MLB Player News

Stanton went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs and four runs scored during Sunday's win over the Giants.

The slugger enters the All-Star break with a .277/.360/.572 slash line, 26 bombs, 58 RBI and 60 runs. Most importantly, of course, is that Stanton is also healthy. Barring injury, he should cruise to career-best numbers across the board.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

With the left-handed Danny Duffy toeing the rubber for the Royals, Pederson will find himself stationed on the bench for the final game of the season's first half despite homering Saturday. Trayce Thompson will draw the start in his stead, batting eighth.

Harper will bat second in the order for Saturday's contest against the Braves, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

Harper moves up a spot in the batting order to bat second for the second time in the past month. With Michael Taylor (oblique) landing on the disabled list prior to Friday's game, there isn't a clear-cut answer for who manager Dusty Baker should stick into the two spot, so he will give Harper the opportunity while Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon each move up a spot to go 3-4-5 in the order.

Stanton went 2-for-5 with a double and a two-run homer in Friday's win over the Giants.

He's now regained the Marlins' team lead in homers from Marcell Ozuna with 24, and Stanton's hitting .296/.367/.667 with three homers and six RBI through the first week in July. As long as he can stay healthy in the second half, the right fielder seems poised to deliver the kind of monster power performance that's been expected of him ever since he broke into the majors as a 20-year-old in 2010.

Blackmon went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and three runs scored during Friday's win over the White Sox.

Blackmon shifted down to the three-hole Thursday with Nolan Arenado taking a breather, but the center fielder was right back in the leadoff spot Friday. With a .318/.372/.581 slash line, 19 homers, 60 RBI, seven stolen bases and 70 runs, Blackmon is having another monster fantasy campaign.

Turner is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Royals, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Logan Forsythe will shift over to third base, opening the door for Chase Utley at the keystone. Turner, a first-time All-Star this year, has been red hot since his return from the DL in early June, collecting 31 hits and seven homers in his last 81 at-bats. However, the Dodgers have been sitting him once a week or so, and that figures to continue as they look to preserve his health for the stretch run.

Winker was recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Friday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Winker continues to hit at every level, so he'll head to the majors to provide some outfield depth before the All-Star break. It'll be tough to get a ton of playing time given that Billy Hamilton, Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler are locked into starting roles, but he'll likely get plenty of opportunities off the bench. Sal Romano was sent back to the minors to make room on the active roster.

Ozuna went 3-for-5 with three RBI in Thursday's loss to the Cardinals.

He accounted for all the Marlins' offense on the afternoon with RBI singles in the first, third and seventh innings. Ozuna has already tied his previous career high in homers with 23, and he's now just 19 RBI shy of setting a new personal best in that category as well with 78 games to go on the schedule.

McCutchen went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and two runs Thursday in Philadelphia.

McCutchen, Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco supplied almost all of the offense in this 6-3 win, finishing with a combined nine hits and six runs scored. This was his fifth multi-hit performance in nine games since being moved from sixth to third in the batting order, and the 2013 NL MVP also has eight extra-base hits over that span. The recent uptick in performance has raised McCutchen's season line to .289/.375/.520.

Pederson is not in the lineup Thursday against the Diamondbacks.

As is typically the case, Pederson will head to the bench for a night off to avoid a lefty-on-lefty matchup with Arizona starter Robbie Ray. Trayce Thompson will replace him in center field for the evening.