MLB Player News

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 4-1 victory versus the Dodgers.

Contreras entered Saturday having gone 0-for-20 over his previous six games, so he was sorely in need of a positive performance. The veteran catcher produced just that, with his biggest knock being a two-run homer in the fourth inning for the game's final runs. Contreras is having a pretty quiet campaign with a modest 12 home runs through 115 games, though he has knocked in a healthy 61 runs and scored 59 times. Still, his .711 OPS would be his worst mark since 2021, when he played in just 52 regular-season contests as a rookie with Atlanta.

Wrobleski (11-5) yielded four runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six batters over six innings in a loss to Milwaukee on Saturday.

Wrobleski was mostly effective, racking up 15 whiffs on 107 pitches and allowing as many baserunners as innings pitched (six). However, two of the hits he allowed left the park, and both were two-run shots. Wrobleski has now given up 11 home runs over 19.2 innings across his past four starts while taking three losses during that span. He made his first career All-Star team on the strength of a 2.69 first-half ERA, but that number has increased by nearly a run (to 3.56) due to what has been a rough second half. On most staffs, Wrobleski's impressive pre-break performance would be enough to keep him comfortably in a starting role despite his recent struggles, but that's not a guarantee with the Dodgers. With Blake Snell recently returning from injury, Tyler Glasnow (back) nearing activation from the IL, Shohei Ohtani throwing bullpens as he looks to return to the rotation and Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and Eric Lauer all healthy, there is a chance Wrobleski ultimately gets squeezed.

Ashby recorded a save against the Dodgers on Saturday, walking one batter and striking out two over two hitless and scoreless innings.

Ashby entered to begin the eighth inning with Milwaukee up 4-1. He retired the side in order on 17 pitches and returned for the ninth, when he worked around a two-out walk and subsequent fielding error to finish off the save. It was Ashby's first save of the season, as he's instead been busy racking up victories -- his 13 wins lead MLB relievers and are tied for fourth in the league overall. Ashby has managed that total despite an underwhelming 3.42 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, though he has an impressive 97 punchouts through 68.1 innings and has been scored upon in just one outing (albeit in a five-run blowup) over his past 12 appearances.

Misiorowski (12-5) earned the win over the Dodgers on Saturday, allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out six batters over six innings.

Misiorowski set the tone quickly, leading off his outing by firing six straight fastballs of over 102 mph to Shohei Ohtani, who ultimately popped out. Ohtani got some revenge with an RBI triple in the third, but that was the only run Misiorowski ended up allowing. The All-Star hurler finished with a modest (for him) six punchouts, but not for a lack of swing-and-miss stuff -- he induced 17 whiffs over 98 total pitches. Misiorowski has now logged three consecutive quality starts, though this was his first victory during that span. He continues to lead qualified MLB pitchers by wide margins with a sterling 1.75 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 210 punchouts to further strengthen his already-strong case for his first Cy Young Award.

Acuna went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday.

Acuna helped Atlanta get off to a nice start with a 429-foot solo blast to center field to lead off his team's half of the first inning. However, Arizona stormed back to log a blowout win. Acuna nonetheless bounced back after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the opening game of the series Friday. He's up to 13 home runs on the season, with five of those long balls coming across his first 13 contests in August.

Arenado went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, a walk, three total runs and four total RBI in a 10-3 win against Atlanta on Saturday.

Arenado drove in his first run in quiet fashion, bouncing into an RBI groundout in the second inning. He made much more noise thereafter, slugging a two-run homer in the third and adding a solo shot in the seventh. Arenado's pair of long balls pushed him to 20 on the season -- the ninth time he's reached that mark in his career but the first time since 2023. The veteran third baseman already has six home runs through 13 games in August, the most he's hit in any month so far this year.

Holmes (7-5) took the loss against Arizona on Saturday, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three batters over 3.2 innings.

Holmes came into Saturday with back-to-back outings of six scoreless frames, and he looked good in recording two strikeouts in a perfect first inning. The wheels fell off thereafter, however, as the Diamondbacks tagged him for three runs in each of the following two frames. Holmes was allowed to return for the fourth inning but was pulled after issuing back-to-back two-out walks. The outing was tied for his second-shortest appearance of the season, behind only a two-inning, three-run performance that was cut short by rain against San Francisco on June 16. Holmes will look to bounce back in his next start, which is projected to be a road matchup against the White Sox.

Rodriguez (12-4) earned the win over Atlanta on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks while striking out five batters over six scoreless innings.

Rodriguez had a rough first inning, allowing two runs on three hits, including a Ronald Acuna homer. However, the veteran hurler bounced back impressively thereafter, at one point retiring 11 straight batters and yielding just two additional baserunners. Meanwhile, Arizona exploded for six runs across the second and third frames, sending Rodriguez to his 12th victory of the campaign -- tied for seventh most in the majors. He's at a 2.71 ERA and 1.21 WHIP through 149.1 innings spanning 25 starts this season, with the ERA being by far the best mark of his 11-year career.

Vasquez completed five relief innings against Cleveland on Saturday, allowing four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out five batters in a no-decision.

Vasquez was the Padres' third pitcher, following Wandy Peralta (one inning) and Kyle Hart (one inning). Vasquez had pitched well as a traditional starter in his previous two appearances, giving up just two runs over 11 combined frames, so it's unclear why he was transitioned back to bulk relief Saturday. Regardless, that decision didn't work out, as the right-hander yielded two runs in the fifth inning and another two in the seventh. It remains to be seen how Vasquez will be deployed moving forward, but he logged a starter's workload of 90 pitches Saturday, so he'll presumably remain on his regular rest schedule, which puts him on track to next take the mound next weekend at home against Minnesota.

Jones (2-5) allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven over five innings to take the loss Saturday versus the Red Sox.

Jones pitched fairly well, but the Pirates gave him no run support. He had allowed 11 runs over seven innings across his first two starts in August. Jones has taken the loss in his last four appearances and is now at a 4.78 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 72:21 K:BB over 64 innings over 14 starts this season. He's projected for a tough road start versus the Dodgers in his next outing.