MLB Player News

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.

Torkelson will sit Friday against the Guardians.

It's been a disappointing rookie season thus far for Torkelson, who's hitting .179/.292/.309 with four homers and a 28.5 percent strikeout rate through four games. He'll head to the bench after going hitless in his last two games, with Harold Castro taking over at first base.

Abreu went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored Thursday against Boston.

Abreu continues to swing a hot bat, and he now has four multi-hit performances in his last nine starts. He has two home runs, six doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored in that span. While still considerably worse than his career marks, Abreu has improved his slash line to .236/.328/.401 across 180 plate appearances for the campaign.

Lowe went 1-for-3 with a walk and two-run home run in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Athletics.

Lowe, who was held out of the starting lineup against a left-hander Wednesday, was back at first base against a righty Thursday. Somewhat ironically, he homered in the ninth inning off lefty Sam Moll, who was brought in to get Lowe. The homer was his third of the season, and he's slugging only .338 with a .092 ISO.

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.

Vaughn went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and five RBI in Thursday's loss to the Red Sox.

Vaughn tormented Boston starter Michael Wacha early in the contest, accounting for all five runs the hurler allowed with a bases-clearing double in the third inning and a two-run homer in the fifth. This was the third time on the season that Vaughn has driven in four or more runs in a game, but he's compiled only six RBI across his other 25 games. He's been effective at getting on base, however, sporting a .292/.349/.500 slash line across 106 plate appearances.

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.