MLB Player News

Kittredge earned the save in Friday's 5-3 win over the Royals, when he allowed one hit and struck out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.

Kittredge was called out of the bullpen for the ninth inning to protect the Orioles' two-run lead. He yielded a one-out double to Michael Massey, but Kittredge recovered by getting the next two batters out, capped off by a four-pitch strikeout of Josh Rojas. Kittredge has been tapped for save chances in each of Baltimore's last two games, and he could be ahead of Tyler Wells to be the team's preferred closer in the absence of Ryan Helsley (elbow).

Caglianone went 2-for-4 with a solo home run during Friday's 5-3 loss to Baltimore.

Caglianone put the Royals on the board in the fourth inning with a solo homer off Brandon Young. It was the 15th long ball of the season for Caglianone and his first since June 23 against the Rays, when he smacked two homers. The 23-year-old outfielder has gone 7-for-31 with four extra-base hits, five RBI and four runs scored over his last seven games and a .789 OPS across 341 plate appearances this season.

Avila did not factor into the decision Friday against Baltimore, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three across five innings.

Avila put the Royals in an early deficit by giving up two runs in the second inning before putting his team behind 3-2 on a solo home run from Blaze Alexander in the fourth. Avila ended his start with 57 strikes on 96 pitches while generating nine whiffs and nine groundouts, and he was in line to take the loss before teammate Isaac Collins tied the game at 3-3 with a solo homer in the eighth. Avila has allowed three earned runs or less in four of his last five starts and enters the All-Star break with a 5.08 ERA and 1.62 WHIP across 56.2 innings, although those numbers are inflated by his June 12 outing against the Astros, when he recorded just two outs while allowing eight runs.

Young did not factor into Friday's decision against the Royals, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out five across seven innings.

Young was efficient in his outing, tossing just 85 pitches (59 strikes) while generating 10 whiffs. His pitch count was low enough for him to be brought back for the eighth inning, but he was pulled after giving up a game-tying solo homer to Isaac Collins. Despite the late blemish, Young did enough to secure his seventh quality start of the season. He'll enter the All-Star break sporting a 7-2 record (15 starts) with a 3.42 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 67:31 K:BB over 84.1 innings.

Alexander went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during the Orioles' 5-3 win over the Royals on Friday.

Alexander scored on a Gunnar Henderson RBI single in the second inning, with the former tacking on a solo homer in the fourth inning to give Baltimore a 3-2 lead. It was the fourth home run of the season for Alexander and his first long ball since June 21 against the Dodgers. He has gone 8-for-26 (.308) with one steal, three RBI and five runs scored over his last seven games.

Basallo went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 5-3 win over the Royals.

Friday's game was tied 3-3 in the eighth inning, but Basallo changed that with one swing of the bat, crushing a two-run homer to right field to give the Orioles a two-run lead that they did not relinquish. The 21-year-old is up to 15 home runs this season, which is tied with Drake Baldwin for fourth-most among catchers behind Hunter Goodman (27), Shea Langeliers (20) and Dillon Dingler (thumb) (19). Basallo has a .770 OPS with 44 RBI across 293 plate appearances in 2026.

Burnes (elbow/side) was cleared to begin a throwing program Friday after an MRI showed signs of healing, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Burnes has been on the injured list since June 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, though his time on the shelf was extended when he suffered a teres major strain while throwing to live hitters last month. Now that he's made encouraging progress in his recovery from both injuries, he's been given the green light to restart a throwing progam. It will take him a while to ramp up after missing more than a full season, though the team hasn't yet shut the door on Burnes returning before the end of the year.

Ashcraft and the Pirates won't face the Brewers on Friday, as the game was postponed due to rain.

The Pirates and Brewers will play a doubleheader Saturday to make up Friday's contest, and Ashcraft will toe the slab during the earlier game, per Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com. The 26-year-old righty has collected a win in each of his last four starts while posting a 3.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 32:6 K:BB across 23.2 innings.

Sproat and the Brewers won't face the Pirates on Friday, as the game was postponed due to rain.

The two sides will make up Friday's contest during a doubleheader Saturday, and the Brewers will send Sproat to the mound to start Game 1, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The 25-year-old righty has begun to turn things around as of late, giving up two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts while posting a 2.88 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 30:8 K:BB across 25 innings in that span.

Chapman (abdomen) will not participate in baseball activities over the weekend, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

There was hope that Chapman could return to the active roster before the All-Star break when he initially landed on the injured list July 1 with an abdominal strain, but the team's decision to hold him out of all activities will officially rule him out for the final three games of the first half. The 33-year-old said Wednesday that he hasn't seen any significant improvement in his recovery, and his absence could bleed into the second half if his progress remains minimal during the intermission.