MLB Player News

Walker (3-5) took the loss Friday as the Phillies fell 7-4 to the Royals, coughing up six runs on eight hits and a walk over three innings. He struck out two.

Two-run homers by Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe in the third inning accounted for most of the damage off Walker, who failed to complete five innings for the third straight start since coming off the IL. The veteran righty has served up five long balls in 11.2 innings during his swoon, and on the season he's been taken deep 17 times in only 64.2 frames, leading to a bloated 6.26 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. The Phillies' lead in the NL East has slipped to five games over Atlanta, but for now Walker will be given a chance to work through his issues. He lines up to make his next start at home next week against the Astros.

Marte (ankle) is expected to begin running on a pool treadmill soon, MLB.com reports.

It's unclear when the pool work will begin, or if Marte can return after a minimum stay on the IL. Marte, who injured his left ankle Aug. 10, had a couple of failed attempts to get back on the field, but the Diamondbacks finally added him to the 10-day injured list Aug. 19. The team decided Marte simply needed rest.

Walker (oblique) recently began hitting against a high-velocity pitching machine, MLB.com reports.

Walker, who was placed on the 10-day injured list July 30, continues to check off boxes during his rehab. The process began with running, dry swings, hitting off a tee and then progressed to facing soft-toss pitching. Now, after hitting high-velocity pitches from a machine, Walker's next step is live batting practice.

Conforto went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Friday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Mariners.

Conforto has gone yard twice over his last five games, accounting for half of his hits in that span. The 31-year-old has most often served as the designated hitter when the Giants face right-handed pitchers since Grant McCray's promotion from Triple-A Sacramento pushed Heliot Ramos over to left field. Conforto has also been on the bench more often versus southpaws in August. The veteran has still offered decent power this year with 14 homers and a .444 slugging percentage through 104 contests, but he's batting just .237 with 53 RBI and 40 runs scored.

Wade went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double, two walks and two total runs scored in Friday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Mariners.

Wade has been fairly quiet in August, going 11-for-47 (.234) over 16 games this month. He's added a 9:13 BB:K while also hitting two homers in that span. For the year, Wade is at a .281/.410/.397 slash line with five homers, 22 RBI, 38 runs scored, 13 doubles and one stolen base over 301 plate appearances. He remains strictly confined to a strong-side platoon role at first base.

Ramos went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Mariners.

Ramos stretched the Giants' lead to 5-1 with a sixth-inning blast, but the advantage didn't last. The outfielder has been hot at the plate lately, going 11-for-34 (.324) with six extra-base hits and six RBI over his last nine contests. Ramos is slashing .285/.341/.501 with 19 homers, 62 RBI, 40 runs scored, four stolen bases and 16 doubles over 90 games this season. He has primarily played in left field since Grant McCray was called up to be the Giants' starting center fielder.

Miller (3-5) allowed an unearned run on one hit and struck out one over one-third of an inning Friday, taking the extra-inning loss versus the Mariners.

Miller has been on the hook for the loss in each of his last two outings, though this was less his fault than his meltdown versus the White Sox on Wednesday. He's still allowed seven runs (six earned) over his last seven innings, and a 9:8 K:BB in that span isn't helping his cause. Miller is now at a 3.90 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 67:32 K:BB through 55.1 innings on the year. He's added 12 holds, but a BB/9 of 5.2 is far too high for him to be effective in any sort of high-leverage role.

Birdsong allowed one hit and four walks while striking out five over four scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Mariners on Friday.

Birdsong was again decent at limiting runs, but he's issued seven walks over his last 8.2 innings. He threw just 39 of his 80 pitches for strikes in Friday's start, which contributed to him missing the five-inning mark for the fourth outing in a row. The rookie right-hander is now at a 4.57 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 54:26 K:BB through 45.1 innings over 10 big-league starts. Birdsong will have trouble against tougher opponents if he can't get his walk rate in check, though he's had only one truly awful outing so far. He'll have a tough task ahead with his next projected start coming in Milwaukee.

Hernandez went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run in Friday's 7-3 win over the Rays.

The Dodgers were behind early, but Hernandez went deep in the fifth inning off Rays starter Tyler Alexander to tie the game at 3-3. Hernandez went 7-for-32 (.219) over 10 contests between his two most recent homers, and this was his fourth multi-hit effort over 18 games in August. The utility man is now slashing .215/.276/.341 with eight homers, 32 RBI, 32 runs scored and no stolen bases over 100 games this season. Friday was the first time the Dodgers have faced a southpaw starter since Max Muncy was activated from the injured list Monday, so it's possible Hernandez could still find his way into the lineup versus southpaws with some regularity.

Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a walk-off grand slam and a stolen base in Friday's 7-3 win over the Rays.

Ohtani entered Friday one homer and one steal shy of securing his first career 40-40 season. He got the steal out of the way early, swiping second after hitting a single in the fourth inning. The 30-year-old then put together an encore worthy of Hollywood, taking Colin Poche deep for a grand slam in the ninth, Ohtani's first career walk-off homer. He became the first Dodger to join the 40-40 club, and in addition to those stellar milestone marks, he's added a .292/.378/.614 slash line with 92 RBI, 97 runs scored, 29 doubles and six triples over 126 contests this year. That said, Ohtani has found less success at the plate in August, batting .209 (18-for-86) this month, though he still has eight homers and 12 steals over his last 20 games.