MLB Player News

Erceg (3-3) blew the save and took the loss Saturday, surrendering three runs on five hits while failing to record an out as the Royals fell 7-6 to the Rangers.

Tasked with protecting a 6-4 lead in the ninth inning, Erceg instead served up a leadoff homer to Joc Pederson followed by four straight singles -- the last being an Ezequiel Duran line drive to right field that brought home Brandon Nimmo for the winning run. It was Erceg's fifth blown save of the season, including three in his last four chances, and he's given up multiple runs in three straight appearances to balloon his ERA from 3.26 to 6.33. Even with Carlos Estevez (shoulder) still lacking a clear timeline for his return, the Royals may have no choice but to audition other closing options in Erceg's place.

Montgomery went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Saturday against the Tigers.

Montgomery blasted a solo home run in the eighth inning to put the White Sox up 5-1. It was his 14th home run of the season, and his first since May 16 -- a span of 12 starts. He also hit .191 in that span with just three RBI and four runs scored. Even with that downturn in recent production, Montgomery has a 126 wRC+ on the season with 35 RBI and 27 runs scored across 56 games.

Lugo didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 7-6 loss to the Rangers, giving up three runs (one earned) on six hits over six innings. He struck out six without walking a batter.

The veteran righty reeled off his third straight quality start and eighth of the season on 90 pitches (64 strikes), but Lugo watched his potential third win of the year slip away when Lucas Erceg fell apart in the ninth inning. Lugo will take a 3.55 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 60:23 K:BB through 71 innings into his next outing, which is set to come on the road next week in Minnesota.

Houser (2-5) took the loss against Colorado on Saturday, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 3.2 innings.

Houser had a rough first inning, giving up two runs on two singles, two walks and a hit batsman. He recovered to record a 1-2-3 second, but the Rockies got to him for six more hits and two more runs before he was pulled with two outs in the fourth frame. Of the eight hits Houser allowed, seven were singles, but the one extra-base knock was a two-run homer off the bat of Jake McCarthy. Houser won back-to-back starts in mid-May, but over his subsequent two outings he's given up seven runs on 15 hits over just 8.1 innings. His next start is lined up to be a road matchup in Milwaukee.

Feltner (2-1) earned the win over San Francisco on Saturday, allowing four hits and striking out two batters without issuing a walk over six scoreless innings.

Feltner recently spent time on the injured list due to an elbow injury, and Saturday was his first big-league start since April 23. He was held to 63 pitches in his return, but he nonetheless managed a quality start by being very efficient, tossing 41 those pitches for strikes. Feltner hadn't completed six frames in any of his five starts before getting hurt, and Saturday was also the first time this season that he hasn't walked a batter. Feltner still has a poor 4.85 ERA overall, but he'll look to build on Saturday's outing in his next start, which is scheduled to be a home matchup against Milwaukee.

Young didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Blue Jays, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk over 6.2 innings. He struck out seven.

The seven Ks were a career high for Young, who needed 86 pitches (59 strikes) to deliver his second straight quality start and third of the season. The 27-year-old right-hander was headed for his second loss in eight starts until the O's mounted a five-run rally in the ninth inning. Young will take a 3.35 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 33:17 K:BB through 43 innings into his next outing, which lines up to be a rematch with the Jays back in Toronto.

Guerrero went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Orioles.

The star first baseman appeared to have led the Blue Jays to a win in Baltimore until Jeff Hoffman and the bullpen collapsed in the ninth inning and gave up a five-run, walk-off rally. Guerrero has gone 11 straight games without a homer, but despite the power outage, he's batting .400 (14-for-35) over that stretch with two doubles, two steals, four RBI, eight runs and an 8:3 BB:K.

Crow-Armstrong went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, two total runs and two total RBI in a 6-1 win against the Cardinals on Saturday.

Crow-Armstrong struck out in his first plate appearance, but St. Louis was unable to get him out thereafter. The star outfielder crushed a 444-foot solo homer in the eighth inning and capped the scoring with an RBI single in the ninth. It was the first four-hit effort of the season for Crow-Armstrong and the fourth in his career. He moved into the leadoff spot against righties May 23 and has reached base in all but one of his eight games since. During that span, he's batting .290 (9-for-31) with two doubles, a homer, six runs, four RBI and a 5:10 BB:K.

Hoffman (4-4) took the loss Saturday as the Blue Jays fell 6-5 to the Orioles, coughing up five runs on three hits and two walks in only one-third of an inning. He struck out one.

After Louis Varland got the call in the eighth inning to face Baltimore's 2-3-4 hitters and protect a 4-1 lead, Toronto tacked on another run in the top of the ninth before handing the ball to Hoffman. He struck out Samuel Basallo to begin the frame but then unraveled after plunking Coby Mayo, with the final two runs on his ledger coming after he'd been replaced by Connor Seabold. After six straight scoreless appearances that included two wins, two saves and a hold, Hoffman seems no more trustworthy in high-leverage spots than he did when he was removed from the closer role in late April. Following Saturday's disaster, he sits with a 6.31 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and 45:10 K:BB through 25.2 innings on the season.

Benintendi went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run home run and two runs scored Saturday against the Tigers.

Benintendi provided some insurance runs for the White Sox, doubling and coming around to score in the seventh inning before blasting a two-run home run one frame later. He now has four home runs on the season, and over his last 11 starts he's hit .300 with two homers, eight RBI and five runs scored.