MLB Player News

Wade (knee) will start baseball activities over the weekend, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Wade missed just shy of a month at the start of the season with a knee injury and only appeared in 10 games before heading back to the injured list. He'll be eligible to return from the injured list Sunday, but he'll likely need a few more days than that.

Smith isn't starting Friday against the Phillies.

Smith has served in the strong side of a platoon this season, and he'll get a breather with left-hander Bailey Falter on the mound Friday. J.D. Davis will serve as the designated hitter and bat eighth.

Votto will sit Friday against the Giants.

Votto has looked great since returning from the COVID-19 injured list, homering twice while posting a 1.156 OPS in seven games. He'll get a rest Friday while Mike Moustakas handles first base.

Walker went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Thursday's 14-1 loss to the Dodgers.

Walker was the lone source of offense for the Diamondbacks, closing the gap to 10-1 with a sixth-inning blast. It was his sixth long ball in the last 11 games and 12th of the season. The power stroke is a welcome sight after the first baseman slumped to 10 home runs and a .138 ISO over 115 games in 2021.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Thursday's loss to the Brewers.

St. Louis was trailing by two runs in the seventh inning when Goldschmidt cut the deficit in half with a solo shot to left field. That was the final run of the game, however, as the Cardinals fell 4.5 games behind their division rival. Despite the loss, Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 17 games and pushed his season slash line to .348/.416/.591. He has 10 multi-hit games during the streak and has hit six of his eight homers during the red-hot stretch.

Freeman went 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, three runs and five RBI in a 14-1 win against the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Freeman got Los Angeles on the board with an RBI double in the first inning, clubbed a three-run long ball in the second, doubled home another run in the sixth and tacked on a single in the seventh. The first-year Dodger has been a bit sporadic of late with at least three hits in three of his last seven games but none in his other four. The 32-year-old upped his May slash line to .323/.413/.527 with the four-hit performance while the homer was Freeman's first since April 24.

Ellis was optioned to Triple-A Reno on Thursday.

Ellis started in just one game after being called up Sunday, and he went 1-for-5 with a double, a run, a walk and two strikeouts during his stint with the major-league club. The 26-year-old should see more consistent playing time in Reno.

Cron went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two runs scored Wednesday against Pittsburgh.

Cron took Zach Thompson yard in the third inning to record his 12th homer of the season. He has three home runs across his last seven starts. Overall, Cron has maintained a .314/.357/.598 line with 28 runs scored and 33 RBI across 183 plate appearances on the campaign.

Padlo was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday.

Padlo was recalled by the Giants on Sunday, and he went 1-for-7 with four strikeouts over two games during his stint with the major-league club. However, he'll head back to the minors after Donovan Walton was called up Wednesday.

Smith went 2-for-5 with a triple, two RBI and a run in Tuesday's 13-12 loss to the Giants.

Smith nearly played hero for the Mets, as his leadoff triple in the top of the ninth put pinch runner Travis Jankowski in position to score the go-ahead run. However, the Giants rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to steal the game from the Mets, who missed out on becoming the National League's first team to reach the 30-win mark. The Mets will look to exact revenge in Wednesday's series finale, and the lefty-hitting Smith should be included in the lineup with the Giants bringing a right-hander (Jakob Junis) to the hill.