MLB Player News

Cameron (4-4) earned the win over St. Louis on Thursday, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out six batters over five innings.

Cameron had a rough first inning, when the Cardinals put up a pair of runs on a hit, two walks, a wild pitch and an error. However, the Royals offense had the lefty hurler's back, posting seven runs over the ensuing two frames to hand him a big lead. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing for Cameron from there, as he gave up two more runs and needed 108 pitches to labor through five innings, but KC's offensive explosion provided the support needed for him to emerge with the win. Cameron bounced back with six punchouts and 14 whiffs after notching just one strikeout in his previous start, and he kept the ball in the park after allowing two long balls in that prior outing. He'll carry a 4.20 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 70:19 K:BB through 75 frames into his next start, which lines up to be a road game in Tampa Bay.

Benintendi went 1-for-1 with a grand slam in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Yankees.

Benintendi delivered the game's defining moment in the eighth inning. Entering as a pinch hitter for Randal Grichuk in a tie game with the bases loaded, the veteran outfielder launched a 393-foot grand slam off Camilo Doval to break the game open and give Chicago all the offense it would need. The homer continued a recent power surge for Benintendi, who has now gone deep three times in his last 17 plate appearances. After a slow start to the season, he has raised his production to a .242 batting average and .741 OPS across 66 games.

Montgomery went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Yankees.

Montgomery opened the scoring in the second inning, taking Ryan Weathers deep for a solo shot. The blast was his 20th home run of the season, moving him into a tie for fifth in the majors. The shortstop has been on an impressive power surge lately, collecting four homers and seven RBI over his last four games. Montgomery is slashing .230/.325/.516 with 13 doubles, 45 RBI, 36 runs scored and one stolen base across 70 games.

Weathers did not factor into the decision Thursday against the White Sox, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out eight over 6.1 innings.

Weathers came out firing, striking out the side in the first inning before running into his lone mistake of the night when Colson Montgomery launched the first pitch of the second inning for a solo homer. The left-hander was excellent from that point forward, limiting Chicago to just two additional hits while recording his fifth outing of at least eight strikeouts. The performance was a much-needed rebound effort after a rough stretch in which he had allowed five or more runs in four of his previous five starts. Weathers now has a 4.13 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 89:22 K:BB across 80.2 innings.

Burke (4-4) earned the win Thursday against the Yankees, allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out eight over 7.1 innings.

After opener Bryan Hudson tossed 1.2 scoreless innings, Burke carried the bulk of the workload and finished the game, with the lone blemish on his line coming via a Ryan McMahon solo homer in the third inning. The right-hander was dominant Thursday, generating a whopping 20 whiffs and an elite 39.2 percent whiff rate. His eight strikeouts matched a season high and were especially encouraging given his recent inconsistency, as he entered Thursday with a 5.82 ERA over his previous seven appearances. Burke now owns a 3.89 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 81:29 K:BB across 81 innings this season and is scheduled to face Cleveland at home in his next outing.

Atlanta designated Leon for assignment on Thursday.

With Atlanta acquiring Joey Bart (foot) from the Pirates, Leon loses his spot on the 40-man roster after going 4-for-44 at the plate with zero extra-base hits and a 0:18 BB:K across 21 games.

Atlanta acquired Bart (foot) from the Pirates on Thursday in exchange for Hunter Stratton.

Bart has spent the last month-plus on the injured list due to a foot infection, but he began a rehab assignment last week and appears ready to make his return to the big leagues with Atlanta, where he'll serve as the backup to Drake Baldwin while Sean Murphy recovers from a broken finger that is expected to sideline him until after the All-Star break. In just 62 trips to the plate this season with the Pirates, Bart slashed .259/.290/.379 with two homers, six RBI, nine runs scored and a 2:21 BB:K.

Soto went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs and a walk in Thursday's 6-4 win over the Phillies.

Soto opened the scoring with a solo homer off Aaron Nola in the first inning before taking the veteran right-hander deep again in his next plate appearance to record his second multi-homer performance of the year. Soto has looked locked in at the plate over his last eight games, batting 14-for-29 (.483) with three homers. The 27-year-old is now slashing .300/.398/.582 with 17 home runs, seven doubles, one triple, 38 RBI, 36 runs scored and six stolen bases across 249 plate appearances this season.

Williams earned the save Thursday against the Phillies, allowing a run on two hits and a walk while striking out one over one inning.

Williams was called upon to protect a three-run lead in the ninth inning and ultimately got the job done despite some late traffic. He allowed a run on a Justin Crawford RBI single and put additional runners on base, but the right-hander avoided a bigger rally and secured his 11th save of the season. While the overall numbers remain underwhelming, Williams has pitched much better of late, posting scoreless outings in 16 of his last 18 appearances. He owns a 5.18 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 38:15 K:BB across 24.1 innings with just one blown save on the year.

Nola did not factor into the decision Thursday against the Mets, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out six over five innings.

The veteran right-hander generated 10 whiffs on 97 pitches, with most of the damage against him coming via a pair of solo homers from Juan Soto. Despite the solid strikeout total, Nola continues to search for consistency in what has been a difficult campaign. He's failed to cover more than five frames in any of his past five starts and has a 5.68 ERA during that span. Nola will carry a 5.71 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 77:25 K:BB into his next scheduled start on the road against Washington.