MLB Player News

Lowe went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Reds.

Lowe popped his home run in the sixth inning to tie the game at 2-2. It was his 23rd long ball of the season, and he continues to hit well since the All-Star break. Across his last 11 games, Lowe has gone 13-for-43 (.302 average) with two homers, six RBI and seven runs scored.

Sasaki (5-5) earned the win over Seattle on Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out seven batters over 5.1 innings.

Sasaki looked dominant for most of the outing, as he racked up 18 whiffs and kept the Mariners out of the scoring column through five frames. However, the right-hander ran out of steam in the sixth, when he allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while retiring just one batter. Fortunately for Sasaki and the Dodgers, Jack Dreyer came on in relief and closed the inning without allowing any additional damage. That kept Sasaki in line for the win, which was his second straight victory following an eight-outing winless stretch. It's been an up-and-down campaign for the Japanese hurler, but he's closed July on a high note, posting a 2.25 ERA with a 26:7 K:BB over 24 innings spanning his past four starts. He's lined up to make his next appearance on the road against the Cubs.

Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases Thursday against the Reds.

Rodriguez drew his second start since returning from the injured list earlier this week, and he turned in another productive performance. He's stolen three bases in that span, giving him a total of four for the season. Rodriguez has gone 3-for-11 in total since being activated, and he should continue to serve as Pittsburgh's top option behind the plate.

Soto (5-3) allowed one earned run on one hit and two walks while striking out one across two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Thursday against the Reds.

Soto entered the game in the ninth inning with the score tied at 2-2, but he allowed a leadoff double and struggled to find the zone consistently. Though he's had a very inconsistent season, he entered the game having turned in seven consecutive scoreless appearances, during which he earned two saves and posted a 7:2 K:BB. Mason Montgomery has started to factor into the saves picture in Pittsburgh, and this outing from Soto could crack that door open further for Montgomery.

Susac went 1-for-3 with a home run and three total RBI in a 4-1 victory versus San Diego on Thursday.

Susac belted a two-run homer in the second inning and added a sacrifice fly in the fifth. After going homerless across his first 44 career MLB games, the backstop has now launched three homers over his past two contests. Susac had 18 home runs across 96 games in Triple-A last season, so the sudden homer surge isn't entirely incomprehensible. With that said, his StatCast power metrics are all below league average, so fantasy managers probably shouldn't expect Susac to turn into the second coming of Mike Piazza.

Sears (3-4) took the loss against San Francisco on Thursday, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out two batters.

Sears was back as a traditional starter after working in long relief his previous time out. He got off to a shaky beginning, giving up a run in each of his first two frames. Sears' final line could have been much worse -- he loaded the bases in the fourth before turning the ball over to the bullpen with two outs, and Wandy Peralta got out of the jam when a pitch that was initially called ball four was overturned to strike three upon review. Sears had been pitching well coming into Thursday, posting a 2.04 ERA with a 14:4 K:BB over 17.2 innings across his first four starts in July, so he'll likely remain in the rotation for the time being. He's slated to make his next start in Arizona.

Miller notched a save against the Padres on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter with no walks over one scoreless inning.

Miller got the call for the ninth frame with San Francisco up three runs. He yielded a two-out single but then slammed the door shut by inducing a Xander Bogaerts flyout. Miller picked up his second save in the past four days after going without a save in each of his prior 24 appearances. The left-hander is on a 13-outing scoreless streak and has posted an 18:5 K:BB across 12.2 innings during that span, which may have earned him the Giants' top closer role. His primary competition, Caleb Kilian, pitched a scoreless seventh inning Thursday and recorded a hold, but he's surrendered five earned runs over 8.1 frames in July.

Ray (10-6) earned the win over San Diego on Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out six batters over six innings.

Ray delivered a first-pitch strike to 15 of the 22 batters he faced and notched 10 whiffs. He recorded a quality start on just 86 pitches and kept the ball in the park for a fourth straight start. Ray had a 3-6 record at the end of May, but since then he's reeled off seven consecutive wins, compiling an elite 1.65 ERA over 60 innings during that span. The veteran lefty is a prime candidate to be traded ahead of Monday's deadline, but if he remains with San Francisco, he's lined up to make his next start on the road against the Rangers.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Thursday in a 5-4 win over the Athletics.

The Red Sox trailed by a run going into the eighth inning, but they tied the score on a solo homer by Wilyer Abreu. One batter later, Contreras launched another long ball to center field to provide what turned out to be the game-winning run. The homer was Contreras' 23rd of the campaign, one shy of the regular-season career-high mark he established with the Cubs in 2019. With 67 RBI on the campaign, he's also on pace to surpass the career-best 80 runs driven in that he recorded last year.

Barnett allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six batters over five innings in a no-decision against Boston on Thursday.

After working in bulk relief in his previous appearance, Barnett made his first start of the season Thursday. He got through four scoreless frames before fading in the fifth, when the Red Sox tagged him for three runs on three hits. That ended up being his final frame, and he threw 73 total pitches, his highest mark in a big-league game so far this season. Barnett may not be ready for a completely full workload yet, and he could return to the bullpen when J.T. Ginn (finger) is activated from the IL, which could happen early next week.