MLB Player News

Kerkering will serve as the Philles' opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the Mariners, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Kerkering has opened a game once already this season, during which he posted a scoreless inning against the Athletics. He'll now be asked to do the same versus Seattle, giving bulk reliever Kolby Allard one less matchup against the Mariners' top three hitters.

Hernandez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.

Hernandez got the game started with a first-inning blast off Joey Estes, but the Dodgers wouldn't score again until the ninth. This was Hernandez's fourth homer over his last 11 contests, and he's driven in eight runs in that span. The outfielder is up to 23 long balls, 71 RBI, 54 runs scored, four stolen bases and a .263/.328/.482 slash line through 108 games this season.

Ohtani went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.

Ohtani had gone 0-for-11 over his previous three games and was hitless through four at-bats Friday. He went deep in the ninth inning to get the Dodgers within a run, but they couldn't find a tying run. The brief slump had little impact on Ohtani's season-long numbers -- he's still at a stellar .308/.398/.630 slash line with 33 long balls, 28 stolen bases, 79 RBI and 84 runs scored through 107 contests.

Stone (9-5) allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out five over four-plus innings to take the loss Friday versus the Athletics.

Stone gave up multiple home runs for the second start in a row, as Shea Langeliers and Seth Brown each took him deep for solo shots in the fourth inning. Stone stayed in for the fifth, but he couldn't get an out, and Joe Kelly also allowed an inherited runner to score on a two-run home run by Brent Rooker. This was the fourth time in five outings that Stone has given up at least four runs. He now has a 3.63 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 87:31 K:BB across 111.2 innings through 20 starts this year. Walker Buehler (hip) will require another rehab start, so Stone is likely to get at least one more turn through the rotation, which is tentatively projected to be at home versus the Phillies. With River Ryan pitching well in his first stint in the majors, Stone's place in the rotation over the remainder of August is up in the air.

Bader went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 5-1 win over the Angels.

Bader got on base in three of his four at-bats Friday and reached 15 steals in a season for the fourth time in his career. After missing five games due to an ankle injury, Bader had no problems with his first stolen base attempt since the recent spell. The 30-year-old has been a consistent piece in the bottom of the Mets' lineup, as his batting average (currently .268) has not dropped below .260 since April 11.

Alonso went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk and three strikeouts in Friday's 5-1 win over the Angels.

Alonso took Tyler Anderson deep in the third inning in what ended up being the deciding runs in Friday's win. Alonso has been hot with three home runs over his last five games and four long balls already since the All-Star break. The 29-year-old is hitting with .242/.324/.469 with 23 homers with 62 runs and 59 RBI in 109 games this season.

Arcia went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Friday's win against the Marlins.

The Atlanta shortstop opened the scoring for his team when he slugged a 399-foot solo shot off Valente Bellozo in the fifth inning. Arcia later added another RBI on a single in the eighth to stretch the Atlanta lead to 5-3. The 29-year-old has been hot since the All-Star break, hitting .356 (16-for-45) with four homers, five runs scored and eight RBI across 14 games. He is currently riding a 13-game hit streak.

Jimenez picked up the save in Friday's 5-3 victory over the Marlins, allowing one hit and one walk over one scoreless inning with three strikeouts.

After Raisel Iglesias pitched on three consecutive days, manager Brian Snitker called upon Jimenez to lock up the win for Atlanta. The righty reliever struggled a bit to secure his 23rd career save, requiring 28 pitches to polish off the game. He now sports a 2.25 ERA with 48:17 K:BB across 44 innings this season. Jimenez appears to be the next in line for saves in the Atlanta bullpen if anything happens to Iglesias given the usage pattern in this game.

Schwellenbach did not factor into the decision in Friday's 5-3 win versus Miami, allowing three runs on six hits and no walks over seven innings. He struck out 10.

After punching out a career-high 11 in his last start, the Atlanta rookie generated an impressive 17 whiffs en route to his 10 punchouts in this 94-pitch outing. After allowing a two-run homer to Jonah Bride in the first inning, the only other blemish on Schwellenbach's performance was a 416-foot solo shot given up to Jake Burger in the third. The right-hander has been splendid post-All-Star break, firing 20 innings with a 3.15 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 29:0 K:BB. Schwellenbach is currently slated to face the Brewers at home in his next start.

Blackmon was removed from Friday's game against the Padres after getting hit in the head by a throw, Patrick Lyons of JustBaseball.com reports.

An errant throw from Xander Bogaerts connected with Blackmon's face as he was running toward first base in the third inning. The 38-year-old outfielder was able to walk off the field on his own, but he'll likely be evaluated for a concussion in the Rockies' clubhouse.