MLB Player News

Sheets is in the lineup Thursday versus the Diamondbacks.

Arizona has southpaw Kohl Drake taking the mound Thursday, which usually means the left-handed hitting Sheets would take a seat. It's the 30-year-old's second start versus a lefty since July 2. He has a .376 OPS in 17 games since the All-Star break.

Bregman went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's 3-2, extra-innings win over the Blue Jays. He also stole a base.

Chicago was scoreless with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning when Bregman gave the team a huge jolt, clubbing his 12th home run of the season off stingy Toronto closer Louis Varland to tie the game at 2-2. The veteran third baseman is now sporting a .766 OPS across six games this month. For his career, Bregman has a .955 OPS in August, which is his best of any month, so a hot streak could be just around the corner.

Stewart went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Athletics.

Stewart launched the first of two Cincinnati homers in the fourth inning to erase an Athletics lead. It was the 25th knock of the season for Stewart, who's gone deep six times and driven in 22 runs over 19 games since the All-Star break.

Stephenson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Athletics.

Stephenson's homer in the bottom of the fourth inning tied the game at 3-3 after the A's took a lead in the top half of the frame. It was the fourth home run in the last 13 contests and 10th of the season for the pending free agent catcher, who has burnished his market value since the break. In 14 second-half games, Stephenson has slashed .319/.418/.702 with seven walks, four homers, six doubles, nine RBI and nine runs scored.

De La Cruz went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Athletics.

De La Cruz jumped on the second pitch he saw to give the Reds an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. It was the 19th homer of the season for De La Cruz, who's seeking a third consecutive 20-homer campaign. He's slashing a career-best .276/.356/.501 for the season along with 18 doubles, five triples, 19 homers and 53 RBI through 95 games.

Bleday went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Athletics. He was also caught stealing.

Bleday's seventh-inning homer was the last of Cincinnati's four solo homers on the day and turned out to be the game-deciding run. It was the 20th home run of the season for Bleday, who whacked 20 while with the Athletics in 2024 before dropping to 14 last season. He has a .230/.344/.470 slash line this year, numbers that have been squelched by a persistent low BABIP (.236).

Manager Pat Murphy said that Bauers (abdomen) was available to come off the bench in an emergency Thursday versus the Pirates, and the team is hopeful that he'll play Friday against the Twins, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Bauers missed the final three games of Milwaukee's four-game set against Pittsburgh after suffering an abdominal injury Monday, but it appears his time on the sidelines is nearing its end. The 30-year-old has continued to be one of the Brewers' most productive bats during the second half, slashing .286/.386/.469 with two homers, five RBI, 12 runs scored and two steals in 16 games since the break.

McLean (8-7) earned the win against the Guardians on Thursday, allowing five runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out eight.

McLean certainly wasn't in peak form Thursday, but the Mets gave him plenty of run support to get the hurler credited with the win. It was a rare misstep for the right-hander, who entered Thursday on an outstanding six-start streak with at least six innings while conceding two runs or fewer. McLean will bring what's still an excellent 3.51 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 156:48 K:BB over 130.2 innings into his next scheduled appearance in Atlanta.

Mlodzinski will start Friday's game against the Mets, Jose Negron of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

Mlodzinski is getting another opportunity to start for the Pirates after Mitch Keller (arm) went down with a season-ending injury. Although each of Mlodzinski's last 14 appearances have come in relief, he has covered multiple innings in all of those outings, including going three shutout frames in each of his last two trips to the hill. He threw 47 pitches in his last appearance Aug. 1, so Mlodzinski should be handle around 60 pitches Friday.

The Cardinals outrighted Hence to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Thursday.

It's a bit of a surprise that the former top prospect passed through waivers unclaimed, even after holding a 6.64 ERA and 1.84 WHIP through 20.1 innings this season at Triple-A Memphis. Hence is likely being sent to the FCL in order to work on his mechanics in a less pressurized setting.