Player Notes

Mike Trout homered in the eighth inning Tuesday to complete his first cycle in the Angels' 12-0 massacre of the Mariners.
Advice: Trout struck out in his first at-bat, but he singled, tripled and doubled afterwards before delivered his ninth homer off Lucas Luetge in the eighth. He drove in five runs in all, and he became the youngest player to hit for the cycle since Mel Ott in 1929. Trout has his average up to .293, and he's currently on pace to finish the season with 32 homers, 112 runs scored, 122 RBI and 32 steals.

Wade Davis allowed three runs over five innings but escaped with a no-decision as the Royals beat the Astros on Tuesday.
Advice: Davis was fortunate to hold the Astros to just three runs, as he gave up eight hits and four walks on the night. After a strong start to the season, Davis now owns a 5.91 ERA and has won just one start since April 17. Fortunately for Davis, the Royals don't have any better options to replace him in the rotation at this point. His next start will come Sunday against the Angels.

Xavier Paul has hit whenever he's been called upon by the Reds, slashing .270/.400/.405 over 90 plate appearances.
Advice: Since he was called up by the Reds last July, Paul has hit as well as any reserve outfielder, batting .294/.389/.438 with four homers and 20 RBI in 160 at-bats. Paul has cost Cincy four runs below replacement defensively in limited opportunities this year, so he'll have to keep his lumber warm to steal at-bats.

Glen Perkins blew his first save of the season in Tuesday's 5-4, extra-innings loss to the Braves.
Advice: Minnesota is having about as much success in Atlanta as they did during the 1991 World Series. Perkins was summoned in the ninth inning and recorded two quick outs before Evan Gattis blasted a 412-foot bomb over the left-field fence. The 30-year-old lefty remains a lighthouse in the dark night that is Minnesota's pitching corps. Perkins saved 16 games last year while registering a 2.56 ERA and now has eight saves, a 3.45 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 25/5 K/BB rate over 16 appearances in 2013.

Matt Belisle tossed a scoreless inning of relief in Tuesday's victory over Arizona.
Advice: The veteran has notched a 3.86 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 21/7 K/BB rate in 21 games. He's also sixth in the National League with eight holds.

Pablo Sandoval hit a walkoff homer off Yunesky Maya in the 10th inning Tuesday as the Giants beat the Nationals 4-2.
Advice: Maya wasn't exactly the Nationals' first choice to pitch in the 10th inning of a tie game, but he did manage to get one out before the two-run jack. That's something, right? Sandoval's blast to right-center was his eighth homer of the season. If he can stay healthy, he should surpass his career highs of 25 homers and 90 RBI established in 2009.

Andrew Miller is proving his 2012 breakout was no fluke, posting a 3.86 ERA and 24/8 K/BB rate over 20 appearances.
Advice: The sixth overall pick in 2006 has successfully saved his career in Boston's bullpen. Miller went 21-29 with a 5.79 ERA between 2006-2011, mostly as a starter for the Tigers, Marlins and Red Sox. He hasn't started a game in the last two seasons and has rewarded Boston with a 3.48 ERA over 73 appearances. Miller's current strikeout rate is by far the best of his career.

Matt Guerrier struck out a pair over two scoreless innings of relief Tuesday against the Rockies.
Advice: He entered the contest with just four punch outs, so last night's performance qualifies as an outburst. Guerrier used to be a holds machine for the Twins, but he's posted just 19 over the past three seasons for the Dodgers, four less than he had in his last year in Minnesota. An elbow injury cost the veteran most of last season. He owns a 3.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and ugly 6/6 K/BB rate over 18 appearances.

Jimmy Paredes went 3-for-3 with his first home run of the season but the Astros lost to the Royals on Tuesday.
Advice: Paredes' homer, a three-run shot, gave the Astros a lead in the fourth inning. He also added two singles on the night to bring his line to .268/.311/.439 through 14 games since being recalled. With the release of Rick Ankiel, it seems Paredes will continue to see plenty of playing time in the Houston outfield.

Padres reliever Anthony Bass was charged with four runs in his second inning of work Tuesday against the Cardinals.
Advice: Bass was ripped off tonight. The first hitter to reach against him did so on a strikeout/wild pitch. The second had a clean single, but Yadier Molina followed with a double-play ball, only Everth Cabrera vacated second base way too early on the relay and wasn't given credit for the out. With runners on second and third with one out, Bud Black had Bass intentionally walk Jon Jay, and Daniel Descalso followed with a grand slam. That was certainly a mistake for Bass, but he could have been out of the inning before then and he didn't deserve for his ERA to jump from 2.60 to 3.64 tonight.