MLB Player News

McCutchen went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs in Friday's 10-4 win over the Twins.

McCutchen opened the game with a walk and scored on Jean Segura's double. He later walked in the seventh inning and came around to score on Rhys Hoskins' single. The outfielder's eight runs scored tie him for ninth in the league, as he's clearly enjoying his new park and new lineup.

Reyes is on the bench Saturday against St. Louis.

Hunter Renfroe will get the nod in right field in Reyes' absence. Reyes still has the early season edge in playing time, starting six games to Renfroe's four, but he's gone just 2-for-19 at the plate, so that could change soon.

Winker is not in the lineup Saturday against the Pirates.

Winker is just 1-for-19 so far this season, though Matt Kemp, who will bat cleanup and play left field Saturday, hasn't been any better.

Blackmon went 3-for-5 in a 10-6 loss to the Dodgers on Friday.

Blackmon was in a 1-for-12 skid coming into the contest, but he broke out with a three-hit effort from atop the order to bump his batting average up to .286 through 35 at-bats. It's been a slow start for the veteran on the power front, as he's still searching for his first long ball and is slugging just .343 so far this season.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rockies, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Pederson will once again head to the bench with southpaw Tyler Anderson taking the mound for Colorado. Chris Taylor grabs another start in left field and will bat seventh. According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Pederson will return to the starting nine Saturday and Sunday with the Rockies scheduled to use a pair of right-handed starters. The 26-year-old hasn't started since last Sunday with the Dodgers facing a string of left-handers.

Ozuna (side) is back in the lineup Friday against San Diego, Rob Rains of StLSportsPage.com reports.

Ozuna was scratched from the lineup Wednesday against the Pirates with side tightness and underwent an MRI on Thursday's off day, but he's evidently avoided serious injury. It's possible that the minor injury has affected his performance so far, as he has just a single extra-base hit and eight strikeouts through five games, but the team apparently feels he'll be able to play through the issue.

Belt went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Dodgers.

Belt began and ended the three-game series against the Dodgers with multi-run homers. In addition to being known for his inability to stay healthy, the 30-year-old is also notorious for going on homer binges. Belt's fantasy owners are hoping this is the beginning of one those patented hot streaks.

Vientos will begin the season with Low-A Columbia, Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com reports.

The South Atlantic League affiliate is going to be a scouting mecca this year, with Vientos (the Mets' No. 3 fantasy prospect), Ronny Mauricio (No. 4) and Shervyn Newton (No. 5) all manning the infield. Vientos' numbers in the Appy League in 2018 -- .287/.389/.489 with 11 homers and a strong 37:43 BB:K in 60 games -- suggest a future middle-of-the-order hitter once he's ready for the majors in a few years.

Ozuna (side) will undergo an MRI on Thursday, Jim Hayes of FOX Sports Midwest reports.

Ozuna was scratched from Wednesday's contest due to right side tightness. After the game manager Mike Shildt expressed some concern Ozuna could be dealing with an intercostal injury, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Ozuna should be considered day-to-day for the time being, while Tyler O'Neill and Jose Martinez are the top options to take over in left field should he remain out of the lineup.

Winker went 0-for-4 in Wednesday's loss to the Brewers to drop to 0-for-13 on the season.

As was the case on Opening Day, Winker hit a couple of rockets that were nonetheless caught. He's been more unlucky than bad, as opposed to teammate Scott Schebler, who has either struck out or hit feebly into outs so far.