MLB Player News

Devers went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 5-2 win over the Tigers.

Devers went yard in the first inning to answer Detroit's run in the top half of the frame. Over six games in August, Devers has gone 6-for-22 with two homers and a 3:3 BB:K. For the season, the first baseman is hitting .248 with a .799 OPS, 24 homers, 64 RBI, 61 runs scored, 27 doubles, one triple and no stolen bases over 116 contests.

Smith walked one and struck out none in a scoreless and hitless inning to earn the save in Friday's 5-2 win over the Tigers.

This was the Giants' first save chance since the trade deadline, so it's notable Smith got the call to close and answered it with a decent performance. The right-hander took a loss in two of his first three appearances in August, and he's allowed two runs with a 2:3 K:BB over 3.1 innings this month. On the year, he's posted a 2.95 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 24:11 K:BB across 21.1 innings while adding two saves and six holds. Smith is the only reliever currently on the Giants' roster with multiple saves, so he may be the slight favorite to lead a closing committee for now. That said, the 49-67 Giants are not a team to target for saves in general.

Houser (3-7) allowed one run on six hits and a walk while striking out four over five innings to earn the win over the Tigers on Friday.

Houser continues to pitch out of the bullpen, but he has covered five or more innings in three of nine appearances since he was bumped from the rotation. The right-hander put in a strong showing Friday, throwing 57 of 86 pitches for strikes to pick up his first win since May 17 versus the Athletics. Houser has allowed just seven runs over 31 innings across nine innings since his move to the bullpen. Overall, he has a 4.55 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 65:31 K:BB through 97 innings over 23 games (14 starts) this year. The Giants' rotation is depleted after Robbie Ray was dealt to the Padres and Trevor McDonald (elbow) was shut down ahead of UCL reconstruction surgery, so Houser could continue to see regular usage moving forward. He's tentatively projected to make his next appearance at home versus the Astros.

Pages went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Pages has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, going 13-for-41 (.317) with two homers and six RBI in that span. The outfielder ran into some struggles in July, but he looks to have put those in the past. For the season, Pages is batting .268 with a .790 OPS, 19 homers, 75 RBI, 66 runs scored, 23 doubles, two triples and 10 stolen bases over 115 contests.

Diaz (1-1) allowed two runs on one hit and one walk while logging one strikeout over one-third of an inning to take the loss and a blown save Friday versus the Diamondbacks.

Diaz walked Max Kepler and then served up a walk-off blast to Ryan Waldschmidt two batters later. Across three innings since he returned from an elbow injury, Diaz has allowed four runs with a 4:2 K:BB, converting one of his two save chances. His closer job isn't in doubt yet, but the seat is likely getting hot, especially given the quality performances of many other members of the Dodgers' bullpen. Diaz is carrying an 11.00 ERA while converting five of seven save chances over his nine innings this season.

Sasaki allowed two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five over six innings in a no-decision versus the Diamondbacks on Friday.

Sasaki earned his third quality start over his last five appearances, though he wasn't able to pick up a third straight win. During this strong stretch, he's allowed nine runs (eight earned) over 30 innings with a 31:8 K:BB. Sasaki is now at a 4.54 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 106:40 K:BB through 105 innings over 20 starts this year. There's some real strikeout upside here despite the pedestrian ratios. His next start is expected to be at home versus the Brewers, which will provide a measuring stick for his recent success.

Riley went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo homer during Friday's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Yankees.

Neither team scored through the first seven innings, but Riley broke that drought with a solo homer in the eighth. It was the 14th home run of the season for Riley, who has reached base safely in six of his last seven games, going 9-for-23 with seven RBI and five extra-base hits in that span.

Olson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run during Atlanta's 3-2 loss to the Yankees on Friday.

The veteran first baseman has been heating up at the plate, having smacked five solo home runs over his last seven games while going 10-for-25 in that span. Olson is up to 33 long balls on the year, tied with three other players for second most in the majors behind Yordan Alvarez (35).

Tawa went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 4-3 win over the Dodgers.

Tawa has played well in August, going 9-for-27 (.333) over seven games this month. He's added five RBI and a 1:7 BB:K while seeing the bulk of the playing time at first base, though Tyler Locklear and Ildemaro Vargas are also in the mix for time at the position. Tawa is batting .234 with a .686 OPS, six home runs, three steals, 26 RBI, 21 runs scored and eight doubles across 179 plate appearances this season, so his recent hot streak isn't likely to last the rest of the year.

Arenado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 4-3 win over the Dodgers.

Arenado is up to 17 homers on the year, including three over six games in August. He's added a 3:5 BB:K so far this month. The third baseman is hitting .241 with a .752 OPS, 54 RBI, 54 runs scored, 20 doubles and three stolen bases across 110 contests this season and should continue to see steady playing time.