MLB Player News

McCutchen went 0-for-3 against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

He's hitting just .213/.288/.277 with no homers and three RBI in his last 13 games (covering 52 plate appearances). McCutchen couldn't be expected to keep up his pace from June and July, but his swing looks a little tired right now. He's 2-for-9 with a homer and two RBI in his career against lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, Thursday's starter.

Blackmon went 3-for-5 with a solo homer in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Royals.

Blackmon came in hitting just .281 on the road, but bucked that trend with a three-hit effort here. His third-inning long ball gave the leadoff man sole possession of the team lead just two frames after Nolan Arenado tied him at 29. On a negative note, he was also picked off second base in this one.

Manager Mike Matheny said Carpenter is out of Wednesday's lineup against the Padres due to an illness, Jim Hayes of FOX Sports Midwest reports.

Carpenter was sent home before the game, so he won't even be available off the bench. The Cardinals will likely wait and see how he's feeling Thursday before deciding on his status for the series finale. Jedd Gyorko is starting at first base in his stead.

Cespedes is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Cespedes has been hot at the plate recently -- collecting eight hits over his last three contests -- but he'll get the day off after starting 20 of New York's first 21 games in August. The Mets will send out an outfield trio of Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto and Juan Lagares in his absence.

Carpenter is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Padres.

Since the beginning of August, Carpenter has posted a bleak .197 batting average. However, he's still been finding ways to get on base, as he's put together a .384 on-base percentage in that time. He'll get the night off while Jedd Gyorko covers first base.

Turner is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Pirates, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Turner's performance Tuesday was out of character, as he went 0-for-5 at the plate. He'll be withheld from the lineup Wednesday for the first time since Aug. 2 while Logan Forsythe fills in at the hot corner and Chase Utley heads to second base.

Belt (concussion) is still 2-to-3 weeks away from being activated from the disabled list, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt has yet to make much progress recovering from a concussion that landed him on the disabled list on Aug. 5. With Belt out for the foreseeable future, Ryder Jones is in line to receive regular starts at first base for the Giants.

Harper has seen improvement in his bruised knee and was walking with less of a limp Tuesday but isn't ready to resume baseball activities, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.

Until he's able to begin doing agility drills and swing a bat, there won't be any sort of concrete timetable for Harper's return to action. Given the Nats' big lead in the National League East, they have no reason to rush their star right fielder back, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him back in the lineup sometime in September -- with just enough time to shake off any rust before the playoffs begin.

Osuna homered in each half of Tuesday's doubleheader sweep of the Phillies, going a combined 3-for-8 with two walks, three runs scored and four RBI over both games.

He now sports a .300/.390/.529 slash line in August with five home runs, 11 runs and 16 RBI in 19 games. Ozuna's breakout shows no signs of fading, and his ability to keep slugging and offering support for Giancarlo Stanton will go a long way towards determining whether the Marlins stay afloat in the NL wild-card chase.

Martinez went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer against the Mets on Tuesday.

He started the Diamondbacks off on the right foot with the first-inning blast against fill-in starter Tommy Milone, though Martinez proceeded to strike out in two of his three remaining at-bats. While the slugger's hitting just .233 since coming over to Arizona before the trade deadline, his power certainly hasn't suffered -- this marks his 10th homer in 29 games with his new club -- and the average will surely improve in due time.