Henry Ramos (hip) belted a solo homer on Sunday in a minor league rehab game for Triple-A Louisville.
It was his lone hit in three at-bats during Sunday's contest. Ramos figures to remain at Triple-A as extra organizational depth once he's completed his rehab assignment.
Joey Votto (shoulder) walked twice on Sunday in a minor league rehab game for Triple-A Louisville.
Votto continues to work his way back from major offseason shoulder surgery and is likely to require a couple weeks of rehab games to get fully back up to speed. The 39-year-old first baseman figures to provide plenty of veteran leadership and guidance for Cincinnati's young core later this summer.
Rangers released OF Josh Sale.
Sale batted just .179/.329/.328 with three homers and one stolen base this season between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock before being cut loose. The 31-year-old former first-round pick was hoping to finally make it to the majors after nearly a decade out of the game when he signed a minor league deal with the Rangers back in 2022. It would've been a pretty remarkable story, but the latest chapter casts even more doubt on him ever reaching the big leagues.
Cubs released RHP Tyler Duffey.
Duffey has been granted his release after exercising the opt-out in his minor league pact with the Cubs last week. The 32-year-old veteran reliever made 40 appearances last year for the Twins and should generate some interest on the open market.
Kenta Maeda struggled through three innings in his latest minor league rehab start at Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday, giving up two runs on five hits over his three frames.
On the plus side, the right-hander struck out four batters on the day and didn't issue a base on balls. Maeda threw just 45 pitches in the ballgame -- 29 of those for strikes. He's going to need at least a few more rehab outings before he becomes an option to rejoin the Twins' rotation.
According to Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston, the Astros are expected to promote infielder Grae Kessinger from Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday.
It'll be the first trip to the big leagues for the 25-year-old infielder. Kessinger -- a second-round pick from the 2019 draft class -- has hit .284/.400/.443 with six homers, 32 RBI and two stolen bases in 52 games at Triple-A Sugar Land this season. He'll add depth and versatility off of the Astros' bench but can be ignored for fantasy purposes.
The Astros are expected to option César Salazar to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday.
It sounds like the Astros are going to promote Grae Kessinger from Triple-A on Monday and to do so they need to free up a spot on the active roster. Salazar, 27, has seen very limited action with the Astros -- hitting .143 (2-for-14) with a 4/1 K/BB ratio.
The Orioles are promoting top outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad to Triple-A Norfolk.
The 24-year-old outfielder was the second overall selection from the 2020 draft. He began the 2023 campaign at Double-A Bowie where he slashed .300/.370/.572 with 11 homers, 22 RBI, three stolen bases and a 31/13 K/BB ratio in 200 plate appearances. There's not much left for him to prove at the minor league level and he should debut in Baltimore at some point this summer.
J.D. Martinez slugged his 14th home run of the season on Sunday night, but it wasn't enough to lead the Dodgers to victory over the Yankees.
Martinez delivered the equalizer in the seventh inning of this one -- smashing a 382-foot (103.5 mph EV) solo shot off of Domingo German to tie the game at 1-1. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night -- and the Dodgers' lone run in the contest. The 35-year-old slugger has been sizzling at the dish over the past few weeks and is now slashing .276/.316/.621 with 14 homers and 41 RBI on the season.
Domingo Germán was outstanding in a tough-luck no-decision against the Dodgers on Sunday night, allowing just one run on four hits over his 6 2/3 innings of work.
The right-hander piled up six strikeouts on the night while allowing one base on balls. The only blemish on his entire night came in the seventh inning as J.D. Martinez belted a two-out solo home run to tie the game at 1-1 and forced Germán to settle for a no-decision. He generated 12 swings and misses on 99 pitches in the ballgame -- eight of those on his curveball -- while posting a strong CSW of 31 percent. He'll tote a 3.69 ERA, an impressive 0.95 WHIP and a 59/19 K/BB ratio (61 innings) into Saturday's showdown against the Red Sox.
Wandy Peralta notched his fourth save of the season on Sunday night, recording the final four outs in a victory over the Dodgers.
Peralta was called upon to protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning and got Freddie Freeman to bounce back to the mound. The Yankees scored him a pair of runs in the top half of the ninth to take the pressure off a bit, then Peralta returned to work a scoreless ninth to close it out. The left-hander has been a weapon out of the Yankees' bullpen this season -- compiling a 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and a 24/15 K/BB ratio across 25 1/3 frames.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa went 1-for-3 with a single, walk and a run scored as the Yankees eked out a victory over the Dodgers on Sunday night in Los Angeles.
