MLB Player News

Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup Thursday against the Rockies.

Smith is currently enjoying a seven-game hitting streak but will get a breather for Thursday's series opener with the Rockies. Austin Barnes will fill in behind the dish and bat ninth.

Contreras is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Rays.

This looks to be a routine day of rest for Contreras, who has slashed .394/.482/.662 with four homers and seven doubles over his last 23 games (85 plate appearances) dating back to July 3. Andrew Knizner is catching and Nolan Arenado is serving as the Cardinals' designated hitter. Taylor Motter will play third base.

Murphy is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest in Pittsburgh, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy and Travis d'Arnaud have split starts at catcher pretty evenly over the last couple weeks. It's also a day game after a night game, so d'Arnaud will be behind the plate after Murphy caught Wednesday.

Sanchez is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners.

Luis Campusano will start at catcher and Ji-Man Choi will serve as the Padres' designated hitter. Sanchez went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Tuesday's loss at Seattle, but he's registered a strong .812 OPS with 15 homers and 36 RBI across 54 games since joining San Diego on a waiver claim from the Mets in late May.

Gomes is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Miguel Amaya will get the start at catcher and bat ninth. Gomes takes a seat after going 2-for-4 with a double in the Cubs' win over New York on Tuesday.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers.

Austin Wynns will get a turn behind the plate while Diaz retreats to the bench for the day game after a night game. Diaz had started each of Colorado's last five contests, going 4-for-19 with a home run and three RBI.

Contreras went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to the Rays.

Contreras cut the Cardinals' deficit to 4-2 in the ninth inning with a solo homer off Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. Contreras is now 14-for-39 (.359) over his last 15 games with a .960 OPS, though the home run was his first since July 14. Overall, the 31-year-old catcher is slashing .252/.346/.432 with 12 homers, 43 RBI, 40 runs scored and six steals across 379 plate appearances this season.

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

Fortes will get a breather after he started behind the plate in the first two games of the series while going 1-for-4 with a run scored. Jacob Stallings will get the starting nod at catcher for the day game.

D'Arnaud went 3-for-5 with three doubles and two RBI in Tuesday's 8-6 win over the Pirates.

His third two-bagger of the night was the biggest, as d'Arnaud ripped a curveball from Pittsburgh closer David Bednar into left field to kick-start a three-run rally for Atlanta that erased a 6-5 deficit. The veteran catcher had been scuffling at the plate lately, and even after Tuesday's performance he's batting just .220 (11-for-50) since the beginning of July, but eight of those 11 hits -- five doubles and three homers -- have gone for extra bases and he's racked up 10 RBI.

Ruiz went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Phillies.

After socking a solo shot off Zack Wheeler in the second inning of the matinee, Ruiz was back behind the plate for the nightcap, finishing 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. The switch-hitting catcher snapped a 16-game homer drought with the long ball, but since the All-Star break he's slashing an impressive .316/.369/.500 over 84 plate appearances with three of his 12 home runs on the season.