MLB Player News

Vogelbach (hamstring) is starting Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Vogelbach suffered a hamstring injury during the final game of the regular season, but he was included on the wild-card roster and will start the first game of the postseason. He'll bat fourth and serve as the designated hitter Wednesday.

Miller is out of the lineup Wednesday for Game 1 of the Cardinals' wild-card series with the Padres, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The Cardinals are squaring off against a right-handed pitcher (Chris Paddack) in Game 1, so the lefty-hitting Miller's exclusion from the lineup suggests he may have lost hold of a large-side platoon role after an extended slump to finish out the regular season. While his .808 OPS over his 48 games in 2020 was solid enough, Miller faded badly after his big two-homer, seven-RBI game on Sept. 1. From thereon, Miller slashed .165/.275/.316 with three home runs, seven RBI and a 34.1 percent strikeout rate.

Vogelbach (hamstring) will be on the Brewers' wild-card roster, freelance baseball writer Robert Murray reports.

This does not guarantee that he will be in the Game 1 lineup, but with righty Walker Buehler starting for the Dodgers, Vogelbach will be in the lineup if physically able. He is unlikely to start Game 2 against lefty Clayton Kershaw. The big left-handed masher hit .328/.418/.569 with four home runs in 58 at-bats after getting claimed by Milwaukee on Sept. 3.

Vogelbach (hamstring) is still being assessed ahead of Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Dodgers on Wednesday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Vogelbach suffered the injury at the end of Sunday's regular-season finale against the Cardinals, and according to skipper Craig Counsell, the slugger is still having the injury evaluated. "It's important that he's in the lineup," stated Counsell. "I know Daniel will do everything he can, and we will do everything we can to get him out there. It is important that we get Daniel in there against the RHPs, for sure." Vogelbach will remain day-to-day until the Brewers report otherwise.

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the Braves' 9-1 loss to the Red Sox on Sunday.

He's probably not going to be an NL MVP finalist alongside his teammate, Freddie Freeman, but Ozuna was one of the top offensive contributors in all of baseball during the shortened 2020 regular season. Ozuna finishes with a .338/.431/.636 batting line, 18 home runs, 56 RBI and 38 runs scored in 267 plate appearances.

Vogelbach appeared to suffer a hamstring injury during Sunday's loss to the Cardinals but is expected to be ready for the postseason, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Vogelbach was limping after grounding out in the ninth inning Sunday, but manager Craig Counsell said after the game that he's hopeful that he'll be ready for the NL Wild Card Series against the Dodgers, which is scheduled to begin Wednesday. Vogelbach's status heading into the series is worth monitoring, but he should be the team's top option as the designated hitter if he's available.

Miller is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Miller and fellow lefty batter Matt Carpenter will take a seat Sunday, as Cardinals manager Mike Shildt goes with a lineup consisting of eight right-handed or switch-hitting players to counter southpaw Brett Anderson. Tyler O'Neill will serve as St. Louis' designated hitter in Miller's stead.

Carpenter is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Carpenter's absence from the lineup in a must-win game for the Cardinals illustrates just how far his stock has fallen since he slugged a career-high 36 home runs two seasons ago. His OPS for the abbreviated 2020 campaign sits at .639, 258 points below his mark from 2018. Tommy Edman will draw the start at third base Sunday over Carpenter, who could be relegated to a bench role should St. Louis punch its ticket to the postseason.

Winker is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Winker seemed to be breaking out of his platoon role earlier this season, but he's been struggling in a major way and this marks his third consecutive absence against a lefty. Joey Votto will DH against Rich Hill while Aristides Aquino, Nick Senzel and Nick Castellanos play the outfield from left to right.

McCutchen went 4-for-5 with a home run, an RBI and three runs scored Saturday against the Rays but the Phillies still lost, 4-3.

McCutchen led the way offensively for the Phillies, as he put up a four-hit night that was highlighted by a fifth-inning solo home run to left. The 33-year-old is hitting .258/.329/.441 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI in 56 games, as he's had a nice bounceback season after suffering a torn ACL in June of 2019.