MLB Player News

The Cardinals designated Flores for assignment Tuesday.

Flores will cede his spot on the 40-man roster to outfielder Lars Nootbaar, who gets the call to the big leagues after slashing .329/.430/.557 at Triple-A Memphis. The 25-year-old southpaw has also been a regular at Memphis this season, making eight appearances (five starts) while posting a 5.74 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 31.1 innings. If Flores goes unclaimed off waivers, he should maintain a spot in the Triple-A rotation.

The Reds reinstated Antone (forearm) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Antone was sidelined for just over two weeks with what was apparently a mild case of right forearm inflammation. Though he missed out on a spot in the Reds' Opening Day rotation, Antone had proven to be a valuable multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen prior to landing on the IL. Across his 20 appearances spanning 32 frames, Antone has posted a 1.41 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 40:11 K:BB while collecting seven holds and three saves.

Smith gave up two hits and hit a batter in a scoreless seventh inning to record his 14th save of the season in a 1-0 win over the Mets during the second game of Monday's doubleheader.

The veteran southpaw made things dicey by plunking James McCann following one-out singles by Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith, but the Atlanta closer escaped the jam. Smith has only blown one save all year, and on paper his 3.94 ERA seems a little unlucky, given his 1.08 WHIP and 40:10 K:BB through 29.2 innings.

Pruitt (elbow) will join Triple-A Sugar Land to continue this rehab assignment, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pruitt's travels took him to Baltimore on Monday, and he threw a bullpen session prior to the Astros' win over the Orioles. Prior to joining the team in Baltimore, he made two rehab appearances with Low-A Fayetteville last week before his scheduled move up the ladder to Sugar Land. The right-hander will get a few more rehab outings with the Skeeters, but he will first need to undergo quarantine for five days upon arrival. Pruitt has received only one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. He's expected to pitch Sunday after clearing the quarantine period.

Shaw (2-2) allowed a hit and struck out two over 1.1 innings to earn the win versus the Cubs on Monday.

Starter Aaron Civale (finger) left the game with two outs in the fifth inning, making him ineligible for the win. Shaw replaced him in the contest, and he picked up his second win of the year. It was a good bounce-back outing for Shaw, who was rocked for four runs on a hit and three walks while failing to record an out Saturday versus Pittsburgh. The veteran reliever has a 3.38 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 37:24 K:BB across 29.1 innings. He's also logged a save and 10 holds, so he's often seen high-leverage work in 2021.

Akin (0-3) took the loss Monday against the Astros, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks across four-plus innings. He struck out five.

Akin's outing got off to a solid start, with the southpaw scattering a pair of hits and a walk across a scoreless first two innings. Things fell apart quickly in the third, however, with two hits and two walks setting up a three-run homer for Yordan Alvarez to put Houston up 5-0. He settled down for a scoreless fourth frame but was chased after allowing a leadoff single in the fifth. Since recording a solid scoreless outing June 4, Akin has allowed an unimpressive 16 earned runs on 19 hits during a three-start losing streak. He'll look to turn things around when he toes the rubber over the weekend against the Blue Jays in Buffalo.

Alzolay (4-6) allowed three runs on three hits and a walk over 4.2 innings Monday, striking out five and taking a loss against Cleveland.

All the damage against Alzolay came on a pair of home runs by Bobby Bradley and Josh Naylor. It was his first start since June 7 after he spent two weeks on the injured list with a blister issue. The 26-year-old saw his ERA climb to 4.19 alongside a 67:17 K:BB through 61.2 innings. Alzolay is slated to face the Dodgers on the road this weekend.

Hearn will be the starting pitcher for Tuesday's game against Oakland, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Jordan Lyles was initially lined up to start the second game of the four-game set, but Texas will turn to Hearn instead. Hearn hasn't pitched more than two innings since April 12, and according to Weaver, the club is hoping to get at most three innings out of the left-hander Tuesday. Assuming Lyles is healthy, he would figure to be a strong candidate to follow Hearn and provide length out of the bullpen.

Diaz picked up the save (15) during Game 1 of Monday's doubleheader against Atlanta, striking out one in a perfect seventh inning.

Diaz bounced back nicely from a shaky outing Friday against the Nationals in which he took the loss while allowing a run. The closer has enjoyed a very strong stretch dating all the way back to May 17, over which he's converted nine of 10 save opportunities, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out 19.

Diaz was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse after Game 1 of Monday's doubleheader versus Atlanta, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old was optioned to Triple-A on Sunday but will quickly rejoin the Mets with Jeurys Familia (hip) landing on the injured list. Diaz has made three appearances in the majors this season and has given up two hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 4.1 scoreless innings.