MLB Player News

Betts went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, an RBI single and a stolen base during Monday's 5-2 win over the Brewers.

Despite spending nearly two months on the injured list due to a fractured left hand and not going on a rehab assignment, Betts didn't show any rust Monday. Instead, he clubbed a two-run homer off Freddy Peralta in the third inning and plated Shohei Ohtani on a single in the seventh. Betts is slashing .307/.406/.498 with 11 homers across 335 plate appearances.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, a double and a walk during Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Dodgers.

Contreras reached safely in three of his four plate appearances and produced the Brewers' only runs with a sixth-inning two-run shot off Joe Kelly. The 26-year-old is up to 14 home runs on the year and is 13-for-39 (.333) with 11 RBI and nine runs across 10 games in August.

Peralta dropped to 7-7 on the season in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Dodgers, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks across six innings. He struck out four.

For the third time in four starts, Peralta was tagged for multiple home runs. On Monday, Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani each belted two-run homers, accounting for all four runs allowed by Peralta. The 28-year-old righty has a 4.11 ERA this season -- his worst since converting to a starter in 2021 -- through 131.1 innings. After facing Atlanta twice and the Dodgers once for his last three starts, Peralta is lined up for another tough matchup as the Guardians travel to Milwaukee this weekend.

Kershaw (1-2) picked up the win Monday against Milwaukee, allowing one run on three hits and two walks across 5.2 innings. He struck out six.

Though Kershaw was pulled after 83 pitches and hasn't surpassed 85 pitches since being activated from the injured list July 25, he went deeper than five innings for the first time. The veteran left-hander's lone run allowed came after he was removed, when Joe Kelly surrendered a home run to William Contreras that plated inherited runner Jackson Chourio. Kershaw has struck out five or more hitters in three of four starts this season and has yielded one run in back-to-back appearances. He's tentatively scheduled to close out a two-start week Saturday at St. Louis.

Steer went 2-for-3 with two home runs, a walk, five RBI and a stolen base Monday against the Cardinals.

After snapping a homerless stretch of 18 games over the weekend, Steer doubled up by taking Sonny Gray deep twice, driving in a season-high five runs to help steer the Reds to victory. It was the 23rd multi-hit effort of the campaign for Steer, who also added a walk and a stolen base that lifted his slash line to .237/.324/.433 with 18 homers, 74 RBI, 60 runs and 19 steals across 485 plate appearances.

Gray (11-7) took the loss Monday, allowing six runs on five hits and two walks over five innings against the Reds. He struck out nine.

Gray allowed six earned runs for the second time this season with five of those runs coming by way of two home runs off the bat of Spencer Steer. The other run allowed also came via the long ball as Elly De La Cruz followed Steer's two-run blast in the third with a solo dinger of his own. It was the third time this season Gray has allowed at least three homers in the same game. The outing lifted his ERA to 3.93 with a 1.08 WHIP over 130.2 innings while the nine strikeouts lifted his season total to 162, good for 10th best in all of baseball. His next start is slated to take place over the weekend when the Dodgers make the trip to St. Louis.

Abbott (10-9) earned the win Monday, allowing one run on five hits and two walks over 6.2 innings against the Cardinals. He struck out six.

Abbott rebounded from allowing three homers in his last start to shut down the Cardinals, with a Nolan Arenado run-scoring single in the third representing the lone blemish against him. Abbott was on track to complete seven innings while allowing one run or fewer for the fifth time this season, but a two-out error by Elly De La Cruz extended the inning and Abbott was pulled after tossing 93 pitches. The 25-year-old lefty has now tossed a career-high 133 innings while holding a 3.59 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 110 strikeouts. He's next scheduled for a home matchup against the Royals.

Merryweather (1-1) allowed one run on three hits and a walk over an inning of relief to take the loss Monday against the Guardians. He struck out one.

Merryweather worked a quick seventh inning but he couldn't keep things going in the eighth, when he allowed three straight hits to start the frame, with the final one bringing in the go-ahead run before he got the hook. The righty missed most of this season with a rib stress fracture, as this was just his 10th appearance of the year. Merryweather was much more heavily used in 2023, when he posted a 3.38 ERA and 98 strikeouts across 72 innings out of the bullpen. If the 32-year-old is healthy heading into next season, he should be able to secure a middle-relief role again for the Cubs or another team based on his ability to miss bats.

Marte was removed from Monday's game against the Rockies after aggravating his left ankle injury, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Marte showed signs of discomfort at the dish during his first at-bat of the game, as he fell down on one of his swings and gingerly made his way to first base on a flyout. The team removed him from the matchup shortly afterward, deploying Kevin Newman at second base. It's clear that Marte is not yet 100 percent after suffering a bruised left ankle Saturday, and the club later confirmed that he aggravated the left ankle injury during his first at-bat.

Crow-Armstrong went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Monday's 9-8 loss to the Guardians

Crow-Armstrong went deep in the fourth inning for his fourth home run of the season and first since July 14, when he left the yard twice. The 22-year-old is known more for his speed, as he has 23 stolen bases this year, though he did launch 20 homers combined between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. If Crow-Armstrong can develop his power at the MLB level, he'd take a big step forward as a fantasy asset.