• Shaky in Saturday's loss
    Kikuchi (2-5) took the loss Saturday as the Blue Jays fell 8-1 to the Pirates, coughing up six runs (five earned) on nine hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out four.

    Advice: Pittsburgh jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, and while Kikuchi was able to avoid an early exit, he still wound up putting extra pressure on a Toronto bullpen that had already been taxed by a 14-inning game Friday. The southpaw left the mound after 89 pitches (61 strikes), and he's been tagged for 10 earned runs in 8.1 frames over his last two starts -- a far cry from the prior six weeks, in which he delivered six quality starts in eight outings with a 2.61 ERA. Kikuchi will look to rebound when he next takes the mound, which is scheduled to come at home next week against the Orioles. Rotowire.com Today, 4:18 am
  • Logan Webb strikes out six in loss to Yankees
    Logan Webb gave up four runs over seven innings on Saturday in a loss to the Yankees.

    Advice: Webb fell behind right away in this one when he served up a colossal two-run homer to Aaron Judge in the opening frame. He was tagged for a pair of additional runs in the third inning, but managed to escape further damage, and wound up still completing seven frames to spare San Francisco’s bullpen. He struck out six and only handed out one free pass. The 27-year-old workhorse will carry a strong 2.95 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 67/20 K/BB ratio across 79 1/3 innings (13 starts) into a challenging road matchup on Friday against the Rangers. Rotoworld Today, 3:18 am
     
  • Grinds out seven innings
    Webb (4-5) allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six over seven innings, taking the loss Saturday versus the Yankees.

    Advice: Webb gave up a pair of runs in the first and third innings, but he was able to eat innings despite the loss. He threw 74 of 108 pitches for strikes, though this ended his run of four straight quality starts. Webb is at a 2.95 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 67:20 K:BB over 79.1 innings across 13 starts this season. After posting a 1.3 BB/9 last year, his walk rate has risen to 2.3 this year, which is in line with previous seasons. Webb is projected to make his next start on the road versus the Rangers. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 10:40 pm
     
  • Ozuna hits 17th home run in loss Saturday
    Marcell Ozuna went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and four RBI against the Athletics on Saturday.

    Advice: The home run was Ozuna’s 17th of the season. Only Aaron Judge, Kyle Tucker and Gunnar Henderson have more. Only Jose Ramirez has more than Ozuna’s 53 RBI this year. The 33-year-old designated hitter is having the best season of his career at the plate. Rotoworld Yesterday, 4:47 pm
     
  • Yusei Kikuchi hit hard in loss to Pirates Saturday
    Yusei Kikuchi was hit hard in Saturday afternoon’s loss to the Pirates, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits over his 5 1/3 innings of work.

    Advice: The 32-year-old southpaw struck out four batters on the afternoon while issuing one base on balls. The Pirates jumped on him for three runs in the opening inning, including a two-run blast off the bat of Ke’Bryan Hayes. Kikuchi then settled in until they scratched out two more in the fifth and another while chasing him in the sixth inning. He generated 12 swings and misses on 89 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 28 percent. He’ll look to get back on track as he carries a 3.66 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 65/14 K/BB ratio (66 1/3 innings) into Thursday’s matchup against the Orioles. Rotoworld Yesterday, 2:55 pm
  • Knocks three hits in loss
    Witt went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 11-8 loss to the Padres.

    Advice: Witt had multiple hits in five of his last six games in May, adding seven RBI despite just two extra-base hits in that span. The shortstop hit .315 through the end of April and exactly matched that mark in May, showing excellent consistency. He's added a stellar .917 OPS, nine home runs, 42 RBI, 51 runs scored, 16 stolen bases, 16 doubles and six triples over 59 contests this season. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 10:11 am
    L, 2-3 vs TEX
     
  • Receiving breather Saturday
    McCormick is not in the starting lineup Saturday against the Twins.

    Advice: McCormick will head to the bench after he went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in Friday's 6-1 loss to Minnesota. Mauricio Dubon will take over in left field and bat seventh Saturday. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 9:14 am
    L, 4-5 vs SEA
     
  • Three homers in four games
    Bregman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Friday against the Twins.

    Advice: Bregman accounted for the Astros' only run with his seventh home run of the season. After a slow start to the campaign, he has started to turn things around, going 8-for-24 with three home runs, five RBI and four runs scored across his last six games. Bregman still has just a .652 OPS for the season, though he has managed 26 RBI across 55 games. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 8:22 am
    Alex BregmanHOU - 3B
    L, 4-5 vs SEA
     
  • Chas McCormick strikes out three times
    Chas McCormick fanned all three times he was up Friday versus the Twins.

    Advice: The Astros have decided that José Abreu’s pre-2023 track record matters more than McCormick’s impressive 2023 output and have thus started McCormick just twice in the last six games. We think that’s probably the wrong call, but at the same time, McCormick has not, in any way, resembled the threat he was last year. We still think the Astros should give him a few weeks of regular playing time to see if he can bounce back, but we’re not especially optimistic that he would take advantage of said opportunity. Rotoworld Friday, 11:40 pm
    L, 4-5 vs SEA