Matt Vierling went 1-for-3 and plated the Tigers' lone run in Friday night's loss to the Twins.
Vierling came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth inning, with a chance to get the Tigers back in the game. After a lengthy battle with Brock Stewart, he punched the eighth pitch of the at-bat into right field for a run-scoring single. The rally would then fizzle though as Miguel Cabrera bounced into an inning-ending double play. With his 1-for-3 night, Vierling is now hitting .263/.324/.411 with seven homers, 21 RBI and four swipes on the season.
Jhoan Duran closed out the Tigers on Friday evening, striking out three batters in a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a three-run victory.
Duran earned his 10th save of the season for his efforts. He did issue a one-out walk to Matt Vierling, but then punched out Miguel Cabrera and Zack Short in succession to end the ballgame. The flame-throwing right-hander has been absurd this season -- registering a 1.50 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 41/14 K/BB ratio over 30 innings.
Royce Lewis slugged a solo home run on Friday night, helping to power the Twins past the Tigers in the opening game of their three-game set in Motown.
Lewis opened the scoring in the contest with a 404-foot (105.3 mph EV) solo shot off of Joey Wentz to start the second inning. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night. For the season, the 24-year-old is now slashing .315/.333/.507 with four homers and 13 RBI through his first 20 games.
Giants placed OF Mike Yastrzemski on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 22, with a left hamstring strain.
The Giants were hopeful that Yastrzemski would be able to return to action on Friday night after feeling improvement on Thursday, but he was still sore when going through a workout prior to Friday's game so they opted to shut him down. Isan Diaz was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move on Friday.
Giants recalled INF Isan Díaz from Triple-A Sacramento.
With Mike Yastrzemski (hamstring) heading to the injured list on Friday, Díaz will get another opportunity to function as bench depth for the big league club. He's actually in the starting lineup for Friday night's battle against the Diamondbacks, starting at second base and batting eighth against right-hander Zach Davies.
Dodgers activated RHP Phil Bickford from the 15-day injured list.
The right-hander has been shelved since early June due to tightness in his lower back. Before landing on the injured list, he had posted a cringe-inducing 7.33 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and a 36/14 K/BB ratio over his 27 innings of work. Alex Vesia was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move on Friday.
Dodgers optioned LHP Alex Vesia to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
With Phil Bickford returning from the injured list on Friday, someone needed to get the boot from the Dodgers' bullpen and it looks like Vesia drew the short straw this time around. The 27-year-old southpaw has struggled to a 7.58 ERA, 2.42 WHIP and a 30/12 K/BB ratio 19 innings with the big league club this season.
David Bednar slammed the door on the Marlins on Friday night, preserving a two-run lead to earn his 15th save of the season.
The Pirates entered the ninth inning trailing 1-0, but after rallying for three in the top half of the frame, Bednar made sure that it would stand up. He made things look fairly easy, getting Jon Berti to pop out to short, Joey Wendle on a swinging third strike and Nick Fortes on a called third strike to end it. On the season, Bednar now sports an excellent 1.67 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 32/1 K/BB ratio over his first 27 innings of work.
Luis Ortiz was outstanding in a victory over the Marlins on Friday night, allowing just one run on seven hits over his eight innings of work.
The right-hander struck out five on the night while issuing two walks in the ballgame. He actually exited the game after eight innings with a 1-0 deficit, but the Pirates rallied in the ninth to put him in line for the victory. The lone tally against him came on an RBI single off the bat of Jesus Sanchez in the opening inning. After that, he was brilliant. Ortiz got 12 swings and misses on 97 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 28 percent. He'll look to further improve upon his 3.74 ERA and 1.62 WHIP when he takes on the Padres at home on Thursday.
A.J. Puk suffered his second blown save of the season on Friday night, giving up three runs on three hits in 2/3 of an inning against the Pirates.
Puk came on looking to protect a 1-0 lead for Jesús Luzardo, but immediately got into trouble when he allowed a leadoff single to Josh Palacios and a one-out single to Andrew McCutchen. Things got dire after they executed a double steal to put both runners in scoring position. Puk then allowed the tying run to score on an RBI ground out off the bat of Connor Joe. After McCutchen swiped third base, he gave up a run-scoring single to Carlos Santana before turning the ball over to Dylan Floro. Puk still sports a terrific 2.82 ERA and 1.16 WHIP on the season, and is no danger of losing his job, but this clearly wasn't his best work.
