MLB Player News
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Jake Cronenworth 2B | SD
Padres' Jake Cronenworth: Swats homer in loss
Cronenworth went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run against the Dodgers in a loss Thursday.
San Diego exploded for six runs over two innings against Los Angeles starter Roki Sasaki, with Cronenworth's three-run blast providing the final half of that scoring. However, the Dodgers went on to mount a comeback and emerged with the victory. Cronenworth's long ball was his first since April 8, though he missed most of May and June while recovering from a concussion. The veteran infielder is slashing a meager .164/.276/.236 across 128 plate appearances on the season, and his three RBI on Thursday nearly matched the four RBI he had produced over his first 35 contests combined.
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Dalton Rushing C | LAD
Dodgers' Dalton Rushing: Reaches four times Thursday
Rushing went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double, three total runs and four total RBI against San Diego in a 12-7 victory Thursday.
Los Angeles fell behind 6-0 before Rushing kicked off a comeback with a two-run homer to center field in the second inning. The young backstop added a sacrifice fly in the sixth frame and an RBI single in the eighth to round out his third four-hit performance of the campaign. Rushing has been holding down the fort behind the plate since Will Smith (neck) last played June 5. Over 20 contests in Smith's absence, Rushing is batting .258 with three homers, five doubles, 11 runs and 11 RBI.
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Kyle Tucker RF | LAD
Dodgers' Kyle Tucker: Perfect at plate again Thursday
Tucker went 4-for-4 with a double, a walk, three runs and an RBI in a 12-7 win against the Padres on Thursday.
Tucker had an unconventional line against the Athletics on Wednesday, when he walked in all four of his plate appearances. The veteran outfielder reached base in each of his trips to the plate again Thursday, though this time he put up a more fantasy-friendly line with a season-high four hits. Tucker has gotten on base in nine straight plate appearances, improving his season OPS from .714 to .743 in just two days. He's still been a disappointment overall from a fantasy perspective given his typically lofty acquisition cost, but Tucker has found his groove at the plate over the past six games, going 10-for-21 with seven walks, a double, a homer, five RBI and six runs.
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German Marquez SP | SD
Padres' German Marquez: Struggles in return
Marquez allowed two runs on two hits and three walks while striking out one batter over three relief innings against the Dodgers on Thursday.
Marquez was activated from the injured list ahead of Thursday's contest following a two-month absence caused by a forearm injury. The veteran hurler entered in the sixth inning with San Diego trailing 10-6. Marquez threw 35 of 56 pitches for strikes but issued three walks on the way to allowing a pair of runs. Randy Vasquez started for San Diego but lasted just three innings, and he had a fainting episode after exiting while on his way to get X-rays for a possible ankle injury. If Vasquez ends up needing to miss time, Marquez -- who threw six more pitches than Vasquez on Thursday -- could be called upon to re-enter the rotation.
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Randy Vasquez SP | SD
Padres' Randy Vasquez: Hurts ankle, later faints
Vasquez fainted while being taken in for an evaluation on his ankle following his start versus the Dodgers on Thursday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Vazquez finished with a no-decision in the contest after allowing four runs on seven hits and one walk over three innings. He was struck on the ankle by a Mookie Betts comebacker in the first inning but remained in the contest for two more frames; however, he was later on his way to get an X-ray before fainting. According to Cassavell, the veteran hurler was taken to the emergency room as a precaution, though he is reportedly stable and conscious. Vasquez will presumably get tests done to try to determine what caused the fainting episode in addition to having imaging on the injured ankle. It's too early at this point to know if either issue will cause him to miss any time.
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Roki Sasaki SP | LAD
Dodgers' Roki Sasaki: Another rough outing Thursday
Sasaki allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three batters over three innings in a no-decision against San Diego on Thursday.
Sasaki's outing began ominously when the first batter he faced, Fernando Tatis, rocked him for a 116-mph double. That proved to be a precursor for what was to come, as the Padres pounded him for seven extra-base hits, including three homers. Manager Dave Roberts finally pulled the plug on Sasaki after three frames and a whopping 88 pitches. Sasaki was fortunate to escape with a no-decision since the Dodgers' offense exploded for 12 runs, but it was unquestionably a troubling outing by the Japanese hurler, who has now given up 19 runs over his past four starts spanning 17 innings. After the game, Roberts said that Sasaki will make his next start but indicated that the team will do a "deep dive" into the pitcher to determine what went wrong, which will include trying to determine if he was tipping his pitches, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
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Freddy Fermin C | SD
Padres' Freddy Fermin: Removed after foul tip off mask
Fermin was removed from Thursday's game against the Dodgers in the fifth inning after taking a foul tip off the mask, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Fermin spent time on the 7-day IL last month after he was concussed when a warmup pitch struck him in his mask, and it appears he'll now re-enter the concussion protocol. Prior to exiting Thursday, Fermin went 1-for-2 with a double. Rodolfo Duran replaced him at catcher.
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Jordan Walker RF | STL
Cardinals' Jordan Walker: Breakout campaign continues
Walker went 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, two runs scored and a walk in Thursday's 11-5 win over Atlanta.
The four RBI were Walker's most since June 10 and also marked his fourth game this year with at least four RBI. After struggling to find his footing in the major leagues across his prior three seasons, the dynamic 24-year-old outfielder has been a force in St. Louis' lineup this year. Walker has been a five-category contributor for fantasy managers, slashing a potent .291/.346/.519 with 19 homers, 63 RBI, 11 stolen bases and 49 runs scored.
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Hurston Waldrep SP | ATL
Braves' Hurston Waldrep: Ambushed in no-decision
Waldrep took a no-decision Thursday against the Cardinals, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk in 5.1 innings. He struck out four.
Waldrep gave up all three of his runs in the opening frame, but he was at least able to settle in afterwards and push for a quality start. The 24-year-old right-hander threw 76 pitches in his second major-league outing of 2026, so he may not be fully built up to handle a traditional starter's workload quite yet. Waldrep is contending with Grant Holmes' for a rotation spot going forward, and Thursday's showing might have offered the club enough positive takeaways to hand Waldrep another chance to start next week in Pittsburgh.
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Dustin May SP | MIL
Cardinals' Dustin May: X-rays come back negative
X-rays on May's injured right ankle came back negative Thursday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
May said his ankle/shin area is "soft" and painful, per Goold, indicating it will be a pain tolerance and swelling issue moving forward. The right-hander was struck by a line drive off the bat of Dominic Smith in the bottom of the first inning of Thursday's start versus Atlanta and was pulled from the game a few batters later, with May ultimately being charged with five runs on five hits and two walks with one strikeout over two-thirds of an inning. The St. Louis bullpen covered 8.1 frames, yielding a combined three hits and one walk in an 11-5 victory. It's unclear at this point if May will be able to make his next scheduled start.