MLB Player News

Harper (elbow) will start at first base and bat third Thursday against the Marlins.

Harper had to make an early exit from Wednesday's contest after getting hit in the elbow by a pitch, but his bruise won't be enough to prevent him from playing in Thursday's series opener. Over his last 10 games, the 31-year-old slugger has gone 13-for-34 with two RBI and four runs scored.

Encarnacion-Strand (wrist) has been cleared to begin baseball activities, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Encarnacion-Strand underwent surgery in mid-July to repair ligaments in his fractured right wrist. He has already been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season, but the 24-year-old will hope to have a normal offseason after getting the go-ahead to ramp things up this month.

Dezenzo went 1-for-4 with two RBI on Wednesday against the Reds.

Dezenzo drew only his second start against a right-handed pitcher in the team's last seven games. Despite coming through with a two-RBI single in the sixth inning, he's struggled through his first 55 plate appearances in the majors, striking out at a 32.7 percent clip while hitting only .212.

The Rays recalled Shenton from Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Shenton has a .697 OPS in 44 plate appearances during his time in the big leagues this season and has posted an .858 OPS with 20 homers this year at Durham. The lefty-hitting first baseman/designated hitter could see the occasional start against right-handed pitching.

Wade went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

Wade jumped on a four-seamer from Kevin Ginkel in the bottom of the seventh and sent it into the stands for a two-run shot to pull the Giants back within two runs of Arizona. He then added a clutch two-run single in the ninth to once again cut the deficit to two runs, though his diligent effort would fall short. The long ball was Wade's sixth of the campaign, while his four RBI on the night marked a season high. It also marked the outfielder's first multi-hit performance since Aug. 23 against the Mariners.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a walk and a two-run home run in Wednesday's 9-4 win over the Twins.

He took Louie Varland deep in the fourth inning, capping an eight-run eruption for the Rays offense. It's Diaz's 13th homer of the season, and third in his last six games as he catches fire for the home stretch. Over 28 contests since the beginning of August, the 33-year-old is slashing .294/.362/.461 with 12 RBI and 12 runs.

Santana went 1-for-3 with two walks and a two-run home run in Wednesday's 9-4 loss to the Rays.

The veteran first baseman took Tyler Alexander deep in the seventh inning, giving Santana homers in back-to-back games. He's up to 20 long balls on the year, the ninth time in his career he's reached that mark, but as per usual he isn't doing much for fantasy GMs in batting average -- over 30 contests since the beginning of August, Santana's slashing .206/.322/.423.

Vaughn went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 8-1 win over Baltimore.

Vaughn put the White Sox ahead 2-1 in the fourth inning with a 413-foot blast off Albert Suarez, his 16th homer of the year. Vaughn recorded his first multi-hit game since August 25 -- the first baseman had been stuck in a 1-for-25 slump across seven contests coming into Wednesday. Overall, Vaughn's slashing .237/.292/.393 on the year with 60 RBI, 50 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases across 534 plate appearances.

Clemens went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Clemens put the Phillies ahead for good in the second inning with a two-run blast off Bowden Francis, his fourth long ball of the year. Since he was recalled Sep. 1, the 28-year-old Clemens has gone 2-for-8 with three runs scored and three RBI. Overall, he's slashing .243/.274/.529 with 11 runs scored and 13 RBI in 73 plate appearances. While Clemens has primarily filled a bench role for the Phillies, he could see more playing time down the stretch with both Alec Bohm (hand) and Bryce Harper (elbow) nursing injuries.

Arraez went 2-for-5 with a stolen base, a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's extra-inning win over the Tigers.

Arraez grounded out in each of his first two trips to the plate before leading off the bottom of the fifth with a single and eventually coming around to score on a two-RBI knock from Manny Machado. The infielder would later add a second single, along with his ninth steal of the season in the sixth, marking his second-consecutive game with two hits and a stolen base. Arraez has recorded multiple hits in five of his last seven contests overall, batting .466 (14-for-30) over that stretch with four RBI, three stolen bases and five runs scored.