Ezequiel Tovar went 2-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBI in Colorado's loss to Atlanta on Thursday.
He homered off an A.J. Smith-Shawver fastball to lead off the fourth inning, driving a dead-middle pitch 424 feet to center field. He also singled in another run in the fifth. Tovar has 11 walks against 239 at-bats and has not run all that much, but he's showing some intriguing power with a .251/.289/.414 line and a .517 slugging percentage over his last seven games.
Matt Olson homered and scored two runs in Atlanta's win over Colorado on Thursday.
Dropped in the order today, Olson responded by parking a Pierce Johnson fastball 456 feet to right-center. He's still just hitting .213/.304/.311 over his past 15 games, but perhaps the blast will get him heated up. Olson is only a few homers off Pete Alonso's NL lead at 19.
Ozzie Albies went 3-for-4 with a 3-RBI double in Atlanta's 8-3 win over Colorado on Thursday.
With the bases full of Braves in the second, Albies sent a double down the left-field line that died on an advertising board near left, giving all the runners enough time to come in. Albies almost has his season slugging percentage over .500 with a .264/.318/.494 line and 15 homers. He's not running as much as he did in 2021 -- with only three steals -- but he's been plenty valuable in fantasy.
Sonny Gray pitched just four innings against the Tigers on Thursday, giving up two runs and striking out three.
He walked four. The Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth inning, but Gray induced a double play ball to limit the damage and struck out Jake Rogers with the tying runs on in a 4-2 game. With just 80 pitches, Rocco Baldelli elected to go to the bullpen, apparently not liking what he saw. Gray's ERA is up to 2.37, and he's carried a 1.47 WHIP over his last seven games. Gray will look to get back on track against the Red Sox next Wednesday.
Matthew Boyd struck out eight Twins in six innings Thursday, allowing four runs in the process and picking up a win.
After a three-run dinger allowed to Donovan Solano in the second, Boyd settled down and allowed just two more hits over the next four innings, with a Willi Castro double erased at third base on an outfield assist. Boyd (3-5, 5.60 ERA, 64 strikeouts in 64 1/3 IP) looks like he'll be a bold-but-usable streamer next week against the Royals.
Donovan Solano hit a three-run home run against the Tigers in a loss on Thursday.
He got hold of a Matthew Boyd change-up and hit it 399 feet to left-center field, just scraping over the fence to give the Twins an early 4-0 lead that they would not hold. Solano is hitting well, at .286/.378/.404 in 161 at-bats, and the Twins have responded by playing him almost every day. He's hitting .326/.446/.565 in his last 15 games.
Matt Vierling went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI in Detroit's win over Minnesota on Thursday.
He's now hitting .346/.414/.538 over his last 15 games, though that includes some of his results from before his most recent IL stint. Vierling has hit sixth, third, fifth, and eighth in his first four games back. He was also caught stealing. If he could combine this form of hitting with his propensity to steal bases, perhaps the Tigers would move him up the order. As is, he has a .257/.316/.383 line with five homers and four steals.
Tarik Skubal (elbow) notched five strikeouts over three scoreless innings on Thursday in a minor league rehab start for Triple-A Toledo.
Skubal threw 31 pitches (24 strikes) in his latest rehab outing as he continues to progress towards a return to Detroit's starting rotation in a few weeks. The 26-year-old lefty has been out since undergoing flexor tendon surgery last year.
Gio Urshela made an early exit from Thursday's game against the Rangers.
Urshela has been dealing with a lingering back issue and might've re-aggravated it when he fell crossing first base on a first-inning double play. He managed to stay in the contest for a couple innings, but was eventually replaced by Jared Walsh at first base. It might make sense for the Angels to give him some extra time off to rest and fully recover at this point.
Pirates released RHP Tyler Chatwood.
Chatwood signed a minor league contract with the Pirates last December after spending last year with the SoftBank Hawks of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. The 33-year-old righty wound up making just nine appearances (one start) this season in the Pirates' system before being cut loose.
Mike Clevinger (biceps) told reporters Thursday that an MRI came back negative for any structural damage in his right shoulder or elbow.
Clevinger left Wednesday's start against the Dodgers with right biceps soreness, so this is easily the best-case scenario outcome. It still sounds like he's going to require a trip to the injured list due to some fluid in his biceps, but it appears that he's managed to avoid a potentially serious injury, and won't require an extended absence.
Blue Jays released RHP Anthony Bass.
Bass, who was embroiled in a recent off-field controversy after sharing an anti-LGBTQ+ video on social media, went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment last week and the Blue Jays have opted to cut ties altogether. The 35-year-old reliever struggled to an underwhelming 4.95 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 19/2 K/BB ratio across 20 innings (22 appearances) this season.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Thursday that Daniel Hudson (knee) could return before the end of June.
Roberts added that Hudson is expected to transfer his rehab assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City at some point this week. The 36-year-old veteran high-leverage reliever's return would certainly give the Dodgers' bullpen a much-needed lift.
Gavin Lux (knee) is on track to begin running on Monday.
Lux is aiming to ramp up his rehabilitation process next week when he resumes running, but is still several months away from any potential return. It would be premature to suggest that he could return sometime in the late stages of the 2023 campaign, but it can't be totally ruled out at this juncture.
Phillies RHP prospect Andrew Painter (elbow) is scheduled to throw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Friday.
Painter is continuing to be brought along slowly in his recovery from a sprained UCL in his right elbow, and will continue throwing bullpen sessions, before progressing to facing hitter in a live batting practice setting. There's optimism that the electrifying 20-year-old righty will pitch in the majors sometime later this season.
Angel Zerpa (shoulder) will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Thursday with Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
Zerpa has been out all season with left shoulder tendinopathy, but could factor into Kansas City's pitching mix sometime next month.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that he wouldn't commit to Ryne Nelson making his next scheduled start.
Nelson was lit up for five runs over four innings on Thursday against the Phillies and it's possible he'll be removed from Arizona's starting rotation. That decision would create an opening on Tuesday against the Brewers. It would most likely be Drey Jameson or Brandon Pfaadt that would get the call next week.
White Sox acquired INF Kean Wong from the Mariners for cash considerations.
It's a small depth move for the White Sox, who add some extra defensive depth at Triple-A Charlotte with Zach Remillard getting the call to the majors on Thursday night. Wong last appeared in the majors during the 2021 campaign when he got into 32 games for the Angels.
Austin Meadows (anxiety) remains without a timetable to return.
Meadows has been out since early April due to anxiety and recently returned to Florida to continue working on his mental and physical health.
Andrew Benintendi is not in the White Sox' lineup for Thursday's contest against the Dodgers.
It'll be Clint Frazier in left field on Thursday evening for Chicago.