Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy blasted his 10th homer of the season on Thursday, helping his club defeat the Tigers 5-0. Murphy broke a 0-0 tie in the sixth inning by crushing a 447' three-run bomb off starter Garrett Hill in the second game of a doubleheader. The 27-year-old was beginning to heat up prior to the All-Star break with eight hits in his previous five games, giving him a .239/.309/.414 slash line through 85 games. Murphy's 39 RBI and 37 runs are providing enough value in roto formats to keep him fantasy relevant, however, so you could do much worse at the thin catching position.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Minnesota Twins. The young backstop is having a rough year in the batting average department, hitting .200 with a 30.8 strikeout rate. However, the power is still there, as he's slugging .421 with four home runs in 25 games. Backup Christian Bethancourt will do the catching duties instead and bat sixth. The 30-year-old is struggling this season, slashing .205/.262/.308 with no home runs and a stolen base. Fantasy managers looking for a catcher on the waiver wire should not even consider picking up Bethancourt.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (rest) isn't in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. This appears to be a routine day off for Murphy who started 20 straight games. The 27-year-old is hitting .218/.262/.487 with four home runs and 14 RBI this season. He only has two hits over his last 20 at-bats, so hopefully a day off will help him. Austin Allen will cover behind home plate and bat sixth versus righty Shane Bieber. Fantasy managers can ignore Allen as a streaming option for Saturday.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy went 1-for-3 in a start versus the Mariners on Wednesday. The sophomore backstop came into the season as the A's starter, but Oakland traded for Yan Gomes at the trade deadline and Murphy has seen his playing time evaporate. For most of August, Gomes and Murphy were splitting catcher reps nearly 50/50, but Gomes has seen the lion's share of the starts in September as Murphy has only started four of the last 10 games. Murphy can safely be left on waivers in all formats.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy went 2-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and two walks in a win over the Indians on Thursday. The Oakland backstop set the tone for the afternoon with a two-RBI double in the first inning, which would hold up as the winning runs in a 17-0 blowout. Murphy has seen less playing time since Oakland traded for Yan Gomes at the deadline, and has seen his fantasy value diminish as a result. He's still got appeal in two-catcher fantasy leagues as he's slugging .419 on the season, but fantasy managers in one-catcher formats should look for a catcher getting more regular playing time.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy has had a solid sophomore season despite a .232 batting average and is on a five-game hit-streak heading into a two-game set with San Diego. Murphy may have a rough batting average, but he's been solid in the power department with 13 homers and a .414 slugging percentage. He's making hard contact 42.2% of the time and his K% is slightly down from last season. Murphy is a solid catching option in fantasy and has good matchups on the horizon, starting with Blake Snell on Tuesday.

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer to cap a startling six-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, getting his jersey yanked off in a frenzied celebration and lifting the Houston Astros over the New York Yankees 8-7 on Sunday. The Astros had been shut out by the Yankees the previous two games, highlighted by ace Gerrit Cole’s three-hitter in a 4-0 win on Saturday night. The win came on Altuve replica jersey giveaway at Minute Maid Park — Houston fans left with a No. 27 shirt, while the All-Star second baseman exited without his. New York led 7-2 after a three-run homer by Gary Sanchez in the eighth inning. After the first two Astros reached base against Domingo Germán in the ninth, Chas McCormick hit a two-run double off Chad Green (3-5). Abraham Toro followed with an RBI double to make it 7-5, still with no outs. Pinch-hitter Jason Castro singled and one out later, Altuve launched his soaring shot to left field. Ralph Garza Jr. (1-2) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. will have season-ending surgery to repair a completely torn ACL in his right knee after he was injured during Atlanta’s 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. An MRI showed the severity of the injury and the Braves made the announcement shortly before midnight that their three-time All-Star will be out until at least next year. Acuña landed awkwardly on his right leg after jumping on the warning track in right field to try to catch a drive from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fifth inning. The 23-year-old slammed into the outfield wall and crumbled on the warning track, immediately grabbing his right knee while Chisholm sprinted out an inside-the-park homer. The 23-year-old Acuña did not put any weight on his right leg and had to be helped to a cart before being taken from the field. Freddie Freeman had a two-run homer and an RBI single, while Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley ripped doubles as the first three Braves reached base off All-Star pitcher... