MLB Player News

Ohtani left Thursday's contest against the Pirates in the seventh inning due to left knee inflammation, Kirsten Watson of Spectrum SportsNet LA reports.

Ohtani was replaced by Santiago Espinal at the plate in the top of the seventh inning, and the team quickly announced that Ohtani was dealing with a knee issue. The 31-year-old underwent surgery on the left knee in 2019, and it's unclear if Thursday's issue has anything to do with the previous injury. He finished the night having gone 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs scored and two walks, and more information on his status will likely be provided in the near future.

Suarez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Padres.

Suarez extended the Reds' lead to 4-2 in the eighth inning with his solo shot off Ron Marinaccio, his fifth long ball this year and just his second in his last 24 games. Suarez has gone 3-for-9 with a pair of extra-base hits in his last two contests after going just 3-for-36 (.083) in his previous 10 games. Overall, the veteran is slashing .211/.282/.354 with 18 RBI and 14 runs scored across 163 plate appearances this season.

Smith served as the designated hitter and went 0-for-3 with a walk in Wednesday's 8-0 loss to Miami.

Smith made a fourth consecutive start as the designated hitter and is 2-for-11 with three walks and an RBI during that stretch. As to be expected, all four starts have come against right-handers. The Diamondbacks have used LuJames Groover and Ildemaro Vargas at first base during those contests. Since being activated from the 60-day injured list, Smith is batting .105 (2-for-19).

Eldridge went 1-for-4 with a walk, a grand slam and a second run scored in Wednesday's 11-10 win over the Nationals.

Per Maria Guardado of MLB.com, the 21-year-old slugger's blast put him in the record books as the youngest player in history to hit a walk-off grand slam, breaking a mark that had been held by Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente since 1956. Eldridge has caught fire and bashed his way into an everyday role over the last couple weeks, slashing .426/.500/.766 across his last 13 games with seven doubles, three homers, 10 RBI and 15 runs.

Ohtani took a no-decision Wednesday against the Pirates, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out four in 6.2 innings. He also went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run.

Remarkably enough, Wednesday marked the first time this season that Ohtani gave up more than two runs in a start. Even so, the two-way phenom has now recorded three consecutive quality starts and has attained this feat in all but one of his 11 outings. Ohtani will carry a sparkling 1.06 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 73:21 K:BB over 67.2 innings into his next scheduled appearance at home against the Rays. As a hitter, he's now slashing a robust .299/.413/.527 with 12 homers, 39 RBI, six stolen bases and 46 runs scored over 294 plate appearance.

Ozuna is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

Ryan O'Hearn will get the nod at designated hitter Wednesday after Ozuna filled that spot in the lineup the previous two games while going 1-for-7 with four strikeouts. After signing a one-year, $12 million deal in February, Ozuna has been a major disappointment so far for the Pirates. He's striking out at a career-high 29.1 percent clip and has posted a .580 OPS through 50 games, a bottom-five mark among players who have logged at least 200 plate appearances.

Melendez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.

Melendez had started in four of the team's previous five matchups with right-handed pitchers, but the Mets won't have room for him in the lineup Wednesday while Francisco Alvarez handles designated-hitter duties in his second game back from the IL. Since the start of May, Melendez has posted a weak .533 OPS, so he likely still has more work to do in order to strengthen his grasp on a regular lineup sot.

Andujar (hamstring) remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.

Andujar was forced to depart Sunday's game versus the Mets after tweaking his hamstring, and he's now missed all three starts in the Padres' series against the Reds. The Padres have a team off day Thursday and could make a decision on a potential IL stint for Andujar before Friday's contest in Baltimore. Will Wagner is filling in at designated hitter Wednesday.

Herrera went 3-for-3 with a double and three runs scored in Tuesday's win over the Mets.

Herrera was hit by a Freddy Peralta pitch in both of his first two trips to the plate before later adding two singles and a double. The 26-year-old's hard-hit rate, barrel rate and average exit velocity are all down year-over-year. However, Herrera boasts a 12 percent walk rate and a 16.5 percent strikeout rate, and he is on pace to score more than 100 runs.

Eldridge went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double and two walks in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Nationals.

Eldridge tacked on a ninth-inning long ball to put a bow on a good individual performance, though it wasn't enough for the Giants. The 21-year-old has really come around with steady playing time lately, going 19-for-43 (.442) over his last 12 contests. He's batting .300 with an .885 OPS, three homers, eight RBI, 15 runs scored, eight doubles and no stolen bases over 104 plate appearances. As long as Casey Schmitt is filling a full-time role in left field to cover the absence of Heliot Ramos (quadriceps), there's room for Eldridge in the lineup on a near-everyday basis as well. At this point, Eldridge has hit well enough to make it tough to sit him.