MLB Player News

De La Cruz went 2-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and an RBI in Saturday's 8-5 loss to Baltimore.

De La Cruz's RBI single in the second inning gave the Reds a 4-3 lead and extended his hit streak to seven games, during which he's gone 10-for-29 (.345). He then stole second base, advanced to third on a sacrifice fly and nearly scored a run on an infield single, but an Orioles challenge overturned a call for the third out. De La Cruz once again showed he's past the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the first three weeks in June -- the stolen base was his third in the last two contests.

Vargas started at first base and went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Brewers.

Vargas' eighth-inning double plated what eventually turned out to be the winning run. He made a second straight start at first base and is 4-for-8 with two RBI in those two games. Saturday's start was against a right-hander, which is usually Pavin Smith's job. Even though the early-season shine has come off Vargas' bat -- he had a .102 batting average and .336 OPS over 34 games from May 20 through the end of June -- he could gain more opportunities, as Smith (.152/.260/.212) is having his own struggles at the plate.

With Matt Shaw (hand) out at least through the All-Star break, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, Conforto should continue to see an expanded role in right field.

Conforto has been the top option in right field against right-handed pitching with Shaw on the shelf, with Seiya Suzuki and Kevin Alcantara also mixing in. Suzuki also frequently serves as Chicago's DH, which was the alignment Saturday, when Conforto started in right and tallied two hits and and a walk from the seventh spot in the lineup. The veteran outfielder has a strong .837 OPS so far this season, and he should continue to be a useful fantasy performer when he's in the lineup.

Smith was held out of the starting lineup Saturday against Milwaukee right-hander Brandon Woodruff.

Smith is typically a lineup staple against righties, but Ildemaro Vargas got the start at first base Saturday. Smith is a career 1-for-11 against Woodruff, but the decision to sit him may have been more about a current slump. Smith is batting just .152 since coming off the injured list in late May and entered Saturday with two hits over his last 27 at-bats (.074).

Greene (0-1) took the loss against the Orioles on Saturday, allowing eight runs on seven hits and four walks with seven strikeouts over 3.1 innings.

Greene allowed a three-run homer in the first inning before being charged with five runs while recording only one out in the fourth. On the bright side, he generated an impressive 15 swinging strikes on 89 pitches in his first start since undergoing elbow surgery in March. He'll look to continue shaking off the rust in one final start before the All-Star break, which lines up as a home matchup with the Cubs next weekend.

White went 2-for-2 with a home run, a double and four RBI in Saturday's 14-3 win over the Mets.

The 32-year-old outfielder was the beneficiary of a generous decision by the official scorer on his three-run double in the third inning, considering Tyrone Taylor dropped the ball in the outfield. White is handling a part-time role for Atlanta, batting .229 with four homers, five doubles, 18 RBI and four stolen bases over 109 at-bats.

Freeman went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a second RBI and a walk in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Padres.

Freeman homered in the sixth inning and added an RBI single in the eighth. The first baseman has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, going 21-for-48 (.438) with three homers and nine RBI in that span. For the season, he's hitting .297 with an .895 OPS, 15 homers, 49 RBI, 51 runs scored, three stolen bases, 22 doubles and one triple over 87 contests.

Klein struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Padres.

Tanner Scott had pitched the previous two days while top setup man Alex Vesia was deployed to get the final out of the eighth inning. Klein has featured more regularly in high-leverage spots since late May, and he's doing fairly well. He's allowed four runs over 11.1 innings while adding a 16:6 K:BB since the start of June. For the season, he's at a 2.29 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 41:13 K:BB through 35.1 innings and has picked up two saves and 11 holds.

Yamamoto (9-5) allowed three hits and two walks while striking out 10 over seven shutout innings to earn the win over the Padres on Saturday.

This was Yamamoto's second scoreless outing of the season. He's also logged five straight quality starts since the beginning of June, giving up just seven runs over 35.1 innings in that span. The right-hander is now at a 2.49 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 100:21 K:BB through 104.2 innings over 16 starts this season. Yamamoto is lined up for a fairly favorable matchup at home versus the Diamondbacks next weekend.

Canning (1-6) allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out four over four innings to take the loss versus the Dodgers on Saturday.

Canning did fine in this bulk-relief outing, which shielded him from facing the top half of the Dodgers' order an extra time. He still came away with the loss as the Padres' bats came up cold. The right-hander has allowed eight runs over 13.1 innings with an 11:8 K:BB over his last four games. Overall, he has a 6.71 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 50:30 K:BB through 51 innings over 12 appearances (nine starts) this season. Canning looks like he'll still be a rotation option next week, as Randy Vasquez (ankle) is out at least through the All-Star break. Canning's next appearance is projected to be at home versus the Diamondbacks, though it's not yet clear if that will be a traditional start or another outing following an opener.