MLB Player News

Smith went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run Wednesday against the Cubs.

Smith took Robert Stock yard in the third inning to record his sixth home run of the season. It was his second long ball in his past three starts, and he is also in the midst of a modest three-game hitting streak. Though he's gotten off to a slow start this season, Smith now has a 97 wRC+ with 24 RBI and 19 runs scored across 223 plate appearances.

Rizzo went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Mets.

Rizzo is quietly getting going at the plate, as he now has nine home runs, 31 RBI and an .809 OPS this season. He's hit four of those long balls this month already, so while his overall numbers aren't jumping off the page compared to his usual standards, the slugging first baseman should produce good stats for fantasy managers the rest of the way.

Cronenworth went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-7 loss to Colorado.

The 27-year-old entered the game as a defensive replacement in the fifth inning. In the sixth, he hit a solo home run -- just his second homer since May 21 -- which brought San Diego within a run. Cronenworth hasn't been a huge power threat with just seven homers in 69 contests this year. He's added a .272/.338/.412 slash line with 21 RBI, 42 runs scored and three stolen bases across 286 plate appearances.

Bell went 2-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Pirates.

He got some revenge against his former squad, taking David Bednar deep in the seventh inning for the game's decisive runs. Bell has yet to put together any kind of hot streak for the Nats but he has shown some signs of life at the plate lately, going 10-for-34 (.294) over his last 10 games with two of his nine homers on the year.

Cron went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 8-7 win over San Diego.

Cron went deep off San Diego starter Blake Snell in the first inning. The long ball was the first baseman's second in the last three games after going 24 straight games without a homer. For the year, Cron is slashing .250/.357/.429 with seven homers, 21 RBI and 26 runs scored across 196 plate appearances. He continues to log regular playing time at first base over Joshua Fuentes.

Walker is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.

He receives a day off following a strong, 2-for-5 effort Tuesday with three RBI. It was Walker's third multi-hit showing in his last seven games, a stretch during which he's gone 7-for-25 with a homer, five RBI and just two strikeouts. Pavin Smith gets the start at first base Wednesday.

Flores is not starting Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

He receives his second game off in three days as Jason Vosler fills in at third base. Flores has recorded a hit in each of his last four games, but he's still hitting just .143 with one RBI in his last nine contests.

Higgins (forearm) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Wednesday, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

The backup catcher is now set to miss an extended time with his strained right forearm, keeping Jose Lobaton in that role until Austin Romine (wrist) returns near the end of the month. It remains unclear exactly how long Higgins will be sidelined.

Cronenworth isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Cronenworth will get a breather after he went 1-for-7 with a run across the last two games. Ha-Seong Kim will start at second base and bat seventh.

Walker went 2-for-5 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's 9-8 loss to the Giants.

Walker, who has been held out of the lineup against right-handers at times, has started seven of the last eight contests, including four of five against righties. The first baseman is 8-for-28 with three extra-base hits, five RBI and seven runs scored as a starter during that stretch. The average is still a meager .212, but he's making better contact.