MLB Player News

Harper became the first player in major league history to reach base seven times in a game without an official at-bat, as he drew six walks and was hit by a pitch in Sunday's extra-inning loss to the Cubs.

The six walks also tied an MLB record held by a number of players, most recently Jeff Bagwell in 1999. The Cubs absolutely refused to give Harper anything to hit, twice walking him with runners on first and second and two outs in order to pitch to Ryan Zimmerman, but their plan worked out Sunday when Javier Baez hit a walkoff homer in the 13th inning. Harper has now drawn an absurd 30 walks in 31 games this year to fuel his .432 OBP; expect other teams to copy the Cubs' strategy until another Nats hitter makes them pay for it.

McCutchen went 2-for-5 Sunday and narrowly missed hitting a homer when the ball went just foul. "You look for a day like today to be a tipping point in the right direction for Andrew," manager Clint Hurdle told DK Pittsburgh Sports. "Very aggressive swings today. Saw 28 pitches in the at-bats he had. He looked aggressive, very confident."

Prior to Sunday, McCutchen had slashed .188/.278/.344 in his last 36 plate appearances since a three-homer game in Colorado. He'll get three games in Cincinnati and three contests at Wrigley Field in Week 6 to help work his way out of his funk.

Cespedes went 2-for-4 with a solo home run during Sunday's win over the Padres.

That concludes an excellent series for Cespedes, who went 5-for-14 with three home runs, five RBI and three runs scored during the three-game set. Cespedes sits alone atop the National League with 30 RBI, and he is locked in as an elite fantasy outfielder going forward.

Pederson went 1-for-4 with a solo homer Sunday at the Blue Jays.

Pederson's sixth bomb of the season tied the game at one in the seventh inning of a game the Dodgers would go on to win. He's now homered in three of his last five games to raise his slugging percentage to .563.

Carpenter went 2-for-5 with a double, solo homer, two RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's 6-4 victory over the Pirates.

After the Pirates' Starling Marte had tied the game at four with a ground-rule double in the top of the ninth, Carpenter's two-run blast in the home half of the frame off reliever A.J. Schugel sent the Cardinals home winners. The veteran's bat has come alive somewhat in May after he entered the month hitting just .230, as he's managed multi-hit efforts in three of the month's seven contests, while posting three doubles, a homer, two RBI and two walks.

Stanton is not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Phillies, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports.

He'll be rested for just the third time this season, giving way to Ichiro Suzuki in right field, who will also lead off the contest. Stanton is currently on pace for a career-best .984 OPS, and sits at third in the National League with 10 home runs. After going without a base knock Saturday to snap a three-game hitting streak, he'll get a regular maintenance day, though look for the slugger to be available off the bench in a pinch-hit situation.

Turner went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored in Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays.

The Dodgers' third baseman finally connected on a long ball this season, and extended his current hitting streak to four games in the process. Turner's current line of .260/.339/.375 is serviceable, but he's only contributed six RBI after managing a career-high 60 in 2015. The veteran still remains a viable option, particularly versus right-handers, as he's managed a .348 wOBA and 22 career homers against them.

Pederson went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays.

The power-hitting centerfielder went deep off knuckleballer R.A. Dickey with one out in the second, giving him two homers in his first four games of the new month. Pederson has been steady at the plate in his third season, and is now slashing .276/.385/.539 over his first 76 at-bats.

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI Saturday against the Phillies.

Ozuna drove in runs in the second and sixth innings to give the Marlins a lead in a game they'd go on to lose. He's now collected exactly 2 hits in each of his last four games to raise his batting average 41 points to .269.

Cespedes went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in the 6-3 victory over the Padres on Saturday.

It was his second homer of the series, and fifth bomb in the last 10 games. Cespedes is also 10-for-34 (.294) with 15 RBI and seven runs during that stretch.