Diaz pitched in six games, the last being the first game of a double header with the St.Louis Cardinals on April, 30. He entered the game in the top of the ninth with the Reds trailing, 1-0. He gave up a three-run home run to Victor Scott II. The Cardinals made it three home runs in succession with Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn doing the honors.

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Following two months where former All-Star Alexis Díaz underwhelmed, underperformed and made a poor impression, the Cincinnati Reds are close to trading him to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league pitcher Mike Villani, a 22-year-old reliever who the Dodgers drafted in the 13th-round last year.

The Reds led after six innings in both losses in the series. Once the lead goes, Cincinnati's bats have gone silent.

The Cincinnati Reds' starting rotation has a 1.41 ERA over the last six games. But after Tuesday's 1-0 loss, the lineup has been shut out 8 times.

Nick Martinez worked seven strong innings and Tyler Stephenson homered to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-4 win over the Kansas City Royals.

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Cabrera doesn’t have a specified role yet, though he’s the Cubs’ most recent attempt to bring in a veteran pitcher who can make an impact out of the bullpen. Chris Flexen, Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz already have been success stories in that department. Neither Flexen nor Pomeranz has allowed an earned run this season, and Keller has a 2.30 ERA.

Slowly but surely, the Milwaukee Brewers have forced their way back into relevance in the NL Central race. Milwaukee has won its last four games and eight of it