MLB Player News

Belt went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and two runs scored Sunday against the Dodgers.

Belt took left-hander Caleb Ferguson deep in the third inning for his 12th home run of the season. It was his first hit since returning from the disabled list (appendicitis) and only his second home run off a left-handed pitcher this season. Belt has shown a surprising ability to hit for power through 199 at-bats this season, slugging nearly 100 points better than his career average and 70 points better than his career-best mark.

Reyes is out of the lineup Sunday against the Braves, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Reyes has made three starts in right field over the last four games, but he'll be the odd man out for the series finale. He's gone 11-for-41 (.268) at the plate so far in the month of June, but has also been fanned 17 times over that span for a 40.5 percent strikeout rate on the month.

Winker is out of the lineup Sunday against the PIrates, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Winker will head to the bench after starting in each of the Reds' past seven games, opening room in the lineup for Adam Duvall. With Cincinnati 20 games under .500 entering play Sunday and seemingly prepared to give its younger players extra opportunities, the 24-year-old Winker seems likely to hold down a full-time role the rest of the season.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer against the Cubs on Saturday.

Ozuna took Kyle Hendricks deep in the first inning, recording his 10th home run of the season. He has now homered in three consecutive games and has six home runs in June. Through May, his slugging percentage was at just .337, but his scorching hot June performance has brought that mark up to .444, in line with his career mark.

Cespedes (hip) is currently not participating in baseball activities but is expected to resume his rehab Monday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Cespedes has been on the disabled list with the hip flexor strain since mid-May and was pulled from his minor-league rehab appearance last Saturday. The 32-year-old was set to fully restart his rehab work after suffering the setback, and the timetable for his potential return is currently unclear.

The Giants activated Belt (appendicitis) from the 10-day disabled list Saturday, Chris Haft of MLB.com reports.

Belt makes his return to the Giants on Saturday as expected and should slot back in as the team's everyday first baseman. The 30-year-old hit the disabled list June 2 after getting his appendix removed and was initially expected to miss three weeks, but losing Evan Longoria to a fractured hand earlier this week may have prompted a quicker return.

Carpenter went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and two RBI in Friday's loss to the Cubs.

Carpenter hit a solo home run -- his ninth of the year -- off Jon Lester in the sixth and later slashed an RBI single off reliever Anthony Bass in the seventh. This was Carpenter's third multi-hit performance in his last five games, bringing his line to .237/.340/.433 on the year. The 32-year-old had an incredibly slow start to the year (hitting below .200 up until May 20), but he's steadily gotten more hits to fall over the past month.

Belt (appendicitis) will be activated Saturday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Belt insists he is fully recovered from his appendectomy, but the Giants will activate Pierce Johnson instead Friday to keep their bullpen fresh. Belt owns a .307/.403/.547 batting line and will be in the lineup daily upon his return.

Reyes is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Braves.

Reyes will take a seat Friday as Brandon McCarthy takes the mound for the Braves. The 22-year-old has been better after a rough first couple weeks in the majors, but he still has a 38.1 percent strikeout rate and a .225/.262/.475 slash line with six home runs in 80 at-bats.

Ozuna, who was responsible for both of the Cardinals' runs in a loss to the Padres on Wednesday with his fifth home run of June, now has a seven-game hitting streak and is hitting .400 for the month.

Ozuna seems seriously intent on making up for lost time. He'd started to hear rumblings about his lack of power as May came to a close and he still only had three homers on his ledger. The slugging outfielder has hit safely in 11 of his 12 games this month, racking up six multi-hit efforts in the process. One of the keys has been Ozuna's ability to consistently put the ball in the air with plenty of velocity and distance, which has been evidenced by his 26.3 percent HR/FB rate and 54.8 percent hard contact rate over his last 49 plate appearances.