MLB Player News

Phillips was assigned to the Arizona Complex League on Tuesday.

Phillips has loud stuff, but his control and command have been major weaknesses throughout his career. He gave up 23 earned runs in 10.1 innings over his three most recent starts for Triple-A Louisville, and the assignment to the complex will presumably allow him to work on some mechanical stuff that's easier to address in a less competitive environment.

Quintero is slashing .346/.455/.477 with three home runs, 15 steals and a 21.8 percent strikeout rate through 36 games in the Arizona Complex League.

An athletic center fielder whom the Dodgers signed for $300,000 in January of 2023, Quintero put up video game numbers in the Dominican Summer League (180 wRC+) last year, and so far his stateside debut has been a big success. Quintero's plus speed is a big part of the fantasy appeal, but he also excels at getting the ball in the air, logging groundball rates around 35 percent at both rookie-level stops.

De La Cruz went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a run scored and three RBI in Thursday's win over the Phillies.

His bases-loaded two-bagger in the seventh inning tied the game at 3-3, sparking a comeback victory. Over the last 10 games, De La Cruz is batting .262 (11-for-42) with three doubles, three homers, five runs and nine RBI. The 27-year-old has 14 home runs through 80 contests, putting him on pace to shatter the career-high 19 he launched in 2023.

De La Cruz went 3-for-5 with an RBI triple, a run scored and a stolen base in Thursday's win over St. Louis.

The star shortstop kicked things off for Cincinnati with an RBI triple in the first inning to score Jonathan India. De la Cruz would then add another two singles in the contest, giving him his fifth three-hit performance this month and third in his last six games. Over that latter stretch he's batting .464 (13-for-28) with two homers, four RBI and seven runs scored. He also swiped his league-leading 38th bag Thursday after failing to record a steal over his previous eight games.

Steer went 2-for-5 with a double, a two-run homer and two runs scored in Thursday's win over the Cardinals.

Steer hit a leadoff double in the third inning before coming around to score Cincinnati's third run of the contest, adding a two-run shot off Miles Mikolas in the following frame. The 26-year-old has recorded multiple hits in three of his last four games, tallying six RBI over that stretch. Steer's batting .286 in June with four homers, 16 RBI and 11 runs scored.

Abbott (7-6) picked up the win over the Cardinals on Thursday, allowing two runs on two hits and six walks over five innings while striking out two.

The only runs charged to Abbott on the night came on a two-run homer from Nolan Arenado in the bottom of the third, as the lefty managed to pitch his way out of trouble the rest of the time despite issuing a season-high six free passes. Abbott has now won four of his last five starts, though he finishes the month of June with 15 walks, compared to just six in May. On the positive side, he's also gone at least five innings in 11 consecutive starts and hasn't given up more than three runs in five straight.

Mikolas (6-7) was hit with the loss against the Reds on Thursday, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits and one walk over 4.1 inning. He struck out one.

Things got ugly in a hurry for Mikolas as the veteran gave up runs in each of the first five innings before finally being relieved by John King. The nine earned runs allowed easily marked a season high for the right-hander, as did the 12 hits he surrendered. Mikolas had gone at least six innings in six consecutive starts coming in, allowing three or fewer runs in five of those outings. Thursday also marked his first loss since May 31 against the Phillies.

Sale (10-3) suffered the loss Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings against the White Sox. He struck out 11.

Sale dominated his former team, with a first-inning homer by Luis Robert marking the only blemish to his stellar outing. However, the bats failed to provide any support for Sale, and Atlanta suffered its third shutout loss of the season with each occurring within the month of June. Following an inexplicable blip June 1 when he allowed eight runs to the hapless Athletics, Sale has rebounded over the last four games by allowing a total of six earned runs over 26 innings, giving him an ERA of 2.08 with a 0.85 WHIP and 36 strikeouts during that stretch. His next start is tentatively scheduled to take place in the middle of next week, when Atlanta plays host to the Giants.

Hicks did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing three runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batsman against the Cubs. He struck out seven.

Hicks' outing was marred by a rough third inning in which he hit a batter, allowed two steals and gave up a homer and triple among three hits during the three-run frame. Otherwise, Hicks faced just two batters over the minimum during the other four innings, recording at least seven strikeouts for the fourth time this season. He'll carry a strong 3.36 ERA into his next start, tentatively scheduled to take place next week when the Giants travel to Atlanta for a mid-week series.

Montgomery (6-5) was saddled with the loss Thursday, allowing eight runs (four earned) on nine hits and one walk over 2.2 innings against the Twins. He struck out one.

Montgomery's line could have been a lot worse if not for a catcher's interference call and a throwing error accounting for half of the eight total runs he allowed. Among the nine hits allowed were three infield singles, no homers and two extra-base hits for Montgomery, suggesting that this performance was marred by a bit of bad luck. After struggling to 14 earned runs allowed over six innings during consecutive starts on May 31 and June 5, Montgomery had righted the ship over the next three outings prior to Thursday, allowing just five earned runs over 16.2 innings and collecting the win in each. His next start won't get any easier as he's presently slated to face the Dodgers in Los Angeles during a mid-week series.