MLB Player News

Carpenter went 3-for-4 with a double and a run in the Cardinals' 5-1 victory over the Phillies on Sunday.

It's been a season of struggles at the plate for Carpenter so far, but he's showing signs of life lately, as this three-hit effort gave him 10 knocks in his last 24 at-bats with three multi-hit performances in his last five games over that time. The fact that his average still sits at .194 coming off the mini-hot streak is a testament to how much he's been struggling in the early going, so hopefully this is a sign he can finally start to get his paltry .672 OPS back up toward his career mark of .829.

McCutchen (knee) is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rockies, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

McCutchen suffered a bruised knee on a slide Saturday, and it only makes sense that the Giants would hold him out through Monday's off day. If the knee is still barking come Tuesday, the Giants could opt to DH McCutchen for the two-game set in Houston.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Cody Bellinger will man center field while Max Muncy starts at first base against right-hander Stephen Strasburg. We know Pederson is going to sit against lefties, and his playing time against right-handers may be more sporadic moving forward. Pederson is batting just .188/.291/.292 so far in May.

Ozuna is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.

Tyler O'Neill will get the start in left field and bat cleanup against right-hander Aaron Nola. Ozuna is now zero for his last 22 after an 0-for-4 showing in Saturday's loss to Philadelphia. He's walking less but his strikeout rate is right in line with his career mark and he's making hard contact at the highest rate of his career, so it seems like only a matter of time before the 27-year-old gets it going.

Winker is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.

After a 1-for-7 showing in Saturday's doubleheader, Winker is now batting just .154/.228/.192 for the month of May. His on-base percentage for the season still sits at a very respectable .346, but he's not hitting for any power at all. Winker will likely continue to find himself on the bench a couple times per week until he picks it up.

McCutchen sustained a bruised knee on a slide and exited Saturday's win over the Rockies, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

McCutchen went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run and was replaced in right field by Gregor Blanco for the start of the eighth inning. The 31-year-old is considered day-to-day and could be available for Sunday's series finale, but with an off day Monday, the team could illustrate additional caution with the veteran outfielder.

Turner is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader in Washington, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Turner had started four straight games since coming off the disabled list earlier this week, but the Dodgers will play it safe and not give him the start in the nightcap. Max Muncy is starting at third base and batting second in his stead.

Carpenter went 2-for-5 with an RBI single and a run in a win over the Phillies on Friday.

Carpenter was back in the two-hole Friday after having dropped down to seventh in the order the prior two nights. The struggling veteran's pair of singles extended a modest hitting streak to three games, a stretch during which he's gone 6-for-13 with three doubles, two RBI and a run. Carpenter has much work left to do to get a current .173/.301/.315 season line back up to acceptable levels, but his current mini-surge is an optimistic step in that direction.

Belt (knee) entered Friday's loss to the Rockies in the seventh inning and struck out in his only plate appearance.

The red-hot Belt was held out of the starting lineup after experiencing knee soreness following Thursday's contest, but he was healthy enough to enter Friday's game in a key situation. While he was unable to extend his homer streak to five games, the fact that he stayed in the game to play left field indicates that his minor knee ailment shouldn't be an issue going forward.

Blackmon went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Colorado's 6-1 victory over the Giants on Friday.

Blackmon had been in a bit of a slump lately that saw his normally sky-high batting average dip all the way down to .267, but he launched a ninth-inning long ball off the Giants' Jose Valdez for his 12th of the season. The 1-for-5 showing meant his average went down to .265 despite the homer but he's still getting on base at a .373 clip and boasting a robust .543 slugging percentage despite the recent slump and Blackmon is one of the best hitters in baseball, so there's little reason to believe he won't see his average climb back up toward its usual heights in short order.