MLB Player News

Castro is out of Saturday's lineup against the Mets, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The Pirates are facing three righties this weekend against the Mets, and so far Castro has started on the bench in the first two games of the series. He had started nine of 10 games prior to this weekend, with four of those starts coming against righties, but lately Ji Hwan Bae has handled the keystone against righties.

Escobar went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Friday's loss to the Pirates.

Escobar recorded his third multi-hit performance in his last five games, although he's been stuck on the bench six times during that time as well. The veteran infielder has lost his starting job at the hot corner to Brett Baty, but if he keeps hitting, his playing time in a utility role should tick up, especially with the Mets now trying to cover for the loss of Pete Alonso (wrist).

Riley went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Friday's 3-2 win over the Nationals.

He couldn't get much going with his bat, so Riley instead contributed with his legs as he stole his first base of 2023 and just the third of his career. The streaky third baseman has been locked in at the plate over the last month, and through his last 25 games Riley is slashing .333/.376/.566 with eight doubles, five homers, 14 RBI and 16 runs.

Hayes went 5-for-5 with two doubles, four RBI, three runs scored and one steal in Friday's 14-7 win over the Mets.

Hayes had himself a night Friday, tying career highs with five hits and four RBI in a 14-7 win. The young third basemen had been tweaking his approach at the plate since the end of the road trip last week, and it has certainly paid dividends. Over his last seven games, Hayes has a scorching .586 average (17-for-29) with two home runs, nine RBI and three strikeouts.

Arenado went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 7-4 win over the Reds.

Arenado got the Cardinals off to a good start with his first-inning blast. He's starting to get back into a rhythm in June, going 9-for-26 (.346) with three homers and seven RBI over his last seven games. The third baseman is up to a .272/.319/.469 slash line with 12 homers, 43 RBI, 29 runs scored and two stolen bases through 61 contests this season.

Moustakas went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, an additional run scored and a walk in Friday's 9-6 loss to the Padres.

Moustakas kept things interesting with his eighth-inning blast, but the Rockies' offense stalled out. The infielder has gone 5-for-11 over his last four games, a short burst of hitting that could help him claw back some playing time at the corner infield spots. Moustakas is up to a .258/.345/.419 slash line with three homers, 15 RBI, 17 runs scored and six doubles through 37 contests overall.

Machado went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Friday's 9-6 win over the Rockies.

The Padres' offense was hot early, and Machado opened the scoring in the first inning. This was the third baseman's third multi-hit effort over his last four games, though the homer was his first since May 9. He missed time with a hand injury, and he's generally struggled in 2023 with a .239/.290/.380 slash line, six homers, 21 RBI, 23 runs scored and two stolen bases through 47 contests. Machado has never hit lower than .256 over a full campaign, so there's at least reason to be optimistic he can get things turned around.

Davis was scratched from Friday's lineup against the Cubs with tightness in his right hip, Danny Emerman of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.

The 30-year-old will take a seat on the bench, and Casey Schmitt will handle the hot corner and hit eighth. Davis should be considered day-to-day.

Chicago recalled Madrigal from Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Madrigal is leading off and playing second base versus the Giants on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports. Madrigal struggled to a .247/.286/.301 slash line in 98 plate appearances before being optioned to Iowa at the end of May, but he scorched Triple-A pitching with a .511 batting average and 1.480 OPS in 51 plate appearances. Madrigal should see time at third base and second base while he's a member of the 26-man roster.

Baty is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Pirates.

Baty will take a seat as the Mets face off with left-hander Rich Hill on the mound Friday. Switch hitter Eduardo Escobar will draw the start at the hot corner and bat eighth in the series opener with Pittsburgh.