MLB Player News

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.

Basallo went 2-for-5 with a pair of two-run home runs in Wednesday's 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Angels.

It was the first career multi-homer game by Basallo, who simultaneously matched a career high in RBI on Wednesday. The 21-year-old backstop occasionally sits versus southpaws -- he's posted a .505 OPS over 54 at-bats against left-handers -- but he's mashed right-handed pitching to the tune of an .868 OPS across 172 at-bats this year. Through 249 plate appearances overall, Basallo is slashing .257/.317/.465 with 12 homers, nine doubles, 35 RBI and 29 runs scored.

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.

Rushing (head) will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Twins.

After he was removed prior to the third inning of Monday's 2-1 win after taking a foul tip to his catcher's mask, Rushing sat out Tuesday's 12-3 victory while the Dodgers put him through a second round of concussion testing. With Rushing exhibiting no symptoms of a concussion two days after his early exit, the Dodgers feel comfortable having him return behind the plate for the series finale Wednesday. Rushing should continue to serve as the Dodgers' top backstop until Will Smith (neck) is ready to come off the injured list.

O'Hoppe is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

O'Hoppe will get a breather for the day game after he started behind the plate for the first two contests of the series while going 0-for-6 with three strikeouts. Tyler Heineman will handle catching duties for the Angels on Wednesday.

Gasper is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

Gasper is a switch hitter, but he's fared much better against right-handed pitching both this season and throughout his big-league career. The Red Sox will thus keep Gasper on the bench for a second straight day while the Rockies send another lefty starter (Kyle Freeland) to the hill.