MLB Player News

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

Manager Terry Collins had previously announced that Cespedes would be getting Sunday off after starting three straight games from Thursday to Saturday. The timing is a bit unfortunate, as the star left fielder is coming off a monster four-hit game from Saturday's contest. Curtis Granderson will hold down left field in his absence, but Cespedes should be back in the lineup Monday against the Dodgers.

Pederson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 10-2 win over Cincinnati.

The homer was Pederson's second in as many days, and he appears to have rediscovered the power stroke that evaded him through the first two injury-plagued months of the season. The Dodgers have two matchups against soft-tossing righties (Bronson Arroyo and Scott Feldman) on the docket, making the 25-year-old a strong short-term play with potential for more if he can keep things rolling.

Carpenter went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Friday's 11-2 win over the Orioles.

Carpenter has his average up to .250 following Friday's effort, which also extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The veteran infielder is sporting an impressive 26.1 percent line-drive rate and 47.8 percent hard-contact rate over his first 15 games of June, which has already led to 11 extra-base hits (seven doubles, four homers), three more than he compiled in all of May.

Belt is not in the lineup Saturday against the Rockies, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Belt has been rather ineffective at the dish recently, going hitless in each of his last four tilts. That, in combination with the left-handed Kyle Freeland toeing the rubber for the Rockies, likely led to Belt's rest day Saturday in favor of Buster Posey at first base. With the right-handed Tyler Chatwood scheduled to start Sunday, expect Belt to rejoin the lineup for the matinee series finale at hitter-friendly Coors Field.

Turner is not in the lineup for Saturday's contest against the Reds, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Turner has started six of the seven games since returning from a hamstring injury, so Saturday will likely serve as just a routine day off for him. Since his return, the 32-year-old third baseman has slashed .400/.500/.560 and has collected hits in all seven contests. He should rejoin the lineup Sunday, while Logan Forsythe will man the hot corner in his place Saturday.

Blackmon is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Giants.

This will be a rare day off for Blackmon, who has played every game since May 18. He has carried his hot start to the season into June, where he's slashing .344/.438/.607 with six doubles and nine RBI in 61 at-bats. Raimel Tapia will take over in center field in place of Blackmon on Saturday, but look for Blackmon to draw back in for Sunday's series finale.

Harper went 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and an RBI in Friday's 7-2 win over the Mets.

He extended a modest hitting streak to nine games with the performance, and Harper's now batting .342 (13-for-38) over that stretch with two homers, six RBI and seven runs. The 24-year-old barreled the ball all night Friday, and seems poised to go on another massive run similar to his dominant April when he posted a 1.281 OPS.

Pederson went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double and two runs during Friday's win over Cincinnati.

It was just the third homer of the campaign for Pederson, which is a disappointing total after he left the yard 25 times last year. His .210/.321/.353 slash line is also an eyesore. However, the outfielder has dealt with multiple injuries (groin, neck and a concussion), so there is more at play here than just a lengthy slump. In fact, with three extra-base hits through his past two games, Pederson might be kick-starting a hot stretch now that he's healthy.

Carpenter 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs in Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Brewers.

Carpenter extended his hitting streak to nine games with his sixth and seventh doubles of June. He's now roped at least one two-bagger in six straight contests and is slashing .315/.383/.611 in his first 60 plate appearances of the month.

Pederson doubled and scored in his four at-bats against the Indians on Thursday.

The double was the 25-year-old's first extra-base hit in three games since returning from the disabled list. Pederson has resumed his role as the Dodgers' starting center fielder against righties despite carrying a batting average south of the Mendoza Line. He's not going to develop into a .300 hitter any time soon, but there is more power in the youngster's bat than we have seen to date, as evidenced by his 51 home runs over his first two full seasons in the majors. Pederson could be worth a flyer for his power potential in the event he breaks out of his season-long slump now that he is healthy.