MLB Player News

Knack (chest) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, yielding two runs on five hits and one walk over 1.1 innings.

Knack struck out a pair in the outing and got his pitch count up to 33. The right-hander has been out all season with an intercostal strain, and he will be built up as a starting pitcher before likely remaining in the OKC rotation once he's activated from the 60-day injured list.

Rodriguez is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Mariners.

Rodriguez started each of the previous three games at catcher, so he's earned a breather during Thursday's matinee. Henry Davis is doing the catching and batting ninth for the Pirates.

The Pirates are expected to place Horwitz (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Horwitz was lifted from Wednesday's game against the Mariners because of left hamstring discomfort. It's unclear at this point how severe the strain is, but even a mild one could knock Horwitz out through the All-Star break. While Horwitz is sidelined, the Pirates will likely use Ryan O'Hearn at first base and Marcell Ozuna at designated hitter most days.

The Cubs outrighted Peralta to Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday.

Over the weekend, the Cubs became the third organization to designate Peralta for assignment in 2026. The 25-year-old lefty was scooped up off waivers on the previous two occasions, but after going unclaimed this time around, he'll stick around in the Cubs organization but will no longer be part of the 40-man roster. Peralta has posted a 4.70 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 21:16 K:BB over 15.1 innings at Iowa since the Cubs claimed him May 3.

Hill went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Nationals.

Hill represented the Phillies final out when he entered the game as a pinch hitter for Justin Crawford in the ninth. He'd proceed to launch a go-ahead, two-run blast off Richard Lovelady, his fifth homer of the year and first since joining Philadelphia. In 10 games since he was traded from the White Sox, Hill has gone 7-for-21 (.333) with an .857 OPS while filling the short side of a center-field platoon with Crawford.

Garcia went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two walks in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Phillies.

Garcia opened the scoring in the first inning with a 412-foot shot off Aaron Nola, his 13th homer of the year and third in his last three games. In his last 15 games, Garcia's gone 14-for-48 (.292) with six homers and a 1.042 OPS. Overall, he's slashing .263/.293/.494 through 259 plate appearances this season with 49 RBI, 34 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.

De La Cruz went 1-for-4 with two walks and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Brewers.

This was De La Cruz's second game back off the injured list, where he spent three weeks with a hamstring injury. He's 1-for-7 with two walks in the two games back. De La Cruz's return comes at a pivotal time for the Reds, who have lost 14 of the last 21 games and now sit 12.5 games out of first place and 5.5 out of an NL Wild Card spot.

Betts went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Twins.

Betts led off the second inning with a solo homer against Joe Ryan before adding a double in the fifth. The long ball was his ninth of the season and his third in the last 10 games, a stretch in which Betts is batting .350 (14-for-40). The surge has been a welcome turnaround for the veteran, who owned a disappointing .196/.261/.350 slash line prior to this hot streak.

Scott earned the save Wednesday against the Twins, allowing one hit while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning of a 4-3 win.

Scott was called upon in the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead and worked around a leadoff single to notch his 11th save of the season. The left-hander has now converted a save in each of his last five appearances and has been nearly untouchable during that span, allowing just one hit while striking out eight batters without issuing a walk. Scott is carrying a 2.18 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and 40:3 K:BB across 33 innings this season.

Ohtani (8-2) earned the win Wednesday against the Twins, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out eight over six innings. He also went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI.

Ohtani ran into trouble in the second inning, allowing four singles that led to three runs, though one scored on a passed ball by Dalton Rushing. After that, the two-way star settled in, retiring 13 of the final 15 batters he faced. He has now recorded 11 quality starts in 13 appearances this season. Ohtani continues to dominate on the mound, carrying a 1.58 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 86:24 K:BB into his next scheduled start against the Athletics. He's also continued to produce at the plate, raising his June batting average to .338 with seven home runs.