MLB Player News

Diaz (1-0) earned the win over Cincinnati on Tuesday, needed just eight pitches to complete 1.1 perfect innings.

Diaz got the call against his former team with two outs in the seventh inning of a 4-4 game. He inherited the speedy Elly De La Cruz at second base, but Diaz needed just two pitches to get Austin Hays to ground out. The righty reliever returned for the eighth and retired the side in order on just six pitches, and then moved into position for the win as a result of Los Angeles scoring in the top of the ninth. Diaz was traded from the Reds to the Dodgers in late May after a rough start to the campaign that resulted in a demotion to the minors. Since joining Los Angeles, he's gotten into three games, tossing 3.1scoreless frames with two punchouts and no walks.

Freeman went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI in a 5-4 win against the Reds on Tuesday.

Freeman singled three times in the victory, and his clutch seventh-inning knock tied the score 4-4. It was the All-Star first baseman's first three-hit performance since June 28. Freeman ended the first half of the campaign in a 5-for-33 stretch at the plate, but he's bounced back a bit since the All-Star break, batting .293 over 11 contests. However, Freeman is stuck on 10 long balls for the season and hasn't gone deep since that June 28 three-hit game against Kansas City.

Edman went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Tuesday in a 5-4 win against Cincinnati.

Edman sat out Monday due to an ankle issue, but he felt good enough to return to the starting lineup Tuesday. The infielder/outfielder certainly seemed fine in his first at-bat, as he poked a two-run homer to right field. It was his second long ball of the second half of the campaign, and during that span he's slashing .250/.294/.438 with five RBI over nine games.

Pressly allowed four runs (three earned) on a hit and two walks across an inning of relief in Tuesday's loss to the Brewers. He struck out two.

Pressly only allowed the one hit but it was a big one, as he served up a grand slam to the red-hot Andrew Vaughn in the sixth inning that broke the game open for Milwaukee. The veteran reliever had seemingly righted the ship after a rough start to the season, but he's now allowed runs in three straight outings, and his ERA has climbed to 4.35. Pressly has a career 3.33 ERA and he was under 4.00 in each of the last seven seasons.

Benge went 2-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run and a second run scored for Double-A Binghamton on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old top prospect has hit safely in 11 of the last 12 games for Binghamton, slashing a blistering .431/.525/.784 over that stretch with three doubles, five homers, 14 RBI, 17 runs and more walks (nine) than strikeouts (eight). After tearing up High-A pitching to earn a promotion in June and having even more success at Double-A, Benge could find himself bumped up to Triple-A Syracuse before the season is over, and a 2026 big-league debut is firmly on the table.

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Royals.

The veteran DH has started three of the last four games as he gets showcased for a potential trade, and Ozuna has done his part to boost his value by going yard in back-to-back contests. Four of his 15 homers on the season have come in July, but he only has eight total hits on the month, batting .167 (8-for-48) over 17 games.

Happ (shin) is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Milwaukee, but the Cubs don't anticipate him requiring a stint on the 10-day injured list, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Happ was lifted from Tuesday's loss after fouling a ball off his left shin. While he'll take a seat for the series finale in Milwaukee, Happ could be ready to play Friday against the Orioles after Thursday's team off day. Seiya Suzuki will start in left field Wednesday and Moises Ballesteros will get a start at designated hitter.

Waldrep threw seven scoreless innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out eight.

There had been speculation the 23-year-old right-hander might get called up this week to bolster Atlanta's injury-ravaged rotation, but Waldrep instead remained at Gwinnett and delivered arguably his best performance of the season. He's given up two runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts, posting a 1.99 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 36:16 K:BB over 40.2 innings during that stretch. With Atlanta out of the playoff picture and expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, the team could still promote Waldrep at some point over the final weeks of the campaign to help him get his feet wet in the majors ahead of competing for a rotation spot next spring.

The Cubs activated Hodge (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Hodge is over the shoulder issue that sent him to the IL earlier this month, but the Cubs have decided to keep him at Iowa, where he had been on a rehab assignment. The hard-throwing righty should get another chance with the big club later this season.

The Cubs recalled Ballesteros from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Ballesteros went 3-for-16 at the plate in an earlier stint with the Cubs and has slashed .332/.393/.496 with nine home runs this season with Iowa. The Cubs don't have a clear opening in the everyday lineup for the 21-year-old at the moment, though he could serve as the team's primary designated hitter in the short term while Ian Happ is day-to-day with a shin injury. Ballesteros will start at DH and bat seventh in Wednesday's series finale with the Brewers.