Blackmon (hamstring) is the DH and batting leadoff Friday against the Mets.

Blackmon has been nursing a sore right hamstring stemming from a sliding catch he made Monday. After spending three straight games on the bench, the 37-year-old is back in the starting nine Friday, although he's still not quite ready for a defensive role. Blackmon is slashing .256/.325/.402 with four homers and five stolen bases over 280 plate appearances this season.

De La Cruz went 3-for-4 with a solo homer in Thursday's loss to the Astros.

De La Cruz jumped on a hanging slider from Jake Bloss in the first inning and launched it into the stands in left field to give Miami an early lead. It marked the outfielder's 16th home run and his fourth three-hit performance of the season. He's batting .294 (10-for-34) in July with four RBI and a run scored. However, Thursday's homer was also De La Cruz's first extra-base hit this month.

Martinez went 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs Thursday against the Nationals.

Martinez entered Thursday's contest mired in a 4-for-32 (.125) slump over the previous 10 games, but he reached base four times Friday while collecting just his third three-hit performance of the season. It was also just the second time in 12 games he'd driven in any runs. Despite the recent slump, the 36-year-old Martinez continues to provide quality production in his 14th season, posting a .274 average with 10 homers, 15 doubles, 38 RBI and 27 runs over 234 at-bats.

Pederson is not in Arizona's lineup versus Atlanta on Thursday.

Lefty Max Fried is on the mound for Atlanta, so Pederson will sit on the bench to begin the game. Ketel Marte has the start as the designated hitter and Kevin Newman is entering the lineup at second base.

Soler (illness) will serve as San Francisco's designated hitter and bat leadoff Thursday against the Blue Jays, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

An illness caused Soler to sit down for the Giants' last two games, but he seems to be feeling well enough to return to action Thursday. The 32-year-old has been in a bit of a slump recently, going 4-for-28 (.160) with one RBI and nine strikeouts since the beginning of July.

Blackmon is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Reds due to a slight right hamstring injury, MLB.com reports.

Manager Bud Black said that Blackmon "tweaked" his hamstring while making a sliding catch during Monday's 6-0 loss to the Reds. The lefty-hitting Blackmon received a planned day off Tuesday while the Reds sent southpaw Nick Lodolo to the mound, but the 38-year-old's continued absences from the lineup against right-handed starters Frankie Montas and Hunter Greene on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, signals that Blackmon is still being slowed by the injury. Blackmon had been available for pinch-hitting duties in Wednesday's 6-5 win but went unused, so he could once again be a candidate to come off the bench Thursday.

Ohtani went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Phillies.

The 30-year-old superstar has swiped six bags in his last six games, pushing him up to 22 steals on the season -- just four shy of his career high. Ohtani has been doing plenty of damage with his bat as well, and since June 16 he's slashing .359/.480/.859 in 98 plate appearances with 11 homers, 21 runs and 22 RBI.

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored in Wednesday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

The All-Star slugger singled in his first at-bat before coming home on a Travis d'Arnaud double in the second as Atlanta took an early 2-0 lead. Ozuna then launched a 441-foot home run in the eighth to score Austin Riley and tie the game at 5-5. It was Ozuna's second consecutive two-hit performance, and he's now fourth in the majors with 24 long balls on the season, and third in RBI with 75. He's batting .257 (9-for-35) in July with three homers, eight RBI and seven runs scored.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Wednesday that Sanchez was initially expected to miss 12 weeks with his left calf strain, but the veteran catcher could make his return from the 10-day injured list in as few as six weeks, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.

The 31-year-old landed on the shelf in late June, though there was no inkling at the time he was dealing with an especially serious injury. Murphy didn't provide a precise target date for Sanchez's return, but at the very least, he shouldn't be expected back prior to the All-Star break.

Soler (illness) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Soler was scratched from Tuesday's starting nine due to an illness and will remain on the bench again for Wednesday's contest. Patrick Bailey will rest his legs as San Francisco's designated hitter while Curt Casali receives a start behind the plate.