MLB Player News

Wicks (0-1) took the loss Tuesday against the Pirates, allowing eight runs on nine hits and one walk with five strikeouts across 4.1 innings.

Wicks was summoned from Triple-A Iowa over the weekend and drew the start in place of an injured Edward Cabrera (finger) on Tuesday. Things clearly didn't go well for the left-hander, as he allowed five runs in the first inning, including a two-run shot to Esmerlyn Valdez. Wicks was able to somewhat settle in after a rough opening frame and generated 14 swinging strikes on 80 pitches. After the poor result Tuesday, it's unclear if the Cubs will let Wicks handle another turn through the rotation this coming weekend in St. Louis.

Horwitz went 2-for-3 with a solo homer, two RBI and one run scored in Tuesday's 12-1 win over the Cubs.

Horwitz drove home the Pirates' eighth run of the game with a sac fly in the fifth and later took Daniel Palencia deep for a solo shot in the seventh to make it a 10-1 contest. It was Horwitz's sixth homer of the season and third in his last seven games. The first baseman has hit safely in 17 of 21 games this month and has raised his average 39 points during that span. Horwitz is slashing .289/.391/.467 with the six round trippers, 25 RBI, 20 runs scored, one stolen base and a 26:24 BB:K across 184 plate appearances this season. While he doesn't hit for much power, Horwitz doesn't strike out and has a high walk rate.

Stephenson went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored during the Reds' 7-2 win over the Mets on Tuesday.

Stephenson has logged two RBI in two consecutive games, with his RBI double in the sixth inning of Tuesday's contest giving the Reds a 6-0 lead. It was the fifth multi-RBI game of the season for the veteran catcher, who has gone 5-for-21 (.238) with one home run, five RBI and three runs scored over his last seven games.

De La Cruz went 2-for-5 with a two-run double during the Reds' 7-2 win over the Mets on Tuesday.

De La Cruz was one of six Reds batters to log at least two hits during Tuesday's win, and he extended his team's lead to 5-0 after smacking a two-run double off David Peterson in the fourth inning. De La Cruz is slashing .287/.340/.457 with one steal, 13 RBI and 11 extra-base hits (including two home runs) across 103 plate appearances in May.

Cruz went 3-for-3 with three singles, an RBI, a hit-by-pitch, one stolen base and a run scored in Tuesday's 12-1 win over the Cubs.

Cruz singled, stole his 17th base of the season and scored in the bottom of the first inning. It was just the third time this month that Cruz didn't record a strikeout after he entered play Tuesday leading the majors with 84 of them, six more than Kyle Schwarber. When Cruz does hit the ball, it typically results in something good happening, as he's in the 100th percentile in average exit velocity (96.1 mph), 95th percentile in barrel rate (16.9 percent), 100th percentile in hard-hit rate (61.4 percent) and 99th percentile in bat speed (78.5 mph). On the season, Cruz is slashing .265/.329/.461 with 11 homers, 35 RBI, 38 runs scored, 17 steals and an 18:84 BB:K across 240 plate appearances.

Marsh was removed from Tuesday's game against the Padres with an apparent hand injury, Paul Casella of MLB.com reports.

Marsh's hand seemed to be bothering him after he was picked off at first base in the first inning, and he was eventually taken out of the game in the fourth. The severity of his injury remains unknown, but the Phillies may provide more information in the near future after they've taken a closer look at him. Edmundo Sosa would figure to be next in line to start in the outfield if Marsh has to miss time.

Suarez went 2-for-5 with a two-run double during the Reds' 7-2 win over the Mets on Tuesday.

Suarez got the Reds on the board early after his double to center field brought home both Spencer Steer and Sal Stewart. They were the first RBI that Suarez has recorded since he was activated from the 10-day IL on Friday, and he has logged two hits in back-to-back games.

Reynolds went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's 12-1 win over the Cubs.

After Konnor Griffin walked and Brandon Lowe singled to lead off the bottom of the first inning, Reynolds drove home both with a two-run double. He later doubled again in the fifth and scored. Reynolds now has hits in four straight games and has four multi-hit efforts in his last 11 contests, with five doubles in that span. Reynolds is still in a power outage, as he hasn't homered since May 1 (22 games). On the year, he's slashing .256/.379/.390 with four long balls, 34 RBI, 33 runs scored, four stolen bases and a 36:53 BB:K across 235 plate appearances.

Burns (7-1) got the win against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out eight across 5.1 innings.

Burns entered Tuesday's start having logged at least seven strikeouts in five of his six prior outings. He set the tone early by striking out the side in the first inning and kept the Mets off the board until the sixth, when he gave up a two-run homer to Juan Soto. Burns fell two outs short of recording a sixth straight quality start (and eighth of the season), but it was another strong outing for the 23-year-old right-hander. He has a 1.96 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 72 strikeouts across 64.1 innings in what has been a breakout season so far. Burns is slated to make his next start at home against the Royals.

Ashcraft (4-2) earned the win Tuesday against the Cubs, allowing one run on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts across 6.1 innings.

The Pittsburgh offense gave Ashcraft plenty of run support, hammering Cubs starter Jordan Wicks for eight runs over 4.1 frames, and Ashcraft held up his end of things to pick up his fourth victory. The right-hander has gone at least six innings in all five starts this month and generated 14 swinging strikes on 95 pitches Tuesday. Ashcraft has plus stuff with an upper 90s fastball and one of the better cutters in the sport. He's in the 89th percentile in chase rate and lowered his ERA to 2.75 with a 70:17 K:BB across 68.2 innings this season.