MLB Player News

Alcantara (7-4) picked up the win in Wednesday's 12-4 romp over the Phillies, giving up four runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out six.

The veteran righty got tagged for two runs in each of the first two innings, with two errors and a balk contributing to the damage in the second frame, but Alcantara kept his focus and shut the door the rest of the way while while getting backed by 13 hits and five homers from Miami's bats. The quality start was Alcantara's 11th of the season and fourth straight, a stretch in which he's posted a 2.89 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 25:3 K:BB over 28 innings while winning all four outings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next trip to the mound, which is set to come at home early next week against the Rangers.

The Phillies optioned Painter to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following his start against the Marlins on Wednesday.

Painter was lit up for six earned runs on six hits and two walks while he struck out three batters in just two innings Wednesday. It's the third start in a row that he's allowed five or more runs, so the Phillies will send him back to the minors to get back on track. A corresponding move will be made ahead of Thursday's game to presumably add more depth to Philadelphia's bullpen while the team determines who will claim the open rotation spot.

Littell (6-6) took the loss Wednesday, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings as the Nationals were downed 6-2 by the Royals. He struck out two.

All four runs came on solo shots by Carter Jensen, John Rave, Lane Thomas and Michael Massey, not exactly a fearsome array of sluggers. It's the first time since April 28 that Littell has served up multiple homers in an outing, but after a five-start win streak he's dropped two straight decisions, getting tagged for nine runs in 6.2 innings during the sudden downturn. Littell will carry a 5.45 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 41:23 K:BB through 71 innings into his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Phillies.

The Mariners traded Dobnak to Kansas City on Wednesday, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Dobnak spent his 2026 season with Seattle's Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma before being dealt to the Royals. With Tacoma, the 31-year-old posted a 4.24 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 39:24 K:BB across 70 innings. Dobnak will join Kansas City's 40-man roster and report to Triple-A Omaha.

Rave went 2-for-4 with a triple, a solo home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Nationals.

The second-inning long ball off Zack Littell was Rave's first of the season in the majors, while the three-bagger was his first in the majors in his 74th career game. Rave got called up over the weekend to supply outfield depth while Kyle Isbel (foot) and Vinnie Pasquantino (hand) are on the shelf, but performances like this could earn the 28-year-old more playing time against right-handed pitching. Through 60 games with Triple-A Omaha prior to his promotion, Rave was slashing .278/.395/.475 with 10 homers and 16 steals.

Jensen went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double, a solo home run and a stolen base in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Nationals.

The 22-year-old backstop set the tone for the afternoon when he drove the fourth pitch he saw from Zack Littell over the fence in the right-field corner, the first of four long balls by Kansas City. It was the first four-hit performance of Jensen's career, and it extended his current hit streak to nine games, during which he's batting .361 (13-for-36) with five doubles, two homers, seven runs and nine RBI. Wednesday's steal was also his first in the majors in his 88th game, but Jensen flashed some base-stealing acumen in the minors, going 10-for-11 on steal attempts over 103 games last season and 17-for-20 over 124 games in 2024.

Atlanta transferred Strider (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.

Strider landed on the 15-day IL on June 13 with right elbow inflammation, and it was later deemed that he would be shut down for at least four weeks. Although the 27-year-old avoided any structural damage to his elbow, Atlanta made the decision to transfer him to the 60-day IL in order to make room on the 40-man roster for Carlos Carrasco. Strider has only appeared in eight games this season for Atlanta after having the start of his campaign delayed due to an oblique injury that sidelined him until May 3.

Boyd (knee/shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment Saturday, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.

The location of Boyd's rehab outing has yet to be announced, but it will be his first game action since he suffered a setback with his shoulder following his June 6 rehab outing at Triple-A Iowa. It's also not clear whether Saturday will mark the left-hander's only rehab outing or if he'll require additional appearances coming off the setback. If he is cleared to rejoin the Cubs after Saturday, Boyd would be lined up to make his return to the big-league rotation next week.

Avila (2-3) picked up the win Wednesday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk over 5.2 innings in a 6-2 victory over the Nationals. He struck out five.

The right-hander got chased in the first inning by the Astros in his last trip to the mound, but Avila shook off that disaster and came one out shy of recording his first career quality start, tossing 59 of 91 pitches for strikes before being lifted when he ran into trouble in the sixth. Since moving into the rotation at the beginning of June, Avila has posted a 6.06 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 13:11 K:BB in 16.1 innings over four starts. He'll look to build on Wednesday's performance in his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road early next week in Tampa Bay.

Harris (back) is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against San Francisco.

After being removed early from Tuesday's game against the Giants due to lower-back tightness, Harris will sit out Wednesday for Atlanta. On the season, the 25-year-old has posted a .306/.340/.514 with 14 homers and 41 RBI in 245 plate appearances. Mauricio Dubon will replace Harris in center field and atop the lineup.