MLB | Strop to act as Cubs' closer down the stretch

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Strop to act as Cubs' closer down the stretch

Pedro Strop will serve as the Cubs' closer for the remainder of the 2013 regular season.

Kevin Gregg will operate in a setup role. "It’s going to be an opportunity [for Strop]," manager Dale Sveum said Thursday. "We want to see what he does in that role. Kevin [Gregg] has been one of the better closers in all of baseball. God knows where we’d be without him."

Source: MLBlogs.com

Thu, Sep 19, 2013 01:13:00 PM

Nolan Arenado homers in fourth straight

Nolan Arenado went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk in Friday's 11-3 rout of the Marlins.

Arenado is on a power tear against the dregs of the National League East, belting a homer in each of his past four outings while piling up 11 RBI during the impressive stretch. He is averaging two RBI across his past eight contests, too. He'll look for a homer in a fifth straight outing against RHP Trevor Richards on Saturday afternoon. He is hitting .341 (28-for-82) with four doubles, five homers and 18 RBI in day games this season.

Source: Thomas Harding on Twitter

Jun 23 - 2:57 AM

Machado slugs go-ahead homer vs. Braves

Manny Machado slugged a go-ahead two-run homer in the 15th inning as the Orioles defeated the Braves 10-7 on Friday.

It was a wild night in Atlanta, but Machado’s blast off Peter Moylan finally put the Orioles ahead for good. Machado went 2-for-5 on the night with two walks, two runs scored, and a stolen base. He’s been pretty quiet this month, but he still owns a quality .305/.374/.561 batting line with 19 homers and 55 RBI over 73 games. The trade chatter should continue to build in the coming days.

Jun 23 - 2:16 AM

Vizcaino unavailable Fri. with sore shoulder

Braves manager Brian Snitker said after Friday's game that Arodys Vizcaino was unavailable due to a sore shoulder.

Vizcaino hasn't pitched since June 17, so it was a little strange to see Dan Winkler come out for a save chance on Friday. Winkler blew the save and the Orioles eventually won the game in 15 innings. Snitker mentioned that he's hopeful Vizcaino will be ready to return on Saturday, but that's not a sure thing.

Source: Grant McAuley on Twitter

Jun 23 - 2:13 AM

Shin-Soo Choo on-base streak at 35 games

Shin-Soo Choo finished 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk, two runs scored and three RBI in Friday's 8-1 win at Minnesota.

Choo has hit safely in six straight, going 9-for-24 (.375) with a double, two homers and five RBI during the impressive span, raising his average from .271 to .280 since June 15. Choo was able to extend his on-base streak to 35 consecutive games with the two-run shot in the fifth inning off of reliever Fernando Romero.

Source: Texas Rangers on Twitter

Jun 23 - 1:36 AM

Jack Flaherty matches career high with 13 Ks

Jack Flaherty allowed one earned run, one hit and two walks over seven innings Friday at Milwaukee while matching a career best with 13 strikeouts.

The stat line was outstanding, but he and his fantasy owners had to settle for a no-decision since Junior Guerra and the Brewers bullpen matched him. It was an impressive showing considering Flaherty threw first-pitch strikes to just 13 of the 25 batters he faced. He'll look to get back into the win column on Wednesday against Shane Bieber and the visiting Cleveland Indians.

Source: The Associated Press

Jun 23 - 1:10 AM

Corbin blanks Pirates, strikes out 12 batters

Patrick Corbin struck out 12 batters over seven scoreless frames against the Pirates on Friday, but was forced to settle for a no-decision.

The 12 strikeouts matched a career-high. Corbin allowed just three hits (all of them singles) and didn’t walk a batter. He racked up 25 swinging strikes in his 102 pitches, most of them coming on his slider. Corbin’s season has been moving in the wrong direction for a while now, so this was nice to see. Fantasy owners will have to hope that he can keep it going in a favorable matchup against the Marlins next week.

Jun 23 - 12:24 AM

Shane Bieber dominates in win over Tigers

Shane Bieber was dominant in Friday's victory over the Tigers, racking up a career-high nine strikeouts over seven shutout innings.

Bieber allowed just four hits and one walk over his seven brilliant frames. Through his first three starts, he now boasts a 2.45 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 22/3 K/BB ratio over 18 1/3 innings. It's probably time to start taking him seriously from a mixed league perspective. He'll do battle against the Cardinals his next time out in St. Louis on Wednesday.

Jun 22 - 11:54 PM

J.D. Martinez homers, drives in five in win

J.D. Martinez knocked in five runs while going 4-for-5 with a homer and three runs scored in Friday’s wild 14-10 win over the Mariners.

Martinez got the Red Sox on the board with an RBI double in the bottom of the first inning before slugging a two-run shot in the fourth. He knocked in two more runs with a single in the seventh. He’s now at 60 RBI, three more than anyone else (Eugenio Suarez with the Reds) and he’s tied with Mike Trout for the MLB-lead with 23 homers. Oh, and he’s also batting .324/.393/.644 on the year. He’s been just about everything the Red Sox could have hoped for and then some.

Jun 22 - 11:48 PM

Cruz hits two homers, drives in seven in loss

Nelson Cruz went 4-for-5 with two homers and seven RBI as the Mariners fell to the Red Sox on Friday.

Cruz connected for a pair of three-run homers (in the first and fourth innings) and also drove in a run with a single in the second. According to Rotoworld’s Matthew Pouliot, Cruz is the first player since J.P. Arencibia (July 29, 2014) to drive in seven runs in a game his team lost. The veteran slugger has hit safely in six straight games and now finds himself tied for fourth in the majors with 20 homers.

Jun 22 - 11:45 PM

Odubel Herrera homers in fifth straight game

Odubel Herrera had four hits and scored four runs while homering in his fifth straight game Friday against the Nationals.

Now that's a monster day. Herrera kept the streak alive with a two-run blast against Tanner Roark in the third inning. His other three hits fell for singles. The power is understandably getting most of the attention, but Herrera is also piling up the hits in general. He’s hitting .472 (17-for-36) over his last eight games. His batting average has soared from .283 to .308 during that time.

Jun 22 - 11:18 PM

Xander Bogaerts removed with finger sprain

Xander Bogaerts was removed from Friday's game against the Mariners with a sprained left index finger.

He sustained the injury while sliding head first into second base. The severity of the injury remains unclear at the moment, but the Red Sox should provide an update on his status after the conclusion of Friday's game.

Source: Ian Browne on Twitter

Jun 22 - 10:45 PM