MLB Player News

Abbott didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against the Royals, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts across six innings.

Abbott logged his second straight quality start and fourth in his last seven outings while also generating 12 swinging strikes, his second most in a start this season. However, the left-hander did walk a season-high four batters and dealt with some traffic on the bases. All three runs allowed came in the top of the fourth inning via four singles and a pair of bases on balls. After a rough month of April, Abbott has steadied of late, yielding just 10 runs over his last 40 innings (2.25 ERA) with a 28:18 K:BB in that span. His ERA for the season is now 4.06 with a 47:31 K:BB across 68.2 innings. Abbott's strikeout rate (15.8 percent) has dipped a full six percentage points from last season.

Lowder (shoulder) allowed three runs on six hits while striking out eight with no walks over five innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.

After appearing in a simulated game last week, Lowder kicked off a rehab assignment in impressive fashion, throwing 70 pitches (50 strikes). It's unclear what the right-hander's next step is, but the innings and the pitch count set him up for a possible return to Cincinnati's rotation in five days.

Ashcraft (elbow) received a platelet-rich plasma injection Tuesday, MLB.com reports.

Ashcraft got the injection after a second opinion confirmed he's dealing with a UCL sprain. The right-hander was immediately placed on the 60-day injured list following the injury last Friday and is not expected back until some point after the All-Star break.

Smith is expected to take on the designated hitter spot most of the time against right-handers, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

That was Smith's job Monday, when he was activated off the 60-day injured list. He was on the bench for Tuesday's game against Dodgers lefty Eric Lauer but entered as a pinch hitter against a right-handed reliever. Smith's return mostly affects Adrian Del Castillo but could also eat into Ildemaro Vargas's playing time at first base.

McCann (quad) has started taking machine batting practice and doing catching drills, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

McCann is rehabbing a quad strain that landed him on the 10-day injured list May 19. At that time, the club estimated a 4-to-6 week timeline for his return.

Lawlar (wrist) could move his rehab to Triple-A Reno by the end of the week, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Lawlar had a third rehab outing and second in as many days Tuesday for the ACL D-backs. The outfielder has gone 2-for-8 with a stolen base and two runs scored while playing center field, left field and designated hitter. Lawlar, who is eligible to return this week, has been out since April 3 with a broken right wrist. His return will create an outfield logjam, and Lourdes Gurriel (hamstring) is also working his way back.

Puk (elbow) allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.

The Diamondbacks moved Puk's rehab assignment to Reno after the left-hander threw three scoreless innings in three appearances in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League to close out May. He's scheduled to throw again Friday, per Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com, and Puk will likely need a few more appearances beyond this week before being activated from the 60-day injured list. When Puk opened his minor-league assignment last month, Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said the team was targeting him seven or eight rehab outings, which puts the reliever on a path to return from the shelf around the middle of June.

Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, three RBI, an additional run scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's 10-6 win over the Astros.

Rodriguez gave Pittsburgh an early spark in the second inning by launching a two-run homer off Mike Burrows for his first long ball of the season. He later added an RBI double in the ninth inning and also stole his second base of the year during the sixth. Since being recalled May 12, Rodriguez has started to find a rhythm at the plate, batting 9-for-30 (.300) with two doubles, five RBI and seven runs scored.

Soto earned the save in Tuesday's 10-6 win against the Astros, striking out both batters he faced.

After Dennis Santana struggled to close out the ninth inning, allowing four batters to reach base while two runs scored, Pittsburgh turned to Soto with two runners on and one out. The left-hander immediately shut the door, striking out both hitters he faced to lock down his eighth save of the season. Soto continues to pitch at a high level out of the bullpen, holding opponents scoreless in 13 of his last 15 appearances while solidifying himself as Pittsburgh's main ninth-inning option. He now owns a 1.91 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 34:11 K:BB across 28.1 innings.

Chandler (2-6) earned the win Tuesday against the Astros, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out three over five innings.

After allowing a leadoff single in the first inning, Chandler quickly fell behind when Yordan Alvarez launched a two-run homer to give Houston an early advantage. The right-hander continued to work through traffic throughout the outing but managed to avoid any additional crooked numbers. Since the start of May, he has allowed 15 earned runs across 28 innings while posting a 25:16 K:BB. Chandler is currently tied for the MLB lead in walks with 38 and owns an alarming 15.3 percent walk rate this season. Overall, he carries a 4.89 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 55:38 K:BB across 57 innings and is slated to face Atlanta in his next start.