MLB Player News

Alvarez isn't in the Mets' lineup Friday against the Cardinals.

Alvarez has been in a slump as of late, slashing just .143/.182/.286 over his past five games. He'll get Friday off to regroup, allowing Omar Narvaez to start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Murphy is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Rockies.

Murphy will get a day off Friday after he went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored Thursday. Travis d'Arnaud will take over behind the plate and bat cleanup against Colorado.

Murphy went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Thursday's win over Colorado.

Murphy had been slumping a bit coming into Thursday's contest, going 4-for-26 (.154) over his last eight games -- his three-hit effort was his first multi-hit game since June 3. Overall, the 28-year-old backstop is still slashing a strong .285/.384/.535 with 12 homers, 33 runs scored and 42 RBI through 232 plate appearances in his first season with Atlanta.

Diaz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to Atlanta.

Diaz opened the scoring with a solo shot off AJ Smith-Shawver in the second inning. It's the catcher's seventh homer of the year and first since May 25. The 32-year-old has cooled off after a red-hot start to the season, batting just .170 (9-for-53) with a .549 OPS in his last 14 games. Through 235 plate appearances on the season however, Diaz is still slashing an impressive .294/.349/.467 with 34 RBI and 23 runs scored.

Moreno went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Phillies.

Moreno played a big part in Arizona's four-run third inning, driving in Jake McCarthy with a single then coming home on Ketel Marte's three-run home run. Moreno returned to the lineup after getting three days off, a decision manager Torey Lovullo attributed to the young catcher being "a little fatigued," per Jesus Cano of MLB.com. The move appeared to have the desired effect of recharging Moreno, as he had batted .192 over his prior 18 games. The break also gave Lovullo a chance to reintegrate Carson Kelly, who was activated off the 60-day injured list Monday, into the lineup. The duo will share catching duties while both are healthy, but as yet the split in playing time between them isn't clear.

Fry went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, a double and an additional run in Thursday's 8-6 victory versus the Padres.

Fry helped Cleveland get off to a fast start with a three-run shot to left field in the first inning. It was the first long ball of his major-league career in his 20th plate appearance. Fry went deep 17 times at the Triple-A level in 2022, so he has demonstrated some pop in the past. His .227/.261/.409 slash line so far this season isn't going to turn many heads, but Fry's ability to play catcher (in addition to three infield spots) could open the door to more playing time given the offensive struggles of fellow backstops Mike Zunino and Cam Gallagher.

Ruiz went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Thursday's 4-1 extra-inning win against the Astros.

Offense wasn't exactly abundant in the contest -- neither team scored until the ninth frame -- but Ruiz still finished with a big night at the plate. He accounted for the game's first run with a solo blast off Ryan Pressly in the top of the ninth, and after Houston countered with a run in the bottom of the frame, the backstop capped a three-run 10th for Washington with an RBI single. Ruiz finished with his fifth three-hit performance of the campaign, and the long ball gave him eight homers, establishing a single-season career high.

Rutschman went 3-for-5 with a solo homer in Thursday's win over Toronto.

After going down on strikes in his first at-bat, Rutschman went on to reach base in each of his next three trips to the plate. His leadoff home run in the bottom of the fifth tied the game at 2-2, while his two-out single in the sixth advanced Austin Hays to second base before the latter eventually came around to score the leading run. The home run was Rutschman's first since May 26, and he's now 6-for-14 at the plate over his last three games.

Jansen went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs in Thursday's loss to the Orioles.

Jansen provided Toronto's only offense Thursday, launching solo homers off Tyler Wells in the third and fifth innings while collecting three hits in total on the afternoon. The catcher had seen his average dip below .200 coming into Thursday's matchup after being held hitless in each of his previous three games. He's now up to eight long balls on the season and brought his average up to .214 with the three-hit performance.

Thaiss isn't in the Angels' lineup Thursday against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

After going 4-for-7 with three RBI and a run scored across his last three games, Thaiss will get a breather Thursday. Chad Wallach will take over behind the plate and bat seventh.