MLB Player News

Garcia went 0-for-3 with a walk and a steal in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Padres.

Garcia stole his seventh bag of the season in the fourth inning, then was thrown out at home trying to score on Leody Taveras' single. Garcia, who stole 25 bases (on 31 attempts) in 2022, is an occasional base stealer these days. He was successful on nine of 10 attempts last year and on seven of nine thus far in 2024. Thursday's walk extended Garcia's on-base streak to 14 games, during he has logged a .350 OBP.

The Twins optioned Festa to Triple-A St. Paul on Friday.

Festa had a rough welcoming to the majors in his first two starts, allowing 12 runs over 10 innings. The Twins will announced a corresponding move prior to Friday's game versus the Astros. Chris Paddack (arm) could be ready to rejoin the rotation next week in the spot Festa had occupied.

Witt went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in Thursday's loss to the Rays.

Witt drove home Kansas City's second run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the third inning before recording a hit in each of his next three trips to the plate, including a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth. It was the star shortstop's third multi-hit performance in his last four games, and he's now tallied at least one RBI in four straight. Witt is 6-for-11 (.545) through three games to start the month of July, and his .319 average on the season puts him at second in the majors behind Steven Kwan (.367).

Lowe went 3-for-5 in Thursday's win over the Royals with a double, a homer and three runs scored while also drawing a walk.

Lowe doubled in his second trip to the plate before coming around to score four batters later on a Jonny DeLuca single, extending Tampa Bay's lead to four runs. The second baseman then added a solo homer in the sixth and went on to reach four times in the contest - the first time he's done so this season. Lowe's three hits on the night also marked a season high, and he's now homered three of his last four games. Over that stretch he's batting .333 (5-for-15) with three RBI and six runs scored.

DeLuca went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in Thursday's win over Kansas City.

DeLuca jumped on a hanging sinker from Alec Marsh in the second inning and sent it over the wall in left field for his third home run of the season, extending the Rays' lead to three runs. The outfielder then added an RBI single in the following frame and went on to reach three times in the contest. The long ball was DeLuca's first since May 18 against Toronto, and he's now tallied multiple hits in two of his last three starts. However, his average still sits at .180 on the campaign following Thursday's three-hit performance.

Fairbanks picked up the save over the Royals on Thursday, allowing one run on one hit over one inning while striking out one.

Fairbanks entered the contest with a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and retired the first two batters in succession before surrendering a solo homer to Bobby Witt. The right-hander was then able to get Vinnie Pasquantino to ground out for the final out of the game, securing his 14th save of the season. Fairbanks has now converted each of his last four save attempts, though he's also allowed a run in four of his last nine appearances.

Marsh (6-6) took the loss against the Rays on Thursday, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks over three innings while striking out one.

Marsh struggled out of the gate, issuing a walk to each of the first two batters he faced before allowing two runs to come across in the opening frame. He threw only 10 of his 17 first pitches for strikes and lasted just three innings before being relieved by Carlos Hernandez to open the fourth. It marked the second time this season in which Marsh was unable to go beyond three frames and the fourth time that he's surrendered at least five runs. He's also walked multiple batters in five consecutive starts.

Eflin (5-5) picked up the win over the Royals on Thursday, allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits and one walk over five innings while striking out three.

Eflin didn't have his best stuff Thursday, surrendering at least one run in four of the six innings in which he appeared. Despite those struggles, the veteran right-hander was able to secure his fifth win of the season and the fourth win in his last five decisions (spanning nine starts). Eflin has now gone at least five innings in five consecutive starts, though he's given up multiple runs in four of those outings, raising his ERA to 4.19 on the season.

Hamilton went 1-for-5 with a walk, an RBI, two runs and two stolen bases against the Marlins in Thursday's 6-5 extra-innings victory.

Hamilton scored Boston's first two runs of the contest, then collected a go-ahead RBI on a groundout in the 12th frame. The infielder also recorded two swipes of third base, moving him up to fourth in MLB with 23 stolen bases (on 24 attempts) for the season. Though Hamilton has seen his playing time dry up a bit of late, he has continued to produce fairly well. Despite hitting just .200 over his past 35 at-bats, he's recorded a home run, five RBI, eight runs and nine stolen bases during that stretch.

O'Neill went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, a run, two RBI and two stolen bases in a 6-5 extra-innings win against Miami on Thursday.

O'Neill accounted for three of Boston's eight total hits to record his third consecutive multi-hit effort. He came up big in extra frames, recording an RBI single in the 11th inning and adding the game-winning RBI on a double in the 12th. O'Neill also collected two thefts in the contest after notching just one steal (on one attempt) over his first 60 games of the season. Swiping bags probably won't become a trend for the outfielder moving forward, though it's worth noting that he stole 29 combined bases across the 2021 and 2022 campaigns while with St. Louis.