MLB Player News

Betts went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Thursday's 6-2 win over the White Sox.

Betts tacked on an insurance run with his seventh-inning blast, which was his 10th homer of the season. He had gone 0-for-12 over his previous three games, and the 32-year-old hadn't hit a homer since June 8 in St. Louis. For the season, Betts has struggled far more than usual with a .246/.321/.383 slash line while adding 43 RBI, 53 runs scored, six stolen bases, 11 doubles and one triple across 80 contests. His plate discipline remains excellent, so it looks like Betts is just working through a slump in the middle of the season.

May (5-5) allowed two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out nine over seven-plus innings to earn the win over the White Sox on Thursday.

May retired the first 16 batters he faced in this dominant outing, which also saw him pitch into the eighth inning for the first time this year. That's when he started to fade, allowing a two-run home run to Brooks Baldwin that ended the outing. May was mediocre in June, posting a 5.67 ERA across 27 innings over his five starts, but July is off to a better start for him after he took advantage of an easy matchup. The right-hander is now at a 4.52 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 84:36 K:BB over 89.2 innings through 16 starts. His next outing is expected to be on the road versus the Brewers.

Marte went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Giants.

Marte has homered in back-to-back games for the third time in the last two weeks. In that span dating back to June 20, he has gone 17-for-51 (.333) with seven homers and 16 RBI. This power surge has the second baseman closing in on a third straight 20-homer season -- he's at 19 for the year while adding a .299/.402/.603 slash line, 40 RBI, 50 runs scored and two stolen bases across 61 games. If he can stay healthy in the second half, he could take a run at his career high of 36 homers from last year.

Suarez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Giants.

Suarez broke up Robbie Ray's perfect game bid by leading off the fifth inning with a solo shot. During this four-game series, Suarez went just 2-for-16 (.125), but both of his hits against the Giants left the yard. The third baseman also struck out 10 times in the series and has logged multiple strikeouts in six of his last nine games. On the year, he's batting .250 with an .879 OPS, 27 homers, 70 RBI, 52 runs scored, one stolen base 16 doubles over 85 games.

Pfaadt (8-6) allowed four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight over six innings to take the loss versus the Giants on Thursday.

Pfaadt had trouble against the top of the Giants' lineup, which was able to generate two runs in each of the first and third innings. This was Pfaadt's longest start since May 19 against the Dodgers, and it also saw him rack up a season high in strikeouts, but he was outmatched by a complete-game performance from San Francisco starter Robbie Ray. Pfaadt is now at a 5.42 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 80:23 K:BB across 91.1 innings over 18 outings. He's lined up to make his next start on the road in San Diego.

Yastrzemski went 3-for-5 with a run scored in Thursday's 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Yastrzemski has been atop the lineup for all three games in July, going 5-for-14 in that short span. It's part of a larger five-game hitting streak for the outfielder. Yastrzemski moved around the lineup at times in late June, batting as low as sixth, but he's batted leadoff more than anywhere else. For the season, he's maintained a .250/.341/.393 slash line with eight home runs, 28 RBI, 34 runs scored and six stolen bases over 80 games. While he has an 11.9 percent walk rate and 22.5 percent strikeout rate overall, he's seen an uptick in strikeouts with 16 over his last 13 games.

Adames went 3-for-4 with two doubles, one walk, one RBI and three runs scored in Thursday's 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Adames has hit safely in the last four games, though this was his first multi-hit effort since June 26. The shortstop contributed an RBI double in the third inning as well. He hasn't always hit consistently this season, but Adames has posted an 11.3 percent walk rate, which includes a 6:11 BB:K over his last 10 games. He's up to a .218/.305/.358 slash line with 10 home runs, 38 RBI, 49 runs scored, 13 doubles, one triple and four stolen bases through 87 contests.

Ray (9-3) pitched a complete game to earn the win over the Diamondbacks on Thursday. He allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out seven over nine innings.

Ray was perfect through four innings before giving up a solo home run to Eugenio Suarez in the fifth. Ketel Marte added a solo shot in the ninth, but Ray was allowed to finish off the contest, doing so on 102 pitches (69 strikes) in a stellar performance. The southpaw has logged a quality start each time he's gone at least six frames this season, with this being his 12th quality start in 18 outings. It was also his first complete game since his lone career shutout back in 2017 when he was a member of the Diamondbacks. Ray has a 2.68 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 117:39 K:BB across 107.1 innings this season. His next start is projected to be at home versus the Phillies.

Jensen signed a minor-league contract with the Cubs on Thursday.

Jensen was released by the Twins on June 26 after struggling to a 6.59 ERA and 1.88 WHIP across 28.2 innings with Triple-A St. Paul. He was a first-round selection of the Cubs in 2019 and will now be reunited with his old organization.

Swanson went 2-for-4 in Thursday's 1-0 extra-inning win over the Guardians.

Swanson recorded his 23rd multi-hit effort of the season and his fourth in the last eight games. The veteran shortstop got off to a sluggish start at the dish -- he was batting .181 as of April 27 -- but he's experienced quite a turnaround in the past two months. Across his last 236 plate appearances, Swanson is slashing .288/.339/.470 with 10 home runs, seven doubles, 25 RBI, 31 runs scored and three stolen bases.