MLB Player News

Zerpa will serve as the Royals' opening pitcher for Wednesday's game against Atlanta, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Zerpa owns a 3.77 ERA and 1.30 WHIP through 43 innings and has pitched primarily in middle relief this season, but the Royals will have him start his second game of the campaign after he previously served as an opener July 12 versus the Mets. The 25-year-old southpaw likely won't cover more than an inning or two before exiting the contest.

Alexander didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against the Nationals, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out six.

Alexander set a season high in punchouts, though he walked multiple batters in his fifth outing in a row. The 32-year-old right-hander was pulled after tossing 80 pitches, but he was at least able to limit the damage and eat some innings for Houston's injury-plagued rotation. Alexander's next turn tentatively projects for next week in Miami against the Marlins, though it's possible Spencer Arrighetti (thumb) will be ready to come off the injured list by then. Through 25.2 innings, Alexander has a 7.36 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and 20:14 K:BB.

Lugo (8-5) earned the win in Tuesday's 9-6 victory over Atlanta, allowing three runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out five over 5.2 innings.

Lugo cruised through the first five frames before running into trouble in the sixth, surrendering a solo homer to Austin Riley and a two-run shot to Marcell Ozuna that cut into Kansas City's lead. Despite the rough inning, Lugo was able to do enough to earn his eighth win of the season, and the fifth in his last eight starts. The 35-year-old now holds a 3.90 ERA with a 28:9 K:BB over 30 innings in the month of July and remains a steady presence in the Royals' rotation.

Story went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, three RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's win over Minnesota.

Story knocked a two-run homer in the third inning before tacking on an RBI double in the ninth. He snapped a 15-game homerless drought, during which he posted an unsightly .523 OPS. The veteran shortstop is up to 16 home runs this season, tying his best output since he joined the Red Sox prior to the 2022 campaign. Story is slashing .247/.287/.405 with 64 RBI and has hit .283 (53-for-187) since the start of June.

Walker went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Nationals.

That's now four consecutive outings with at least one hit for Walker, who continues to heat up in July following a miserable start to his Astros career. The veteran first baseman had a .635 OPS for the year through June 29, but Walker is hitting a hot .329 with three home runs, four doubles and 18 RBI through 85 at-bats this month.

Giolito (7-2) allowed a run on five hits and two walks over six innings Tuesday, striking out five and earning a win over the Twins.

Giolito rolled through four shutout frames before Minnesota scratched across a run in the fifth inning. He delivered a strong bounce-back outing after coughing up a combined nine runs over 9.1 innings in his previous two outings. He fired 61 of 101 pitches for strikes and forced 13 whiffs, including nine with his changeup. Giolito now owns a 3.80 ERA over 87.2 innings this season, but it's been a very up-and-down year; he's given up two earned runs or fewr in 10 of his 16 starts, but he's been tagged with five or more runs in four outings. Giolito is projected to face the Royals at home next week.

Hader picked up the save in Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Nationals, striking out the side in a perfect ninth inning.

The All-Star southpaw dispatched the Nationals, with nine of his 13 pitches landing for strikes. The three strikeouts were Hader's most since May 28 versus the Athletics, and he's tallied multiple punchouts in seven of his last nine outings. For the season, he owns a 2.22 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 73:13 K:BB while converting 28 of his 29 save chances over 48.2 frames.

Ohl (0-1) allowed four runs on five hits and a walk over three innings Tuesday, striking out four and taking a loss against Boston.

Ohl's MLB debut got off to a decent start with two scoreless innings and three punchouts in the first inning. However, he stumbled in the third, coughing up four runs, capped off by Trevor Story's two-run shot. Ohl has primarily worked out of the bullpen in the minors this year, registering a 2.17 ERA across 22 appearances (66.1 frames). He hasn't thrown more than four innings in any outing this year, but he had a fairly normal starter's workload with Double-A Wichita in 2024. It remains to be seen if he'll get another turn in the rotation. Minnesota's staff is a bit shaken up due to several injuries and a recent trade sending Chris Paddack to the Tigers.

Chapman struck out the only batter he faced and earned a save against Minnesota on Tuesday.

Chapman made his first appearance since dealing with back tightness against the Dodgers on Sunday. He showed no signs of injury in Tuesday's short outing; the veteran southpaw struck out Mickey Gasper on three pitches, ending with a 101 mph sinker. Chapman owns an outstanding 1.29 ERA and 62:13 K:BB through 42 frames. He's converted 19 of his 21 save chances this season.

Lee went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI in Tuesday's loss to Boston.

Lee came off the bench for Carlos Correa (illness) and delivered an offensive outburst. Lee put the Twins on the board with an RBI single in the fifth inning before knocking a pair of two-run homers in the seventh and ninth frames. It was his first career multi-homer performance and snapped a 23-game homer drought. During that skid, he went 11-for-70 (.157). Lee's five-RBI day matched his total from the previous 17 games combined. He's now slashing .256/.294/.387 with 20 extra-base hits and 43 RBI through 326 plate appearances.