MLB Player News

Montas (5-8) picked up the win Friday, giving up three runs on nine hits over five innings in an 8-3 victory over the Nationals. He struck out five without walking a batter.

The right-hander was solid in his Milwaukee debut, tossing 58 of 89 pitches for strikes and issuing zero free passes for the first time since he got the Opening Day assignment for Cincinnati on March 28 -- a start which coincidentally also came against Washington. Montas has lasted more than five innings only once in his last five outings, a stretch in which he's stumbled to a 7.27 ERA while serving up seven home runs in 26 innings, and CJ Abrams did tag him for a two-run shot in the third inning Friday. Montas will try to keep the ball in the park, and give his new team some length, when he makes his next trip to the mound on the road next week in Atlanta.

Cruz went 5-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, two RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 9-8 loss to the Diamondbacks.

The Pirates as a team managed only 13 hits in total, but Cruz nearly single-handedly kept them in the game with the first five-hit performance of his young career. The 25-year-old shortstop is slashing .311/.357/.589 over 23 games since the beginning of July with five homers, four steals, 15 runs and 20 RBI despite a 32.7 percent strikeout rate during that stretch.

Ortiz escaped with a no-decision in Friday's 9-8 loss to the Diamondbacks, coughing up six runs on six hits -- including three home runs -- and three walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out two.

All three long balls came in the first inning, as Ketel Marte, Joc Pederson and Josh Bell went back-to-back-to-back as part of a five-run frame. It's the first time since June 21 that Ortiz has served up multiple homers, and over six appearances between those two games he'd posted a 1.71 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 27:6 K:BB through 31.2 innings. With Jared Jones (lat) inching closer to a return though, Ortiz likely can't afford more meltdowns if he wants to hang onto his spot in the rotation. He's scheduled to make his next start at home next week against the Padres.

France started at first base and went 0-for-3 in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Giants.

France made his first start for the Reds since being acquired earlier in the week. With Christian Encarnacion-Strand (wrist) done for the season, first base has become a rotation involving Jeimer Candelario, Spencer Steer and France.

Pfaadt came away with a no-decision in Friday's 9-8 win over the Pirates, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out three.

The right-hander ran up his pitch count and fell short of a quality start, exiting after 96 pitches (65 strikes), but Pfaadt still left the mound in line for his sixth win of the year before the Arizona bullpen made a mess of things. After a couple scoreless outings on either side of the All-Star break, Pfaadt has avoided taking a loss in seven straight trips to the mound, posting a 3.10 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 34:6 K:BB through 40.2 innings over that stretch. He'll try to get back in the win column in his next start, which lines up to come on the road next week in Cleveland.

Puk allowed one run on three hits over one-third of an inning in Friday's 9-8 win over the Pirates.

Puk entered to clean up a mess made by Kevin Ginkel in the sixth inning but couldn't prevent the Pirates from taking the lead. Both Puk and Ginkel were speculated as options to close out games after manager Torey Lovullo announced earlier in the day that Paul Sewald would no longer be the club's closer. Ryan Thompson eventually closed out the win after Arizona retook the lead, but Lovullo, who did not specifically name a replacement for Sewald, trusts all three of those relievers.

Ginkel allowed three runs on one hit, one walk and a hit batsman over two-thirds of an inning in Friday's 9-8 win over the Pirates.

Ginkel entered in the sixth inning with Arizona up 6-3 and by the time he and A.J. Puk finished the frame, the Diamondbacks were down 7-6. This came on the day that manager Torey Lovullo announced Paul Sewald would no longer be the team's closer, which led to speculation about both Ginkel and Puk as options to close games. Ryan Thompson eventually closed the win, but Lovullo never mentioned a specific player as Sewald's direct replacement. The manager has a number of arms he trusts, including Ginkel.

Miller (3-1) tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win Friday against the Cardinals. He struck out one.

Chicago starter Javier Assad only lasted four innings in this one, which opened the door for Miller to pick up his third win in relief this year. The righty has emerged as a nice bullpen option for the Cubs, posting a 2.06 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 36 strikeouts across 39.1 innings. He's still likely behind both Hector Neris and Porter Hodge in the pecking order for saves, though with Mark Leiter traded to New York, Miller could at least see a bit more high-leverage work moving forward.

Thompson allowed one run on two hits in one inning Friday, recording the save in a 9-8 win over Pittsburgh.

Thompson was given the first save opportunity after manager Torey Lovullo announced earlier in the day that Paul Sewald was being removed from the closer job. It was the second straight save converted by Thompson, who closed out Wednesday's win when Sewald couldn't. Lovullo could also use Kevin Ginkel or A.J. Puk in save situations, but those two pitched earlier in the game Friday, combining to give up four runs in the sixth inning.

Busch went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-3 win over the Cardinals.

Busch and Christian Bethancourt led the way for the Cubs with two home runs and four total RBI. For Busch, he's now up to 14 long balls this season to go along with a .257 batting average and .795 OPS. He's been a bit cold lately with a .143 average over his last five games, though he's gone deep twice in that span to boost his OPS to .821. Busch should remain locked in at first base for Chicago moving forward.