MLB Player News

Vargas went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Mets.

The veteran utility player began the game on the bench, but he pinch hit for Trey Lipscomb in the eighth inning and took Adam Ottavino deep -- Vargas' first long ball of the season. After a hot start to the season, Vargas is batting just .135 (5-for-37) over his last 15 appearances, and his playing time has dwindled.

The Cardinals are expected to recall Graceffo from Triple-A Memphis to make his first major-league start in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Royals, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Sonny Gray is on turn for St. Louis, but the club will push him back for Friday's matchup versus the Cubs. Graceffo will serve as the 27th man for the Cardinals and will be returned to Memphis after the spot start. The right-hander pitched well in long relief in his major-league debut last month, allowing one run with a 4:2 K:BB over 4.1 innings against the Reds. Graceffo holds a 2.22 ERA and 26:10 K:BB in 28.1 frames with Memphis since the beginning of June.

Irvin (7-7) took the loss Tuesday, coughing up six runs on nine hits and two walks over six innings as the Nationals fell 7-5 to the Mets. He struck out two.

The right-hander dominated the Mets on July 4, but the Nats' NL East rivals got some revenge in the rematch, with a three-run homer by Brandon Nimmo in the second inning and a two-run blast by Francisco Lindor in the sixth accounting for most of the damage off Irvin. He hadn't served up multiple homers in a start since May 22, while the six runs allowed tied his season high. Irvin will take a 3.13 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 96:26 K:BB through 112 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come on the road in Milwaukee this weekend.

Higashioka went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer and a walk in Tuesday's loss to the Mariners.

Higashioka tacked on a two-run blast in the eighth to cut the deficit to 7-3 for his only hit of the evening. Though he's not an everyday player, Higashioka has been swinging the bat well when in the lineup of late, slashing .342/.375/.842 with six homers, 17 RBI and eight runs scored in 40 plate appearances over his last 11 games. He'll continue to split time behind the dish with Luis Campusano despite Higashioka currently swinging a much hotter bat.

Cronenworth went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to the Mariners.

Cronenworth took Logan Gilbert deep to right in the seventh inning for the Padres' first run of the game during a night in which the team managed just four hits total. It's his 13th homer of the season, as he's on pace to set a career high in that category after hitting 21 in 2021. Since June 20, Cronenworth is slashing a healthy .313/.371/.484 with three homers, nine RBI, 18 runs and a 5:9 BB:K in 70 plate appearances.

Mazur (1-3) took the loss Tuesday against the Mariners, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six over 4.2 innings.

The six strikeouts were a career best for Mazur over his first seven major-league starts, but it was his fourth time giving up four or more runs, and he failed to reach five innings for the fifth time. The Mariners strung together a pair of runs against Mazur in the first two innings before opening up the game with homers in the third and fifth to make it a 5-0 ballgame. The 23-year-old now owns a 7.84 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 21:19 K:BB in 31 innings. It's unclear if his next start will be in the majors or down in Triple-A, but it will come after the All-Star break.

Busch went 4-for-6 with a solo home run and an additional run in Tuesday's 9-2 win over the Orioles.

Busch got the scoring started Tuesday by taking Dean Kremer deep in the top of the first and kept it going by registering his first four-hit game of the season. Busch has homered in back-to-back games, with the two blasts matching the total he had in his previous 32 games combined. The 26-year-old has now left the yard on 12 occasions overall, tying him with Jackson Merrill and Colton Cowser for the most by a rookie this season.

Yelich went 1-for-2 with two walks and one stolen base in Tuesday's 12-2 loss to the Pirates.

Yelich has gone 18-for-46 (.391) with five steals and eight extra-base hits over his last 12 contests. The outfielder is up to 20 thefts this season, the second year in a row and fifth campaign overall where he's reached that milestone. He's added a spectacular .331/.412/.532 slash line with 11 home runs, 41 RBI, 42 runs scored, 11 doubles and three triples across 66 games.

Happ went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, a walk and an additional run in Tuesday's 9-2 win over the Orioles.

Happ stayed hot at the dish, as he singled, walked and then crushed a three-run blast in his first three at-bats Tuesday. It was Happ's 14th homer of the season and eighth in the last 22 games alone, and it ran his RBI total over that span to 25 in the process. For the season, the 29-year-old is hitting .244/.358/.455 and continues to be an everyday lock in the middle of the Cubs lineup.

Peralta was removed from Tuesday's game against the Mariners due to an apparent groin injury, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Peralta winced and grabbed at his groin immediately after making a pitch in the ninth inning of Tuesday's contest, resulting in him exiting alongside a trainer. He'll presumably undergo imaging in the Padres' clubhouse to determine the nature/severity of his injury, and the team should provide an update shortly after the game.