MLB Player News

Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson went 1 for 4 at the plate in Los Angeles' 4-3 loss to the Brewers on Monday. Pederson did his damage in the first inning, crushing a lead off home run off of Kyle Lohse, his seventh of the season.

Pederson moved his average to .270 with 16 RBI in 74 at-bats.

Although he exited Sunday's game with light headness, third basman Matt Carpenter is in the Cardinals' starting lineup on Monday, batting second.

Kolten Wong received a rest and was not in Sunday's lineup for the Cards but returns Monday, playing second base and batting seventh.

Struggling catcher Yadier Molina, who's been dealing with knee soreness, will not start Monday as Tony Cruz gets the nod at catcher and will hit eighth.

Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler was given the day off on Monday against the Cardinals. Soler had started each of the Cubs' first 23 games of the season, and with just seven hits in his last 34 at-bats, he seemed due for a rest, though he is riding a modest three-game hitting streak.

Manager Joe Maddon said that while Monday's break was just to give the right fielder a breather, the team will monitor him as the weather heats up, ESPN reports. Soler has previously dealt with leg issues.

"Dehydration is the thing I'm always concerned with," Maddon said. "The hotter it gets the more and more I'm worried about that kind of a thing. We have to be really proactive the next couple of weeks making sure we don't run anyone into the ground."

Chris Denorfia replaced Soler in right field, while Chris Coghlan moved up to the second spot in manager Joe Maddon's batting order. 

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen continued to struggle in Sunday's extra-inning loss to the Cardinals. The former MVP went 1 for 7 on the afternoon, dropping his season batting average to a paltry .193. He has just seven hits over his last 38 at-bats.

The slow start through the first month of the season is rather uncharacteristic for McCutchen, who owns a lifetime .260 batting average in March/April. He has been bothered by a knee injury since spring training, though he has started all but two games for the Pirates this season.

Rockies leadoff hitter Charlie Blackmon delivered two solo home runs on Sunday in a loss to the Padres.

The outfielder also homered on Saturday and now has five for the season.

"We had good, competitive at-bats," Blackmon said. "Results-wise, we did well against him [Shields] -- we scored quite a few runs, Nolan had some good at-bats to drive in three off of him. We came to play and put it on him a little bit with the sticks, more than we were expecting."

His 3 for 5 day raised his average to .316.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter went 1 for 3 at the plate in St. Louis' 3-2 win over the Pirates in 14 innings on Sunday.

Carpenter did his damage in the fourth inning when he took a Vance Worley pitch out of the park for a solo shot, his fourth of the season. Carpenter was removed larter on after dealing with "light headness." 

Carpenter, who also struck out twice, boosted his average to .365 with 16 RBI in 96 at-bats this season. 

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter left Sunday's game against the Pirates with light headness, the team has announced.

Carpenter was 1 for 3 with a home run before exiting.

Kolten Wong subsequently entered the game at second base and Peter Kozma, who started at second, moved over to third.

Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler and right fielder Jorge Soler have assumed their regular spots in the batting order Sunday, with Fowler leading off and Soler following him in the second slot.

Manager Joe Maddon bumped Soler to the leadoff role Saturday, wanting to send a message that the right fielder was "out there to score runs." He went 1 for 3 with a walk in the game and is now 3 for 7 in his team's series against the Brewers. Fowler is back in the leadoff spot after going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts as the No. 2 hitter Saturday.

The Cubs are heavy favorites (-160) against the Brewers Sunday.

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner went 2 for 3 at the plate in Los Angeles' 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks on Saturday.

Turner got things going early when he ripped a solo home run in the first inning off of Jeremy Hellickson, his third of the season. Turner also doubled and scored three runs in the contest.

Turner is now hitting .300 with six RBI in 40 at-bats this season.

Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson went 1 for 5 at the plate in Los Angeles' 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks on Saturday. 

Pederson got things going in the seventh when he ripped the first pitch he saw from Evan Marshall over the center field wall, his fourth consecutive game with an at-bat in which he's hit a home run, becoming the first Dodger to accomplish that feat since Bill Sudakis in 1969, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

"Obviously, huge for us," manager Don Mattingly said after the game, per MLB.com. "It shows how strong Joc is, to go the opposite way, there's a lot there. I do think he's making adjustments."

Pederson is now hitting .292 with six home runs and 15 RBI in 65 at-bats.