MLB Player News

McCutchen is out of the lineup Thursday against the Giants, the Pittsburgh Tribune's Rob Biertempfel reports.

The veteran will get the day game off Thursday, as the Pirates look to do anything that will get him going at the dish. His slash line has fallen to .238/.315/.401, and while he got off to a slow start in 2015 as well, he had already turned things around at this point last year. Gregory Polanco will start in center field and hit third while Matt Joyce and Sean Rodriguez occupy the outfield corners.

Cespedes, who exited Wednesday's game in the fifth inning due to left wrist discomfort, is dealing with a wrist sprain, received a cortisone shot and is considered day-to-day, David Lennon of Newsday reports.

It appears that while Cespedes could miss a few games because of the issue, he's avoided any major issues and possibly a trip to the disabled list. The team heads to Atlanta for the opener of a four-game set Thursday, but Cespedes will reportedly skip that contest at a minimum. More information on a potential timetable should be on the way in the coming days.

Cespedes was pulled from Wednesday's game after the fifth inning due to left wrist discomfort, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com reports.

It appeared that Cespedes was in some pain after taking a swing during his at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning. The training staff came out to check on him, but he remained in the game until the end of the inning when Alejandro De Aza took over in center field. The Mets' slugger will likely be evaluated soon and more information regarding the injury should follow.

Stanton is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Braves.

Stanton struggles at the plate continued as he struck out twice and had zero hits in five at-bats during Tuesday's loss to the Braves. Ichiro Suzuki will start in right field instead and lead off in order to get more lefties in the lineup to face right-hander John Gant.

Harper went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to the Dodgers.

The homer was his 15th of the season while the steal was his eighth. Harper seems to be emerging from his slump, hitting .333 (8-for-24) over his last six games with two homers, five RBI, three runs and two steals and pushing his slash line in June up to .294/.372/.412.

Belt went 2-for-6 with two doubles and two runs scored Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Belt now has four two-hit games in his last eight, though that threshold wasn't hard to reach with the Giants scoring 15 runs in this one. The first baseman also has four doubles and three home runs in that stretch, and has worked his slugging percentage up to .538 in what has been a breakout campaign.

Cespedes hit his 18th home run, a solo shot, as part of a 2-for-4 game Tuesday against the Royals.

Cespedes now has a pair of home runs in his last three games after hitting just one homer in his first 14 games in June. After hitting 35 home runs in 2015, Cespedes is now on pace for 42 this year, as he's showing his MVP-level performance for the Mets in the second half last season was no fluke.

Carpenter hit his 11th home run of the season Tuesday, a solo shot that helped the Cardinals defeat the first-place Cubs 4-3.

Despite his lack of speed, Carpenter has been brilliant this season as the Cardinals leadoff hitter, with a .417 OBP that is tied for second in the NL. His 11 home runs continue his power-hitting pace set last year, when his 28 home runs were more than his previous three seasons combined. Carpenter has been especially productive of late, with an OBP well over .500 in June.

Blackmon went 2-for-5 with a pair of solo homers and three runs scored Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

Blackmon rode the momentum of Monday night's ninth-inning home run to another pair in the first four innings of this contest. This effort gives the leadoff man double-digit homers in three consecutive campaigns, and puts him on pace to top 20 for the first time in his career. Look for him to continue scoring runs at a high rate from atop the high-octane Rockies order.

Ozuna is out of the lineup for Tuesday's matchup with Atlanta, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

Ozuna had not missed game action since April 28 and will therefore receive a much-deserved maintenance day. Throughout that time span, the 25-year-old has built upon his breakout 2016 season, slashing .362/.415/.643 to go along with 38 runs and 34 RBI over 49 games. Ichiro Suzuki will man center field in Ozuna's absence Tuesday.