MLB Player News

Manager Joe Girardi indicated that Harper's absence from the lineup Monday against Miami wasn't related to any injury, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

It's highly unusual for a healthy superstar to sit two games in a row, but that's supposedly the case for Harper, as the Phillies insist his absences aren't related to the sore shoulder he battled in mid-May. If there's ever a time to give a player of Harper's talent level multiple days off in a row, this would be the time to do it, as he's hitting .080/.115/.080 with a 50 percent strikeout rate over his last seven games.

Harper remains on the bench for Monday's game in Miami, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

A second straight absence for Harper suggests his off day Sunday wasn't merely a routine one, though the Phillies have yet to specify exactly why he's on the bench. Something is clearly not right with him lately, however, as he's gone hitless in six of his last seven games, striking out in half of his plate appearances over that stretch. Brad Miller starts in right field in his absence.

Winker went 2-for-5 with a home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's loss to the Brewers.

Winker has gone deep in three straight games and in four of his last six contests, racking up five homers -- out of nine hits -- during that stretch. The slugging outfielder now has 13 homers on the season and is just three shy of tying his career-best mark of 16, established during the 2019 season.

Miller went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, two runs and two strikeouts in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Red Sox.

Miller broke Sunday's game open with his three-run blast in the bottom of the first inning that proved to be the difference in the contest. The 31-year-old has now started three of the last four games and is hitting .317 with four homers, 15 runs and 12 RBI this season.

Belt is not in the lineup Sunday against the Dodgers, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Belt is 2-for-8 with a double and four strikeouts through the first two games of the series, and he'll take a seat for Sunday's finale with Julio Urias on the mound for the Dodgers. Darin Ruf will start at first base and bat cleanup in his place.

Dickerson is not in the lineup Sunday against the Dodgers, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Dickerson started the past three games and will take a seat Sunday with southpaw Julio Urias starting for Los Angeles. Mike Tauchman will shift to left field while Austin Slater starts in center field for San Francisco.

Harper is out of the lineup Sunday against the Red Sox, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Harper is 0-for-16 with 10 strikeouts over the past four games, so he'll receive a day off Sunday to reset. Brad Miller will work in right field during the series finale versus Boston.

Blackmon went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Saturday's 7-6 win over Arizona.

The 34-year-old went deep for the first time since May 4 when he gave the Rockies a 5-3 lead with his two-run shot during the sixth inning. Blackmon has a .246/.342/.370 slash line with three home runs, 23 RBI and 16 runs through 42 games this season.

Winker went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Brewers.

After slugging three homers Friday, Winker took Brett Anderson deep in the third inning Saturday to give the Reds a brief 2-1 lead. The 27-year-old now has 12 homers through 38 games -- matching his total in 54 contests last year -- and the weekend power display has pushed his slash line to .353/.412/.673.

Blackmon went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk in Friday's 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Blackmon reached base three times on two singles and a walk Friday. He scored the first run of the game on a first-inning single by C.J. Cron. The outfielder struggled to start the season but is batting .328 in May. He is slashing .246/.344/.351 with two home runs, 21 RBI and 15 runs in 154 plate appearances.