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. will have season-ending surgery to repair a completely torn ACL in his right knee after he was injured during Atlanta’s 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. An MRI showed the severity of the injury and the Braves made the announcement shortly before midnight that their three-time All-Star will be out until at least next year. Acuña landed awkwardly on his right leg after jumping on the warning track in right field to try to catch a drive from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fifth inning. The 23-year-old slammed into the outfield wall and crumbled on the warning track, immediately grabbing his right knee while Chisholm sprinted out an inside-the-park homer. The 23-year-old Acuña did not put any weight on his right leg and had to be helped to a cart before being taken from the field. Freddie Freeman had a two-run homer and an RBI single, while Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley ripped doubles as the first three Braves reached base off All-Star pitcher... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. was carted off the field in tears with an apparent right leg injury during Atlanta’s 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. Acuña landed awkwardly on his right leg after jumping on the warning track in right field to try to catch a drive from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fifth inning. He slammed into the outfield wall and crumbled on the warning track, immediately grabbing toward his right knee while Chisholm sprinted out an inside-the-park homer. The 23-year-old Acuña did not put any weight on his right leg and had to be helped to a cart before being taken from the field. No further details on the extent of the injury were immediately available. Freddie Freeman had a two-run homer and an RBI single, while Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley ripped doubles as the first three Braves reached base off All-Star pitcher Trevor Rogers (7-6) in the fourth inning. Atlanta has won three straight over Miami. Max Fried (6-5) gave up three consecutive hits after... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. was carted off the field in tears with an apparent right leg injury during Atlanta’s 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. Acuña landed awkwardly on his right leg after jumping on the warning track in right field to try to catch a drive from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fifth inning. He slammed into the outfield wall and crumbled on the warning track, immediately grabbing toward his right knee while Chisholm sprinted out an inside-the-park homer. The 23-year-old Acuña did not put any weight on his right leg and had to be helped to a cart before being taken from the field. No further details on the extent of the injury were immediately available. Freddie Freeman had a two-run homer and an RBI single, while Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley ripped doubles as the first three Braves reached base off All-Star pitcher Trevor Rogers (7-6) in the fourth inning. Atlanta has won three straight over Miami. Max Fried (6-5) gave up three consecutive hits after... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Brandon Nimmo provided a spark in his return from the injured list and the New York Mets beat the crosstown Yankees 8-3 Saturday to open a three-game Subway Series. The Mets already led 8-0 when Aaron Judge homered with one out in the sixth to end Walker’s bid for the record-tying eighth no-hitter in the majors this season. Walker (7-3) was lifted after 5 2/3 innings and got a standing ovation from Mets fans among the season-high crowd of 40,047 at Yankee Stadium. Jordan Montgomery (3-3) stranded five Mets baserunners over the first three innings to keep it scoreless, but the visitors broke through in the fifth. Nimmo led off with a single, one of his three hits, and scored the first run. TIGERS 11, WHITE SOX 5 DETROIT (AP) — Eric Haase hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer and later cleared the fence for another three-run drive, and Detroit snapped Chicago's five-game winning streak. The Tigers trailed 2-0 in the fourth... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Brandon Nimmo provided a spark in his return from the injured list and the New York Mets beat the crosstown Yankees 8-3 Saturday to open a three-game Subway Series. The Mets already led 8-0 when Aaron Judge homered with one out in the sixth to end Walker’s bid for the record-tying eighth no-hitter in the majors this season. Walker (7-3) was lifted after 5 2/3 innings and got a standing ovation from Mets fans among the season-high crowd of 40,047 at Yankee Stadium. Jordan Montgomery (3-3) stranded five Mets baserunners over the first three innings to keep it scoreless, but the visitors broke through in the fifth. Nimmo led off with a single, one of his three hits, and scored the first run. TIGERS 11, WHITE SOX 5 DETROIT (AP) — Eric Haase hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer and later cleared the fence for another three-run drive, and Detroit snapped Chicago's five-game winning streak. The Tigers trailed 2-0 in the fourth... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Brandon Nimmo provided a spark in his return from the injured list and the New York Mets beat the crosstown Yankees 8-3 Saturday to open a three-game Subway Series. The Mets already led 8-0 when Aaron Judge homered with one out in the sixth to end Walker’s bid for the record-tying eighth no-hitter in the majors this season. Walker (7-3) was lifted after 5 2/3 innings and got a standing ovation from Mets fans among the season-high crowd of 40,047 at Yankee Stadium. Jordan Montgomery (3-3) stranded five Mets baserunners over the first three innings to keep it scoreless, but the visitors broke through in the fifth. Nimmo led off with a single, one of his three hits, and scored the first run. TIGERS 11, WHITE SOX 5 DETROIT (AP) — Eric Haase hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer and later cleared the fence for another three-run drive, and Detroit snapped Chicago's five-game winning streak. The Tigers trailed 2-0 in the fourth... