MLB Player News

Burger went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Friday's 4-1 loss to the White Sox.

Burger continued a revival since being called up from a brief stay in the minors. He's hit safely in nine of 11 games since returning the majors, going 12-for-40 (.300) with three doubles, three home runs and seven RBI. Unfortunately for the Rangers, the offense was dormant once again, managing just three hits. Burger, who's spent much of his time in the lower half of the batting order, has been moved up to fourth and fifth the last two games.

Rocker (shoulder) allowed two hits and no walks and struck out three over three scoreless innings Friday in a rehab start with Double-A Frisco.

Rocker cruised Friday, making use of his full arsenal across his 34 pitches while sporting a fastball that sat around 96 to 98 miles per hour. Per MLB.com, manager Bruce Bochy said that the young right-hander will need at least a few more appearances in the minors before making his return from the 15-day injured list. Prior to being deactivated, Rocker turned in a 8.10 ERA and 1.75 WHIP over 20 innings, and he may not be a lock to reclaim a rotation spot once he returns from the IL with veteran lefty Patrick Corbin (3.59 ERA, 1.31 WHIP over eight starts) having thus far delivered decent results for the Rangers.

Santana went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's 3-1 win over Detroit.

Santana delivered a two-out, run-scoring single in the first inning that turned out to be the game-winning hit. He's knocked in at lease one run in five consecutive games and has eight RBI over the last seven. After driving in seven runs over his first 29 contests, the veteran slugger has accumulated 20 RBI over his last 19 games.

Kwan went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 3-1 win over the Tigers.

Kwan bookended Cleveland's scoring, as he doubled and scored the team's first run in the first inning, and then drove in its final run in the ninth. The outfielder's logged five games with at least three hits this season and has raised his average to .322 through 50 contests. The run batted in was his first in 14 games and his 18th RBI overall.

Fairbanks walked one and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his ninth save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.

The right-hander picked up his first save since May 4, but the drought was due to a lack of opportunities rather than effectiveness -- Fairbanks has blown only one save chance all season, and that came on an unearned run. Through 9.2 innings in May, Fairbanks has produced a 1.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 12:4 K:BB.

Mead went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Getting the start at first base and batting eighth, the 24-year-old drove a cutter from lefty Eric Lauer down the left-field line in the fourth inning. Mead only has two homers on the season, but they've come in the last two games, and he has a six-game hitting streak going sandwiched around an eight-game stretch in which he didn't get off the bench, as the Rays faced nothing but right-handed starters. Despite being limited primarily to a short-side platoon role, Mead is finding his rhythm at the plate, and since the beginning of May he's slashing .286/.342/.486 in 38 plate appearances.

Rasmussen (3-4) picked up the win Friday, allowing four hits and two walks over six scoreless innings in a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays. He struck out three.

It's the second straight quality start, and second straight scoreless outing, for Rasmussen, who kept Toronto's bats in check despite generating only four swinging strikes among his 76 pitches (43 strikes). The 29-year-old righty has given up more than three runs only once in 10 trips to the mound this season, and he'll take a 2.60 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 43:12 K:BB through 52 innings into his next start, which lines up to come at home next week against the Twins.

Lauer (1-1) took the loss Friday as the Blue Jays were downed 3-1 by the Rays, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out two.

The southpaw gave up plenty of hard contact among his 85 pitches (50 strikes), as five of the six hits off him went for extra bases, including homers by Brandon Lowe in the third inning and Curtis Mead in the fourth. Lauer sports a 3.31 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB through 16.1 innings over five appearances (two starts) for Toronto, and he'll continue to fill in as the team's fifth starter next week on the road against the Rangers.

Matthews is slated to start Saturday's game against the Royals at Target Field.

Matthews entered the rotation last weekend as a replacement for righty Simeon Woods Richardson, who was demoted to Triple-A St. Paul after a string of poor outings. In his 2025 debut with the big club Sunday in Milwaukee, Matthews took a loss while giving up four earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five over three innings. Though he likely doesn't have a long leash in the Minnesota rotation, Matthews will get at least one more chance to redeem himself in his home start Saturday versus a Kansas City offense that has performed at roughly a league-average level (100 team wRC+) in May. With another rough start, however, Matthews could be at risk of a demotion himself, as David Festa is healthy again at Triple-A following a brief bout with arm fatigue and would make for an appealing alternative in the big-league rotation.

Kurtz went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Phillies.

Kurtz made things interesting in this contest, as he got the Athletics to within a run after taking Jordan Romano deep in the ninth inning. This was Kurtz's fourth homer over the last four games, a span in which he has gone 5-for-14 with eight RBI and three walks. The first baseman is up to .231/.291/.440 slash line, five homers, 14 RBI, 10 runs scored and no stolen bases over 103 plate appearances. He looks to be past a slump from the middle of the month, and the power that has helped him take the fast track to the majors hasn't taken long to show up at baseball's highest level.