MLB Player News

Smith is not in the lineup for Thursday's later game at Cleveland.

Smith caught all nine innings and went 0-for-4 with an RBI sac fly in Wednesday's rain-suspended 6-1 win, which had to be concluded Thursday afternoon. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate in the Dodgers' regularly-scheduled tilt versus the Guardians.

Ruiz is out of the lineup Thursday versus the Yankees due to lightheadedness, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ruiz took a foul tip off his catcher's mask in the Nationals' blowout loss to New York on Wednesday and was feeling the effects of it Thursday morning. There's no word yet as to whether he'll have to be placed in concussion protocol. Riley Adams is starting behind the dish and batting seventh in Thursday's matinee game at Yankee Stadium.

Ruiz is not in the lineup Thursday against the Yankees.

Riley Adams will start at catcher and bat seventh for the Nationals as they wrap up this three-game set with a matinee tilt in New York. Ruiz went 2-for-7 with two singles in the first two games of the series.

Diaz is not in the lineup for Thursday's tilt against the Rays, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.

The Rockies have a day game after playing a night game Wednesday, so Diaz will receive a well-earned breather. Austin Wynns will do the catching for Peter Lambert.

Diaz went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI in Wednesday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Rays.

The veteran backstop got the Rockies on the board in the fifth inning with a solo shot off Aaron Civale before adding a two-run single in the sixth that put his team ahead, only for closer Justin Lawrence to melt down again in the ninth. The streaky Diaz seems to be heating up again -- after going 4-for-38 (.105) with only a solo homer over his prior 12 games, he's erupted for nine hits and eight RBI in his last four. On the season, Diaz is slashing .271/.322/.425 with 13 home runs, 37 runs and 59 RBI in a career-high 111 contests.

Stephenson went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in a 7-3 win over the Angels in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader.

Stephenson went deep in the fourth inning to put the Reds ahead 3-1. The catcher has homered twice over his last three games to get to 10 long balls on the year. He's slashing .241/.324/.362 with 42 RBI, 50 runs scored, 13 doubles, one triple and no stolen bases over 113 contests as the Reds' primary backstop.

Fortes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres.

Fortes will hit the bench for the matinee game after he was behind the dish both of the past two days and for three of the past four contests. Jacob Stallings will get the starting nod at catcher in the series finale.

Stephenson is out of the lineup for the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Angels.

Luke Maile will catch for starting pitcher Andrew Abbott in the early game, but expect Stephenson to check in behind the dish for the nightcap. Stephenson saw his four-game hitting streak come to an end with an 0-for-4, two-strikeout effort in Tuesday's 4-3 win in the series opener.

Rodriguez is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Cardinals, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The two teams are playing a day game after a night game, so Rodriguez will take a seat after catching in Tuesday's win over St. Louis. Jason Delay will be behind the plate and will form a battery with starting pitcher Luis Ortiz.

Smith went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's loss to the Guardians.

He gave the Dodgers an early lead by taking former battery-mate Noah Syndergaard deep in the first inning, but it didn't hold up. Smith is having a sluggish August by his standards, slashing .254/.295/.423 through 19 games with three of his 16 homers on the season and 11 of his 63 RBI.