MLB Player News

Thornton (3-2) picked up the win in Friday's 6-4 victory over the Pirates, allowing four hits and two walks over five scoreless innings. He struck out three.

The rookie southpaw tossed just 63 pitches (42 strikes) before begin lifted with the Mets ahead 6-0, although the bullpen made things interesting. Thornton has held the opposition off the scoreboard in three of five starts since rejoining the rotation just before the All-Star break, posting a 1.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 17:9 K:BB through 29 innings over that stretch. He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in Atlanta.

Smith went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-3 win over the Padres.

Smith provided one of his best performances of the season, opening the scoring with a solo shot off Robbie Ray in the second inning before going deep again against Yuki Matsui to lead off the sixth, and he later singled and scored in the eighth. The two-homer effort was Smith's second multi-homer game of the season and pushed his total to 15 long balls. The 23-year-old has also gone 10-for-20 with two homers, four RBI and five runs scored since the beginning of August, though he's hitting just .222 on the year with a .686 OPS.

Wheeler (10-3) took the loss Friday, giving up four runs on seven hits and five walks over 5.1 innings as the Phillies fell 5-4 to the Blue Jays. He struck out six.

A two-hour rain delay before the first pitch did Wheeler no favors. The veteran right-hander ended up throwing a season-high 116 pitches (72 strikes) as he battled to escape the sixth inning, and a 15-pitch at-bat against Nathan Lukes that ended in a single finally spelled the end of his night. The five free passes were also a season high for Wheeler, matching the total from his seven previous outings combined. He'll take a 2.69 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 132:28 K:BB through 110.1 innings into his next start, which is set to come on the road next week in St. Louis.

Drohan didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 8-6 loss to the Twins, giving up six earned runs on nine hits and four walks while striking out four batters across five innings.

Drohan made it through the first two innings unscathed while the Brewers' offense gave him a 4-0 lead to work with, but things quickly began to fall apart after that point. The left-hander walked Ryan Jeffers before giving up a two-run homer to Josh Bell in the third inning, and he allowed the Twins to tie the game in the fourth, courtesy of Kaelen Culpepper's first MLB home run and an RBI double from Austin Martin. Minnesota plated two more runs against Drohan in the fifth, but Milwaukee's offense immediately responded with two runs of its own to prevent him from taking the loss. The 27-year-old has now given up five or more runs in two of his last three starts and carries a 6.26 ERA across 23 innings since the All-Star break. Assuming the Brewers continue with a six-man rotation, Drohan is lined up to make his next start on the road against the Dodgers on Thursday.

The Padres announced Friday that Andujar no longer requires a splint for his fractured right wrist and has been cleared for light activity, MLB.com reports.

Andujar hasn't yet been cleared to take full swings, however, and that will be a major checkpoint in the recovery process that he'll need to hit before his return from the 10-day injured list can be viewed as imminent. The 31-year-old hit .259 with five home runs, two steals, 22 RBI and 24 runs in 74 games with the Padres before landing on the shelf July 20.

Ray (10-7) allowed four runs on seven hits and five walks while striking out two over five innings in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Astros. He also tossed two wild pitches.

Ray's first start with San Diego didn't go according to plan. The veteran left-hander escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning but surrendered a solo homer to Cam Smith in the second, allowed two more runs in the third and another run in the fourth. Ray threw just 51 of 92 pitches for strikes and issued at least five walks for the third time in 2026 while recording only two strikeouts -- his second-lowest output of the season. The loss snapped a run of 12 straight starts in which Ray was undefeated -- he went 7-0 with a 2.12 ERA in that span -- and as a result, his ERA for the season rose to 3.24. Ray's next start is projected to come at home against the Brewers.

Bateman went 1-for-2 with two walks, a double and a run scored in Friday's 5-4 win over the Phillies.

Making his MLB debut, Bateman got the start in center field and hit ninth and didn't appear overmatched -- the 24-year-old lashed the very first pitch he saw from Zack Wheeler off the wall in left-center field, missing a homer by a foot or two. The Blue Jays have a vacancy in center after trading Daulton Varsho at the deadline, and Bateman could claim the strong side of a platoon with Myles Straw if he keeps producing. Over 84 Triple-A games this season between Buffalo and Iowa, Bateman compiled a .311/.429/.416 slash line with three homers and 20 steals.

Hader struck out one in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save in Friday's 6-3 win over the Padres.

Hader was tasked with protecting a three-run advantage and faced little resistance in locking down Houston's victory. The left-hander retired all three batters he faced while recording one strikeout, needing just eight pitches to finish the job. Hader is now a perfect 16-for-16 in save opportunities this season and owns a sparkling 1.08 ERA with an 0.80 WHIP and 36 strikeouts in just 25 frames across 27 appearances. The veteran not only remains firmly entrenched as Houston's closer, but he also ranks among the most reliable fantasy options at the position.

Abreu (4-3) walked one and struck out two over 1.1 scoreless innings to earn the win in Friday's 6-3 victory over the Padres.

Abreu entered with two outs in the seventh and Houston holding a 5-3 advantage, and he recorded four outs without allowing a hit. The right-hander worked around a walk and struck out two before handing things over to Josh Hader for the ninth. Despite a 4.29 ERA, Abreu remains one of Houston's primary high-leverage options ahead of Hader, and he's been on a roll of late. This was his 11th straight scoreless outing, a stretch in which he's posted a 0.64 WHIP and a 15:4 K:BB across 11 innings.

Blanco allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out one over 4.2 innings Friday against the Padres. He did not factor into the decision.

Blanco was handed a 3-0 lead by the third inning but couldn't make it through five frames. The right-hander allowed two runs, including an RBI triple to Jackson Merrill in the fourth, before Fernando Tatis took him deep in the fifth. Blanco was pulled after issuing a two-out walk later in the frame, leaving him one out shy of qualifying for the win. He's now failed to complete five innings in three of his four starts this season, and his ERA sits at an ugly 6.98 with a 17:11 K:BB in 19.1 total innings. Blanco is scheduled to make his next start on the road against the Giants.