MLB Player News

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen brought his season-opening power outage to an end Thursday, in an 11-2 win over the Brewers.

McCutchen's  homerless drought reached 15 games with the end of his last appearance, and he wasn't interested in letting it leak into a 16th game, as he took Yovani Gallardo deep in the bottom of the first for a 422-foot slam to center field. McCutchen drove in two runs on that swing, and added one more RBI on a fielder's choice later in the game, finishing 1 for 5 and extending his hitting streak to six games.

McCutchen has set the bar pretty high with his play in recent seasons, so his .262/.378/.410 line through 16 games is a disappointment so far. He has still driven in eight runs and score seven, with six extra-base hits in 61 at-bats. 

As expected, Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper has returned to the lineup for the Thursday game against St. Louis after missing one game with a quad ailment.

The quad muscle that prevented Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper from playing Wednesday should not keep him out Thursday against St. Louis, according to the Washington Post.

Harper has been dealing with tightness since Friday, but remained in the lineup. "He's been running a lot," Matt Williams said. "He's been doing a lot of things. Give him a day to calm it down a little bit."

Harper certainly hasn't been negatively affected at the plate. He owns an eight-game hitting streak during which he has 14 hits in 29 at-bats with five RBI. His power numbers have been slow to come around, however. He has just one home run in 50 at-bats this season.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was a late scratch from Wednesday's lineup, due to tightness in his left quad. This is an injury he has been fighting through over the last few days, and will likely just get some time off to let it heal. He is day to day moving forward.  

Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said Wednesday outfielder Darin Ruf (oblique) has begun baseball activities and pitcher Ethan Martin (shoulder) is throwing bullpens. Both could begin rehab assignments soon.

Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna went 4 for 5 with three runs and one RBI in his team's 11-2 win over the Nationals Tuesday.

Ozuna jumped out to a hot start this season, but Tuesday's four-hit performance was his first multihit effort since April 3. He has hit .327/.362/.473 with two home runs and five RBI in 55 at-bats.

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton turned in a big performance in Tuesday's 11-2 win over the Nationals, going 2 for 5 with a walk, a double, a home run and five RBI.

Stanton kicked off the scoring with a three-run home run off Washington starter Stephen Strasburg in the first inning and stayed strong throughout. He's hit .317/.368/.635 with five home runs, 21 RBI and two stolen bases in 63 at-bats.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper made it into the starting lineup Tuesday at Miami after leaving Monday's game due to tightness in his quadriceps. Harper carries a seven-game hitting streak into Tuesday, batting .520 (13 for 25) with one triple, one home run, three doubles and five RBI in that span.

Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna returned to the starting lineup Tuesday vs. Washington after sitting out Monday's game with a foot injury. After batting .467 (7 for 15) in his first four games, Ozuna is batting .200 (7 for 35) in his last nine games.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was removed from Monday's 9-2 win over the Marlins due to quad tightness, masnsports.com reports.

The injury is expected to be minor for Harper, who went 3 for 4 with two doubles and a triple in the win. He has hit .348/.412/.522 with one home run and five RBI in 46 at-bats.