MLB Player News

Varsho went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and three RBI in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Yankees.

Varsho opened the scoring with a two-run shot off Marcus Stroman in the second inning before extending Toronto's lead to 3-1 with a second homer off left-hander Caleb Ferguson in the seventh. The 27-year-old Varsho has heated up after a slow start to the year, going 8-for-25 (.320) with four homers in his last eight games. Overall, he's slashing .218/.295/.473 through his first 61 plate appearances this season.

Fairbanks (0-2) blew the save and took the loss Wednesday, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks over one inning against the Angels. He didn't generate a strikeout.

Fairbanks entered the ninth frame with a one-run advantage but was unable to come away with his fourth save of the campaign. Instead, he surrendered a pair of runs before ultimately stranding a pair of Angels in scoring position by getting Logan O'Hoppe to fly out and end the inning. Fairbanks has endured a shaky start to 2024, having given up a run in five of his eight appearances. However, Wednesday's outing marked his first blown save of the season.

Soto went 3-for-3 with a homer, a double, two total RBI and a pair of walks in Wednesday's 6-4 comeback victory over the Blue Jays.

Soto got the Yankees on the board with a two-out double in the fifth inning, cutting Toronto's lead to 2-1, before smacking a solo homer off Genesis Cabrera in the eighth for the 500th RBI of his career. The 25-year-old Soto has gotten off to a great start in New York -- he's now batting .352 with a 1.055 OPS, four homers and 17 RBI through his first 90 plate appearances this season.

DeJong went 5-for-6 with a walk, a double and a two-run homer across both games of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Royals.

The veteran shortstop provided Chicago's only runs in Game 1 with a two-run home run during the second inning, and he collected two more singles in the nightcap. DeJong entered the day with a .618 OPS through 13 games this season, but the five-hit barrage raised his season slash line to .275/.293/.600.

Littell didn't factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing three runs on eight hits and no walks over 5.2 innings against the Angels. He struck out seven.

Although Littell didn't walk any batters and yielded merely three runs, he was pulled at 107 pitches before he was able to complete six innings. He surrendered his first home run of the campaign, being tagged by Mike Trout for a solo homer in the first inning. Littell boasts a 2.14 ERA with a 22:5 K:BB across 21 innings and seems to be building off his 2023 showing with Tampa Bay when he logged a 3-6 record and a 3.93 ERA in 26 appearances (14 starts). He's tentatively scheduled to face the Tigers on Monday.

Garcia earned the save in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader versus Kansas City after allowing a hit and a walk over two scoreless innings.

Closer Michael Kopech and setup men Jordan Leasure and Steven Wilson all pitched in Wednesday's matinee, and Garcia was called upon for the multi-inning save in Game 2. It's just the second save of Garcia's career, and the scoreless outing brings his ERA down to 7.27 and WHIP to 1.62. The 24-year-old is pitching better of late with four straight scoreless appearances, though he likely has a lot more work to do in order to be in the mix regularly for high-leverage chances.

Holmes earned the save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Blue Jays, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning.

Holmes has yet to allow an earned run through nine appearances this year and he improved to 7-for-8 in save chances, tying Kyle Finnegan and Ryan Helsley for the league lead. The 31-year-old Holmes is establishing himself as one of the better closing options in baseball, earning a firm grasp on the ninth-inning job in New York after pitching to sub-3.00 ERAs in each of his previous two campaigns.

Detmers didn't factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk over 5.1 innings against the Rays. He struck out four.

Although Detmers didn't reach seven strikeouts for the first time all season, he's now surrendered one earned run or zero in four straight outings. After seeing his K/9 jump up to 10.2 in 2023, Detmers has taken another step forward in that category with an 11.9 K/9 through 22.2 innings. The southpaw is tentatively scheduled to face the Orioles on Monday for his next start.

Wacha (1-2) was charged with the loss in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the White Sox after he gave up two runs on four hits and two walks across six innings. He struck out four.

The right-hander allowed only single tallies in the fourth and sixth innings, but that was enough to saddle him with the loss as Kansas City mustered just one run. It's the second quality start of the season for Wacha, and he's lasted at least five frames in all four of his starts. The 32-year-old has a 3.75 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 21:6 K:BB over 24 innings.

Stroman did not factor into the decision Wednesday against Toronto, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over. 5.1 innings. He struck out two.

Daulton Varsho's two-run homer in the second inning accounted for the only runs against Stroman, but the Yankees couldn't take the lead until the ninth, leaving the right-hander with a no-decision. Stroman hasn't earned a win since his first start of the year against Houston -- overall, he's 1-1 with a 2.42 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 19:9 K:BB through his first four starts (22.1 innings). Stroman's currently slated to face the A's at home in his next start.