MLB Player News

Crooks is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

The left-handed-hitting Crooks didn't start the previous two days due to Arizona having a lefty on the mound. He's absent from Thursday's lineup because Ivan Herrera has been Michael McGreevy's personal catcher this season. Crooks had started six of seven contests prior to this three-game run with no starts, so it's been an inconsistent stretch of playing time for the rookie catcher.

Alvarez went 3-for-7 with a walk and two solo home runs across both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Cubs.

After taking Javier Assad deep in the matinee, Alvarez crushed a Shota Imanaga fastball over the fence in left-center field during the nightcap. The 24-year-old catcher has homered in three straight games, giving him eight on the year. Over 50 plate appearances since returning to the lineup in early June from knee surgery, he's delivered a .319/.360/.574 slash line with four homers and eight RBI.

Rodriguez is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Mariners.

Rodriguez started each of the previous three games at catcher, so he's earned a breather during Thursday's matinee. Henry Davis is doing the catching and batting ninth for the Pirates.

Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI, a run scored and a walk Wednesday against the Mariners.

Rodriguez continues to serve as Pittsburgh's top catcher, with Wednesday marking his third straight start and ninth in the last 13 games. He's made the most of the opportunity, going 10-for-33 with two homers, six RBI and five runs scored in that span. Rodriguez contributed to the Pirates' blowout win Wednesday with an RBI single in the first inning and a two-RBI double three frames later.

Bart went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to San Diego.

Bart was traded to Atlanta from Pittsburgh last Thursday and has played in four games with his new team. He collected his first two hits for Atlanta on Wednesday, including a sixth-inning homer that accounted for the club's only runs. On the year, the catcher is batting .246 with a .665 OPS, three homers, nine RBI, 10 runs scored and a double over 25 contests. Bart is likely to fill a backup role behind Drake Baldwin, though with Baldwin struggling lately, Bart could poach some starts against left-handed pitchers.

Contreras went 3-for-3 with a home run, two walks, two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Reds.

Contreras was a pest all night, reaching base in each of his five plate appearances while launching a two-run homer in the third inning. Over his past five games, the 28-year-old has gone deep twice while posting three multi-hit efforts. For the year, he's slashing .302/.365/.427 with eight long balls, 48 RBI, 45 runs scored and a stolen base across 323 plate appearances.

Crooks is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Arizona is sending its second lefty starter (Mitch Bratt) to the hill in as many days, and the left-handed-hitting Crooks has been left on the bench on both occasions. St. Louis will go with Pedro Pages as their starting catcher in place of Crooks.

Susac is not in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup against the Athletics, Evan Webeck of the California Post reports.

After going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Tuesday's game, Susac will ride the bench Wednesday. Eric Haase will instead be behind the plate and bat eighth.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Ruiz will rest up after he started behind the dish in the first two games of the series. Drew Millas will handle the catching duties for Washington in Wednesday's contest.

Baldwin isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against San Diego.

The lefty-hitting Baldwin doesn't typically retreat to the bench whenever Atlanta runs into a left-handed starter, but after going 0-for-20 with 13 strikeouts over his last five games, he'll step out of the lineup with southpaw JP Sears on the mound for the Padres. Joey Bart will start behind the plate and bat seventh while Baldwin sits.