MLB Player News

Acuna went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs and a walk in a 9-2 win against the Athletics on Wednesday.

Acuna was scratched from Atlanta's previous contest due to a back issue, but he didn't show any signs of a lingering injury Wednesday. The star slugger led off the game with a blast to left field off Mitch Spence and added another solo homer off Spence in the fourth inning. The long balls snapped a 13-game homerless stretch for Acuna, during which he batted just .158 (6-for-38) with only two RBI. Despite that rough period, Acuna is slashing a healthy .336/.454/.601 with 11 home runs, 20 RBI and four stolen bases over 41 contests.

Elder (3-6) earned the win over the Athletics on Wednesday, allowing two runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over 6.2 innings.

Elder logged his second-longest outing of the season, trailing only his eight-inning, 12-strikeout performance against San Francisco on June 7. The right-hander racked up an outstanding 24 whiffs Wednesday, setting a new career-high mark in that category. Elder was in dire need of a positive performance, as he had logged a 12.64 ERA, 2.81 WHIP and 13:11 K:BB over his previous four starts spanning 15.2 frames.

Sheets went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday in a loss to the Diamondbacks.

San Diego managed just four hits in the loss, and Sheets' seventh-inning, 437-foot solo homer was the only ball to leave the park. It was the just the second home run over the past 23 games for the veteran slugger, though he's had a strong first half overall. Sheets has a .771 OPS through 89 contests, and with 14 homers he's just one shy of the career-high mark of 15 he set in 2022 while with the White Sox.

Perdomo went 1-for-4 with a grand slam and a walk in an 8-2 win over the Padres on Wednesday.

Perdomo maximized his lone hit, swatting a grand slam to right field in the fifth inning. While power hasn't typically been a big part of his game, the shortstop has turned things up a notch this season, as he's already recorded a career-high 10 long balls, surpassing his previous top mark of six homers set during the 2023 regular season. Perdomo is also up to 64 RBI, easily establishing a career-high mark and ranking 11th among major-league hitters.

Pallante (5-5) took the loss Wednesday against the Nationals, giving up seven runs on eight hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out one.

Pallante was knocked around, matching a season high in runs allowed and falling one hit allowed short of his season worst. The 26-year-old right-hander tends to pitch to contact, as he entered Wednesday with a 64.6 percent groundball rate in 2025, and that got him into trouble while tying a season low with one strikeout against Washington. Pallante will carry an ordinary 4.49 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 64:32 K:BB over 100.1 innings into the All-Star break, and he'll likely primarily remain a matchup-based streamer for fantasy purposes.

Gore (4-8) earned the win Wednesday against the Cardinals, giving up one run on five hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out seven.

The seven punchouts were Gore's most since his June 4 start against the Cubs, when he also struck out seven. Wednesday also marked the sixth instance in 19 outings during which the 26-year-old southpaw fired at least six frames while yielding one run or fewer, and he's now gone at least five innings in nine consecutive appearances. Gore sports a 3.02 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 138:35 K:BB over 110.1 innings, which helped him garner his first career All-Star selection in 2025.

Cease (3-9) allowed six runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight batters over six innings in a loss against Arizona on Wednesday.

Cease continues to flash impressive stuff with poor results -- he racked up 16 whiffs and eight strikeouts but allowed three long balls and six runs. The right-hander has now given up multiple home runs in three consecutive starts, yielding 14 runs (13 earned) across 16 innings during that stretch. Cease is tied for sixth in the league with 129 punchouts on the season, but he's also posted a poor 4.88 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.

Horton (3-3) took the loss Wednesday against the Twins, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out five.

After firing seven shutout innings his last time out, Horton stumbled in Minnesota on Wednesday despite registering an impressive 19 whiffs. The rookie right-hander has now failed to make it through five frames in three of his last four starts, and he's walked multiple batters and been unable to fan greater than five in each of these outings. Horton will take a shaky 4.45 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 43:18 K:BB through his first 56.2 innings into the All-Star break, but he has a clear pathway to a rotation spot with the Cubs for now due to the absence of Justin Steele (elbow).

Pfaadt (9-6) earned the win over San Diego on Wednesday, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out four batters over eight innings.

Pfaadt was both effective and efficient in the outing, needing a comfortable 99 pitches to get through a season-high eight frames. In fact, this was just the second time this season he's completed more than six innings -- his previous high was 6.1 frames May 8 against the Dodgers. Pfaadt didn't overwhelm batters with just seven whiffs and four punchouts, but he limited the Padres to only four hits. He's unlikely to pitch again until after the All-Star break; if that's the case, he'll finish the first half of the campaign with a 9-6 record despite a poor 5.16 ERA and 1.31 WHIP along with an 84:23 K:BB over 99.1 innings (19 starts).

Abbott (8-1) picked up the win Wednesday against the Marlins, allowing one run on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 7.2 innings.

Abbott was pulled in the fourth inning of his previous start after allowing four earned runs. The 26-year-old bounced back Wednesday by firing seven scoreless innings before Heriberto Hernandez broke the shutout with an RBI single during the eighth frame. The outing marked Abbott's sixth quality start of the campaign and snapped a streak of three consecutive appearances with fewer than five Ks. He'll take a 2.07 ERA and an 83:24 K:BB over 91.1 innings into his next start, which won't come until after the All-Star break.