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Spencer Arrighetti RP | TOR
Astros' Spencer Arrighetti: Delivers quality start Saturday
Arrighetti came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning loss to the Rangers, allowing one run on two hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out seven.
The rookie right-hander needed 85 pitches (53 strikes) to produce his third quality start of the season as he got locked in a pitchers' duel with Nathan Eovaldi. Arrighetti has had his moments, but he's been very erratic this season, and since the beginning of June he has only one win in eight outings with a 5.20 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 42:21 K:BB through 36.1 innings. Those numbers are good enough to keep him in the rotation coming out of the All-Star break, but Arrighetti could eventually lose his spot if Houston adds significant reinforcements to its staff, either from the injured list or at the trade deadline.
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Connor Wong C | BOS
Red Sox's Connor Wong: Getting rest Sunday
Wong is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Wong will get two straight days off to close out the Red Sox's pre-All-Star-break schedule, as Reese McGuire gets another nod behind the plate in the series finale. Despite his limited usage this weekend, Wong remains entrenched atop the depth chart at catcher after producing a .309 batting average and .812 OPS through 269 plate appearances on the season.
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Joshua Lowe LF | LAA
Rays' Josh Lowe: Swipes eighth bag
Lowe went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base Sunday against the Guardians.
After battling injuries for much of the first half, Lowe has yet to find his rhythm at the plate. He's hit just .188 with a 37.1 percent strikeout rate across 10 games in July, though he has managed four stolen bases in that span. Lowe's performance should improve in the second half if he can stay healthy, but he has only a .670 OPS across 158 plate appearances to this point.
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Kirby Yates RP | PIT
Rangers' Kirby Yates: Picks up 15th save
Yates walked one and struck out one in a scoreless 10th inning Saturday to record his 15th save of the season in a 2-1 win over the Astros.
The 37-year-old right-hander continued his resurgent campaign. Yates has yet to blow a save this season, and he hasn't been tagged for an earned run in 10 straight appearances, posting a 0.80 WHIP and 17:4 K:BB across 10 innings over that stretch. His first-half performance has earned Yates his second career All-Star Game berth -- the other came back in 2019 with the Padres, when he led the majors with 41 saves.
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Josh H. Smith LF | TOR
Rangers' Josh Smith: Steal, run scored in win
Smith went 0-for-2 with two walks, a stolen base, a caught stealing and a run scored in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning win over Houston.
Smith scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as the automatic runner and stole his first base in 29 games. The theft was his fifth (in six attempts), a new career high in the majors. Smith was also hit by a pitch for the 15th time this season, most in MLB.
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Jared Shuster RP | STL
White Sox's Jared Shuster: Opening final game before break
Shuster is listed as the White Sox's opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Pirates.
According to James Fegan of SoxMachine.com, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol had previously said Saturday that Chad Kuhl was likely to start Sunday's series finale, but Shuster will instead get the ball for Chicago in its final game before the All-Star break. Shuster has prior starting experience, but he's mostly worked out of the bullpen since being called up from Triple-A Charlotte on May 1, covering no more than 3.1 innings in any of his subsequent 18 appearances. He'll be taking the hill on one day rest Sunday, so Shuster is unlikely to work more than once through the batting order before turning the game over to Kuhl and the rest of the White Sox bullpen.
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Nathan Eovaldi SP | TEX
Rangers' Nathan Eovaldi: Settles for no-decision Saturday
Eovaldi came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning win over the Astros, allowing one run on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out seven without walking a batter.
The veteran righty was outstanding, firing 68 of 95 pitches for strikes en route to his third straight quality start and eighth of the year, but Eovaldi got little run support. He's lasted at least six innings in five straight trips to the mound, going 3-0 over that stretch and giving the Rangers bullpen a break while posting a 2.65 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and dazzling 28:2 K:BB over 34 innings.
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Andrew Wantz RP | CHC
Angels' Andrew Wantz: Gets season-ending surgery
The Angels announced Saturday that Wantz underwent season-ending surgery on his right elbow, MLB.com reports.
The club didn't provide many details on Wantz's procedure, but the prevailing assumption is that he underwent Tommy John surgery. Assuming that's the case, Wantz likely won't be ready to pitch again until late in the 2025 season, if not the start of the 2026 season. He appeared in just one game out of the big-league bullpen this season and made seven appearances (six starts) at Triple-A Salt Lake, where he turned in a 6.17 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over 23.1 innings. Set to turn 29 years old in October and likely at risk of missing the entire 2025 season, Wantz will likely be a non-tender candidate this offseason.
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Nate Lowe 1B | CLE
Rangers' Nathaniel Lowe: Ends slump
Lowe went 1-for-5 with an RBI in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning win over the Astros.
Lowe snapped an 0-for-14 slump with a single in the top of the 10th inning that scored the go-ahead run. The Astros fed him a steady diet of changeups, and Lowe, who has a .138 average against that pitch in 2024, finally caught one in the extra frame.
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Roansy Contreras SP | COL
Angels' Roansy Contreras: Likely to work behind Fulmer
Contreras is expected to be the Angels' primary pitcher out of the bullpen behind starter Carson Fulmer in Sunday's game against the Mariners, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
The Angels are planning to treat their final game before the All-Star break as a bullpen day, with Fulmer and Contreras likely on track to cover the bulk of the innings. Fulmer tossed three innings in relief in his last outing Monday and has covered as many as four innings in an appearance this season, so he should be able to give the Angels a decent amount of length as an opener before Contreras is likely summoned from the bullpen. Contreras had started in each of his last three appearances, tossing between two and three innings on each occasion while turning in an 8.22 ERA and 2.35 WHIP.