MLB Player News

Simpson went 1-for-4 with a walk, a double and a stolen base in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Guardians.

The speedster did his best to set the table from the leadoff spot in a tight pitchers' duel, but Simpson didn't get cashed in either time he got into scoring position. The 10 steals have him tied for third in the American League with Bobby Witt, behind Jose Caballero's 12 and Jose Ramirez's 11, and Simpson's added a .307/.344/.351 slash line with six RBI and 14 runs in 29 games.

Soto went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 8-0 win over the Nationals.

After missing 18 days with a calf injury, Soto returned to the lineup last week and now has his first homer since April 1 and just his second long ball of the season. Past the calf issue, Soto is now said to be dealing with forearm tightness that will limit him to designated hitter duties for the time being. Soto is slashing .300/.407/.460 with the two home runs, seven RBI, four runs scored and a 9:8 BB:K across 59 plate appearances this season.

Sulser gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his first save of the season in a 1-0 win over the Guardians. He struck out two.

Bryan Baker had pitched the prior two days and three of the last four, so Tampa Bay's closer got a breather while Sulser handled the ninth in his place. The 36-year-old righty delivered his sixth straight scoreless appearance, and the save was his first since 2022 when he was a member of the Marlins. Sulser has moved into a high-leverage role in an injury-shortened Rays bullpen, picking up holds in his last two appearances coming into Tuesday, but his 3.24 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 13:8 K:BB through 16.2 innings on the season don't inspire a lot of confidence.

Holmes (3-2) earned the win Tuesday against the Nationals, allowing three hits and one walk with six strikeouts across six shutout innings.

Holmes doesn't have the best stuff, but he also doesn't throw anything straight and kept the Washington lineup off balance all night, racking up a season-high six strikeouts despite generating just eight whiffs on 94 total pitches. The right-hander has yet to allow more than two runs in any of his six starts and was particularly sharp in April, surrendering five earned runs over 30.1 innings. Holmes now sports a 1.75 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 25:11 K:BB across 36 innings. He's tentatively scheduled to make his next start Sunday on the road against the Angels.

Martinez (2-1) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing three hits and a walk over seven-plus scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory over the Guardians. He struck out four.

The right-hander's bid for a complete game ended after 78 pitches (54 strikes) when he walked Travis Bazzana to lead off the eighth inning, but three Tampa Bay relievers teamed up to complete the combined shutout. Martinez has four quality starts in six trips to the mound to begin the season, and he has yet to give up more than two runs in any outing. He'll take a 1.70 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 24:9 K:BB through 37 innings into his next start, which is scheduled to come at home early next week against the Blue Jays.

Tolle's fastball averaged 95 mph in Tuesday's loss to the Blue Jays, a drop from 97.1 during last Thursday's outing, Zack Worden of MLB.com reports.

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy downplayed the drop in velocity, noting that Tolle had extended time between outings when the left-hander started against the Yankees last Thursday. "Keep in mind that he had 10 days off [before throwing against the Yankees], and he went to 93 pitches," Tracy said. "So we knew that, and it was still 95 [mph], mostly. So, it wasn't like he was soft-tossing." With Sonny Gray (hamstring) beginning to throw off a mound Monday, Tolle's time in the rotation could come to a close soon. He should be able to fit in at least one more start, and maybe more if struggling starter Brayan Bello doesn't right his ship when he pitches the series finale Wednesday.

Sandoval (biceps) underwent additional testing after being pulled from a rehab assignment, and the imaging revealed nothing alarming, MLB.com reports.

Sandoval, who was initially on rehab because of an elbow injury, developed a biceps issue in his second rehab outing and was shut down. It's encouraging that nothing of concern was found in the test results, but the Red Sox have not announced when Sandoval will begin throwing again.

Bazzana went 0-for-2 with two walks in Tuesday's 1-0 loss to the Rays.

Bazzana was called up from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday and made his MLB debut. Tampa Bay pitchers didn't give him much Tuesday, but the rookie was one of two Guardians to reach base twice. The first overall draft pick in 2024, Bazzana will be given a lot of rope in his introduction to the majors.

Myers batted leadoff and went 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and three runs scored in Tuesday's 7-2 win over Colorado.

All Myers had to do was get on base and let Elly De La Cruz (four RBI) do the rest. Myers has become manager Terry Francona's preferred choice in center field and at leadoff against left-handers. The right-handed hitter is slashing .293/.431/.366 with two steals and 12 runs scored over 51 plate appearances. The Reds' primary center fielder and leadoff batter, TJ Friedl, has a slash line of .184/.273/.255 with four steals and 10 runs over 113 plate appearances.

Steer went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 7-2 win over the Rockies.

Steer's two-run homer in the first inning turned out to be the game-winning hit. It was his fifth long ball of the season. Normally a run-producing bat in the middle of the Reds' order, Steer has just eight RBI through his first 27 games.