final batter when Armstrong got Xander Bogaerts to ground out to end the game. Garcia does have six saves this season and is still the team's top option at closer, but he doesn't have much of a previous pedigree as a closer and is more prone to decisions like this when he can't take care of things cleanly.

Rodon (9-6) took the loss against the Mets on Saturday, allowing seven runs (six earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out four batters over five innings.

Rodon struggled from the get-go, as he gave up a grand slam to Brandon Nimmo in the first inning. The southpaw surrendered another homer -- this time a two-run shot by Pete Alonso -- in the fifth frame, so the long ball was the main culprit in Rodon yielding a season-worst six earned runs. The veteran hurler still has a respectable 3.30 ERA on the campaign, but that mark is a much less desirable 5.34 across his past six starts. Rodon will try to rebound his next time out, though he's lined up for another tough matchup against the Cubs.

Springer went 2-for-6 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 4-3 extra-innings win against the Angels.

Springer supplied the bulk of Toronto's runs in regulation with a two-run blast to center field in the third inning. That was his fifth long ball through five games in July, and the veteran slugger has also collected multiple hits in each of those contests. The hot streak has resulted in a scorching .545 batting average (12-for-22) and 13 RBI so far this month, and with 16 homers and 53 RBI on the campaign, Springer is already approaching his totals (19 and 56, respectively) across 145 contests last season.

Kochanowicz allowed three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one batter over 5.1 innings in a no-decision against Toronto on Saturday.

Kochanowicz yielded three runs through three innings before settling down and holding Toronto hitless and scoreless for the rest of his outing. Despite the strong finish, the right-hander failed to complete six frames for the seventh straight start. Kochanowicz also registered his usual low strikeout total -- he's now punched out two or fewer batters in three straight starts and has just 62 Ks through 91.1 frames on the campaign. His profile isn't an appealing one in fantasy, but Kochanowicz has at least managed to hold down a rotation spot throughout the season. His final start before the All-Star break lines up to come at home against Texas.