MLB Player News

Among Marlins victories this year, their triumph Saturday night will not be the most memorable for slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

Stanton racked up four strikeouts for the first time this season and 11th time in his career. He reached base only on a walk leading off the eighth inning.

He now has 44 strikeouts in 31 games, putting him on pace for 235 for the year. That would break the all-time record set by Mark Reynolds in 2009.

It took Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna 27 games to blast his first home run of the season. It took him two more to hit his second.

Ozuna went deep again Saturday night, blasting off in the fourth to get his team off on the right foot in a win at San Francisco. He also walked and scored in the eighth.

He is 15-for-44 in his last 11 games with seven runs scored.

Bryce Harper crushed a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday to lift the Nationals over the Braves.

"Right when I hit it, I knew it was gone," Harper said.

Harper has now hit six home runs in three games, one off the major league record set by Shawn Green in 2002.

"Certainly, we don't expect him to hit a home run every day," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "But he can get in streaks like this where he sees the ball very well."

He's also collected 12 RBI has posted a .667 avg. (8 for 12) over his three-game power surge.

Rockies outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Corey Dickerson are out of the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers, the team announced.

Gonzalez has started 10 of the last 11 games for Colorado and will be replaced by Charlie Blackmon in right. Gonzalez is hitting .198 in 91 at-bats this season. Dickerson has started 12 of the last 13 games for the team and will be replaced by Drew Stubbs in center. Rafael Ynoa will make his fifth start of the year in left field. 

The Rockies are currently the underdogs (+170) against Los Angeles.

Ryan Howard is not in the Phillies' lineup for Saturday's game. The first baseman will be rested for the fifth time this year. 

Replacing him at first is Darin Ruf, who started the last three games in left field. Ben Revere, who had been starting in right for the last three, switches back to left, where he started 19 games. Jeff Francoeur returns to right.  

Dodgers rookie outfielder Joc Pederson is third in the National League with nine home runs. That included a streak where Pederson's last seven hits were all home runs. 

"We didn't know we were going to get this much power," manager Don Mattingly said, per the Los Angeles Times. "Obviously the power is there, but to get it this early..."

Despite the power surge, Mattingly isn't concerned that Pederson will get cocky or start swinging for the fences. There are plenty of veterans in the clubhouse to keep him focused. 

"I think we have enough people around here to keep him thinking the right way," Mattingly said. "He's a guy who's trying to hit the ball hard somewhere. If he hits it, it usually goes."

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt went 4 for 5 at the plate during Friday's 6-0 win.

The four hits consisted of three singles and one double. Belt also scored a run and struck out once. Over his last six games, Belt is 12 for 21, but he only has two extra-base hits and one RBI during that span.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper had another huge game in Friday night's 9-2 win over the Braves. 

Harper went 3 for 4 with two home runs, a single and five RBI. That gives Harper five home runs in the past two games. He hit three homers against the Marlins on Wednesday. Harper has now hit 10 home runs in 29 games. 

Prior to this two-game outburst, Harper had totaled five homers through 27 games. He's since doubled his output and is 6 of 8 in these last two games.

Harper now holds a slash line of .284/.426/.627. 

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter is suffering from "extreme fatigue" and will not be available for the team's series in Pittsburgh, according to MLB.com. Carpenter was left in St. Louis to rest, though it is not yet known if he will be available for the three-game series in Cleveland that starts Monday. 

Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick is getting just his second day off this season, as he is not in the starting lineup for Friday's matchup with the Rockies. Kendrick, who last got a day off on April 26, has started to cool off after a hot start to the season.

Over his last 10 games, Kendrick is just 10 for 41 and has seen his season average drop from .314 to .280 over that span. 

Justin Turner is in the lineup at second base and batting third for manager Don Mattingly on Friday.