MLB Player News

Kelly went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 11-3 win over the Cardinals.

Kelly hit one of eight Chicago home runs on the afternoon, which included three from Michael Busch and two from Pete Crow-Armstrong. The veteran catcher now has 10 long balls this season, and he's been hot recently, recording a .407 batting average and 1.152 OPS over his last 10 games. Kelly should remain the Cubs' top backstop moving forward, though he'll receive competition for playing time when Miguel Amaya (oblique) returns from the injured list, which is expected sometime around the All-Star break,

Suzuki went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 11-3 win over the Cardinals.

Suzuki was overshadowed a bit by Pete Crow-Armstrong, who had two home runs in the game, as well as Michael Busch, who went deep three times. However, the former still managed to provide some fireworks of his own, and he's now up to 24 long balls, which leads the team and is good for sixth in the majors. Suzuki has gone deep six times over his last 12 games, during which time he also has a robust 1.115 OPS.

Wisely went hit a solo home run in his lone at-bat in Friday's 11-2 loss to the Athletics.

Wisely's first homer of the year got the Giants on the board in the seventh inning. He's gone 6-for-21 (.286) across nine games during this stint in the majors, and three of his hits in that span have gone for extra bases. Even with modest success at the plate, Wisely's chance to carve out playing time at third base is likely to end Saturday when Matt Chapman (hand) comes off the injured list. Wisely can still push Tyler Fitzgerald for time at second base, but the former's versatility on defense makes him arguably more valuable as a bench bat.

Verlander (0-6) allowed six runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out five over three innings to take the loss Friday versus the Athletics.

Verlander threw 45 of 60 pitches for strikes, but they were a little too hittable. The Athletics put together a four-run rally in the second inning and ultimately handed Verlander his ugliest start of the season. The 42-year-old's ERA is up to 4.84 with a 1.44 WHIP and 60:26 K:BB over 70.2 innings over 14 starts as he continues to search for his first win of the year. He's projected to make his next start at home in a tough matchup versus the Phillies.

Suarez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, an additional RBI and a hit-by-pitch in Friday's 9-3 loss to the Royals.

Suarez has three homers over his last five games, which accounts for all three of his hits in that span. The third baseman avoided striking out Friday after racking up 14 strikeouts over his previous six contests. He's fourth in the majors with 28 homers and has added a .252/.320/.570 slash line, 72 RBI, 53 runs scored, 16 doubles and a stolen base over 86 games.

Rodriguez (3-5) allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 12 hits and struck out seven without walking a batter over 4.1 innings to take the loss Friday versus the Royals.

Rodriguez got off to a sour start, allowing three runs in each of the first two innings. He gave up a total of three home runs, including two to Vinnie Pasquantino. Rodriguez had a strong June, pitching to a 1.98 ERA despite a 1.32 WHIP over 27.1 innings, but the nine runs allowed Friday were a season high for the southpaw. He's now at a 5.78 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 87:27 K:BB across 76.1 innings through 15 starts. He'll try to get back on track next week in a start tentatively projected to be on the road versus the Padres.

Smith went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in Friday's 18-1 loss to the Astros.

Smith was the only Dodger to put together a successful effort at the plate against Houston's pitching duo of Lance McCullers and Jason Alexander. It's been a strong stretch of late for Smith, who has gone 14-for-37 (.378) with six homers and seven RBI over his last 12 games. The catcher is at a .330/.433/.564 slash line with 12 homers, 45 RBI, 44 runs scored, two stolen bases, 15 doubles and one triple over 69 contests.

Casparius (6-3) allowed six runs on nine hits and struck out three over three innings to take the loss versus the Astros on Friday.

Casparius had made his last two appearances as a bulk reliever behind Shohei Ohtani. His return to a starting role didn't go any better than his last turn out of the bullpen, as the Astros tagged Casparius for three home runs. He's now yielded seven long balls on the year while adding a 4.68 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 57:12 K:BB across 59.2 innings through 26 appearances (three starts). Casparius continues to provide multi-inning abilities for the Dodgers as they put together a patchwork solution for their rotation. With Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) nearing a return and Emmet Sheehan expected to be called up to pitch Sunday, it seems like Casparius is on borrowed time to stay in the rotation.

DeSclafani will start Sunday's game against the Royals at Chase Field, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

The 35-year-old righty has made four appearances out of the bullpen since joining Arizona in mid-June, but he'll make his first start of the season Sunday. During his time in the bullpen, DeSclafani logged a 4.82 ERA through 9.1 innings, but he could be in position for a bounce-back outing against a Kansas City offense that owns a .666 OPS on the season (26th in MLB). Though he's worked three innings or fewer out of the Arizona bullpen, DeSclafani should be able to provide a little bit of length beyond that Sunday after tossing six innings in his final start at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees organization on June 10 prior to being granted his release from his minor-league deal.

Baty went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-5 win over the Yankees.

The 25-year-old infielder cracked his ninth home run of the season and his first since June 14. With Mark Vientos continuing to struggle -- he owns a .636 OPS in 2025 -- the door remains open for Baty to settle into a strong-side platoon role at third base going forward. Even so, Baty hasn't performed much better at the plate this year, as he's slashing just .224/.275/.410 with seven doubles, two triples and 29 RBI over 223 plate appearances.