MLB Player News
-
Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Grand slam secures 40-40 season
Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a walk-off grand slam and a stolen base in Friday's 7-3 win over the Rays.
Ohtani entered Friday one homer and one steal shy of securing his first career 40-40 season. He got the steal out of the way early, swiping second after hitting a single in the fourth inning. The 30-year-old then put together an encore worthy of Hollywood, taking Colin Poche deep for a grand slam in the ninth, Ohtani's first career walk-off homer. He became the first Dodger to join the 40-40 club, and in addition to those stellar milestone marks, he's added a .292/.378/.614 slash line with 92 RBI, 97 runs scored, 29 doubles and six triples over 126 contests this year. That said, Ohtani has found less success at the plate in August, batting .209 (18-for-86) this month, though he still has eight homers and 12 steals over his last 20 games.
-
J.D. Martinez DH | NYM
Mets' J.D. Martinez: Getting breather Thursday
Martinez isn't in the Mets' lineup for Thursday's game versus San Diego.
Martinez will take a seat for Thursday's series opener after going 2-for-12 with two home runs and six RBI during New York's previous series against the Orioles. His absence will allow Jesse Winker to serve as the Mets' designated hitter while batting fifth.
-
Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Logs 39th theft
Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk, two runs and a stolen base Wednesday in an 8-4 victory over the Mariners.
Ohtani has begun to emerge from a slump that saw him bat .164 over his first 14 games in August -- he's since built a five-game hitting streak during which he's batting .300 with two homers, two RBI and five runs. The slugger has added four thefts during that span to push his total to a career-high 39 in 43 attempts. Ohtani is now one home run and one stolen base away from going 40-40 on the campaign.
-
Tyler Black DH | MIL
Brewers' Tyler Black: Moves back to Triple-A
The Brewers optioned Black to Triple-A Nashville on Thursday.
Black will cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to outfielder Blake Perkins (calf), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. After getting recalled from Nashville on Aug. 12, Black started at designated hitter in five of the Brewers' ensuing nine games while going 2-for-15 with three walks against five strikeouts. Now that Black is out of the mix, the Brewers will likely rotate a number of players at DH, with Gary Sanchez, Jake Bauers and Perkins all being candidates to see upticks in opportunities.
-
Luken Baker DH | STL
Cardinals' Luken Baker: Homers off bench in win
Baker hit a two-run home run in his lone at-bat in Wednesday's 10-6 extra-inning win over the Brewers.
Baker provided a game-tying blast in the seventh inning to knot the score at 4-4 in his first major-league at-bat of the season. The slugger slashed .209/.313/.314 with two homers and 10 RBI over 33 games in the majors last season, and he was slashing .231/.345/.535 with 32 homers and 79 RBI across 108 contests with Triple-A Memphis prior to his call-up Tuesday. Baker figures to be a short-side platoon option at designated hitter as well as a top bench bat whenever a southpaw reliever enters for an opponent. He may not get many starts, however, as starting catcher Willson Contreras is typically the DH when the Cardinals face lefty starters.
-
Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Closing in on 40-40 campaign
Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a triple and a stolen base in Tuesday's 6-3 victory versus Seattle.
Ohtani laced a triple in the third inning and added a single in the eighth. Following his final hit, the slugger swiped second base for his 38th theft of the campaign. Ohtani also has 39 home runs through 124 games, so he appears to be a lock for the sixth 40-40 season in MLB history. He has a legitimate shot at MLB's first 50-50 campaign, as he's currently on pace for 50 homers and 48 thefts.
-
Jerar Encarnacion DH | SF
Giants' Jerar Encarnacion: Falls into platoon role
Encarnacion will start in right field and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Earlier this month, Encarnacion appeared to have taken hold of a full-time role while dabbling between designated hitter and the corner outfield, but he looks to have moved into a short-side platoon role following Grant McCray's promotion from Triple-A Sacramento last Wednesday. Each of the right-handed-hitting Encarnacion's last three starts have come against left-handed pitching, while he's been excluded from the lineup in each of the Giants' last four matchups with right-handed pitchers.
-
Matt Carpenter DH | STL
Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Provides offense off bench
Carpenter hit a two-run home-run as a pinch hitter in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Brewers.
Carpenter was activated earlier in the day after a minimum-length stay on the injured list due to a back strain. He's played in just seven games since the All-Star break, going 4-for-10 with two homers, five RBI and four runs scored in those contests. The 38-year-old is expected to remain in a bench role most of the time, while Alec Burleson and Willson Contreras continue to garner most of the at-bats at designated hitter. Carpenter is slashing .261/.336/.414 with four homers, 13 RBI, 14 runs scored, five doubles and no stolen bases over 125 plate appearances.
-
J.D. Martinez DH | NYM
Mets' J.D. Martinez: Slugs 14th homer
Martinez went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's loss to the Orioles.
The veteran slugger got hold of a Burch Smith fastball in the eighth inning and drove it over the fence in right-center field, bringing the Mets to within two runs, but it was as close as they got in an eventual 9-5 defeat. Martinez has gone yard in back-to-back games, giving him 14 homers on the year, but through 17 games in August he's slashing just .211/.318/.439 as the 37-year-old continues to struggle to provide consistent offense.
-
Joc Pederson DH | ARI
Diamondbacks' Joc Pederson: RBI in five straight
Pederson went 1-for-2 with a walk, an RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Marlins.
Pederson made Miami starter Edward Cabrera pay for a first-inning balk, as he connected on a run-scoring single to put the Diamondbacks on top early. It was the fifth consecutive game with a run driven in for Pederson. He later stole his sixth base of the season, tying the career high he set in 2016.