MLB Player News

Sale (12-3) got the win Tuesday over the Diamondbacks, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out nine over 5.1 innings.

Sale mowed down the Diamondbacks for his league-leading 12th win of the season. For reference, he entered this season with just 11 wins total dating back to the end of the 2019 campaign. Sale kept the Diamondbacks scoreless through five frames before a single and a triple in the sixth scored their first run and knocked Sale out of the game. A second run wound up being charged to the lefty before the inning ended. Sale has now allowed two runs or fewer in six straight starts and has piled up a 54:12 K:BB in 37.1 innings over that span. He now owns a 2.74 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 136:22 K:BB in 105 innings this year and is in line to make one final start before the All-Star break this weekend against the Padres.

Bird (groin) was sent to Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.

Bird has been out since late June with a groin strain, but he resumed throwing a few days ago and is now ready to test things out in a game setting. The reliever shouldn't need many rehab appearances since he hasn't missed much time, but with the All-Star break looming the Rockies could choose to hold him out until the second half.

Thomas started in center field and went 0-for-4 in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to Atlanta.

This was the first time the Diamondbacks faced a left-handed starter since Thomas was activated off the injured list. His struggles against southpaws -- a career .449 OPS -- has led to manager Torey Lovullo sitting him against lefties in previous years, but Thomas got the start over Corbin Carroll. Part of that could be due to the need for Thomas to get at-bats; he has just 39 plate appearances in 2024.

Rogers (shoulder) was sent to the Rockies' Arizona Complex League affiliate Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.

Rogers has been sidelined since mid-June with a left rotator cuff strain but has been cleared to pitch in games again. He should be ready to return shortly after the All-Star break, although Rogers wouldn't seem to be a given to rejoin the big-league roster at that point.

Quintana (4-5) picked up the win in Tuesday's 7-5 victory over the Nationals, allowing only one hit and one walk over seven scoreless innings. He struck out five.

The veteran southpaw will be checking the calendar to see when he can face Washington again -- in back-to-back starts against the Mets' NL East foe, Quintana has spun 14 innings without giving up a run. The stingy performances have lowered his ERA on the season to 3.91, the first time it's been below 4.00 since late April. Quintana lines up for one more outing before the All-Star break during a home series against the Rockies this weekend.

McCarthy started in right field and went 1-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to Atlanta.

McCarthy entered the starting lineup in right field, replacing Corbin Carroll, who sat for the second straight time against a left-handed starter. Carroll had a .721 OPS against southpaws in 2023 but that's dropped to .539 in 2024. McCarthy, meanwhile, owns a career .745 OPS and is up to .897 in 2024 against southpaws.

Vargas went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Mets.

The veteran utility player began the game on the bench, but he pinch hit for Trey Lipscomb in the eighth inning and took Adam Ottavino deep -- Vargas' first long ball of the season. After a hot start to the season, Vargas is batting just .135 (5-for-37) over his last 15 appearances, and his playing time has dwindled.

The Cardinals are expected to recall Graceffo from Triple-A Memphis to make his first major-league start in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Royals, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Sonny Gray is on turn for St. Louis, but the club will push him back for Friday's matchup versus the Cubs. Graceffo will serve as the 27th man for the Cardinals and will be returned to Memphis after the spot start. The right-hander pitched well in long relief in his major-league debut last month, allowing one run with a 4:2 K:BB over 4.1 innings against the Reds. Graceffo holds a 2.22 ERA and 26:10 K:BB in 28.1 frames with Memphis since the beginning of June.

Irvin (7-7) took the loss Tuesday, coughing up six runs on nine hits and two walks over six innings as the Nationals fell 7-5 to the Mets. He struck out two.

The right-hander dominated the Mets on July 4, but the Nats' NL East rivals got some revenge in the rematch, with a three-run homer by Brandon Nimmo in the second inning and a two-run blast by Francisco Lindor in the sixth accounting for most of the damage off Irvin. He hadn't served up multiple homers in a start since May 22, while the six runs allowed tied his season high. Irvin will take a 3.13 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 96:26 K:BB through 112 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come on the road in Milwaukee this weekend.

Higashioka went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer and a walk in Tuesday's loss to the Mariners.

Higashioka tacked on a two-run blast in the eighth to cut the deficit to 7-3 for his only hit of the evening. Though he's not an everyday player, Higashioka has been swinging the bat well when in the lineup of late, slashing .342/.375/.842 with six homers, 17 RBI and eight runs scored in 40 plate appearances over his last 11 games. He'll continue to split time behind the dish with Luis Campusano despite Higashioka currently swinging a much hotter bat.