MLB Player News

Carpenter went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 3-2 win over the Reds on Sunday.

Carpenter's early season contact issues continued Sunday, as he posted his sixth multi-strikeout game over the last eight. He's whiffed at least once in 11 of the last 12 contests overall, as well, leading to a 28.8 percent strikeout rate over his first 66 plate appearances. Given the relatively small sample, the fact that Carpenter has never posted a strikeout rate higher than 22.7 percent in his career and his unsustainably low .194 BABIP, the 32-year-old infielder's fortunes at the plate are bound to turn around soon, although to what extent remains to be seen.

Ozuna is not in the lineup Sunday against the Reds.

Ozuna went hitless Saturday for the first time since March 31, and his average currently sits at a solid .288 mark. He's knocked two homers and driven in 10 runs but has surprisingly only walked once this season after posting a 9.4 percent walk rate in 2017. With Ozuna on the bench, Harrison Bader will step in and man left field. The starter should be back in there Monday against the Cubs.

Winker (shoulder) is not in the lineup Sunday against the Cardinals.

Winker's sore right shoulder continues to bother him, so he'll take a seat for a third consecutive game. He remains a day-to-day case moving forward. Phillip Ervin draws the start in right field, batting eighth in his stead.

McCutchen went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks Saturday against the Padres.

McCutchen managed to hit his second home run of the season in the fifth inning off left-handed pitcher Clayton Richard. He has gotten off to a slow start with his new club, now slugging just .357 for the season. He had a similarly slow start last season and rebounded to produce valuable numbers in June and July -- so it isn't time to panic yet.

Blackmon went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer against the Nationals on Saturday but also struck out three times.

The Rockies had trouble getting to Max Scherzer in this one, and outside of the home run, Blackmon was no different. This was his first game since Monday, so the strikeout-heavy performance could be a result of rust at the plate. Regardless, Blackmon now holds a 1.054 OPS on the season. He looks to be a staple around the top portion of the Rockies' lineup, though he could spend the next few days as the three-hitter (rather than leading off) in order to replace the suspended Nolan Arenado.

Turner (wrist) is able to catch soft tosses, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

It's a small sign of progress for Turner, who has been out since mid-March with a broken left wrist. He's able to catch light throws with his left hand, but he's yet to resume swinging, so his return date is likely still several weeks away.

Belt is not in the lineup Saturday against the Padres, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The day off will be Belt's fourth in the team's opening 14 games, leaving him on pace to start 116 times. It appears that the Giants want to give Buster Posey a fair amount of time at first base, as he'll start there for the third time this season Saturday. Belt is hitting well so far this year, with a .270/.400/.405 line through 45 plate appearances. A good deal of that early success is BABIP-related, though, as his BABIP sits at an unsustainable .429.

Ozuna went 2-for-5 with an RBI single and a run in a 5-3 win over the Reds on Friday.

Ozuna's average vaulted over the .300 mark with the multihit effort that extended his hitting streak to 12 games. The stretch covers the entirety of April thus far and also includes an impressive nine RBI. After going hitless over his first two games of the season, Ozuna has proven to be exactly what the Cardinals and fantasy owners were hoping for.

Blackmon (quadriceps) is back in the lineup for Saturday's game against Washington, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Blackmon has missed the past four games while dealing with back and quad tightness but will slot back into the starting nine ahead of Saturday's matinee. Over 10 games thus far in 2018, Blackmon is hitting .282/.391/.641 with four home runs, six RBI and one stolen base.

Winker (shoulder) is not in the lineup against St. Louis on Saturday.

Winker will remain on the bench for the second straight contest after being scratched from Friday's game due to right shoulder soreness. There hasn't been any word as to the severity of his injury, so consider the outfielder day-to-day for the time being. In his place, Phillip Ervin will man right field and bat seventh.