MLB Player News

Wong went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and a double in Thursday's 12-11 extra-innings win over the White Sox.

Making a third straight start with Adley Rutschman (wrist) not yet available, Wong got the Red Sox on the board in the third inning with a two-run shot off Luis Castillo, his third homer this year. Wong had been slumping at the plate coming into Thursday, going 0-for-16 in his last six contests. Overall, he's slashing .252/.341/.377 through 177 plate appearances this season with 19 RBI, 17 runs scored and three steals.

Castillo allowed five runs on six hits and a walk over four innings in a no-decision Thursday against the Red Sox. He struck out five.

After holding Boston hitless through his first two innings, Castillo gave up a two-run homer to Connor Wong in the third before surrendering three runs in the fourth to tie the game at 5-5. It's certainly wasn't the ideal White Sox debut for Castillo, who struggled to a 6.35 ERA across 17 innings in his final three starts with the Mariners before being shipped east at the trade deadline. Through 103.2 innings this year, his ERA sits at 5.30 -- he hasn't finished a season with an ERA above 4.00 since 2018, his first full year in the majors. Castillo will look to turn things around his next time out, tentatively lined up to come at home against the Reds, the team he began his career with in 2017.

Suarez didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the White Sox, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks across three innings. He struck out three.

After blanking Chicago for two innings, Suarez ran into trouble in the third, giving up a two-run homer to Chase Meidroth before Colson Montgomery tacked on two more runs. Suarez, who threw 70 pitches Thursday, hasn't made it through five innings in any of his three starts since returning from the IL. Overall, he sports a 3.32 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP and 108:30 K:BB through 20 starts (103 innings) with Boston this season.

Meidroth went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs and four total RBI in Thursday's 12-11 extra-innings loss to the Red Sox.

Meidroth opened the scoring in the third inning with a two-run shot off Ranger Suarez before putting Chicago ahead 9-7 in the 10th inning with another two-run blast, this time off Aroldis Chapman. Meidroth had gone seven games without a homer prior to Thursday, going just 4-for-21 (.190) in that span. Overall, the second baseman is slashing .275/.352/.405 this season with 11 homers, 67 runs scored, 44 RBI and two steals across 465 plate appearances.

Wacha tossed 5.2 innings in a no-decision against Minnesota on Thursday, allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out one batter.

Wacha pitched well, giving up just one run on a Royce Lewis homer. The veteran hurler looked like he was on his way to a fourth straight quality start, but manager Matt Quatraro elected to pull him with two outs in the sixth inning (at 94 pitches) with Lewis coming up for another turn at the plate. Wacha has made it four straight outings with two or fewer earned runs, and he's lowered his season ERA to 3.44 with that effective stretch. He lines up for a tough next start in what's projected to be a road matchup versus the Dodgers.

Gomez picked up a save against the Royals on Thursday, issuing one walk and striking out two batters over one scoreless inning.

Gomez was summoned in the ninth inning with Minnesota clinging to a one-run lead. He walked the first batter he faced but then picked off pinch runner Tyler Tolbert at first base. With less pressure on him, Gomez then struck out Michael Massey and Isaac Collins to improve to 15-for-15 on save chances this season. Fantasy managers who roster Gomez are likely ecstatic about him being deployed for the save opportunity, as Minnesota's trade-deadline acquisition of Jeff Hoffman cast some doubt about whether Gomez would remain in the closer role. Hoffman hade his first appearance for the Twins on Wednesday, working a perfect eighth inning in a 2-1 loss, and he could still be a threat to Gomez's hold on the ninth-inning job.

Ober completed six innings in a no-decision against Kansas City on Thursday, allowing three runs on six hits and no walks with no strikeouts.

Ober allowed two runs in the third inning and another run in his sixth and final frame. He was far from overpowering, getting just six whiffs and finishing without a punchout for the first time this season, but his performance was nonetheless good enough to go in the books as a second consecutive quality start. Ober's 4.45 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 63:24 K:BB across 93 innings this season make him a fringe, at best, roster option in most fantasy leagues, but he's managed to scratch out a 7-3 record for the Twins. He's slated to make his next start at home against Baltimore.

Montgomery went 2-for-5 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Red Sox.

Montgomery has had a tough time at the plate since the All-Star break, as he entered Thursday's game having gone just 11-for-61 with a 36.2 percent strikeout rate. He started to turn things around Thursday, recording his first multi-hit effort in his last eight starts. Montgomery singled in a run during the third inning and then drove in an additional run with a sacrifice fly in the 11th frame.

Gimenez went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, a run scored and two stolen bases in Thursday's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Cubs.

Gimenez collected two singles before ripping a ground-rule double in the ninth inning and promptly swiping third base. He was intentionally walked in the 11th with a runner on third and stole second moments later, giving him 15 stolen bases on the season. It was his second multi-steal game of the year after recording three against Boston on June 17. The double also snapped a nine-game extra-base-hit drought, a stretch in which he batted .167 with just one RBI.

Cease did not factor into the decision Thursday against the Cubs, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out 10 over seven scoreless innings.

Cease threw 66 of his 104 pitches for strikes and recorded his fifth double-digit strikeout performance over his last 10 outings despite generating just 10 whiffs. Unfortunately for the right-hander, closer Louis Varland was unable to maintain a two-run lead. Cease has now authored six consecutive quality starts, posting a sparkling 0.84 ERA with 56 strikeouts across 43 innings during that span. Four of those six outings have featured at least seven scoreless innings. He will carry a 2.28 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 184:52 K:BB across 126.1 innings into his next scheduled start Wednesday against the Red Sox.