MLB Player News

Smith picked up a hold in Wednesday's 6-4 win over Arizona, allowing one hit while striking out one in one inning.

After giving up a run in each of his previous two outings, Smith threw nine of his 13 pitches for strikes Wednesday and helped slow the Diamondbacks after they opened the eighth inning with four straight hits off Ryan Walker. Smith picked up his second hold of the season, with both coming in his last two appearances. The right-hander now owns a 1.86 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 11:4 K:BB across 9.2 innings in 11 games this season.

Hicks went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Wednesday's loss to the Rockies.

Making his second straight start at first base since coming off the IL, Hicks has banged out two hits and scored a run in each game since recovering from a lower-back strain. The 27-year-old's breakout campaign doesn't appear to be slowing down -- over 19 contests since the beginning of June, Hicks has produced a .324/.405/.471 slash line with five extra-base hits, including two homers, eight RBI and 15 runs.

Peterson is slated to start Friday's game against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.

The 30-year-old southpaw will be rewarded with another turn through the rotation after excelling in his Cubs debut last Saturday, earning a win over the Brewers while striking out two batters and allowing two earned runs on five hits and no walks across 5.2 innings. Peterson's body of work over a sample of eight starts and eight relief appearances with the Mets this season has been much less impressive (6.09 ERA, 1.65 WHIP in 68 innings), but he looks like he'll have a chance to stick around in a depleted Chicago rotation until the club gets some reinforcements. Among the Cubs' injured starters, Jameson Taillon (hamstring) is the closest to returning and is set to make a rehab start Sunday, but it's unclear if he'll be ready to return from the 15-day injured list before the All-Star break.

Stephenson is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest from Milwaukee.

Stephenson is sporting a .962 OPS across his last 10 games, but he will get a breather after catching Wednesday's night game. Jose Trevino will be behind the dish in the series finale.

Sanoja went 1-for-2 with two walks, a triple and two RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Rockies.

While his line in the box score looks good, it was a game Sanoja would probably rather forget. He was caught stealing after drawing a walk to lead off the second inning, then committed an error in the fifth that resulted in four unearned runs and Max Meyer's first loss of the season. Sanoja has started the last three games at three different positions (second base, shortstop and third base), and manager Clayton McCullough will likely continue to find ways to get the 23-year-old into the lineup on a regular basis given his .306/.329/.500 slash line since the beginning of June with eight extra-base hits including two homers, two steals, 11 runs and 14 RBI in 25 contests.

Callihan is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Phillies.

Callihan will head to the bench for the second time in the series while the Pirates make room in the lineup for Marcell Ozuna, who will serve as the club's designated hitter and No. 7 batter. After getting his time with Pittsburgh off to an excellent start upon being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis in late May, Callihan has cooled down considerably. Over his last 12 games, Callihan is slashing .143/.194/.321 with a 45.2 percent strikeout rate.

Made has gone 23-for-53 (.434) with a home run, five doubles, a triple, 10 RBI, four stolen bases and a 5:9 BB:K over his last 13 games with Double-A Biloxi.

Made went through a bit of a slow stretch in early June, but since he has provided a reminder why he is one of the best -- if not the best -- prospects in the league. It's unclear how much the Brewers want to see from the 19-year-old before bumping him up to the Triple-A level, but his .291/.361/.435 slash line on the season suggests he could get there at some point this summer.

Dodd struck out one in a perfect sixth inning Wednesday to record his second hold of the season in a win over the Cardinals.

The 28-year-old southpaw set down the top of St. Louis' order on 14 pitches (nine strikes), punctuating his performance with a strikeout of Alec Burleson. Dodd is adjusting well to a full-time relief role, albeit a low-leverage one, and through 22 innings over 17 big-league appearances this season he's delivered a 2.45 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 25:8 K:BB.

Hartman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored for High-A Rome on Wednesday.

It's a modest single-game line, but the long ball made Hartman the first player this year at any level to reach 20 homers and 30 steals -- and he's done it in just 71 games. The 20-year-old has rocketed up prospect lists this season while producing a .290/.357/.559 slash line that comes with a respectable 22.7 percent strikeout rate. Per Jesse Borek of MLB.com, Ronald Acuna was the last Atlanta minor-leaguer to record a 20-30 campaign in 2017, while Eric Davis with the Reds in 1987 is the only major-leaguer to reach those milestones more quickly in a season since 1900.

Griffin is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Philadelphia.

Griffin will get a breather for Thursday's matinee after starting each of the previous four contests. Jared Triolo is grabbing a start at shortstop and will bat ninth in the series finale.