MLB Player News

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

The Braves' spot in the postseason has been solidified for some time, so manager Brian Snitker has taken to rotating starts between d'Arnaud and Tyler Flowers over the final week of the regular season. Expect d'Arnuad to be ready to catch nearly every game of the playoffs after he was one of the majors' top backstops in 2020. Over 44 games spanning 184 plate appearances, d'Arnaud slashed .321/.386/.533.

Smith went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs, two RBI and a walk in a victory versus the Angels on Saturday.

Smith knocked in a run with a single in the first inning and capped the Dodgers' scoring in the eighth with a solo homer to left field. The backstop has enjoyed a strong second major-league campaign, slashing .300/.414/.600 with eight homers and 25 RBI.

The Cubs scratched Contreras from the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Contreras was in line to serve as Chicago's designated hitter in the regular-season finale, but those duties will now fall to Javier Baez instead. Manager David Ross noted that nothing is physically wrong with Contreras; the skipper just decided that he wanted to get Baez some more at-bats heading into the postseason.

Diaz went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run, a double and an additional run scored in Saturday's win over Arizona.

Diaz finished the game just one triple away from the cycle and blasted his second long ball of the season when he took Luke Weaver deep in the fourth inning. He enters the final game of the campaign hitting .250 with a below-average .679 OPS.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Mets.

Gomes went 3-for-3 during the matinee but won't start both games of the twin bill. Kurt Suzuki takes over behind the plate for Washington in the nightcap.

Bart isn't in Saturday's lineup against the Padres.

Bart will get a breather after recording hits in four of the last five contests. Tyler Heineman will start behind the dish as Johnny Cueto is expected to take the mound for the Giants on Saturday.

Barnhart isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Twins.

Barnhart started the last two games and went 0-for-6 with one walk and one strikeout during that time. Curt Casali will handle the catching duties Saturday.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk and another run scored during Friday's win against the Angels.

Smith gave the Dodgers the lead with a two-run shot against Matt Andriese in the fifth inning. It was the seventh home run of the season for the 25-year-old backstop, who is slashing .290/.403/.570 across 35 games.

Caratini went 1-for-3 with a walk, a two-run home run and two total runs scored in Friday's 10-0 win over the White Sox.

Somewhat surprisingly, this was Caratini's first home run in 42 games this season, as he hit 11 bombs in 95 games a year ago. The 27-year-old remains behind Willson Contreras at catcher but he has been seeing time as the designated hitter, through manager David Ross can also deploy the likes of Jason Kipnis, Nico Hoerner and David Bote at DH. Caratini's playing time in the playoffs will likely be based on matchups and whether he can get hot at the plate.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI in Friday's 10-0 win over the White Sox.

Contreras had a huge game and was instrumental in the big win over the Cubs' crosstown rivals. The catcher now has seven home runs and 26 RBI this season, and he'll look to carry some momentum into the playoffs, which start next week.