MLB Player News

Martinez went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts and a stolen base in a 6-5 loss to the Yankees on Friday.

Martinez had a night to forget at the plate, striking out four times in one game for the second time this season. The 33-year-old marginally helped his case by unexpectedly stealing third in extra innings but otherwise was lifeless offensively. With Friday's effort, Martinez's slash line has dipped to .199/.285/.358 as he has struggled all year to manufacture runs.

Ohtani isn't in Friday's lineup against the Rangers.

Ohtani will sit for a sixth consecutive game with left-hander Wes Benjamin serving as the primary pitcher Friday. Albert Pujols will take over as the designated hitter once again.

Buxton will lead off for the first time since 2016 Friday against the Cubs, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Buxton had exclusively hit in the bottom four spots in the order so far this season. He certainly has the speed of a traditional leadoff man, though his .290 career on-base percentage (and his .272 mark this season) make him an odd fit for the role. The move up the order makes some sense given his recent performance, however, as he's hitting .349/.349/.884 over his last 13 games.

Turner is not in the lineup Friday against the Rockies, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Turner started three straight games as the designated hitter after returning from the injured list Tuesday. A.J. Pollock (hamstring) fills that role Friday, with Edwin Rios starting at third base.

Vogelbach will sit against lefty Danny Duffy and the Royals on Friday.

Vogelbach has been strictly platooned since joining the Brewers in early September. He's looked quite good in his first 10 games for his new team, hitting .406/.472/.563, a stark contrast from the .088/.246/.211 line his managed in his first 20 games of the season for the Mariners and Blue Jays. Avisail will rest his legs as the designated hitter in this one, with Tyrone Taylor starting in center.

Stanton is instituting "wholesale changes" to his pregame and midgame routines in an effort to avoid injury, Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media reports.

Stanton was sidelined by a right calf strain during spring training and recently missed over a month of the regular season due to a strained left hamstring. The ability to stay on the field has hampered Stanton's tenure with the Yankees -- he played in only 18 games last season due to injuries to his biceps and knee. While the slugger was hesitant to offer specifics about the changes he has instituted to his routine, he did offer some insight about his approach. "Pregame, in-game all needs adjustments and I will have those," he said. "I've had those. We've got a new warmup, a new midgame routine. If certain things happen in the game, and I'm DH-ing and I don't run the bases for two at-bats, that's an hour and a half of no movement. So you've got to do more in between at-bats and stuff like that, which is obvious and what has been done but you've got to switch it up."

Soler (oblique) looked good after taking live at-bats Thursday and will hit again Friday, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Soler has already served the required 10 days on the injured list with a right oblique strain. While he's not quite ready to return, it does appear that he's still on track to play at least a few games in the final week of the season.

Stanton went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and two RBI in Thursday's 10-7 win over the Blue Jays.

The homer was only his fourth of the season and his first since Aug. 8, although Stanton spent most of the time in between on the injured list. The 30-year-old is slashing .320/.460/.640 through only 16 games this season, but if he stays healthy he's capable of powering the Yankees into the postseason.

Harper went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs and two walks in a loss to the Mets on Thursday.

Harper did his part to get Philadelphia off to a fast start, launching a pair of massive home runs totaling 878 combined feet off Mets starter Seth Lugo in the first two innings. New York was more careful with the slugger going forward, walking him twice over his subsequent three plate appearances. Harper has racked up 10 homers and 24 RBI in his second season with the Phillies.

Buxton went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the White Sox.

Buxton left the yard in the second and fifth innings, but it wasn't enough offense to lift his team to victory. The center fielder has put together a modest four-game hitting streak, smacking four home runs to go with five RBI over that stretch. He'll look to stay hot at the dish in Friday's series opener at Wrigley Field.