MLB Player News

Treinen earned a hold against Milwaukee on Saturday, striking out one batter in a perfect inning of work.

Treinen entered in the seventh frame and retired the side in order on 11 pitches. The right-hander has given up an earned run in just two of his 23 appearances this season, resulting in a solid 2.61 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 20.2 innings. Treinen hasn't shown much rust despite missing all of 2023 and most of 2022 due to a shoulder injury.

Carlson will start in center field and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Nationals.

The switch-hitting Carlson will make his fourth consecutive start, with all coming against left-handed pitching. Carlson hasn't started against a right-handed pitcher since June 24 and still looks to be stuck in a short-side platoon role. He heads into Sunday's game with a .198/.273/.245 slash line and a 24 percent strikeout rate over 121 plate appearances on the season.

Gurriel went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Saturday's win over the Padres.

Gurriel jumped on a knuckleball from Matt Waldron to lead off the fourth inning and crushed it into the stands in left-center field to give Arizona a one-run lead. It was the outfielder's third home run in his last eight games, and he's now hit safely in five straight contests to open the month of July. Gurriel has also tallied multiple hits in 10 of his last 16 games, batting .358 (24-for-67) over that stretch with four homers, 12 RBI and 10 runs scored.

Siani is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

With the Cardinals facing a left-hander (DJ Herz) for a fourth straight game, the lefty-hitting Siani will hit the bench for the second time during that stretch. The switch-hitting Dylan Carlson will spell Siani in center field.

Carpenter is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

The lefty-hitting Carpenter finds himself on the bench for the fifth game in a row while the Cardinals have opposed four consecutive left-handed starting pitchers. With Carpenter riding the pine, Willson Contreras will get a day off from catching and will serve as St. Louis' designated hitter while Pedro Pages settles in behind the dish.

Vargas hit a solo home run as a pinch hitter in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Brewers.

Vargas batted for Gavin Lux in the eighth inning and came through with a solo blast to give Los Angeles a 4-3 lead. The 24-year-old has been very productive when given the opportunity this season, slashing .349/.408/.651 with three homers, four doubles, nine RBI, 10 runs and a stolen base over 49 plate appearances. Vargas hasn't been a consistent part of the lineup, however, as he's started just once across Los Angeles' past seven contests.

Waldron did not factor into the decision in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over six innings while striking out six.

Waldron allowed Arizona's first run in the second after surrendering a leadoff single to open the frame, along with two walks and a second single, the latter three all coming with two outs. He would then surrender a leadoff homer to Lourdes Gurriel in the fourth and was later charged with a third run after being relieved by Yuki Matsui in the seventh. Waldron has now logged quality starts in seven of his last eight outings, though he's allowed multiple runs in three straight. The right-hander has also issued multiple free passes in five of his last six starts.

Smith went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-3 win against Milwaukee.

After belting three solo homers Friday, Smith smashed a two-run shot in his first at-bat Saturday. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the backstop became the first Dodger to homer in four straight at-bats since Adrian Gonzalez in 2015 and the first major leaguer to do so since Jose Altuve in September of last season. Smith's two-game power surge has pushed him to 15 long balls on the campaign, tied for third among MLB catchers.

Almonte (shoulder) said Saturday that he hopes to make a full recovery from right labrum surgery in less than 12 months, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

On the shelf since May 11 with a right shoulder strain, Almonte had been treating the injury with rest and rehab but has ultimately decided to get season-ending surgery after he recently sought a second opinion following a setback in the recovery process. A more precise timeline for Almonte's return to game action could come once he undergoes surgery in the coming days, but he's already seemingly preparing to miss time to begin the 2025 campaign. For the time being, Almonte is seemingly targeting a return shortly before the All-Star break next season.

Phillips (2-0) was charged with a blown save and earned the win against Milwaukee on Saturday. He allowed one run on one hit while striking out one batter over one inning.

With the Dodgers up 3-2 in the top of the eighth frame, manager Dave Roberts elected to call upon Phillips to face the heart of the Brewers order. The right-hander couldn't protect the lead, giving up a one-out solo homer to Christian Yelich. Phillips did get credited for the win, however, as a result of Los Angeles tallying two runs in the bottom of the frame and Alex Vesia closing things out in the ninth. This was the second time in the past two weeks that Roberts has called upon Phillips before the ninth inning in a high-leverage situation, so it's clear that the team is comfortable using him in that way. Phillips should still get the vast majority of save chances for the Dodgers, though Vesia has five saves on the campaign and is probably the leading candidate for ninth-inning duties when Phillips is either unavailable or deployed earlier in a contest.