Andrew McCutchen went 1-for-4, swiped a pair of bases and scored a run as the Pirates rallied to defeat the Marlins 3-1 on Friday evening in Miami.
McCutchen hustled out an infield single with one out in the ninth inning. He then executed a double steal with Josh Palacios to put two runners in scoring position while the Pirates trailed 1-0. After an RBI ground out off the bat of Connor Joe, McCutchen then swiped third base, and came in to score the go-ahead run on an RBI single by Carlos Santana. The 36-year-old outfielder is now slashing .260/.381/.416 to go with nine homers, 24 RBI and nine stolen bases.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler announced Friday that right-hander Alex Cobb (oblique) will head out on a minor league rehab assignment.
He'll make just one tune-up in the minors before rejoining the Giants' rotation before the end of next week. Cobb has been sidelined since June 15 due to a left oblique strain. Before landing on the shelf, he had registered a 3.09 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and a 76/21 K/BB ratio over 78 2/3 innings in his 14 starts.
Mike Yastrzemski (hamstring) was held out of the Giants' starting lineup for the second consecutive game on Friday.
Giants' skipper Gabe Kapler noted that Yastrzemski was still a little sore on Friday, so the club elected to give him an additional day off. They're still optimistic that he'll be able to avoid the injured list. Blake Sabol will start in left field on Friday night while Michael Conforto covers right field for the Giants.
Mets acquired RHP Landon Marceaux, RHP Coleman Crow and cash considerations from the Angels for INF Eduardo Escobar.
Marceaux, 23, was a third-round selection of the Angels from the 2021 draft class. He has struggled in his fist exposure to Double-A Rocket City this season -- posting a 4.88 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and a 45/19 K/BB ratio across 59 innings of work through his first 12 starts. He'll add rotation depth in the upper minors for the Mets.
Mets acquired RHP Coleman Crow, RHP Landon Marceaux and cash considerations from the Angels for INF Eduardo Escobar.
The 22-year-old right-hander was a 28th round pick from the 2019 draft class by the Angels. He has been limited by injuries this season, but has been terrific when actually on the mound -- posting a 1.88 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and a 31/6 K/BB ratio over 24 innings in his four starts. It's still unclear if he'll stick in the rotation long-term, or if he profiles best as a high-leverage reliever, but this is an awfully-intriguing arm.
Guardians signed RHP Riley Smith to a minor league contract.
The 28-year-old hurler hasn't pitched in the big leagues since the 2021 season with the Diamondbacks. He had been pitching for the Cleburne Railroaders in the independent American Association where he posted a 5.73 ERA, 1.77 WHIP and a 25/18 K/BB ratio over 44 innings. Given all of the injuries that the Guardians have suffered in their rotation, they need to add starting pitching depth from anywhere that they can find it.
Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Friday that Max Muncy could be activated from the injured list on Sunday.
They had hoped Muncy would be ready to return on Friday, but he's still feeling a bit of discomfort in his hamstring when he runs at full speed, so they're giving him an extra couple of days. Fantasy managers may want to hold off on activating him for the weekend with the expectation that he'll be ready for the start of next week.
Marlins sent LHP Daniel Castano outright to Triple-A Jacksonville.
It's the second time this season that the Marlins have slipped the left-hander through waivers to free up a spot on their 40-man roster. The 28-year-old has compiled a 2.57 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and a 6/2 K/BB ratio in just seven minor league innings this season as he has battled injuries.
Wilmer Flores (foot) took live batting practice on Friday without any issues.
Giants' manager Gabe Kapler told reporters on Friday that Flores should be ready to return from the injured list when first eligible next week and won't require a minor league rehab assignment. The 31-year-old infielder has been shelved since June 17 due to a left foot contusion.
Chris Taylor (knee) remained out of the Dodgers' starting lineup for Friday's battle against the Astros.
He will be available off of the bench for that one though, with the expectation that Taylor will be able to return to the lineup on Saturday. Taylor has been shelved since leaving last Friday's contest against the Giants due to pain in his right knee.