MLB Player News

Flexen (2-15) took the loss against the Padres on Saturday, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings while striking out three.

Flexen ran into trouble throughout the contest, allowing the leadoff man to reach in four of his five innings of work. The right-hander surrendered the first two runs of the contest on a two-run shot from Xander Bogaerts in the bottom of the second and was again victimized by the long ball in the fourth as San Diego took a 3-0 lead. Flexen went on to allow four runs on the night, something he hadn't done in any of his previous five starts, while also issuing multiple walks for the sixth time in his last seven outings. He's now lost his last 12 decisions (spanning 23 starts).

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and a double Saturday in a loss to the Cardinals.

Ramirez helped Cleveland mount a late rally, belting a three-run shot to left field in the eighth inning to reduce a five-run deficit to just two runs. The star third baseman has homered in each of his past two games and has gone 5-for-8 with five RBI during the pair of contests. Ramirez's long ball Saturday was his 37th of the season, bring him to within two of the career-best mark of 39 that he established in 2018.

Boyd (2-2) took the loss against St. Louis on Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out six batters over four innings.

Boyd wasn't tagged for a large amount of runs and yielded a modest four hits, but he issued three free passes and needed 88 pitches to get through four frames. Short starts have been the norm for the southpaw of late -- across his past three outings, he hasn't gone deeper than 4.1 innings despite yielding a tolerable five earned runs over 11 frames during that stretch. Boyd has had his strikeout stuff working, though, as he's posted 20 punchouts across those 11 innings.

O'Hoppe went 4-for-4 with a solo home run, two doubles and two total runs in Saturday's loss to the Astros.

Though the Angels were blown out, O'Hoppe had an impressive effort at the plate, recording his third game of at least four hits this season. This was the first time he's posted three extra-base knocks in a contest, and among his hits was a solo shot in the fourth inning that marked his 20th homer of the campaign. Among catchers, only Cal Raleigh, Shea Langeliers, Salvador Perez and William Contreras have hit more home runs than O'Hoppe this season.

Caratini went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, an additional run and a walk against the Angels in Saturday's 10-4 victory.

Caratini blew the game open for Houston in the third inning, belting a three-run shot off Angels starter Reid Detmers to increase the Astros' lead to 6-1. It was the third straight start for Caratini, who played first base Saturday after serving as Houston's catcher Thursday and Friday. Caratini is batting .289 (13-for-45) with five RBI through 15 games in September.

Tucker went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk and two total RBI in a 10-4 victory versus the Angels on Saturday.

Tucker kicked off the scoring in the contest with an RBI double in the first inning and added a solo homer in the seventh. The outfielder has tormented Los Angeles over the past two games, going 8-for-9 with a pair of homers and three RBI. Since returning Sept. 6 from a lengthy stay on the injured list, Tucker is batting .405 (17-for-42) with three home runs, seven RBI, 11 runs and a stolen base over 13 contests.

Alvarez went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double and two total runs in Saturday's 10-4 win against the Angels.

Alvarez's most productive hit was a solo shot to center field in the seventh inning. That was his 35th long ball of the season, 10th most in the majors. The four-hit performance snapped an uncharacteristic cold streak for Alvarez, who came into Saturday having gone 2-for-22 over his previous six games.

Detmers (4-8) took the loss against Houston on Saturday, allowing seven runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out three batters over two-plus innings.

Detmers gave up a run in the first frame and two more in the second, and things got really out of hand for him in the third. He allowed all four batters he faced in that inning to reach base -- on a home run, two doubles and a single -- and was charged with four runs. It was another implosion for Detmers, who gave up seven runs over 5.1 frames against the White Sox in his previous start. The pair of awful outings come after he appeared to turn a corner upon his return from the minors Sept. 3 -- in his first two starts following the promotion, he yielded just four runs while notching an 18:4 K:BB across 12 innings.

Blanco (12-6) earned the win over the Angels on Saturday, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out nine batters over six innings.

Blanco gave up a second-inning run that tied the score 1-1, but Houston put up six more runs by the end of the third to give the right-hander plenty of padding. He yielded just one more tally -- on a Logan O'Hoppe solo homer -- and notched his second straight quality start (and second consecutive victory). Blanco has emerged as a key part of the Astros' rotation with a 2.88 ERA (fifth among qualified pitchers), 1.10 WHIP and 163:66 K:BB over 162.1 innings, though it's possible he moves to the bullpen once the postseason begins.

Smith went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 8-4 loss to the Mariners.

Smith singled in the first inning and then tied the game with a two-run blast in the third. The long ball was his first since Aug. 5, but he has now hit safely in five straight contests. On the season, the 27-year-old is hitting .262 with 13 homers, 59 RBI, 64 runs scored and 10 steals across 564 plate appearances.