MLB Player News

Valdez went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, two walks and two runs Monday against the Phillies.

Valdez took Aaron Nola yard in the fourth inning to record a home run in his fourth straight game. He became the third rookie in Pirates history to homer in four consecutive contests and is the sixth player since 1900 to have a four-game home run streak within his first 16 career big-league games, per Aiden Stepansky of MLB.com. While Valdez was initially stashed on the bench upon his return to the majors in mid-June, it's difficult to envision Pittsburgh taking him out of the lineup consistently at any point in the near future.

Lodolo did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing a hit and four walks over five scoreless innings against the Brewers. He struck out four.

Lodolo limited the opposition to just one hit, though he struggled with control before being lifted after five innings and 96 pitches (52 strikes). The southpaw exited with his club leading 3-0 and in line for the win, but a poor showing from the Cincinnati bullpen kept him from factoring into the decision. The 28-year-old has largely struggled in 2026, though he has now turned in consecutive scoreless outings after tossing four shutout innings against Milwaukee in his previous start. He exited that start early after taking a Jackson Chourio line drive off his left wrist. Lodolo will take a 2-2 record with a 5.05 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 42:22 K:BB across 51.2 innings (10 starts) into his next outing, tentatively scheduled for Sunday against Baltimore.

Hernandez went 2-for-5 with a run scored in Monday's 9-4 win over the Athletics.

Hernandez missed a month due to a hamstring strain. While he was able to knock two hits in his return, he also struck out three times, so he may need to knock off a little rust. The outfielder was able to play the full game in left field, which bodes well for his availability moving forward. Hernandez is batting .280 with a .784 OPS, seven home runs, 31 RBI, 31 runs scored and two stolen bases over 52 contests this season.

Soto allowed two earned runs on two hits while striking out one across two-thirds of an inning Monday against the Phillies. He earned a hold.

Soto was brought on in the eighth inning in a save situation, though his early usage wasn't particularly alarming given that the Phillies had a pair of lefties due up to begin the inning. However, Soto served up a solo home run to Brandon Marsh -- one of those two lefties -- and has now allowed at least one earned run in five of his last eight appearances. If the Pirates had a superior option at closer, Soto's role could be in jeopardy. However, the entire bullpen has struggled, meaning Soto could be given the chance to break out of his slump while still seeing the majority of save chances.

Muncy went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a second RBI in Monday's 9-4 win over the Athletics.

Muncy logged his third multi-hit effort in his last five games. He hadn't gone yard since his two-homer game versus the White Sox on June 13, batting just .214 (9-for-42) during his 13-game power drought. The third baseman is up to 17 long balls, 37 RBI, 51 runs scored, 11 doubles, one triple and one stolen base while batting .265 with an .873 OPS over 79 contests this season.

Pages went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Monday's 9-4 win over the Athletics.

Pages had gone 17 games without a homer prior to Monday. In that stretch, he batted just .214 with four doubles and two RBI. The outfielder has had few extended dry spells at the plate this season. Even with the recent slump, he's batting .269 with an .808 OPS, 16 homers, 60 RBI, 51 runs scored, 19 doubles, one triple and eight stolen bases over 84 contests while occupying a starting role in center field.

Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in Monday's 9-4 win over the Athletics.

Ohtani gave the Dodgers some breathing room with his blast in the sixth inning. He has swatted seven homers among 16 hits over his last 16 games as a batter, adding 13 RBI in that span. The superstar is now batting .297 with a .958 OPS, 18 homers, 50 RBI, 60 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples and six stolen bases over 81 games this season.

Gasser did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk over 5.2 innings against Cincinnati. He struck out five.

Gasser allowed his fair share of traffic but mostly kept the Reds in check, though Elly De La Cruz got the better of him with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. Monday marked Gasser's first appearance since June 21 after he was briefly moved to the bullpen, though he didn't pitch in relief before re-entering the rotation. On the year, the 27-year-old owns a 1-3 record with a 4.54 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 36:13 K:BB across 35.2 innings (seven starts). With Milwaukee planning to use a six-man rotation through the All-Star break, the southpaw is tentatively lined up to start Sunday against Arizona.

Lauer (4-5) allowed three runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out two over six innings to earn the win over the Athletics on Monday.

Lauer wasn't quite at his sharpest, but he delivered a quality start. He has two of them over his last three outings, and the one exception was six no-hit innings of relief in Minnesota last Monday. In June, Lauer gave up a modest 10 runs across 28.1 innings in his five appearances. He's at a 4.84 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 44:25 K:BB across 70.2 innings through 14 games (11 starts) between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays this season. Lauer's next outing is projected to be at home versus the Padres over the weekend.

Goodman went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a double in a loss to the Marlins on Monday.

Goodman continued his power binge with a 442-foot solo shot to left-center field in the seventh inning. The backstop has now gone deep five times over his past four contests, with a three-homer game against Minnesota on Saturday providing the bulk of those long balls. Goodman ranks second in the majors with 26 home runs overall, and he's already five away from the impressive 31 homers he slugged across 144 contests in his breakout campaign last year.