MLB Player News

Baker earned the save in Tuesday's 6-4 win over the Yankees, allowing one hit and no walks with one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.

Baker was called upon to protect a two-run lead in the ninth inning and worked around a two-out single to slam the door. The first-time All-Star has now converted 13 straight save chances while allowing just one earned run over 17 appearances during that stretch. For the season, he's 24-for-27 in save opportunities to go along with a 1.78 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 38:11 K:BB across 35.1 innings.

Bolte went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Tigers. He was also hit by a pitch.

Bolte got the Athletics within one run early with a 411-foot blast off Tarik Skubal in the third inning. The rookie is off to a nice start in July, hitting safely in four of five games with two multi-hit efforts and four runs scored during that span. Overall, he's slashing .292/.373/.385 with three homers, 15 RBI, 18 runs scored and 11 steals across his first 186 major-league plate appearances.

Skubal (5-4) earned the win against the Athletics on Tuesday, allowing one run on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts over five innings.

Skubal allowed a homer for the fifth straight game since returning from the injured list but was otherwise strong, throwing 62 of 96 pitches for strikes with a whopping 22 whiffs. The southpaw has yielded just two earned runs across back-to-back victories and has recorded exactly nine punchouts in three straight outings. He owns a 3.06 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 84:10 K:BB across 70.2 innings this season and lines up to face the Phillies at home this weekend in his final matchup before the All-Star break.

Waldrep (0-1) took the loss against the Pirates on Tuesday, allowing seven runs on six hits and five walks with two strikeouts over 3.1 innings.

All seven runs came via two Ryan O'Hearn home runs, but Waldrep threw just 45 of 84 pitches for strikes and generated only five whiffs. The 24-year-old has been shaky so far in his return to Atlanta's rotation, allowing 10 earned runs over two starts after throwing two scoreless frames in relief in his first appearance of the season June 28. He'll try to find his footing entering the All-Star break in a road matchup with the Cardinals this weekend.

Skenes (7-8) earned the win against Atlanta on Tuesday, allowing two runs on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts over six innings.

Skenes was given a huge lead and ran with it, throwing 66 of 95 pitches for strikes with 12 whiffs while delivering his ninth quality start of the campaign. It was a much-needed outing for the 24-year-old after he surrendered 11 earned runs over his previous two contests. He owns a 3.58 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 123:23 K:BB across 103 innings this season and lines up to make one final start before the All-Star break at home against the Brewers this weekend.

Ginn was removed from Tuesday's game against the Tigers due to an illness, Jason Burke of Roundtable.io reports.

Ginn's illness led to a noticeable drop in velocity, and manager Mark Kotsay said after the game that the right-hander's energy level was declining rapidly throughout the game. Ginn managed to get through four innings before ending his start prematurely, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out four batters. He's tentatively scheduled to start the final game of the first half on the road Sunday against the White Sox, though it will be worth monitoring his health as the weekend approaches.

Keith went 1-for-2 with a walk and a two-run home run in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Athletics.

Keith was eventually lifted for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning, but he made his mark well before then with his seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the first. The 24-year-old has hit all of those home runs in the past three weeks after beginning the year with no long balls across his first 62 games. Keith is trending upward, though the left-handed batter doesn't play much against southpaws.

O'Hearn went 4-for-5 with three home runs and 10 RBI in Tuesday's 12-4 win over Atlanta.

O'Hearn launched a grand slam and two three-run shots, driving in 10 of Pittsburgh's 14 runs. Per Aiden Stepansky of MLB.com, O'Hearn became just the 17th player in the modern era to tally at least 10 RBI in a game. The 32-year-old has now hit safely in eight of his past nine starts, including another multi-homer effort June 28. On the season, he's slashing .293/.351/.500 with 16 homers, 61 RBI, 47 runs scored and one steal across 319 plate appearances in what is shaping up to be a career year.

McGonigle went 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Athletics.

McGonigle has started July on a positive note with three multi-hit performances in five games so far this month. It's more of the same for the rookie infielder, who is having an outstanding debut season with a .287/.398/.423 slash line across 88 contests overall. McGonigle's excellent on-base skills have made him an easy choice as Detroit's primary leadoff hitter, and the 21-year-old has been a driving force of the team's offense.

Junk (shin) struck out three and allowed one earned run on five hits and no walks across three innings Saturday in a rehab start for Triple-A Jacksonville.

The right-hander made his second rehab appearance at Triple-A after he was sent to the 15-day injured list May 31 due to right shin bone inflammation. He built up to 61 pitches (37 strikes) in Saturday's outing and averaged 93.8 mph with his four-seam fastball, about a half-tick behind his season-long average prior to landing on the shelf. Per Kevin Barral of FishonFirst.com, Junk completed a pitch-design session in front of the Marlins' coaching and training staff Tuesday, and if he checks out fine following that workout, he could fill the opening in the Miami rotation in Thursday's series finale versus the Mariners.