MLB Player News

Retherford, who was released by the Dodgers earlier this week, tested positive for an amphetamine. The 27-year-old was batting .219/.273/.404 with four homers, 26 RBI and a .677 OPS through 47 games this season with Double-A Chattanooga.

Ashcraft threw 48 1/3 innings over 10 starts in Triple-A this year, but he’d been used exclusively in relief since being called up. He’ll likely return to the pen for now after the spot start, but he could get a longer look in the rotation after the Pirates ship off Andrew Heaney and maybe Bailey Falter next month.

It doesn’t look all that interesting in the box score, but this one was scary. Bednar nearly gave up a two-run homer to Jake Bauers, but the ball went just foul. Caleb Durbin, who had a leadoff single, was caught stealing afterwards because he overslid the bag. Bauers then walked, but the Brewers went quietly from there. Bednar has gone 13 straight appearances without allowing an earned run. He’ll probably be down Tuesday after working back-to-back days, so Dennis Santana might get a save then.

Patrick was a very nice surprise for two months, but he’s given up 13 earned runs and four homers over 15 innings in his last three starts, taking his ERA from 2.84 to 3.72. The Brewers might think about trying something different soon, perhaps using Patrick in shorter outings alongside DL Hall or Aaron Ashby. That said, if they stay the course, Patrick will likely have a better outing at home against the Rockies on Sunday.

Pham had gone 181 plate appearances without a homer this season. One could argue that the Pirates should have DFA’d him a month ago or even two months ago, but he might be getting things together now; collecting five hits the last two days has raised his OPS from .498 to .565.

Yelich is 16-for-30 with two homers and 14 RBI in his last seven games, raising his OPS from .723 to .801. His homer tonight was the 219th of his career, moving him out of a tie with Shin-Soo Choo, Todd Frazier, Bob Horner, Juan Soto and Mark Trumbo for 325th place all-time and into a tie with Jim Bottomley, Al Oliver and Joe Pepitone for 322nd place all-time.

He also walked. It’s actually Smith’s first multihit game in June, though at least four of his six hits over the last two weeks have been homers. He’s still batting .268/.389/.474 overall after a very fast start.

It’s the first time Rodriguez has pitched at least five innings without allowing a run since Sept. 24, 2023 in his next-to-last start for the Tigers. While this has certainly been a forgettable year for Rodriguez so far, this is his third 10-strikeout game somehow. He’s 3-4 with a 5.40 ERA and a 74/24 K/BB in 66 2/3 innings. Although he’s definitely not an every-week play in mixed leagues at the moment, he’ll again be nice to have active when he faces the Marlins on Sunday.

DeSclafani struck out four and walked two. His velocity is creeping up some out of the pen, and he got 11 missed swings on his 45 pitches tonight. If he can stay healthy, it looks like he’ll be of assistance to the Diamondbacks, perhaps eventually as a starting pitcher.

Smith’s ERA has jumped from 2.37 a week ago to 3.38 now after back-to-back starts with five earned runs allowed. He was always going to hit a rough patch at some point, but considering that he was in the pen in 2023 and for part of last year, he might also already be wearing down. He’s due to face the Giants on Sunday, but since the White Sox have Thursday and next Monday off, they could back off him some.

Marte is 16 plate appearances shy of qualifying for the batting title, but if he did, he’d be third in the majors with a 1.017 OPS and with a .422 OBP. Marte was already an excellent player with his career 114 OPS+ through age 29, but he came in at 155 at age 30 last year and he’s at about 180 right now. It’s just ridiculous.