MLB Player News

Murakami went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, an additional run and a walk in Tuesday's 11-5 victory versus the Diamondbacks.

Murakami belted a 426-foot solo shot in the second inning for the first of back-to-back-to-back homers for Chicago. The Japanese slugger has gone deep in four straight games to raise his season total to nine long balls, tied for second in the league. Murakami is also striking out at a 31.3 percent rate, but he's paired that with 21 walks -- tied for third in the league -- and appears to have a handle on major-league pitching in his first year in MLB.

Antonacci went 2-for-5 with a home run, a triple and three total RBI in an 11-5 win over the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

Antonacci's first major-league homer was certainly out of the ordinary, as he laced a ball down the third-base line that appeared to touch the ball person, causing Arizona's left fielder to come to a halt. The ball remained in play, and Antonacci circled the bases, crossing home plate easily. This was easily the most productive game of his young career, as Antonacci came into Tuesday slashing .125/.300/.125 with no extra-base hits or RBI over his first five big-league contests.

Mayo went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's 6-5 loss to the Royals.

Mayo delivered a much-needed swing, launching a three-run homer off Kris Bubic in the second inning for his first long ball of the season. The long ball accounted for most of Baltimore's offense and marked a potential turning point after the young first baseman's slow start. Entering Tuesday, Mayo was slashing just .148/.258/.185 with only two extra-base hits across 62 plate appearances. He'll need to rattle off more performances like this one to solidify his role moving forward.

Bubic did not factor into the decision Tuesday against the Orioles, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three over six innings.

Bubic was tagged early, as all three runs he allowed came on one swing, a second-inning three-run homer by Coby Mayo. Bubic responded well, however, settling in to keep Baltimore off the board over his final four innings before exiting. Tuesday marked the southpaw's third quality start in five outings, though his other starts have been considerably rough. Bubic now owns a 4.08 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 29:13 K:BB across 28.2 innings and is set to face the Athletics in his next start.

Burke (1-2) completed six innings, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three batters in a win over Arizona on Tuesday.

Burke threw first-pitch strikes to only 10 of the 22 batters he faced, but he nonetheless managed to keep the Diamondbacks out of the scoring column until the fourth inning, at which point Chicago had given him a seven-run lead. The right-hander yielded another run in the fifth but nonetheless managed to pick up his first victory and second quality start of the campaign. Burke has mostly pitched well this season, allowing three or fewer runs in four of his first five starts. He's lined up to face Washington at home in his next outing.

Raleigh went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in a loss to the Athletics on Tuesday.

Raleigh accounted for Seattle's only extra-base hit of the game with a solo homer in the fifth inning. It was the star catcher's second long ball in as many days after he went deep just twice over his first 23 contests of the campaign. Raleigh is still sporting a meager .177/.266/.333 slash line and 30.3 percent strikeout rate, but his recent power surge could be an indication that he's beginning to turn things around at the plate.

Langeliers went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in a 5-2 win against Seattle on Tuesday.

Langeliers gave the A's a 4-2 lead with a 417-foot solo shot to center field in the seventh inning. It was his second home run in as many days and his eighth this season, tops among MLB catchers and tied for fourth most overall in the league. Langeliers is slashing .312/.379/.613 and has added 14 RBI along with 17 runs as he makes an early bid for his first All-Star berth.

Baz did not factor into the decision Tuesday against the Royals, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four over 6.1 innings.

Baz worked through constant traffic but held things together until the fifth inning, when back-to-back hits led to a run and a sacrifice fly from Vinnie Pasquantino added another. The right-hander managed to push through 6.1 innings -- his longest outing of the season -- but he has now allowed at least six hits in four of his five starts, and the consistent contact against him proved costly. Baz owns a 5.08 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 23:10 K:BB across 28.1 innings this season and will face a tough test in his next outing against Houston.

Castillo tossed five innings against the Athletics on Tuesday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six batters.

Castillo gave up a run in the first inning and another in the fourth but kept Seattle in the contest throughout his time in the game. The right-hander wasn't very efficient, however, as he needed 95 pitches to complete five frames. That was partly because he had his swing-and-miss stuff working -- Castillo recorded 14 whiffs, and his six punchouts were his second most through five starts so far this season. The veteran hurler is still looking for his first victory, which he'll try to notch in what's projected to be a matchup versus Minnesota on the road his next time out.

Perkins earned a save against the Mariners on Tuesday, retiring all six batters he faced -- including two by strikeout -- over two innings.

Perkins entered in the eighth inning with the Athletics up 4-2. He retired all three batters he faced in that frame, and then returned for the ninth and struck out two of the three hitters who came to the plate against him to finish off the save. Joel Kuhnel has been the primary A's closer this season with four saves, and he may have been unavailable Tuesday after pitching two of the previous three days. With that being said, the team's closer situation is far from set in stone, and Perkins -- who has a closer-like 12:3 K:BB over 8.1 innings on the campaign -- could work his way into more save chances, especially if Kuhnel struggles at any point.