MLB Player News

Contreras went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, four RBI and three runs scored in Thursday's 13-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Contreras was at the center of Milwaukee's offensive explosion, opening the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning before launching a 419-foot, two-run homer in the third to extend the lead. He added another RBI with a single in the fourth. The catcher finished with a perfect day at the plate, reaching base five times. The homer was his third of the season and his first since April 11. Contreras is now slashing .279/.355/.423 with seven doubles, 20 RBI and 18 runs scored across 124 plate appearances.

Bailey isn't in the lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Phillies, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts during the Giants' Game 1 loss, and he'll now move to the bench while Eric Haase starts at catcher and bats eighth.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Thursday that Murphy (hip) will likely rejoin the club for its series early next week in Seattle, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy got a late start to the season after having hip surgery last September, but he's nearly ready to break back into the Atlanta lineup. The veteran catcher has yet to get rolling offensively on his rehab assignment, going 5-for-32 with a 2:8 BB:K. He feels healthy, though, and is slated to catch all nine innings in back-to-back games with Triple-A Gwinnett before being activated. Murphy should handle the lion's share of starts at designated hitter for Atlanta and will also be worked in behind the plate as the team's No. 2 catcher.

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Sanchez will hit the bench for the fourth time in the Brewers' last five matchups versus a right-handed starting pitcher. Christian Yelich (groin) remains on the shelf, but Tyler Black appears to have moved ahead of Sanchez on the depth chart as Milwaukee's preferred option at designated hitter against righties. Even though he no longer looks to be a full-time player, Sanchez still carries some appeal in leagues that start two catchers. He's compiled a .230 average to go with five home runs, 14 RBI and 10 runs across 77 plate appearances on the season.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.

Ruiz will hit the bench for the fourth time in six games while the Nationals go with Drew Millas behind the dish. Though the playing time has been tilting in Millas' favor of late, Ruiz has been the better producer at the plate by a narrow margin. Ruiz has turned in a .516 OPS over 58 plate appearances, while Millas has provided a .422 OPS across 55 plate appearances.

Alvarez is absent from the lineup for Thursday's tilt versus the Nationals.

Alvarez was behind the dish for each of the Mets' last three games, so he'll get a breather for Thursday's matinee. Luis Torrens is doing the catching and batting eighth in the rubber match.

Hicks went 1-for-2 with two walks and a solo home run in Wednesday's win over the Dodgers.

The 26-year-old sat out Tuesday's game due to an illness, but Hicks looked pretty healthy in his return to action when he led off the second inning by launching a Tyler Glasnow offering down the right-field line for his seventh homer of the year. It was Hicks' third long ball in his last four starts, and on the season he continues to boast an impressive .315/.365/.576 slash line over 104 plate appearances with one steal, 18 runs and 28 RBI -- tied with Matt Olson for second in the National League behind Sal Stewart's 29.

Sullivan went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, three RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 13-2 win over the Reds.

Sullivan jumpstarted Colorado's big offensive day with a bases-clearing double in the first inning, then added another double in the seventh as part of a three-hit performance. The catcher has shown surprising extra-base ability early this season, already collecting six extra-base hits in just 47 plate appearances after tallying only five across his first 142 MLB plate appearances. Sullivan is now slashing an impressive .289/.319/.422 with six doubles, seven RBI and two runs scored.

Del Castillo went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Brewers.

Del Castillo's blast got the Diamondbacks on the board in the fourth inning. The catcher had gone 0-for-7 with two walks and three strikeouts over his last three games. Overall, he's batting just .222 with a .652 OPS, two homers, 11 RBI, six runs scored, three doubles and no stolen bases over 57 plate appearances. He's shared the catching duties with James McCann lately, but Del Castillo is likely to see a drop in playing time once Gabriel Moreno (oblique) returns, which is expected to happen during Arizona's series versus the Cubs this weekend.

Millas is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Millas had started in three of the previous four games, but he'll give way to Keibert Ruiz on Wednesday. The playing time between the two backstops has been split fairly evenly throughout the season, with Ruiz drawing 16 starts to Millas' 15.