MLB Player News

Rafaela went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Dodgers.

Rafaela homered in each of his first two at-bats in this game, taking Yoshinobu Yamamoto deep both times. That's now six homers in the last 11 games for Rafaela and three over two contests during this series in Los Angeles. The outfielder is batting .288 with a .798 OPS, 14 homers, 56 RBI, 54 runs scored and 15 stolen bases over 106 contests this year. His recent power surge has put him two long balls away from matching his career-high total from the 2025 regular season.

Chapman struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Dodgers.

Chapman extended his scoreless streak to 11 innings, a span in which he had a 15:5 K:BB with nine saves and two wins. The veteran closer continues to dominate in 2026, as he's now 27-for-29 in save chances. He's knocking on the door of consecutive 30-save seasons for the first time since 2018-19. Chapman has a 1.67 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 50:17 K:BB through 37.2 innings this season.

Tolle allowed two runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out seven over six innings to take a no-decision versus the Dodgers on Saturday.

Tolle put in a decent performance despite allowing 11 baserunners, as he was able to limit the damage to Teoscar Hernandez's two-run home run in the second inning. This is the fourth time in his last five starts during which Tolle has held an opponent to two or fewer runs. The southpaw is at a 3.30 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 110:29 K:BB over 101 innings through 18 starts this season. He's logged a total of 116 innings between the majors and Triple-A, already well past the 98 innings he pitched in 2025 across all levels, so workload management may be a factor later in the campaign. He is lined up for a home start versus the Athletics in his next outing.

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said after Saturday's 3-2 win over the Dodgers that Contreras (head) is on track to return to the lineup for Sunday's series finale, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

Contreras was struck in the head by a pitch during Friday's series opener. He was removed from that game and was held out of Saturday's lineup as a precaution, but since he's not exhibiting any symptoms of a concussion, Contreras looks poised to start at first base Sunday. Nick Sogard filled in for Contreras on Saturday and went 0-for-2 with a walk.

The Tigers acquired Smith, River Ryan and Zyhir Hope from the Dodgers on Saturday in exchange for Tarik Skubal, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Smith was a third-round selection of the Dodgers in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft. He's spent the majority of the 2026 season with Single-A Ontario but was promoted to High-A Great Lakes on July 21 and has a 4.36 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 113:30 K:BB over 74.1 innings across the two minor-league levels.

Jones went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Cubs.

Jones scored both of the Yankees' runs, highlighted by a solo shot that gave them a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning. The 25-year-old has now hit safely in four straight games, going deep three times with five RBI during that stretch. He's held his own through 105 major-league plate appearances, slashing .247/.333/.452 with five homers, 13 RBI, 10 runs scored and three steals despite a 38.1 percent strikeout rate.

The Tigers acquired Ryan (hamstring), Zyhir Hope and Brady Smith from the Dodgers on Saturday in exchange for Tarik Skubal, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The Tigers are acquiring a significant prospect haul in order to send their southpaw ace to the two-time defending World Series champions. Ryan made his major-league debut for the Dodgers in 2024 but didn't pitch at all in 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He's spent the entire 2026 campaign in Triple-A, where he's posted a 4.46 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 36.1 innings in between multiple IL stints due to hamstring issues. The right-hander last pitched June 17, and while there's no clear date for his return, he could get plugged right into Detroit's big-league rotation once he's healthy.

Messick did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 12-8 loss to the Diamondbacks, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts over 4.1 innings.

Messick didn't allow a run until the fifth inning, but he mostly labored and departed at 91 pitches without completing the frame. Remarkably, it marked the first time in 22 turns that the southpaw was unable to complete five innings, though he still extended his streak of starts yielding exactly one earned run to five straight. He'll take a 2.57 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 128:37 K:BB across 129.2 frames this season into a road matchup with the White Sox next weekend.

DeLauter went 1-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 12-8 loss to the Diamondbacks.

DeLauter scored the game's first run before opening the eighth inning with a solo blast off Paul Sewald. While the 24-year-old outfielder posted a strong .857 OPS in 24 July contests, Saturday's long ball marked his first homer in 14 games since the All-Star break. For the year, he's slashing .276/.345/.440 with 12 home runs, 52 RBI, 40 runs scored and six steals across 394 plate appearances in what continues to be a productive rookie campaign.

The Dodgers traded Hope, River Ryan (hamstring) and Brady Smith to the Tigers on Saturday in exchange for Tarik Skubal, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

It's a hefty package for Skubal, with the Tigers acquiring the Dodgers' No. 5, 7 and 17 prospects in return, per Hunter Baumgardt of Fox Sports 920 Milwaukee. Hope had worked his way up to Double-A Tulsa after being acquired by the Dodgers from the Cubs in January in 2024, and he's slashed .293/.369/.530 with 18 steals (in 21 attempts), 23 home runs and 87 RBI across 425 plate appearances this season. Hope figures to stay in Double-A for the time being, but a big-league debut in 2027 is certainly on the table.