MLB Player News

Smith (shoulder) began a rehab assignment Wednesday with Triple-A Syracuse, giving up one run on one hit over an inning of relief.

Smith served up a solo home run but otherwise navigated a 13-pitch eighth inning without much difficulty. The right-hander has been on the 15-day injured list since April 27 with shoulder inflammation and could need another rehab appearance or two before rejoining the Mets bullpen.

Lawrence allowed one hit and one walk across a scoreless inning Wednesday against the Giants.

Lawrence missed three games over the weekend while on the paternity list and made his first appearance since being activated. He entered the game with the Rockies down by four runs and managed to work out of a jam with runners at first and second base with one out. Since allowing six earned runs across his first 4.2 innings of the season, Lawrence has allowed only two runs in his last 8.1 frames and remains the leading candidate for saves in Colorado.

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Stephenson was behind the plate for both of the past two days and the Reds are closing out their series in Arizona with an afternoon game, so he'll receive a breather Thursday. Luke Maile will serve as the Reds' starting catcher in his place.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Giants.

Diaz drove in Colorado's third run of the game with an infield single in the bottom of the fifth and later added a two-run shot in the ninth to bring his team back within two runs of the Giants, though his effort would fall short. It marked the catcher's third multi-hit game already this month, and he's now hit safely in five of his last six contests. The home run was only Diaz's third of the season, though he's now batting .348 in May with four RBI and three extra-base hits.

Conforto went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored in Wednesday's win over the Rockies.

Conforto jumped on a hanging four-seamer from Peter Lambert to lead off the second inning and crushed it over the wall in right field to open a six-run rally for San Francisco. The outfielder would later add a single in the same frame before finishing the contest with his third three-hit performance of the season. Conforto has now hit safely in four of his last five games, while the home run was his first since April 22. He's batting .269 in May with three RBI and three runs scored and has also drawn a walk in three straight contests.

Lambert (2-2) took the loss against the Giants on Wednesday, allowing seven runs on nine hits and no walks over three innings. He struck out two.

Lambert went 1-2-3 through the first inning before getting lit up for six runs in the second, beginning with a leadoff homer from Michael Conforto. The right-hander would allow another run on a Blake Sabol double in the third and wouldn't return to the mound for the fourth. The seven earned runs marked a season high for Lambert, and he's now allowed at least four runs in three of his last four starts. He's still looking for his first win since April 8 against the Diamondbacks, when he was working out of the bullpen.

De La Cruz went 0-for-4 with two stolen bases in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks.

After reaching base on a fielder's choice in the fifth inning, De La Cruz promptly stole second and third base, but the Reds couldn't bring him home. The 22-year-old phenom is up to 21 steals on the season, tops in the majors by a healthy margin -- second place is a three-way tie at 14 between Ronald Acuna, Brice Turang and Jose Caballero. De La Cruz has gone 0-for-15 over the last four games, but he still sports a .254/.356/.516 slash line on the season with eight homers, 19 RBI and 27 runs in 36 contests.

Ashcraft (3-2) took the loss Wednesday, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks over five-plus innings as the Reds fell 4-3 to the Diamondbacks. He struck out two.

After back-to-back quality starts, Ashcraft took a step backwards Wednesday, walking more batters than he struck out for the first time this season and managing only 14 called or swinging strikes among his 86 pitches. The 26-year-old right-hander has still had a solid first month-plus of the campaign, posting a 3.86 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 32:12 K:BB through 39.2 innings. He lines up for a rematch with the D'backs in Arizona early next week.

Hicks (3-1) earned the win over the Rockies on Wednesday, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over five frames.

Hicks pitched well for most of the contest and allowed just one run up until the fifth inning. However, that's where the right-hander would run into trouble after allowing four consecutive batters to reach with one out, ultimately leading to two more runs coming across for Colorado. The seven hits and three runs allowed both marked season highs for Hicks, who has now failed to go beyond five innings in back-to-back starts. He now holds a 5.00 ERA over two May starts to go along with an 8:6 K:BB.

Mantiply struck out one in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning to record his first save of the season in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Reds.

With Paul Sewald unavailable after making his season debut Tuesday and Kevin Ginkel struggling to shut the door in the ninth inning, Mantiply got the call and fanned Will Benson before getting Jonathan India to fly out with the winning run on second base for Cincy. Sewald will be the top option for saves in the Arizona bullpen, but as the team's top lefty reliever, Mantiply could see further situational chances. He's been reasonably effective this season, posting a 3.52 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB through 15.1 innings.