MLB Player News

Crooks is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Andre Pallante has worked in a battery with Ivan Herrera for all but one of his 12 starts this season, so Crooks will take a seat while Herrera steps in behind the plate for the middle game of the series. Since being called up from Triple-A Memphis on May 29, Crooks has started in five of the Cardinals' ensuing 11 games while going 3-for-18 with a double, two walks and two RBI.

The Pirates placed Cruz on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, retroactive to Monday, with non-displaced fourth and fifth metacarpal fractures in his left hand.

Cruz sustained the injury during a hard slide in Saturday's contest and hasn't played since. He'll land on the injured list now that he's been confirmed to be dealing with multiple fractures, and the Pirates expect him to be sidelined for about a month, per Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com. Billy Cook was recalled from Triple-A to replenish Pittsburgh's outfield depth.

The Blue Jays designated Seabold for assignment Wednesday.

Following his acquisition from the Tigers on May 27, Seabold made five appearances out of the Toronto bullpen and gave up three earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one batter in 3.1 innings. The 30-year-old right-hander will give up his spot on the roster to Max Scherzer (ankle/forearm), who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday versus the Phillies.

Ozuna is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

Ryan O'Hearn will get the nod at designated hitter Wednesday after Ozuna filled that spot in the lineup the previous two games while going 1-for-7 with four strikeouts. After signing a one-year, $12 million deal in February, Ozuna has been a major disappointment so far for the Pirates. He's striking out at a career-high 29.1 percent clip and has posted a .580 OPS through 50 games, a bottom-five mark among players who have logged at least 200 plate appearances.

Cruz (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

Cruz will remain on the bench for a third straight game while he continues to experience discomfort stemming from a cut to his left hand, which he sustained during a hard slide in Atlanta over the weekend. Jake Mangum will pick up a start in center field in place of Cruz, who is being viewed as day-to-day while he continues to receive treatment for the injury.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Smith (neck) will "most likely" be placed on the injured list, Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times reports. "We'll have to make that decision at some point in time [after Wednesday's game against the Pirates]," Roberts said.

Roberts acknowledged that the three-time All-Star is progressing, but Smith -- who will be out of the lineup Wednesday for a fourth straight game -- has missed enough time at this point that he'll require a ramp-up period before returning to action, per Jack Harris of the California Post. Dalton Rushing will step in as the Dodgers' top backstop for the duration of Smith's absence, and Los Angeles will likely call up Chuckie Robinson or Eliezer Alfonzo from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to Thursday's series finale in Pittsburgh to serve as Rushing's understudy.

Cleavinger gave up one run on one hit and one walk in the ninth inning Wednesday to record his second save of the season in a 7-5 win over the Red Sox. He struck out one.

A solo shot by Caleb Durbin accounted for the damage off Cleavinger, who got the call in a save situation with Bryan Baker having pitched the prior two days. The long ball was only the second Cleavinger has served up this season, and through 15.1 innings he's produced a 4.70 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 21:9 K:BB in 15.1 innings while recording one win and eight holds over 17 appearances, in addition to his two saves.

Rasmussen (6-2) picked up the win Wednesday, scattering two hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings during a 7-5 victory over the Red Sox. He struck out 13.

The right-hander set a career high in strikeouts while recording 20 whiffs among his 97 pitches (66 total strikes). Rasmussen has held the opposition off the board in three of his last four trips to the mound, posting a 1.80 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 32:4 K:BB in 25 innings over that sizzling stretch. He faces a tough test in his next start, which is set to come on the road early next week against the Dodgers.

The Royals recalled Misner from Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.

He'll join the big club as a replacement for Kyle Isbel (foot), who was placed on the injured list. Misner has spent the whole season up to this point at Omaha, slashing .276/.373/.547 with 13 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 59 games. He could see some playing time in center field while Isbel is shelved.

Durbin went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs in Wednesday's 7-5 loss to the Rays.

After Drew Rasmussen had blanked Boston for seven innings, Durbin sparked his team's offense to life with a long ball off Cole Sulser to lead off the eighth, following it up with another solo shot off Garrett Cleavinger in the ninth. Durbin came into the game with just one homer on the year, but over the last 12 games he's batting .341 (15-for-44) with five doubles, a triple and Wednesday's pair of home runs, along with one steal, six runs and nine RBI.