Pirates release Yunior Marte to pitch in Japan

Wetherholt had an excellent day at the plate, starting with a solo homer off Shota Imanaga on the first pitch of the game. After drawing a walk in the third, he doubled in the fifth and knocked a base hit in the seventh before he was retired for the first time in the ninth. The 23-year-old second baseman is up to 13 homers, 52 runs scored, 36 RBI, and nine steals while hitting .266/.363/.415 across 375 plate appearances.

O’Brien was called on to close out Saturday’s contest against the Cubs with a three-run lead. He struck out the first batter, then worked around a walk, inducing a ground ball double-play to end the game. The 31-year-old right-hander is up to 22 saves with a 3.72 ERA across 36 1/3 innings.

Leahy was excellent against the Cubs on Saturday, holding them scoreless over five innings. He scattered three hits and two walks, throwing 45-of-77 pitches for strikes and collecting six strikeouts. He’s now allowed just one run total over his last three starts. The 29-year-old right-hander will look to keep it going when he takes a 3.86 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and a 73/33 K/BB ratio across 86 1/3 innings into a start against the Brewers in St. Louis on Thursday.

Imanaga surrendered a leadoff homer to JJ Wetherholt in the first inning. Two walks and a hit brought a second run home to score in the third. Imanaga would pitch into the fifth, leaving with two outs and a runner on at 86 pitches. He walked three and collected eight strikeouts. The 32-year-old left-hander will take a 4.28 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 100/26 K/BB ratio across 103 innings into a start against the Orioles in Baltimore on Thursday.

Chourio was given Saturday off originally, but he replaced Jake Bauers in the contest and was able to pick up a solo homer in the ninth. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, that homer came with the Brew Crew trailing by two, and no one was on base. Chourio has homered 13 times in the first half of 2026 with a slash of .293/.350/.529 to go with those roundtrippers.

Yelich got the Brewers to within a run when he took Merrill Kelly deep for a two-run blast; his sixth of the season. The 34-year-old has his first homer of July after going deep just once in the previous month. Yelich doesn’t have the same type of pop he once did, but it seems unlikely that he won’t go through a power surge at some point this summer. He definitely needs one.

Del Castillo took Brandon Woodruff deep before Woodruff exited with an injury, and it gave the D-backs a 3-0 lead. The 26-year-old went hitless for the rest of the game, but a three-run roundtripper will suffice. Castillo has not been effective with the bat for the majority of 2026, and even with the homer his .185/.244/.311 slash is far from appealing.

Sewald struck out the first two batters he faced, but then left a pinch in a bad spot to Jackson Chourio, and Chourio took advantage with a solo homer. Fortunately for Sewald and Arizona, that homer came with the D-backs holding a two-run advantage, so he still gets the save. That’s the 20th of the season for Sewald, and almost certainly not the last.

Kelly was able to work around eight hits and two walks to get the win, with the one blemish a two-run shot by Christian Yelich. It’s the first time he’s held an opponent to under three runs since June 11, and while the results were solid, it’s a little hard to get too excited about this effort. Kelly still sports a 5.71 ERA with his last scheduled start before the All-Star break coming against the Padres on Thursday.

Eldridge doubled to drive in a run in the first inning, then took Sean Sullivan deep for a solo homer in the third. It was a 458-foot shot to right field. The 21-year-old slugger is up to seven homers, 24 runs scored, and 19 RBI while slashing .280/.368/.484 across 185 plate appearances.