MLB Player News

Turner (legs) is batting third and starting at third base Thursday against the Mets, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

After getting Wednesday off to rest his legs, Turner is good to go for Thursday's series finale. He'll look to keep up his stellar year at the dish when he returns to the lineup to face Steven Matz.

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

Despite riding a four-game hitting streak, Belt is batting just .179 (4-for-31) over his last eight games, so he'll head to the bench to clear his head. Buster Posey will take over for him at first base while Nick Hundley gets the start behind the dish.

Torrens started in place of the injured Austin Hedges (thigh) on Wednesday, going 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in a win over the Cubs.

The Rule 5 draft pick was pushed into action and delivered just his second RBI in 69 plate appearances. Hedges wasn't expected to be held out long after leaving Tuesday's contest with an injury, but the club opted to give their starting catcher an extra day of rest with an off day scheduled Thursday. While he is expected to return to action Friday against the Tigers, Torrens could earn another start if Hedges isn't fully healed.

Manager Dave Roberts said Turner is not in the lineup Wednesday because his legs felt a little heavy, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Turner has appeared in 10-of-11 games since returning from a three-week stint on the DL with a hamstring injury, so the Dodgers are likely playing it safe with the hot-hitting third baseman. Consider him day-to-day for now; his status for Thursday's series finale will likely be determined closer to game time.

Turner is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Mets, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Turner will retreat to the bench after ending his hitting 14-game hitting streak with an 0-for-4 performance Tuesday. Logan Forsythe will slide over to third base in his place, opening up a spot for Chase Utley to start at the keystone. Turner has been on a tear in 10 games since coming off the disabled list, slashing .432/.523/.703 with three homers and nine RBI over that span.

Pederson went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, an RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's win over the Mets.

The 25-year-old has put together a modest seven-game hitting streak, in which he is batting .320 with two home runs and five RBI. His run as the Dodgers' leadoff hitter lasted just one game, but his power plays better lower in the lineup anyways. Pederson has seen better results since returning from the disabled list, needing just four contests to match his power output from his first 34 games of the season, while posting a walk rate almost six points higher in eight games since his return (16.2 BB percentage).

Belt went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Braves.

Belt was moved down to sixth in the order three games ago -- after spending the majority of the season batting second or third -- in an effort to spark a struggling Giants offense. While he may not score that many runs with the new configuration, the 29-year-old should be able to improve on his lacking RBI total of 29 (24th among all qualified first basemen).

Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a run-scoring double, three walks and a run in Tuesday's 8-1 extra-inning win over the Phillies.

The surging leadoff man was a thorn in the side of the Phillies throughout the game, drawing multiple walks for the third straight contest and upping his OPS for June to an impressive 1.068. Carpenter's .313 average in June is over 100 points better than the pedestrian .204 figure he mustered in May, and the 31-year-old is also now just one RBI short of equaling his total for all of last month as well.

McCutchen went 3-for-3 with a homer, a walk, three RBI and two runs against the Brewers on Tuesday.

Through this season's first 45 games, McCutchen was hitting a brutal .200/.271/.359 with six homers and 20 RBI, but the light came on in late May: Over the 24 games since, he's hit a spectacular .402 with eight homers and 23 RBI. That's both intriguing and confusing output from a guy who's coming off his worst MLB season and was widely considered to be in decline -- an idea his early slump did nothing to dispel. However, it's certainly tantalizing whenever we see this kind of outburst from a guy who's done it before.

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and second run scored in Tuesday's 12-3 loss to the Nationals.

The blast was Ozuna's 19th of the season and fourth in the last seven games. The 26-year-old is hitting .385 (10-for-26) over that stretch with nine RBI and has pushed his OPS on the season up to an impressive .988.