MLB Player News

Valenzuela went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk Saturday in an 11-4 victory versus Minnesota.

Valenzuela had the biggest hit in an eight-run eighth inning for Toronto, mashing a three-run homer to center field. Saturday marked the rookie backstop's third start behind the plate over the Blue Jays' past four games, and he's gone 4-for-9 with two home runs and four RBI during that span. Valenzuela seems to be building momentum over Tyler Heineman as Toronto's primary catcher while Alejandro Kirk (thumb) remains sidelined.

Okamoto went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, two total runs and two total RBI in an 11-4 victory versus the Twins on Saturday.

Okamoto brought Toronto to within a run with a huge 453-foot solo shot to center field in the sixth inning. He then kicked off the scoring in the Blue Jays' eight-run eighth frame with an RBI single. Okamoto went deep twice Friday, so he now has three homers over his past two games. On the season, he's slashing 235/.316/.454 with eight long balls, 17 runs and 20 RBI through 133 plate appearances.

Johnson (hamstring/illness) will begin a rehab assignment at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

A viral infection sent Johnson to the injured list April 6, and he later suffered a hamstring injury while making a start in extended spring training. The 23-year-old righty said Saturday that he's recovered from both issues and has been facing hitters at the Angels' complex in Arizona, per Jack Janes of TheSportingTribune.com, so his return date will depend on how quickly he can ramp up his workload.

Prielipp completed five innings against Toronto in a no-decision Saturday, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out four batters.

Prielipp gave up a pair of solo homers in the second inning but was otherwise unscored upon. The rookie lefty needed 91 pitches (59 strikes) to get through his five innings but walked an acceptable two batters and notched 10 whiffs en route to four punchouts. Prielipp has yet to complete more than five innings in any of his three starts so far, but he's holding his own in the majors with a 3.86 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 15:5 K:BB across 14 frames. He's up with the team while Mick Abel (elbow) resides on the injured list, but Prielipp is pitching well enough to at least make Minnesota think about his spot on the big-league roster long term.

Moncada isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.

Moncada will take a day to reset Saturday after going 0-for-11 with six strikeouts in his last four games. Oswald Peraza will fill in at third base and bat eighth.

Frazier isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.

Frazier has gone 4-for-15 with an RBI and two runs scored over his last five games, and he'll take a seat against Nolan McLean and the Mets. Vaughn Grissom will start at the keystone and bat seventh.

Cease (2-1) earned the win over Minnesota on Saturday, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over seven innings.

Cease had a bit of a rough beginning to his outing, serving up a leadoff homer to Byron Buxton in the bottom of the first inning and giving up two more runs (one of which was unearned) in the second. He settled down from there but still trailed 4-3 following his seventh and final frame. However, Toronto's offense came through for the right-hander, putting up eight runs in the top of the eighth to line him up for the victory. Cease struck out seven and racked up 16 whiffs, and he's second overall in the majors this season with 56 punchouts over 38.1 frames. He's been an impactful starter for fantasy managers, complementing his big strikeout total with a 3.05 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.

X-rays on Springer's left foot revealed no new damage following his removal from Saturday's game against the Twins, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Springer is still dealing with the fracture in his big toe that he initially suffered in mid-April, but he plans to play through it. Manager John Schneider said that Springer will sit out Sunday's series finale, as was the plan coming into Saturday's contest, which will give the veteran outfielder an extra day to recover and potentially return to the starting lineup for Monday's series opener in Tampa.

Grisham went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, an additional run, a double and a walk in Saturday's 9-4 win versus Baltimore.

Grisham's homer was a two-run shot that gave New York a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning. He had doubled one inning prior and finished with multiple hits for the first time since April 19. It's been a rough start to the season at the plate for Grisham, who is slashing just .168/.309/.366 even after Saturday's big performance. On the plus side, his 17.9 percent strikeout rate is on pace to be a career low, while his 17.1 percent walk rate is tracking toward a career best.

Bellinger went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs, a double, a stolen base, three total runs and four total RBI in a 9-4 win against the Orioles on Saturday.

Bellinger entered the game batting just .205 with no homers over his previous 11 games, but be broke out in a big way against Baltimore. The veteran outfielder opened the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning, doubled in another run in the third and swatted another solo blast in the fifth. Finally, Bellinger collected his fourth RBI on an infield single in the seventh and capped his huge fantasy day by stealing a base. Bellinger's season OPS jumped all the way up from .755 to .855 with the performance, and he's generated five homers, 20 RBI, 21 runs and four stolen bases through 32 contests.