MLB Player News

Murphy went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a loss to the Tigers on Monday.

The veteran backstop was responsible for the Mariners' only run of the night in a surprisingly poor offensive effort against a lowly Detroit squad. His long ball represents one of the few bright spots for Murphy in May, as he's hitting just .120 (3-for-25) across eight games this month.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and an additional run scored in Monday's win over the Diamondbacks.

Smith took Madison Bumgarner deep in the second inning in what was his fourth long ball of the campaign, and he also notched his ninth double of the season. The backstop is hitting .255 with an .834 OPS.

Haase went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Monday's 4-1 win over Seattle.

Haase had just one homer in 65 career plate appearances entering Monday's game. He opened the game's scoring with a solo shot in the second before adding an insurance run with another homer in the ninth. He's 5-for-17 with four extra-base hits since being promoted from Triple-A Toledo.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Monday's 7-3 win over the Nationals.

Contreras batted leadoff in this one and he made his presence felt in his second at-bat, taking former teammate Jon Lester deep for his eighth home run of the season. The slugging catcher has now batted first in three of the Cubs' last four games, and Contreras had the day off in the other contest, so it looks like manager David Ross is comfortable with him in the role. Contreras doesn't offer the speed of a more traditional leadoff hitter, but he's adept at getting on base and should be able to score plenty of runs.

Garver left Monday's game against the White Sox due to a right knee contusion, Megan Ryan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Garver is being considered day-to-day following the injury. He'll likely be re-evaluated Tuesday morning before the team provides another update on the backstop's status.

Garver was removed from Monday's game against the White Sox due to a right knee injury, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Garver took a foul ball off his right knee early in the contest, and he was ultimately pulled after three frames. He was replaced behind the dish by Willians Astudillo (hand), who is also banged up at the moment.

Nola isn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Rockies, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Nola will get the series opener off after going 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Sunday night's finale against the Cardinals. Victor Caratini draws the start behind the dish and bats eighth as a result.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with an RBI single, a double and a run in a win over the Twins on Sunday.

Murphy boosted his average back over the Mendoza Line for the first time since May 8 with Sunday's multi-hit effort, his fifth of the season. The backstop has now hit safely in four consecutive starts, with three of his five hits during that stretch going for extra bases (two doubles, one home run).

Ruiz was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ruiz was called up by the Dodgers on Sunday and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout in the team's loss to Miami. He'll now return to the minors as part of a shuffle to make room for Albert Pujols and Yoshi Tsutsugo.

McCann isn't starting Monday's game against Atlanta.

McCann went 2-for-10 with a walk and four strikeouts in the last three games. Tomas Nido will start behind the plate and bat seventh.