MLB Player News

Weissert earned a save against the Marlins on Thursday by allowing an unearned run on two hits over one inning.

Primary closer Kenley Jansen was deployed in a tie game in the ninth inning, so Boston turned to Weissert after taking a two-run lead in the top of the 12th frame. The right-hander gave up a leadoff single followed by a sacrifice fly to allow the automatic runner to cross the plate, but he was able to close out the contest despite giving up another hit with two outs. The save was the first of his career for Weissert, who has been used mainly in lower-leverage situations this season. He has just two holds over 37 appearances while posting a 3.41 ERA and 39:9 :BB across 37 innings.

Pivetta struck out 10 batters while allowing one hit and two walks over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against Miami on Thursday.

Pivetta was downright dominant Thursday, racking up 15 swinging strikes en route to his second double-digit punchout performance of the campaign. He held the Marlins hitless until Jesus Sanchez tripled against him in the seventh inning, and the right-hander departed in line for a victory with a 2-0 lead. However, Boston's bullpen eliminated Pivetta's chance for the win by giving up two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Nonetheless, the performance was an excellent bounce-back for Pivetta after he had posted a 6.98 ERA and 1.81 WHIP across his previous four starts.

Festa was told after Thursday's game that he will be sent to Triple-A St. Paul, The Athletic reports.

Festa allowed 12 runs over his first 10 major-league innings in two starts, so this isn't a surprise. He'll likely be replaced by a relief pitcher with an official announcement before Friday's game. Chris Paddack could return Monday from the injured list in time to take back the rotation spot Festa occupied.

Pena went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional run and a walk in Thursday's 5-3 victory against the Blue Jays.

Houston and Toronto combined for 19 hits in the contest, but only two went for extra bases, and Pena notched the lone long ball with his solo shot to left field in the seventh inning. The shortstop has hit two homers and two doubles during his current four-game hitting streak, and he's driven in three runs while scoring four times during that span. The recent upswing in power is a welcome sign for Pena's fantasy managers after he went deep just five times across his first 80 contests of the campaign.

Naylor went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's 8-4 win over the White Sox.

In addition to his two hits, Naylor also got aboard on a fielder's choice and a catcher interference. The first baseman endured a 3-for-20 stretch over six games from June 22-28, but he's bounced back with a trio of multi-hit efforts over his last five contests. Overall, he's at a .243/.322/.497 slash line with 20 home runs, 63 RBI, 48 runs scored, 16 doubles and three stolen bases through 81 games.

Naylor went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one stolen base in Thursday's 8-4 win over the White Sox.

Naylor has gone 13-for-36 (.361) with seven extra-base hits and eight RBI over his last 12 contests. His steal Thursday was his second of the campaign on three attempts. While he doesn't offer much speed, he's started to hit well enough to maintain steady playing time behind the dish, though he's at a .203/.272/.330 slash line through 61 games overall. Austin Hedges is backing up Naylor at catcher while David Fry has seen most of his recent playing time at designated hitter.

Bassitt (7-7) took the loss against Houston on Thursday, allowing four runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out three batters over five innings.

Bassitt got off to a terrible start in allowing six of the first seven batters he faced to reach base, resulting in three Astros runs. The veteran hurler bounced back to give up just one more run over the remainder of his five frames, but the first-inning damage was enough to send him to his seventh loss of the season. Bassitt had been rolling coming into Thursday, posting a 1.41 ERA across his previous five starts, and the four runs he yielded against Houston were his most since he gave up seven runs against the Dodgers on April 26. Bassitt's overall numbers this season have been pretty much in line with what fantasy managers have come to expect from him -- he has a 3.43 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 94:41 K:BB across 102.1 frames.

Hader earned a save against the Blue Jays on Thursday, allowing one hit in one scoreless inning.

Hader entered in the ninth inning with Houston holding a two-run lead and immediately allowed a single to bring the tying run to the plate. However, he then induced a double play -- Toronto's fifth double play of the contest -- and needed just nine pitches overall to nail down his 14th save. Despite the successful outing, Hader snapped an eight-game streak of appearances with at least one punchout. He had posted a 14:1 K:BB across eight frames during that stretch.

Valdez (7-5) earned the win over Toronto on Thursday, allowing three runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four batters over six innings.

It looked like Valdez could be in for a rough outing when five of the first six batters he faced got a hit, resulting in three runs. However, the left-hander got out of that frame without incurring additional damage, and he went on to complete six frames without surrendering any more runs. Eight of the nine hits Valdez allowed overall were singles, which was key in limiting damage, as Toronto hit into four double plays against him. This was far from Valdez's sharpest outing, but he was nonetheless able to log his seventh victory and ninth quality start of the campaign.

Soto went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in a loss to the Reds on Thursday.

Soto brought New York to within four runs with his two-run swat to center field in the seventh inning, but that was the final tally for either team. The All-Star outfielder is up 21 homers on the campaign, putting him on pace to surpass the career-high 35 long balls he hit last season. Soto has added 63 RBI, 70 runs, four steals and a .300/.438/.568 slash line through 385 plate appearances in his first season as a Yankee.