MLB Player News

Thomas started in center field against a left-hander and went 1-for-3 in Friday's 3-2 loss to Philadelphia.

It was a rare start against a lefty for Thomas, who entered the game with just nine at-bats against them in 2025. He was eventually pinch hit for in the ninth inning. Previously, Jorge Barrosa would man center field against lefties, but he was optioned to the minors in conjunction with Ketel Marte coming off the injured list. Thomas is off a good start, and manager Torey Lovullo may want to give him regular opportunities to bat against southpaws. If the manager wants to resume sitting Thomas against lefties, then he could use Garrett Hampson or Tim Tawa as a fill-in.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Friday that the decision to keep Tawa on the major-league roster following the activation of Ketel Marte from the 10-day injured list was a "no-brainer," Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Tawa was the primary fill-in at second base while Marte was on the IL, but the rookie opened Friday's 3-2 loss to the Phillies on the bench, as expected. Tawa eventually pinch hit for Alek Thomas in the ninth inning. Marte, who is coming back from a hamstring injury, isn't yet ready to play second base on an everyday basis, so Tawa will fill in on the days when Marte serves as the designated hitter or gets held out for rest. Tawa, who has batted .190/.304/.483 with five home runs and two steals over his first 19 big-league games, could also be an option at third base and in center field.

Marte went 1-for-4 in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Phillies.

Marte was activated off the 10-day injured earlier in the day and was in the lineup at second base and leading off against a left-hander. The initial plan for Marte, who is coming off a hamstring injury, is to see time in the field and at designated hitter, but at either spot he should bat first or second in the order.

Phillips picked up the save in Friday's 2-1 win over Atlanta after working around one walk in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out two.

In a somewhat interesting development, left-handed closer Tanner Scott was called upon to retire the bottom part of Atlanta's lineup, which included two right-handed batters, in the eighth inning for a hold. Phillips then replaced him in the ninth after a rain delay with the daunting task of putting out Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson, with Olson drawing a walk to get the possible tying run aboard before Phillips got Sean Murphy to ground out. It was the first save opportunity of the season for Phillips, who is now up to 4.2 scoreless innings with a 6:2 K:BB in six appearances this year.

Olson went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Dodgers.

It was Olson's first RBI since April 23, and he extended his on-base streak to 19 games Friday. During this streak, the star first baseman is batting a healthy .265 (18-for-68) with four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBI and 15 runs scored. Olson's pedestrian .418 slugging percentage in 2025 figures to see some positive regression at some point, as he entered the day with a top-notch 57.1 percent hard-hit rate on the season.

Betts went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 2-1 win over Atlanta.

Betts extended his hitting streak to five games Friday, which also includes a three-game multi-hit streak, and he ended a 13-game homerless drought. The star shortstop now has eight multi-hit games under his belt in 2025. Across his last eight contests, Betts is batting .324 (11-for-34) with a double, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored.

Wagaman went 3-for-4 in Friday's 6-1 loss to the Athletics.

Friday marked the second three-hit performance and sixth multi-hit effort of the campaign by Wagaman. The 27-year-old should in theory have some decent RBI upside while consistently handling a premium spot in Miami's batting order, but he has just one RBI over his last nine games. During this span, Wagaman is hitting .250 (9-for-36) with the aforementioned RBI, two doubles and six runs scored.

Priester allowed seven runs on six hits and four walks while striking out two over 4.1 innings versus the Cubs on Friday. He did not factor in the decision.

Priester was able to clean up the mess Tyler Alexander left him in the first inning, though he allowed one inherited runner to score. There was nowhere to hide for Priester in the second, as the Cubs teed off for seven runs, including a Michael Busch grand slam and a Pete Crow-Armstrong solo shot. Priester was steady in his first three outings of the season, but he's yielded 12 runs over his last 9.1 innings. His ERA spiked up a whole two runs from 3.79 to 5.79, and he's added a 1.76 WHIP and 17:16 K:BB across 23.1 innings over five starts. Priester or Chad Patrick will likely lose out on a rotation spot once Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) is ready to be activated from the injured list.

Alexander (1-3) allowed two runs on three hits and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning, taking the loss Friday versus the Cubs.

The Brewers looked to shield Quinn Priester a bit in this contest, but Alexander's poor performance in the first inning ruined that plan. Alexander has allowed six runs over his last 7.2 innings across five relief appearances, including one scoreless three-inning effort that earned him a save. The southpaw looks to be a swingman at this point of the season, but he's pitched to an ugly 5.18 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 21:11 K:BB across 24.1 innings. He's typically a long reliever and has struggled in a variety of roles so far.

Busch went 1-for-5 with a grand slam in Friday's 10-0 win over the Brewers.

Busch had the biggest hit of the game, a second-inning grand slam that put the Cubs on cruise control. This was his sixth homer of the season and his first since April 19 versus the Diamondbacks. He's gone just 5-for-29 (.172) over his last eight games, though that cool-off was expected after a blistering run over the middle of April. Overall, Busch is batting .278 with an .894 OPS, 19 RBI, 16 runs scored, two stolen bases, seven doubles and a triple over 31 contests.