MLB Player News
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Kyle Schwarber DH | PHI
Phillies' Kyle Schwarber: Homers again Tuesday
Schwarber went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-3 win over San Diego.
Schwarber cut the Phillies' lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, launching a solo shot off Wandy Peralta. It's Schwarber's 17th homer this season and his third in his last two games. He's boosted his slash line to .257/.377/.468 with 48 RBI, 53 runs scored and four steals across 329 plate appearances this season.
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Joc Pederson DH | ARI
Diamondbacks' Joc Pederson: Three hits in Tuesday's win
Pederson went 3-for-4 in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Nationals.
All three knocks were singles, but it was still another busy night on the basepaths for Pederson, who also got hit by a pitch. The veteran slugger is batting .375 (12-for-32) over the last 10 games with two doubles, two homers, two steals, eight runs and 12 RBI as he takes advantage of a long stretch of right-handers being sent to the mound against the Diamondbacks. With Patrick Corbin and MacKenzie Gore set to start for Washington in the final two games of the series, however, Pederson figures to head to the bench despite his current form.
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Alec Burleson DH | STL
Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Clubs homer No. 10
Burleson went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Tuesday's 9-8 extra-inning loss to the Marlins.
The 25-year-old's shot off Roddery Munoz in the fourth inning was the third of three long balls by the Cardinals on the night, but the offense managed only one more run after that. Burleson is up to 10 homers on the season, and five of them have come in June. Despite the power surge, however, he's slashing just .254/.286/.507 in 70 plate appearances this month, and has produced just seven RBI.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Homers in Tuesday's win
Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, an additional RBI and two total runs scored in Tuesday's 11-9 win over the Rockies.
Ohtani batted leadoff for the second game in a row, and it looks like that'll be his spot as long as Mookie Betts (wrist) is unavailable. While Betts' absence is a big one for the Dodgers, Ohtani should be plenty capable of filling in atop the order, given his excellent batting skills and his noticeable speed. The 29-year-old has multiple hits in four of his last five games, and he's up to a .316/.388/.608 slash line through 325 plate appearances this season. Ohtani has added 20 homers, 49 RBI, 57 runs scored, 16 stolen bases, 20 doubles and two triples. His RBI numbers may dip, but that should be offset by a slight uptick in crossing the plate himself.
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DJ Stewart RF | NYM
Mets' DJ Stewart: Ends homer drought Monday
Stewart went 2-for-6 with a three-run home run and a second run scored in Monday's win over the Rangers.
Getting the start in right field and batting fifth, Stewart ripped a first-pitch fastball from Jon Gray down the right-field line in the second inning, giving the Mets an early 7-0 lead in an eventual 14-2 rout. The blast ended a 32-game homer drought for Stewart, with his last long ball coming April 30 -- in between, he slashed a woeful .145/.299/.182 with just two RBI in 67 plate appearances. The 30-year-old has seen his playing time largely evaporate with J.D. Martinez handling everyday duties at DH, and even if he heats up at the plate, Stewart's role isn't likely to change much.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Racks up three hits from atop order
Ohtani went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs, an RBI, a stolen base and a walk Monday in a 9-5 victory versus the Rockies.
With Mookie Betts (hand) set to miss several weeks, Ohtani could see most of his work out of the leadoff spot -- he's now slotted in there for both games that Betts has missed so far this season. Ohtani certainly possesses qualities of a leadoff man with a .314 average, .388 OBP and 16 thefts on the campaign, though his power far exceeds what is usually expected from a batter in that role. Ohtani could lose some RBI opportunities with Betts not hitting ahead of him for the foreseeable future, but the Japanese superstar is more than capable of knocking himself in and should continue to get opportunities to score with Will Smith and Freddie Freeman batting behind him.
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Bryan De La Cruz RF | PIT
Marlins' Bryan De La Cruz: Smacks 12th home run
De La Cruz went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer in Monday's 7-6 extra-innings loss versus the Cardinals.
The 27-year-old's only hit in this game was a big one, as he tied the score at 4-4 with a three-run blast off JoJo Romero in the eighth inning. De La Cruz is already up to 12 homers in 2024 after he totaled 19 long balls in 153 games last year. The power production helps offset De La Cruz's underwhelming .242/.295/.416 slash line.
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Kyle Schwarber DH | PHI
Phillies' Kyle Schwarber: Homers twice in win
Schwarber went 2-for-3 with a pair of two-run homers and two walks in Monday's 9-2 win over the Padres.
The veteran slugger got the scoring started for the Phillies in the third inning with a two-run blast off Randy Vasquez and later added another two-run homer off Adrian Morejon in the sixth. It was Schwarber's second multi-HR game this season and the 28th of his career. Schwarber batted .179 in his first seven games of June, but he's found his power stroke of late with five homers over his last seven contests. He's boosted his slash line to a season-best .253/.373/.457, and his 16 home runs are tied for fourth most in the National League.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Moves into leadoff spot sans Betts
Ohtani will start at designated hitter and bat leadoff in Monday's game in Colorado.
In the Dodgers' first game without Mookie Betts (hand), Ohtani slides up one spot in the order and will be followed by Will Smith, who moves from cleanup to the two hole. Ohtani also hit leadoff once back on May 18 when Betts had a day off. It's the only two times this season that he hasn't hit second.
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David Peralta RF | SD
Padres' David Peralta: Sitting against lefty
Peralta is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Phillies.
The lefty-hitting Peralta will hit the bench for the series opener while the Phillies bring southpaw Cristopher Sanchez to the hill. Now that Manny Machado is back to playing third base again after he had previously made four consecutive starts at designated hitter following his return from a four-game absence due to a strained hip flexor, Peralta should have a regular spot in the lineup at DH when the Padres face right-handed pitchers.