MLB Player News

First baseman Brandon Belt hit a solo home run in the Giants' Sunday loss to Atlanta. 

Belt went 2 for 3 with a walk. He connected in the second inning for his seventh homer and 22nd RBI. 

Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson hit a solo home run for the team's only run in a 3-1 loss to St. Louis on Sunday. 

Pederson went deep in the eighth inning for one of just two Dodger hits on the day. It was his 13th homer of the year and ninth in the month of May. 

Pederson went 1 for 3 with a walk and drove in his 24th run of the year. 

After taking Saturday off, first baseman Justin Bour is back in the lineup against the Mets. Bour, batting fourth, is hitting .361 in 28 games this season. 

Ichiro Suzuki is getting the start in center field for Marcell Ozuna, who appears to be getting the day off. Suzuki will bat fifth. 

Catcher Jhonatan Solano is also in the lineup.  

After taking a day off due to a sore back, Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper has returned to the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds. 

Harper was hit by a pitch on Friday and missed Saturday's game as a result. Harper is batting in his usual cleanup spot. Clint Robinson filled in for Harper on Saturday. 

Also returning to the lineup is Wilson Ramos, who will hit sixth. 

Bryce Harper, who missed Saturday's game due to back soreness from getting hit with a pitch on Friday, remains questionable for Sunday's series finale, per The Washington Post. 

Harper, who was drilled between the numbers with a fastball late in Friday's contest, underwent "lots of treatment," according to Nationals manager Matt Williams during Saturday's game but remains sore. 

Harper said he has a bone bruise, and that when he swung a bat, he could feel the pain. He wants to wait for his back to heal so he doesn't alter his swing mechanics, according to the Post. Harper owns a five-game hitting streak, during which he has two home runs to give him 18 on the season. He's hitting .328/.468/.733 so far this season. 

Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton is officially the Mets' worst night mare. Stanton drilled two home runs on Saturday, as the Marlins won 9-5. 

Stanton first launched a solo shot off Jonathon Niese in the second inning to put the Fish up 3-1. Then, with the Marlins already up 7-5, Stanton added another solo home run, 466-foot bomb in the ninth inning. That's the longest home run in the history of CitiField.

"Since I've started here, they've brought the fences in a couple of times," Stanton said, per MLB.com. "That's always good for us. I feel like it plays fair, except for left field. It's a little close. But the rest plays a little fair."

Overall, Stanton went 2 for 4 with the two bombs, as his batting average now rests at .232 for the season.

Stanton now has 15 longballs this year, with five of them coming against the Mets.

A sore back has cost sizzling Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper a start Saturday night in Cincinnati, per MASNSports.com.

The issue was the result of a hit-by-pitch off a fastball thrown Friday by Tony Cingrani.

Harper owns a five-game hitting streak, during which he has two home runs to give him 18 on the season. He boasts a sensational slash line of .328/.468/.733.

Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler made his only hit of Friday's game count. Soler went deep with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but it was not enough as the Cubs fell to the Royals 8-4.

Soler's home run was his fourth of the season and just his first since May 8. He had been hitless in his previous three games and now sports a .276 batting average on the season.

A matchup against Phillies premier left-hander Cole Hamels has Rockies leadoff hitter and center fielder Charlie Blackmon grabbing some pine Friday night.

Brandon Barnes is set to take over both those spots.

Blackmon is just 8-for-51 against southpaws this season and hitless in four at-bats lifetime against Hamels.

This will mark only his fourth absence from the lineup this season.

Pirates OF Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 5 at the plate to help lead the Pirates to an 11-5 victory over the Padres on Thursday.

McCutchen drove in two runs and scored two during the contest. Prior to his three-hit game Thursday, McCutchen was hitting .382 with three home runs and five RBI in his last nine games.