Kiner-Falefa -- who is functioning as the club's regular center fielder while Harrison Bader is sidelined -- had a single that contributed to the Yankees' scoring their first run in the seventh inning. He then drew a walk and rode home on Anthony Volpe's two-run shot in the ninth. On the season, the versatile 28-year-old is now hitting .222/.269/.341 with three homers, 14 RBI and five swipes on the season.
Yan Gomes walloped his seventh home run of the season on Sunday as the Cubs demolished the Padres in San Diego.
Gomes tagged Padres' left-hander Ryan Weathers for his 413-foot (106.1 mph EV) solo shot in the second inning -- increasing the Cubs' early lead to 2-0. The 35-year-old backstop also singled and scored in the third inning, finishing the afternoon 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. He's enjoying a solid season at the plate, slashing .271/.294/.458 with seven homers and 20 RBI in 34 games.
Trey Mancini crushed a solo home run on Sunday afternoon, helping to power the Cubs to a lopsided victory over the Padres.
Mancini did his damage in the second inning, launching a 407-foot solo shot off of Padres' southpaw Ryan Weathers. That would be his lone hit in four at-bats on the night. For the season, the 31-year-old is slashing a disappointing .247/.318/.354 with only four homers and 18 RBI.
Ozzie Albies went 4-for-5 with a homer and two RBI on Sunday afternoon, helping to lead the Braves past the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
Albies led off the second inning with a single, stole second base and scored the Braves' first run as Orlando Arcia bounced into a double play. He tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth inning with his 400-foot (105.2 mph EV) two-run blast off of Diamondbacks' ace Zac Gallen. With the four-hit attack, the 26-year-old second baseman is now hitting .257/.303/.473 with 12 long balls, 38 RBI and two swipes on the season.
Ryan Weathers was knocked around in Sunday's loss to the Cubs, surrendering five runs on seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings of work.
Oof. Weathers also walked one while striking out one in the abbreviated outing. The Cubs scored just one run against him in the opening inning, but tacked on four more while chasing him in the fourth -- including solo shots by Yan Gomes and Trey Mancini. The left-hander got six swings and misses on only 44 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 29 percent. He'll look to improve upon a troublesome 5.35 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP when he squares off against the Rockies at Coors Field on Saturday.
Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles as the Padres were crushed by the Cubs on Sunday afternoon.
As a team, the Padres scored just one run on five hits in the contest -- with Tatis Jr. the only member of the squad to collect more than one hit. He's now hitting .263/.311/.509 to go along with 11 homers, 27 RBI and six swipes through his first 39 games of the season.
Zac Gallen pitched well in a tough-luck no-decision against the Braves on Sunday afternoon, giving up three runs (two earned) on nine hits over his six innings of work.
The right-hander piled up six strikeouts on the afternoon while issuing only one base on balls. The Braves scratched out an unearned run against him in the second inning, then tacked on another pair in the fourth on a two-run blast by Ozzie Albies. He exited after six innings with the Diamondbacks leading by two runs, but the D'Backs bullpen was unable to hold on for him. Gallen got 11 whiffs on 110 pitches in the game -- six of those on his knuckle curve -- while posting a CSW of 24 percent. He'll bring a sublime 2.75 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and an 88/17 K/BB ratio into a premium matchup against the Tigers in Detroit on Saturday.
Corbin Carroll went 2-for-4 with a double and his 10th home run of the season on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to power the Diamondbacks past the Braves.
Carroll crushed a go-ahead 401-foot (107.1 mph EV) solo shot off of Michael Soroka in the third inning, giving the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead. He also walked and doubled in the ballgame. The dynamic 22-year-old outfielder is having an outstanding rookie season -- slashing .286/.373/.523 with 10 homers, 25 RBI and 16 stolen bases.
Michael Soroka struggled mightily in a no-decision against the Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon, surrendering five runs on seven hits over his 3 2/3 innings of work.
The right-hander also issued four free passes in the ballgame while punching out two. He served up a solo homer to Corbin Carroll in the third inning and a two-run blast to Ketel Marte in the fifth. Soroka got just two swings and misses on 80 pitches in the contest, posting an underwhelming CSW of only 23 percent. It's not surprising to see some rust after going nearly three full seasons between appearances in the big leagues, but the Braves are going to have to see more from Soroka soon or he may need to work through things at the Triple-A level. He's set to take on the Nationals at home on Friday.