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Brandon Nimmo provided a spark in his return from the injured list and the New York Mets beat the crosstown Yankees 8-3 Saturday to open a three-game Subway Series. The Mets already led 8-0 when Aaron Judge homered with one out in the sixth to end Walker’s bid for the record-tying eighth no-hitter in the majors this season. Walker (7-3) was lifted after 5 2/3 innings and got a standing ovation from Mets fans among the season-high crowd of 40,047 at Yankee Stadium. Jordan Montgomery (3-3) stranded five Mets baserunners over the first three innings to keep it scoreless, but the visitors broke through in the fifth. Nimmo led off with a single, one of his three hits, and scored the first run. TIGERS 11, WHITE SOX 5 DETROIT (AP) — Eric Haase hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer and later cleared the fence for another three-run drive, and Detroit snapped Chicago's five-game winning streak. The Tigers trailed 2-0 in the fourth... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead single during a nine-run rally in the seventh inning after Washington ace Max Scherzer departed, and the Los Angeles Dodgers surged past the Nationals 10-5 Friday night for their seventh straight win. The Nationals lost slugger Kyle Schwarber in the second inning when he grabbed at his hamstring after a single. He hit a franchise-record 16 home runs in June. Julio Urías (10-3) allowed one earned run in six innings. Scherzer also allowed one earned run in six innings and struck out eight. Left-handed reliever Sam Clay (0-1) found trouble when he replaced Scherzer. Chris Taylor hit a leadoff double, a dribbler by pinch-hitter Albert Pujols scored him, and Austin Barnes was hit by a pitch. ANGELS 8, ORIOLES 7 ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani went deep twice to reach 30 homers this season and then scored the winning run on Jared Walsh’s two-out single in the ninth inning that lifted Los Angeles over Baltimore. Ohtani drew a walk from Paul Fry... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead single during a nine-run rally in the seventh inning after Washington ace Max Scherzer departed, and the Los Angeles Dodgers surged past the Nationals 10-5 Friday night for their seventh straight win. The Nationals lost slugger Kyle Schwarber in the second inning when he grabbed at his hamstring after a single. He hit a franchise-record 16 home runs in June. Julio Urías (10-3) allowed one earned run in six innings. Scherzer also allowed one earned run in six innings and struck out eight. Left-handed reliever Sam Clay (0-1) found trouble when he replaced Scherzer. Chris Taylor hit a leadoff double, a dribbler by pinch-hitter Albert Pujols scored him, and Austin Barnes was hit by a pitch. ANGELS 8, ORIOLES 7 ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani went deep twice to reach 30 homers this season and then scored the winning run on Jared Walsh’s two-out single in the ninth inning that lifted Los Angeles over Baltimore. Ohtani drew a walk from Paul Fry... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for the Angels, but the San Francisco Giants rallied for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Steven Duggar had an RBI double in the 12th and a two-run single in the 13th for the Giants, who finally blew it open while the Angels had outfielder Taylor Ward playing catcher and starting pitcher Griffin Canning playing left field as the fallout from an untimely injury to Kurt Suzuki and a series of strategic decisions made to allow Ohtani to hit for himself. Mike Tauchman struck out five times before hitting a three-run homer to cap the Giants’ 13th-inning rally. Brandon Crawford put San Francisco ahead to stay with a bases-loaded walk from Alex Claudio (1-2), who walked three straight in the 13th. The 13-inning game matched the longest in the majors since the institution of the runner-on-second-base rule to open extra innings last season. Dominic Leone (1-0) won despite... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for the Angels, but the San Francisco Giants rallied for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Steven Duggar had an RBI double in the 12th and a two-run single in the 13th for the Giants, who finally blew it open while the Angels had outfielder Taylor Ward playing catcher and starting pitcher Griffin Canning playing left field as the fallout from an untimely injury to Kurt Suzuki and a series of strategic decisions made to allow Ohtani to hit for himself. Mike Tauchman struck out five times before hitting a three-run homer to cap the Giants’ 13th-inning rally. Brandon Crawford put San Francisco ahead to stay with a bases-loaded walk from Alex Claudio (1-2), who walked three straight in the 13th. The 13-inning game matched the longest in the majors since the institution of the runner-on-second-base rule to open extra innings last season. Dominic Leone (1-0) won despite... [More]

The irony is that neither Arizona nor Baltimore has the worst road record in its league. That's of little consolation right now. The Diamondbacks have dropped 23 straight away games, setting a major league record. The Orioles aren't far behind with their 19-game skid. Both streaks are still active, so there's no telling how much longer this will go on. Baltimore has a home series with Houston before leaving on a 10-game road trip. Arizona's next road series starts Friday against a talented San Diego team. The Orioles actually had some success on the road early in the season, so their 11-25 mark away from home is not at bad as Texas' 10-27 record. And in terms of winning percentage, the Diamondbacks (9-31) don't even have the worst road mark in their own division. That belongs to Colorado, which is a woeful 5-27. But the attention right now is on Arizona, which went all of May and now over half of June without a road win. The Diamondbacks nearly got one Tuesday night in San Francisco, when... [More]