MLB Player News

Ballesteros is not in the starting lineup Sunday night versus St. Louis.

Ballesteros will head to the bench as Chicago squares off with southpaw Matthew Liberatore in the series finale. Kevin Alcantara will draw his first start since being called up from Triple-A Iowa on May 23, batting eighth while handling the designated hitter role.

Alcantara will draw the start at designated hitter and bat eighth in Sunday night's series finale against the Cardinals.

Alcantara will be in the starting lineup for the first time since being called up from Triple-A Iowa on May 23. The 23-year-old has gone 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a walk over four plate appearances off the bench since his promotion, but he'll get the nod over Moises Ballesteros and Michael Conforto at DH with southpaw Matthew Liberatore on the mound for St. Louis on Sunday.

Littell (5-4) earned the win Sunday over the Padres, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out five.

It's the second straight quality start and fourth straight win for Littell, who's given up just five runs over 23 innings in that span. It's been quite a turnaround for the veteran right-hander, who struggled to a 6.94 ERA in his first eight outings (36.1 innings) this year. Littell will look to extend his winning streak his next time out, currently scheduled to come on the road against the Diamondbacks next weekend.

Lodolo (2-1) earned the win against Atlanta on Sunday, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts over 6.2 innings.

Lodolo allowed two homers and threw just 61 strikes on 100 pitches, but he managed to limit the overall damage against one of baseball's top lineups. It marked the second straight quality-start win for the southpaw, though he has now surrendered at least one long ball in each of his five outings this season. He'll carry a 5.20 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 22:13 K:BB across 27.2 innings into a road matchup against the Cardinals next weekend.

Helsley (elbow) said Sunday that he's scheduled to complete a few more bullpen sessions and will gradually ramp up the intensity of his throwing before he resumes facing hitters, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

The Orioles plan to re-evaluate Helsley following their upcoming six-game road trip, after which the right-hander could be cleared to head out on a rehab assignment. Helsley appears to be trending toward a return from the injured list sometime in June, though a specific target date likely won't be established until he's pitching in simulated games or minor-league games. Once he eventually makes his way back from the IL, Helsley should step back in as the Orioles' preferred option to close games.

Cowser went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, four total RBI and a second run scored in Sunday's 9-5 win over the Blue Jays.

After driving in the game's opening run in the second inning, Cowser capped Baltimore's five-run third with a three-run, 424-foot blast off Spencer Miles. After batting just .169 with no home runs in his first 36 games of the season, Cowser's gone 12-for-33 (.364) with four long balls in his last 14 contests.

Drohan will start Monday's game against the Giants, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Drohan will be making his second start of the season, after tossing 2.2 innings in his Milwaukee debut back on April 8. Since then, Drohan has excelled in a relief role for Milwaukee, accruing a 1.82 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 26:4 K:BB across 24.2 innings. The left-hander has thrown 39-plus pitches in seven of his 11 outings this season, so he should be able to provide some quality length Monday even if he isn't built up to handle a full starter's workload.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said that Nardi is expected to miss about three months after landing on the 15-day injured list Saturday due to a stress reaction in his left ribcage, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Nardi could be back with the Marlins for the final stretch of the season, but any problems during his rehab program could result in him missing the rest of the campaign. The rib injury is another tough setback on the health front for Nardi, who missed the entire 2025 season due to back problems.

Scott is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.

The Cardinals will give Scott a breather for the series finale after the speedster had been included in the starting nine in each of the past 15 games. Jose Fermin will get the nod in center field in place of Scott, who should continue to see the bulk of the starts at the position while Nathan Church (shoulder) is on the injured list.

Miles (2-1) took the loss Sunday against the Orioles, allowing six runs on five hits and three walks over three innings. He struck out two.

Five of the runs charged to Miles came in the third inning, capped by a Colton Cowser three-run homer with two outs. It was the second start of the season for Miles. The right-hander had found success as a bulk reliever prior to Sunday, allowing just one run in his previous 15.1 innings. Miles' ERA now sits at 3.47 with a 1.16 WHIP and 34:12 K:BB across 36.1 innings this season.