MLB Player News

Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Braves on Thursday.

Carpenter's eighth-inning, 398-foot shot was only the veteran's second home run since April 17 and snapped a 1-for-19 funk that had encompassed his previous four-plus games. Manager Mike Shildt recently gave Carpenter a vote of confidence with respect to his leadoff role, but the fact remains that, despite Thursday's round tripper, the 33-year-old infielder is currently hitting under .200 (.196) for the second consecutive month.

Reyes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in the Padres' 4-3 victory over the Padres on Thursday.

Reyes continues to flash impressive power as he checked in with his 13th long ball of the season in this contest with a third-inning solo shot off Trevor Williams. The 23-year-old has employed a more aggressive approach in 2019 and has taken just eight walks through 139 at-bats, which has contributed to an unimpressive .300 on-base percentage. However, it's also resulted in the increased power production, as he's also laced six doubles to go along with the 13 homers to give him a robust .590 slugging percentage.

Harper will start in right field and bat second Thursday against the Brewers.

Harper has made all of his previous 42 starts this season as the No. 3 hitter, but he'll swap spots in the order with Jean Segura in the series finale. Manager Gabe Kapler likely decided to make the change in an effort to spark Harper, who has struck out in a career-worst 30.8 percent of his plate appearances this season. If Harper finds some initial success while batting between Andrew McCutchen and Segura, the big free-agent pickup could remain in that lineup spot on a permanent basis.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Padres, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Pederson will retreat to the bench for Wednesday's series finale with left-hander Matt Strahm starting for the opposition. In his place, Chris Taylor is starting in left field and hitting sixth.

Harper is in the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers despite a sore knee.

Harper said following Tuesday's game that he had a sore left knee after making a pair of sliding catches. The injury evidently isn't serious enough for him to miss any starts, so he'll keep his streak of starting every single game for the Phillies this season.

Belt is dealing with renewed discomfort in his knee, Amy Gutierrez of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

This explains why Belt is out of the lineup against a right-hander Wednesday. The veteran first baseman recently returned from a two-game absence, and with Thursday's off day, the Giants wanted to play it safe and give him a couple of days off to get right. Pablo Sandoval is starting at first base and hitting cleanup in his place.

Belt is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt rejoined the lineup Tuesday after missing a pair of contests due to a knee injury, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in his first game back. There has been no news suggesting the first baseman suffered a setback Tuesday, so it appears the Giants are simply easing him back into action. Pablo Sandoval is starting at first and hitting cleanup in place of Belt.

Carpenter, who went 1-for-5 with an RBI double, a walk and a run in a win over the Braves on Tuesday, will remain in the leadoff spot for the time being despite his season-long struggles, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports. "He's got the right approach for it," manager Mike Shildt said. "He's an All-Star-caliber player, an MVP-caliber player. He understands what that looks like. We all want to see the results, including him, [be] more consistent."

Carpenter's season line remains a middling .201/.319/.338 through 182 plate appearances, but the Cardinals' skipper appears set to stick with the veteran at the top of the order for the time being. While Carpenter has been a notoriously slow starter in several seasons during his career and most recently dug himself out of a similar hole in 2018, he has experienced some regression in key areas thus far this season. Langosch notes the infielder's barrel rate is down from last year's 13.7 percent to 8.3 percent, while his hard-contact rate is down a full 10 percentage points to 34.7 percent.

Pederson went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in a win against San Diego on Tuesday.

The third-inning blast off rookie sensation Chris Paddack put the Dodgers on the board in a game they went on to win 6-3. Despite hitting only .220 this season, the atypical leadoff man is now tied for fourth in the majors with his 13 home runs. Incredibly, the 13 homers represent half of his overall season hit total (26).

Reyes went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two runs in the Padres' 6-3 loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Reyes clubbed his 12th homer of the season in the first inning and later added his sixth two-bagger of the year, both of which came off Clayton Kershaw. He's in a nice groove at the dish, with three multi-hit performances in his last six games. Reyes cranked three homers in that span, raising his slash line up to .273/.303/.591 through 132 at-bats.