MLB Player News

McCutchen launched a three-run homer -- his second home run in three games -- against the Cubs on Saturday.

He celebrated Jackie Robinson Day in style, moving past Barry Bonds for fourth place in career home runs among Pirates with 177. McCutchen also extended his hitting streak to seven games with the effort.

Pederson is not in the lineup Saturday against the Diamondbacks, David Vassegh of 570 LA Sports reports.

With southpaw Patrick Corbin set to take the mound, Trayce Thompson will get the start in center field while Pederson heads to the bench. With Thompson back in the majors, it appears manager Dave Roberts will look to occasionally deploy him against lefties over Pederson.

Cespedes is batting third and playing left field Saturday against the Marlins, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Cepsedes is back in the lineup for the Mets after taking a seat with the flu Friday. He'll look to pick up right where he left off, as the 31-year-old was 7-for-14 with five home runs and nine RBI in the three games before his day off.

Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees.

Carpenter opened the scoring on the night with a 421-foot shot to right in the first off Masahiro Tanaka, giving the Cardinals the early 2-0 lead. While his average sits at a pedestrian .219, the 31-year-old infielder has reached safely in five straight and knocked in three runs over the last two contests.

Belt is not in the lineup Saturday against Colorado, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Belt has notched three home runs and seven RBI thus far, but he's hitting just .191 through his first 47 at-bats. He'll get the day off Saturday as the Giants go with Conor Gillaspie at first base.

McCutchen is batting .275/.370/.375 in 40 career at-bats against Saturday starter Jake Arrieta.

Arrieta has faced McCutchen more times than any other batter in the majors. The outfielder is seeing fewer fastballs (50.6 percent) than last season (53.8) and more changeups (13.6 versus 10.4). He holds a league-average .100 ISO and a modest five-game hitting streak.

Cespedes was held out of Friday's lineup due to the flu, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

He was able to play through the illness Thursday and homered twice in the extra-inning win, but Cespedes needed a break after that huge effort. Consider him day-to-day, but it seems likely that he'll be able to suit up Saturday.

Winker could be optioned back to Triple-A Louisville on Sunday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The Reds are saying that Winker was just brought up to fill out the bench for a couple days -- Winker is out of the lineup Friday against the Brewers after being called up. A roster spot will be needed for Sal Romano, Sunday's starter against Milwaukee, and it's possible Winker loses his spot as manager Bryan Price has been adamant that his starting outfield is set with Adam Duvall, Billy Hamilton and Scott Schebler. It seems inevitable that Winker will replace Schebler in the regular lineup eventually, but it may not happen right away.

Stanton is not in the Marlins' lineup Friday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

This looks to be a simple day off for the slugger, allowing for Ichiro Suzuki to get the start in right field. Stanton is off to a solid start on the season, slashing .270/.349/.459 with two home runs through nine games.

Cespedes is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Marlins, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

Despite being on an absolute tear, Cespedes will get his first rest day of the season Friday. He's homered five times this week and has added a pair of doubles as well. Michael Conforto, who is swinging a hot bat in his own right, will take over in left and bat fifth in place of Cespedes against Edinson Volquez. Look for Cespedes to draw back into the lineup Saturday.