MLB Player News

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.

McCutchen went 3-for-7 with a two-run home run and two runs scored Thursday in the Giants' 16-inning victory over the Marlins.

Cutch left the yard on a first-inning hanging breaking ball from Dan Straily, launching it into the left field stands. He also cleared the fences Wednesday and has done so five times in his past 11 games. In that stretch, he's 18-or-49 (.367) with 12 RBI and 11 runs scored. McCutchen looks like he's firmly curing his early-season power woes.

Belt (appendicitis) could return as early as Friday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Manager Bruce Bochy recently stated that Belt would return during the Giants' upcoming homestand, which begins Monday and runs through June 28. However, with Evan Longoria set to miss extended time after suffering a fractured fifth metacarpal during Thursday's game, the Giants may choose to bring Belt back sooner than originally planned. Nothing has been confirmed at this point, and the Giants may still choose to play it safe and stick with their plan to send the first baseman on a rehab assignment before bringing him back.

Turner went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Rangers.

Turner has looked strong in his first two games back from his brief layoff, adding a home run to the single and double he produced in Tuesday's contest. The extra-base hits are a great sign for his fantasy owners, as power is usually the last thing to return for a batter following a serious wrist injury.

McCutchen went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and a double in Wednesday's loss to the Marlins.

McCutchen got the Giants on the board early with his homer in the top of the first inning, but they ultimately couldn't make it hold up in the 5-4 defeat. The 31-year-old has notched multi-hit efforts in six of his last seven starts, hitting four doubles, two home runs and six RBI over that span. Though he got off to a slow start over the opening two months, McCutchen is now up to a .262/.351/.447 slash line following his recent outburst.

Manager Bruce Bochy said he expects Belt (appendicitis) to return during the Giants' upcoming homestand, which begins Monday and runs through June 28, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

There was hope that Belt would be cleared to return from the disabled list over the weekend, but that's no longer in play. The first baseman is expected to head out on a brief minor-league rehab assignment once he's ready to start playing games. He's been out since undergoing an appendectomy June 2.

Carpenter is on the bench Wednesday against the Padres.

The veteran infielder is hitting .324 over his last eight games, bringing his season line up to a respectable .232/.335/.418. Jedd Gyorko will handle the hot corner in his place Wednesday.