MLB Player News

Houser (0-4) took the loss Wednesday against San Diego, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out three.

While Houser remains winless on the season, Wednesday's outing was easily his best so far this year, as he turned in his first quality start and held the Padres to a lone earned run on a Gavin Sheets fourth-inning homer. In six starts prior to Wednesday, Houser hadn't allowed fewer than three runs while making it through six innings just once. His ERA now sits at 6.19 with a 1.54 WHIP and 19:11 K:BB across 36.1 innings. Houser is currently in line to face the Dodgers on the road his next time out.

Sanders is with the Pirates' taxi squad in Arizona prior to Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

It's not clear what the Pirates' plans are for Sanders, but the 29-year-old right-hander could be deployed out of bullpen at some point during the team's road trip. He's spent the majority of the season in Triple-A but has appeared in three major-league games, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four across three innings.

Fernandez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

Fernandez will be on the bench for the second day in a row, with both of his absences coming against right-handed pitchers. Though Fernandez maintains a .775 OPS on the season compared to Adrian Del Castillo's .657 mark, the latter's standing as a left-handed batter could afford him most of the playing time at designated hitter. Arizona previously had regular at-bats against right-handed pitching available for both players between DH and catcher, but Gabriel Moreno's recent return from the injured list will limit Del Castillo's opportunities to pick up starts behind the dish moving forward.

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Stephenson appears to be receiving a routine breather after he started behind the plate in five of the Reds' previous six games. Jose Trevino will get the nod at catcher Wednesday.

Hayes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Hayes occupied third base for the first two games of the series and went 1-for-7 with a home run and a walk. The long ball -- Hayes's second of the season -- brought his batting average up to .121 on the year. He'll cede the hot corner to Sal Stewart on Wednesday and could see his playing time start to dwindle a bit more if he remains an easy out at the plate.

Taylor is not in the Mets' starting lineup against the Rockies on Wednesday, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.

Taylor will be out of the Mets' lineup for a second consecutive game while the team starts Juan Soto, Carson Benge and MJ Melendez in the outfield from left to right. Taylor has struggled at the plate of late, having gone 3-for-22 (.136) with one RBI over his last eight outings.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.

After starting each of the last three games and going 2-for-10 with a double over that stretch, Ruiz will be rested Wednesday. The Nationals will go with Drew Millas behind the dish.

Garcia (wrist/hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.

Curtis Mead will make a second straight start at first base in place of Garcia, who is considered day-to-day after making an early exit from Sunday's 3-2 win over the Brewers due to a minor right wrist/hand sprain. According to MLB.com, Garcia isn't expected to require a stint on the injured list, though the club's tune could change if he's not able to return to the lineup for the start of the Nationals' weekend series in Miami.

The Cubs selected Thornton's contract from Triple-A Iowa on Monday.

The move corresponds with Charlie Barnes being designated for assignment and the Cubs placing Matthew Boyd (knee) on the 15-day injured list. Thornton was activated from Iowa's 7-day injured list in late April after fully recovering from surgery in August to repair a torn left Achilles tendon. The 32-year-old right-hander has appeared in four Triple-A games, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five across 5.2 innings.

The Cubs placed Boyd (knee) on the 15-day injured list Wednesday, retroactive to Monday.

The move comes after Cubs manager Craig Counsell announced that Boyd will undergo surgery to repair a meniscus injury in his left knee. The veteran southpaw's recovery timeline will come into better focus once he undergoes the procedure, and there remains a possibility that he will be available to pitch again this season, though that may not happen until after the All-Star break. Jordan Wicks (elbow) is on a rehab assignment and is inching closer to being activated from the 15-day IL, but the Cubs may have to turn to an arm from Triple-A or a bullpen option like Ben Brown or Javier Assad to fill in for Boyd in the short term.