MLB Player News

Winker is dealing with upper-back tightness, which is why he's sitting out Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. "I just woke up. I slept on it wrong," Winker said. "That's when I first started feeling it. Then it progressively got worse. Just a little back spasm. Unfortunately, it happened, but I should be all right. Hopefully I will start to feel better by the end of today or start feeling better tomorrow."

Winker went on to say that the issue bothers him both when throwing and hitting. It's noteworthy and a bit cryptic that manager David Bell said that the back issue isn't why Winker didn't play Friday. "It's not why [Winker] didn't play last night," Bell said. "But it was a bigger reason why he's not playing today."

Turner went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's victory over Atlanta.

After Max Muncy powered Los Angeles into the lead with a three-run bomb in the seventh inning, Turner made it back-to-back jacks with a 415-foot shot to center field. The long ball was Turner's fifth in his last five games and 22nd overall this season. He has enjoyed a strong August, slashing .314/.375/.706 with a 1.081 OPS, six homers and 11 RBI through 14 games.

Winker is not in Saturday's lineup against the Cardinals.

The Reds are starting Phillip Ervin in left field, even against a righty (Miles Mikolas). Winker is hitting .281 with one home run in 32 at-bats this month but has not played since Wednesday.

Ozuna went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and a run in a win over the Reds on Friday.

Ozuna didn't participate in the Cardinals' four-homer derby, but he opened the scoring with his first-inning two-bagger. The veteran outfielder's three-hit effort was his first in nearly two months and was another step in the right direction following his long absence due to multiple finger fractures. After going just 1-for-12 over the first four games following his return, Ozuna is hitting .333 (9-for-27) with two doubles, two home runs, four RBI, five walks and six runs in the subsequent eight contests.

Belt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 10-9 win over the Diamondbacks.

Belt tied the game at 1-1 with a blast off Mike Leake in the third inning. It was the first long ball since July 30 for the 31-year-old veteran, who has not been seeing the ball well as of late. Overall this season, Belt is batting .229/.345/.387 with 13 homers.

Harper went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and two runs scored Friday night against the Padres.

Harper gave the Phillies some breathing room in the sixth inning with a three-run blast over the wall in left. He's now left the yard in back-to-back contests, as he also cranked a game-winning grand slam in Thursday's series finale against the Cubs. Harper will aim to stay hot heading into the final two contests of the series.

Winker is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cardinals.

Winker typically takes a seat when the Reds face a southpaw, but Friday is the second straight contest in which he's out versus a right-hander (Adam Wainwright). The 25-year-old has a .943 OPS since the All-Star break, so it seems unlikely he's being bumped from the starting role. Phillip Ervin receives another start in left field in Winker's place.

Harper went 1-for-4 with a grand slam and a stolen base Thursday against the Cubs.

Harper provided a walkoff grand slam, taking Derek Holland deep for his 25th homer of the season. Harper has delivered six homers in his past eight games, also recording three multi-hit games in that span. He ended Thursday's contest with 87 RBI, putting him well on pace to surpass his previous career-best mark of 100 RBI. He's also hitting .253/.374/.490 across 532 plate appearances for the season.

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

Dickerson was reinstated from the injured list Wednesday, but he'll have to wait another day to make his return to the starting lineup as the Giants are stacking righties against southpaw Alex Young on Thursday. Austin Slater is starting in right field in this one.

Belt is starting at first base and hitting eighth Thursday against the Diamondbacks, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Belt will drop to eighth in the order as the Diamondbacks stack right-handed bats at the top of their order against left-hander Alex Young. The first baseman is hitting just .194 against lefties this season, compared to .238 against right-handers.