MLB Player News

Duran earned a save against the Reds on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out two batters over one scoreless inning.

Duran entered in the ninth inning tasked with protecting a fragile 1-0 lead. The veteran closer allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base via a single and a hit-by-pitch, but he was able to slam the door by retiring the following three hitters, including two by strikeout. Duran has converted seven straight save opportunities, posting a dominant 17:1 K:BB over 10 innings spanning 10 appearances in that span. He's headed to -the All-Star Game having gone 23-for-24 in save chances with a 1.42 ERA so far this season.

Canning (1-7) allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out five without walking a batter over 4.2 innings to take the loss Thursday versus the Diamondbacks.

Canning's performance wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough compared to Merrill Kelly's seven innings of one-run ball. Canning threw 48 of 74 pitches for strikes in the contest. He has bounced between starts and bulk-relief appearances lately, allowing 10 runs over 18 innings across his last five games (two starts). For the season, the right-hander has a 6.47 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 55:30 K:BB across 55.2 innings through 13 appearances (10 starts).

Luzardo (8-4) earned the win over Cincinnati on Thursday, allowing two hits and issuing two walks while striking out 11 batters over seven scoreless innings.

Luzardo allowed only one baserunner to reach scoring position and racked up 20 whiffs en route to 11 punchouts. The left-hander completed seven frames for just the third time this season while recording his 10th quality start. Luzardo has won four of his past six outings, posting a minuscule 1.45 ERA with a 52:14 K:BB across 37.1 innings during that span. In the very likely event that he doesn't pitch again this weekend, he'll wrap up a strong first half with a 3.51 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 136:35 K:BB across 110.1 frames spanning 19 starts. His strikeout total currently ranks fourth in the majors.

Arenado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Padres.

Arenado provided the last run of the game when he took Yuki Matsui deep in the sixth inning. This was Arenado's third homer in his last nine games, though he's also struck out 11 times in that span while batting .294 (10-for-34). Overall, the third baseman is hitting .243 with a .718 OPS, 11 homers, 38 RBI, 40 runs scored, 16 doubles and three stolen bases over 87 contests this year.

The Diamondbacks recalled Waldschmidt from Triple-A Reno on Thursday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Waldschmidt will make his return to the big leagues after being optioned on June 15. In his last 15 games in Triple-A, the 23-year-old slugged just .192/.250/.269 with no homers and one RBI. With Jordan Lawlar (hamstring) on the 10-day IL and likely facing a 4-to-6 week absence, Waldschmidt could have a decent path to playing time in center field. In order to make room on the active roster for Waldschmidt, Arizona designated Pavin Smith for assignment.

Sewald struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Padres.

Sewald had allowed at least one baserunners in each of his previous seven outings, but he created no drama Thursday to convert his 21st save of the year. The veteran reliever has earned seven of those saves since the start of June, but he's also allowed seven runs over 11.2 innings during that span. For the season, he has a 4.36 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 37:8 K:BB across 33 innings.

Kelly (7-8) allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out six over seven innings to earn the win over the Padres on Thursday.

Kelly turned in a quality start in this outing, allowing just a solo home run to Manny Machado in the second inning. This was Kelly's second win in a row, and he heads into the All-Star break having allowed just three runs over his last 12 innings. Overall, he's still at a 5.38 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 59:38 K:BB through 93.2 innings over 16 starts this season. He's also given up 20 homers, putting him on pace to allow a career high in long balls -- his worst campaign in that regard was 2019, when he gave up 29 homers.

Flores went 1-for-4 on Thursday against Atlanta.

He was recalled Wednesday with Endy Rodriguez (lower body) on the injured list. Thursday marked Flores' third big-league game of the season and his second start, though he could have the chance to play a relatively even split with Henry Davis so long as Rodriguez is sidelined.

Smith was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks on Thursday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

After going 0-for-4 with a strikeout Wednesday in San Diego, Smith has been cut loose from Arizona's 26-man and 40-man rosters. The 30-year-old has slashed just .141/.236/.192 with one homer and six RBI in 89 appearances this year. Smith had slowly been losing time at first base to Ildemaro Vargas and Tim Tawa. The Diamondbacks recalled Ryan Waldschmidt from Triple-A Reno to replace Smith on the active roster.

Reynolds went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk Thursday against Atlanta.

Reynolds went back-to-back with Esmerlyn Valdez in the third inning to tally his 14th home run of the season. Reynolds has hit particularly well early in July, with this being his third long ball in eight contests, going 9-for-33 with seven runs scored, five RBI and two stolen bases. He now has a .196 ISO across 410 plate appearances, in line with his marks from 2022 and 2023, which are some of the more productive seasons of his career.