MLB Player News

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run and two RBI in Thursday's loss to the Brewers.

It was a rough night for Atlanta overall in a 16-7 rout, but Ozuna did what he could with a solo shot in the seventh inning off Bryse Wilson and an RBI groundout in the eighth. The veteran slugger is up to 33 homers and 88 RBI on the season, and he's been on a rampage over the last month, slashing .323/.377/.656 in his last 25 games with 10 long balls, 15 RBI and 19 runs.

Riley went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in Thursday's loss to the Brewers.

The third baseman got Atlanta on the board in the third inning by taking Frankie Montas deep, but his team was already in an 8-0 hole at that point. Riley has gone yard in back-to-back games, and over 18 contests since the All-Star break he's slashing .301/.346/.575 with five of his 17 homers on the season.

Realmuto went 2-for-5 with a double, a solo homer and a second run scored in Thursday's win over the Diamondbacks.

Realmuto crushed a 430-foot home run to lead off the seventh inning and extend Philadelphia's lead to two runs. The backstop would add a leadoff double in the ninth before coming around to score a second time, marking his first game with multiple runs since May 22. The long ball was also his first since May 23, ending a 22-game drought, but he's batting just .167 (4-for-24) in August even after the two-hit effort. On a positive note, Realmuto has driven in a run in three of his last four contests.

The Diamondbacks optioned Castellanos to Triple-A Reno on Thursday.

Castellanos served as Arizona's 27th man during Wednesday's doubleheader versus the Guardians, although he didn't make an appearance. The righty could be put back into the rotation at Reno.

Estevez picked up the save over the Diamondbacks on Thursday, allowing one run on two hits over one inning while striking out two.

Estevez entered the game with a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning and surrendered a leadoff single to Geraldo Perdomo before fanning the next two batters. The recently acquired reliever would then cough up an RBI single to Jake McCarthy, but Estevez went on to retire the final batter for his 22nd save of the season and his first in a Phillies uniform. It marked the first earned run charged to Estevez since May 20 when he was still an Angel, and he's recorded at least one strikeout in each of his last four appearances.

The Giants signed Howard to a minor-league contract Thursday.

Howard began the season with the Giants before being designated for assignment and then traded to the Guardians in July. Cleveland dropped him from its 40-man roster shortly after that, and he's now returned to the Giants organization and been assigned to Triple-A Sacramento. Howard holds a 6.21 ERA and 27:14 K:BB in 29 big-league innings covering three starts and six relief appearances in 2024.

Montgomery (7-6) took the loss against the Phillies on Thursday, allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out four.

Montgomery allowed at least one hit in each of the first five innings but managed to keep the Phillies off the board while pitching his way out of multiple jams. However, the veteran lefty's luck would run out in the sixth after he hit Nick Castellanos with a pitch, as he then failed to retire three of the next four batters before being relieved by Dylan Floro with two outs. Three of the four runs charged to Montgomery came across after he left the contest. He's failed to make it through six innings in five consecutive starts, and Montgomery has also issued multiple walks in each of his last three outings while posting only eight strikeouts over that stretch.

Benson started in left field and went 1-for-2 with a stolen base in Thursday's 10-4 extra-inning win over Miami.

Benson made his first start since being reinstated off the paternity list Wednesday. The steal was his 14th. He was later pinch hit for when a left-handed reliever entered, which has been the custom for much of this season. Benson, who is batting .196 overall, is 7-for-51 (.137) against southpaws.

Allard (1-0) picked up the win over Arizona on Thursday, allowing one run on six hits over five innings while striking out three. He did not issue any walks.

Allard managed to keep the Diamondbacks off the board through the first four innings, allowing just three singles before surrendering a solo homer to Eugenio Suarez with one out in the fifth. The 26-year-old lefty would end up making it through the frame to post his longest outing of the campaign, while also going on to secure his first win. Allard has held opponents to three or fewer runs in each of his two starts and holds a 8:2 K:BB as he plugs a hole in the Phillies' rotation while Ranger Suarez (back) and Taijuan Walker (finger) are sidelined.

Suarez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 6-4 loss to Philadelphia.

Suarez gave the Diamondbacks the first lead of the game with a solo shot in the fifth inning. It was his 17th home run of the season and 11th in the last 27 games. What had looked like a lost season -- Suarez flirted with the Mendoza Line (.200) through the end of June and was losing playing time -- turned around at the beginning of July. The third baseman sports a .310/.371/.681 slash line over 32 games since the beginning of July.