MLB Player News

Kurtz went 2-for-5 with a pair of solo home runs Wednesday in a loss to the Angels.

Kurtz was the offensive star for the A's in defeat, popping two solo shots that each traveled over 430 feet. The promising young first baseman hit 11 long balls over 32 minor-league games across three levels before getting called up April 23, but he then began his big-league career with just one homer through his first 23 contests. Kurtz appears to be finally finding his power stroke, though, as he's now gone deep three times in his past two games.

Neto went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run, an additional run and a stolen base against the Athletics in a 10-5 win Wednesday.

Neto's power and speed were both on display in the win -- he popped a two-run homer in the third inning, then reached on an infield single, stole a base and came around to score in the ninth. The talented young shortstop missed the first few weeks of the season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but that issue seems well behind him. Neto has posted an .889 OPS through 30 games, collecting eight homers, eight steals, 18 RBI and 25 runs scored.

O'Hoppe went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, a walk, three total runs and three total RBI in Wednesday's 10-5 win over the Athletics.

O'Hoppe kicked off the scoring in the game with a massive 470-foot two-run shot in the second inning and added a 431-foot solo blast in the fourth. The powerful young catcher has three homers in his past two games and has collected exactly two hits in three straight contests. O'Hoppe continues to blossom into one of MLB's best hitters at his position-- he ranks second among backstops in the league with 13 home runs, is tied for third with 28 RBI and is slashing a strong .270/.306/.541 through 157 plate appearances.

Sears (4-4) took the loss against the Angels on Wednesday, allowing six runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out four batters over five innings.

Sears came into contest having served up a modest six homers over nine starts, but the Angels tagged him for four long balls Wednesday, including two off the bat of catcher Logan O'Hoppe. After yielding three or fewer runs in each of his first eight outings of the campaign, Sears has hit a rough spot in his past two starts, surrendering 10 runs across nine innings. That's pushed his season ERA up over a run (from 2.80 to 4.00) and resulted in consecutive losses for the first time this year. The lefty will try to right the ship his next time out, which lines up to be a road matchup against Houston.

Kochanowicz allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and five walks while striking out six batters over four-plus innings in a no-decision against the Athletics on Wednesday.

The Angels offense provided plenty of support for Kochanowicz, but the right-hander completed just four innings due partly to racking up 99 pitches. Only 56 of those offerings were strikes, and Kochanowicz issued a season-high five walks but also tied a season high with six punchouts. He also served up two long balls, including one in the fifth frame to Nick Kurtz, who ended up being the second-to-last batter Kochanowicz faced. The second-year hurler has managed to hang onto a rotation spot so far, but his results have been mediocre -- he has a 4.86 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 35:27 K:BB through 53.2 innings across 10 starts.

Lowe went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday against the Astros.

Lowe is in the midst of an impressive stretch at the plate, as he has at least one hit in eight of his last nine appearances. He's gone 12-for-33 with three home runs, seven RBI and seven runs scored in that span. Despite the hot stretch, Lowe still has a disappointing .159 ISO and .382 slugging percentage across 185 plate appearances on the season.

Lowe went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday against the Astros.

Lowe led off the fifth inning with his second homer of the season. He has a small sample size after missing about six weeks due to an oblique issue, but he has gone 7-for-26 (.269 average) with four runs scored and three RBI across seven games since being activated from the injured list. Lowe has also started six times in that span, including once against a lefty.

Simpson went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base Wednesday against the Astros.

Simpson was out of the lineup for the previous three days due to a combination of injuries to his hand and face. He singled in the first inning to deliver his 10th RBI of the season. Simpson later stole his 12th bag of the campaign and is now has a .281 average (16-for-57) in May.

Dubon went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday against the Rays.

Dubon started for only the seventh time across 19 games in May and managed his first home run of the season Wednesday. He's gone 8-for-23 on the month but is still losing out on playing time to Jose Altuve and Brendan Rodgers.

Jackson (0-4) blew the save in Wednesday's 4-3 defeat to the Yankees, allowing one run on two hits in the ninth inning.

Jackson gave up a walk-off home run to Jasson Dominguez, taking his second blown save of the season. The veteran right-hander has worked as Texas' primary closer to open the campaign, but his 5.52 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 13:8 K:BB over 14.2 innings likely loosens his grip on the gig and leaves the door open the door for the likes of Shawn Armstrong, Robert Garcia and Jacob Webb to see additional save chances in the future. Jackson missed some time with a swollen hand recently, and he's yielded six runs across his last 5.2 innings.