MLB Player News

Wade (side) is not in Thursday's lineup against the Padres, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

He said Wednesday that he was targeting a Thursday return, but even when fully healthy, Wade often sits against lefties, and Blake Snell is starting for San Diego. It would not be surprising to see Wade appear off the bench in this one, and the Giants are slated to face three righties at home this weekend against the Diamondbacks.

Smith is not in Thursday's lineup against the Diamondbacks, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Smith heads to the bench with lefty Tommy Henry toeing the rubber for Arizona. Michael Chavis will start at first base and hit sixth.

Montero went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Wednesday against the Reds.

Montero had the opportunity to claim the starting first base job in mid-June when he started six times in a seven-game stretch. However, he went hitless across 20 at-bats while striking out nine times and was back in the lineup Wednesday for the first time in four matchups. Montero took advantage of the opportunity, taking Andrew Abbott deep for his second homer of the season. He figures to continue to share time at first base with Mike Moustakas and potentially Nolan Jones.

Lowe went 1-for-2 with three walks, a double, an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the White Sox.

Lowe returned to the third spot in the order after spending the last two games batting fifth. Texas manager Bruce Bochy said after Monday's game having Josh Jung, who normally bats fifth, serve in the three hole was an experiment against lefties, but the skipper swapped the two again Tuesday against a right-hander. If the manager settles on Lowe being farther down the order, it's not because the first baseman is struggling. Lowe has hit safely in seven of the last eight games, going 10-for-29 with a 1.017 OPS.

Noda went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in a loss to the Athletics on Wednesday.

Noda gave Oakland an early 4-0 lead with his three-run shot in the third inning, but Cleveland eventually came back to pull out a close victory. The first baseman had been slumping coming into the contest, batting .182 with no homers and 16 strikeouts over his previous 44 at-bats. Noda has been one of Oakland's most productive offensive players with a .239/.390/.423 slash line, eight home runs, 35 runs, 30 RBI and two thefts on the season.

Naylor went 4-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Wednesday's 7-6 win over Oakland.

Naylor had a couple big hits in the contest, tying the score with an RBI single in the fifth inning and pulling Cleveland to within one run with a solo shot in the seventh. He finished with four hits for the second time in his past three games and for the third time overall this season. Naylor is enjoying a career-best year at the plate with a .295/.338/.464 slash line through 260 plate appearances. With nine homers and 55 RBI, he's on pace to challenge last season's career-high totals of 20 long balls and 79 runs batted in.

Freeman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-0 win over the Angels.

Freeman extended his hitting streak to six games with the fourth-inning solo shot, which was all the offense the Dodgers needed in the win. He's gone just 6-for-25 (.240) in that span, and just two of those knocks have gone for extra bases. The slump is barely registering in his season stats -- he's still slashing .323/.403/.558 with 14 homers, 47 RBI, 60 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, 25 doubles and a triple through 74 contests. The first baseman remains one of the top all-around producers from a fantasy perspective.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI on Wednesday against the Orioles.

Diaz has three multi-hit performances in his last nine games, during which he's also tallied six runs scored and four RBI. Despite that positive stretch, he's experienced a dip in power of late, as he entered Wednesday's contest slugging only .333 across 63 at-bats in June. Even so, Diaz has maintained a .212 ISO and .515 slugging percentage on the season, both of which are nearly 100 points above his previous career highs.

Vaughn went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Rangers.

Vaughn has hit four homers over his last 11 games, going 10-for-43 (.233) in that span. All of those long balls have been solo shots. The 25-year-old hasn't been able to prop up his batting average much (.241), but his .761 OPS is a solid mark. Vaughn's added 11 homers, 44 RBI, 36 runs scored, 19 doubles, one triple and no stolen bases through 74 contests this season. With solid plate discipline (18.4 percent strikeout rate, 8.4 percent walk rate), he's got a decent chance to bounce back a bit over the rest of the season.

Alonso went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 10-8 loss to the Astros.

The first baseman took Rafael Montero deep in the sixth inning, giving the Mets their last offense of the day. It's Alonso's first homer in four games since making an early return from a bone bruise in his wrist, but overall he's gone just 2-for-16 during that stretch. Despite missing eight games earlier this month with the injury, the 28-year-old still leads the NL with 23 home runs on the year.