MLB Player News

Schwellenbach (elbow) will likely throw a few more bullpen sessions before being cleared to face live hitters, and he hasn't yet regained his full velocity, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old right-hander has been throwing bullpens, both at Atlanta's spring training complex in Florida and with the big-league club, for a few weeks now, and the team has been mostly pleased with the results. "He looked good," manager Walt Weiss said after Schwellenbach's most recent session Friday. "The ball is coming out good. I've gotten some good reports on him. He's adding to his workload right now. The next step is to face live hitters after throwing about three more bullpens. But he's moving in the right direction and he feels good." While his elbow has held up so far, his velocity isn't yet back at pre-surgery levels, although he has been topping 90 mph in recent outings. If he stays on track, Schwellenbach could begin a rehab assignment in mid-August, and pitching in the majors before the end of the season hasn't been ruled out.

Bello (3-6) earned the win Friday, throwing four scoreless innings against the Dodgers. He allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three in a 9-4 win.

Bello has been lights out since his return from the minors, although it's been as a reliever. In three relief appearances, Bello has allowed one run over 13.2 innings while throwing at least four innings in each outing. He's been so effective that the Red Sox are considering starting him again, per Doug Padilla of MLB.com. "We'll talk about that," interim manager Chad Tracy said. "You got, after the off day [Monday], the 16 games in a row. So once we get past that off day and the deadline, you start looking at where we can get creative with things." As a starter in 2026, Bello has a 10.35 ERA and 2.21 WHIP over eight starts (35.2 innings).

Alonso went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a second run scored in Friday's 6-4 win over the Phillies.

He got Baltimore on the board by taking Andrew Painter deep in the first inning, Alonso's 23rd long ball of the year. The slugging first baseman has been making plenty of contact of late, but it surprisingly hasn't resulted in a lot of production -- over his last 10 games, Alonso has delivered a .302/.362/.535 slash line with a 17.0 percent strikeout rate, but that stretch has featured just two homers and three RBI.

Wells worked a perfect ninth inning Friday without striking out a batter to record his fourth save of the season in a 6-4 win over the Phillies.

It was the veteran right-hander's first save since July 17 as the Orioles continue to go with a committee approach at closer. While Wells is the only one of the team's relievers with multiple saves since the All-Star break, four other pitchers have nabbed one each, including Andrew Kittredge and Rico Garcia. With Ryan Helsley (elbow) not expected back until late August and Felix Bautista (shoulder) still uncertain to pitch at all in 2026, Wells will remain one of the top high-leverage options for Baltimore. Over 14 appearances and 16.1 innings in July, he produced a 1.10 ERA, 0.61 WHIP and 13:4 K:BB.

Young didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 6-4 win over the Phillies, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out five.

A J.T. Realmuto solo shot in the sixth inning chased Young from the game and cost him his 10th quality start of the season, but the right-hander was taken off the hook for his third loss when the Orioles' offense woke up in the seventh. Young hasn't been tagged with a loss since June 16, going 3-0 over his last seven starts with a 3.51 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 41:13 K:BB through 41 innings. He'll look to get back in the win column in his next outing, which lines up to come at home next week against the Angels.

Pederson went 1-for-1 with two walks and a solo home run in Friday's 11-2 loss to the Astros.

Pederson's homer in the sixth inning was his 20th of the season and marked his return to the 20-homer club. This is the seventh time in 12 seasons he's reached that threshold and comes after the low point of his career in 2025, when he hit just nine home runs with a career-low .613 OPS.

Turner went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's 6-4 loss to the Orioles.

The shortstop took Brandon Young deep in the third inning to break a 2-2 tie, but the Phillies' bullpen wasn't up to the task late. Turner has gone yard in back-to-back games, giving him 16 homers on the season, and through 13 contests since the All-Star break he's delivered a .333/.379/.741 slash line with six home runs, one steal, 10 RBI and 13 runs.

Gonzales went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored Friday against the Reds.

Gonzales jump-started the Pirates' offense in the first inning with a two-RBI single, extending his hitting streak to 15 games. He's hit .379 in that span, also collecting eight RBI and 11 runs scored to go along with two home runs. Gonzales' performance at the plate was overshadowed by a defensive miscue that cost the Pirates a win, but he should remain the team's primary third baseman for at least the next month with Konnor Griffin (finger) sidelined.

Painter didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 6-4 loss to the Orioles, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out six.

Pete Alonso lofted a two-run homer off the 23-year-old right-hander in the first inning, but Painter didn't lose focus and left the mound after 82 pitches (54 strikes) with his third career quality start in hand and Philly holding a 4-2 lead. Orion Kerkering and an overworked bullpen cost him his second win, however. Painter, who was just recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley earlier in the day Friday, seems likely to stick in the rotation barring a big move at the trade deadline, despite his 6.72 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 59:27 K:BB through 71 big-league innings this season. He's scheduled to make his next start at home next week against the Nationals.

Stewart went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBI in Friday's 8-7 win over the Pirates.

A two-run homer off Paul Skenes in the fourth inning gave the Reds a 5-3 lead, and Stewart came through again in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run single as Cincy took the lead for good. The rookie slugger has been an RBI machine since the All-Star break, driving in 19 runs in just 14 games, and on the season he's delivered a .255/.334/.477 slash line with 23 long balls, 12 steals, 58 runs and an MLB-leading 84 RBI in 109 contests.