MLB Player News

Holmes struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Tuesday to record his ninth save of the season in a 4-3 win over the A's.

The right-hander needed only nine pitches (seven strikes) to carve up the bottom of the Oakland order. Holmes has been brilliant to begin the season, converting nine of 10 save chances with a 0.00 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 10:1 K:BB through 12 innings, and he sits one ahead of the Padres' Robert Suarez for the MLB saves lead.

Stroman (2-1) picked up the win Tuesday, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk over 5.1 innings in a 4-3 win over the A's. He struck out nine.

The 32-year-old righty came close to his first double-digit strikeout performance since he was a rookie in 2014, but Stroman left the mound after 97 pitches (64 strikes) as some early inefficiency caught up to him. He's failed to complete six innings in any of his last three outings, but Stroman will take a 2.93 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 28:10 K:BB through 27.2 innings into his next start, which lines up to come on the road this weekend in Milwaukee.

Langeliers went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees.

Marcus Stroman left a breaking ball up in the strike zone in the second inning, and Langeliers launched it 414 feet to right-center field. It was the catcher's first long ball since his three-homer performance April 9 against the Rangers -- in the 11 games between those power displays, he went just 3-for-33 (.091) with a double as his only extra-base hit. On the season, Langeliers is slashing .174/.234/.406 through 77 plate appearances with five home runs and 11 RBI.

Butler went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees.

He golfed a Marcus Stroman slider over the right-field fence in the fourth inning, but the Oakland offense went cold the rest of the way. Butler also struck out twice as he struggles to emerge from an early-season swoon, and through 23 games the 23-year-old outfielder is slashing .190/.301/.333 with two homers, one steal, four runs and five RBI.

Blackburn (2-1) took the loss Tuesday as the A's fell 4-3 to the Yankees, giving up four runs on five hits over six innings. He struck out five without walking a batter.

The 30-year-old righty's command was a little off in the first inning, and New York made him pay with four runs, including a two-run homer by Anthony Rizzo -- the first long ball Blackburn has served up this season. He kept his focus and shut the Yankees down the rest of the way, but the A's couldn't close the gap. Blackburn threw 98 pitches (63 strikes) before exiting, and he'll take a 2.03 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 23:8 K:BB through 31 innings into his next start, which lines up to come on the road this weekend in Baltimore.

Paredes went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Tigers.

He supplied the Rays' only offense by taking Alex Faedo deep in the sixth inning. Paredes is having a strong start to the season, slashing .274/.361/.512 through 23 games with six homers and 16 RBI, but he'll need to keep producing to hang on to his starting job at third base with top prospect Junior Caminero lurking at Triple-A.

Pepiot came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Tigers, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four.

The 26-year-old right-hander produced his second straight quality start and third in five outings this season, tossing 52 of 80 pitches for strikes. Pepiot left the mound in line for his third win with Tampa out front, 2-1, but Colin Poche blew the save in the eighth inning. Pepiot will take a 3.77 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 31:10 K:BB through 28.2 innings into his next start, which is scheduled to come early next week in Milwaukee.

Greene went 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs and three RBI in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Rays.

The Orlando native put on a show for friends and family in Tampa Bay, launching a solo shot to center field off Ryan Pepiot in the third inning before crushing a Colin Poche fastball to left-center in the eighth for a game-winning, two-run blast. Greene snapped a 14-game homer drought with the performance, but he appears poised on the brink of an offensive eruption -- his 20.6 percent walk rate is more than double last year's mark, while his Statcast page is covered in red ink as he sits in the 99th percentile in barrel rate and 91st percentile in xwOBA. That's translated into a .247/.402/.506 slash line through 102 plate appearances with five homers, 11 RBI and 20 runs.

Meyers went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Tuesday against the Cubs.

Meyers has had a slow start to the season and lost out on playing time in center field to Mauricio Dubon as a result. However, Meyers started his second consecutive game Tuesday, and he tallied his third home run of the season and first since April 5. Meyers has just a 19 percent strikeout rate across 47 plate appearances -- down from a career rate of 28.3 percent -- so if he can regain regular playing time there is a chance his performance at the plate can turn around.

Rodriguez (3-1) took the loss Tuesday against the Angels after allowing seven runs on 11 hits and a walk while striking out seven over 4.1 innings.

Rodriguez allowed a career-high 11 hits and nearly matched his career high with seven runs allowed. While the 4.1 innings pitched was a season low, he still was able to rack up seven strikeouts, which were his most since April 5. The Angels scored at least a run in each of the first four innings and 10 of the 14 balls put in play against Rodriguez were hard hit. The 24-year-old now sits at a 4.45 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 34:9 K:BB in 28.1 innings and will look to get back on track in a divisional showdown with the Yankees.