MLB Player News

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter is out of the lineup for the second conseuctive game on Friday against the Pirates. No word has been given regarding a possible injury for Carpenter, though he recently did have a bout of light headness. The Cardinals are facing a tough left-hander in Francisco Liriano on Friday, so it's likely that Mike Matheny is simply loading up on right-handers in his lineup. 

Pete Kozma is getting the start at third base while batting eighth for Matheny.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has become a doubles machine lately. Belt, who went 2 for 4 and scored a run in Thursday's loss to the Marlins, has recorded a double in five straight games and six of his last eight. Belt is also riding a five-game hitting streak, during which he is batting .471 (8 for 17) with a triple and an RBI to go along with the five two-baggers.

Belt is heating up after a rough start to the season. He has seen his season batting average rise from .235 at the end of April to .274 entering play on Friday. 

Playing in his 27th game of the season, Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna finally connected on his first home run of the season during Thursday's 7-2 win over the Giants.

Ozuna hit the two-run home run off Tim Hudson in the seventh inning. Ozuna finished the game 2 for 5 with two RBI. Ozuna had been 0 for 8 in his last two games. He is now batting .293 on the season and is 12 for 36 in his last nine games with four RBI.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen showed signs of coming out of his slump when he produced three hits during Thursday's 7-2 win over the Reds.

McCutchen went 3 for 4 during the game and he drove in one run. He raised his batting average from .188 to .210. McCutchen has hit safely in seven of his last eight games. However, he has just two extra-base hits during that span.

"Once we start keying on the good things, we start rolling, get the ball rolling here, it will be good regardless of if it's in our division or if it's out of our division," he said, per MLB.com. "As long as we get going, ain't going to be anyone really stopping us."

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter was given his first day off of 2015, as he was held out of Thursday's starting lineup against the Cubs. Carpenter had started all 27 games so far for St. Louis, but he has just four hits in 22 at-bats this month, so manager Mike Matheny opted to give him a rest.

Mark Reynolds received the start at the hot corner and hit fifth on Thursday, while Jon Jay moved up to the leadoff spot in the order.

The team is playing their 17th straight game without a break on Thursday, and their next schedule off-day isn't until May 11. So Matheny thought it best to give his starting third baseman a breather. 

"That's emotionally draining, physically draining," Matheny said, per FoxSports.com. "Some of these other guys have been stepping up big and got to keep them sharp."

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson connected on two home runs during Wednesday's game against the Brewers, but it was not enough as the Dodgers fell 6-3.

Each of the home runs were solo shots off Brewers starter Wily Peralta. Pederson now has nine home runs on the season and is batting .272. The two home runs were his lone hits in four at-bats Wednesday.

Rockies manager Walt Weiss said Wednesday that center fielder Charlie Blackmon has "embraced the leadoff role and is really evolving, but he's put in the work to do that," MLB.com reports.

Blackmon, who studies video intensely, leads all NL leadoff hitters with five home runs.

"You see his goofy side once in a while, but there's a lot of intelligence behind that goofiness, and tremendous work ethic," Weiss said.

Blackmon has hit .316/.365/.579 with 14 RBI, 14 runs scored and two stolen bases in 95 at-bats coming into Wednesday's doubleheader.

Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton made things interesting Wednesday in Washington. His team appeared doomed to a blowout defeat, but he slammed a three-run homer in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to 7-5.

Alas, that was the final score and it was Stanton who blew a chance to play hero again. He came up with two on and one out in the ninth against closer Drew Storen and struck out on three swings-and-misses.

The homer was Stanton's seventh of the year - all in the last 19 games.

Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler has been dropped to fifth in the order for Wednesday's matchup with the Cardinals.

It's the third straight game in which Soler has been moved down in the order, as he saw his first action leading off Friday before resuming his familiar role in the second slot Saturday. After a day off, he batted cleanup in the team's matchup with a lefty Tuesday.

Soler had hit in one of the top four spots of the lineup in all of his starts this season before batting fifth Wednesday. The move down isn't due to production, as the right fielder is 6 for 17 over the last seven days.

The Cubs are underdogs (+109) against the Cardinals Wednesday.

Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper launched three home runs-- a career high -- in his first three at-bats, leading his club to a 7-5 victory over Miami on Wednesday afternoon. Ryan Zimmerman was the last Washington player to hit three in game on May 29, 2013 against the Orioles.

Harper uncorked a solo home run to left field in the second inning off Tom Koehler. Harper's second home run was a monster two-run shot that landed in the second deck in right field, giving his club a 4-2 advantage in the third inning. He tacked on another solo home run -- an upper-decker -- off Koehler in the fifth inning to give Washington a three-run lead. He grounded out, but plated a run in his fourth at-bat in the seventh, finishing 3 for 4 with three runs scored and five RBI.

Harper, 22, has six career multi-home run performances. He is the youngest player to hit three homers in a game since Joe Lahoud did so for the Red Sox on June 11, 1969, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Harper is hitting .265/.416/.561 with eight homers, 20 RBI and an MLB-best 26 walks in 28 games. He has 13 career home runs against the Marlins -- more than any other opponent he's faced.