MLB Player News

Martinez went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Rockies.

The power binge continues for Martinez, who now has five homers in his last seven games. He's gone 9-for-28 and walked six times in that span, giving him a slash line of .321/.399/.541 through 41 games.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Padres, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Pederson will retreat to the bench for Wednesday's series finale with left-hander Matt Strahm starting for the opposition. In his place, Chris Taylor is starting in left field and hitting sixth.

Cabrera (knee) is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Astros, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Cabrera exited Tuesday's game with some knee soreness, and while the issue isn't thought to be anything overly serious, it will force the veteran slugger to miss at least one game. Niko Goodrum is starting at first base in his absence, with Brandon Dixon getting the nod at DH. Cabrera should be considered day-to-day.

Harper is in the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers despite a sore knee.

Harper said following Tuesday's game that he had a sore left knee after making a pair of sliding catches. The injury evidently isn't serious enough for him to miss any starts, so he'll keep his streak of starting every single game for the Phillies this season.

Belt is dealing with renewed discomfort in his knee, Amy Gutierrez of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

This explains why Belt is out of the lineup against a right-hander Wednesday. The veteran first baseman recently returned from a two-game absence, and with Thursday's off day, the Giants wanted to play it safe and give him a couple of days off to get right. Pablo Sandoval is starting at first base and hitting cleanup in his place.

Soler went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two RBI and a run Tuesday in the Royals' 11-5 win over the Rangers.

Soler and leadoff man Whit Merrifield paced the Royals with three hits apiece as they chased Texas starter Shelby Miller from the game in the second inning. The two doubles give Soler 24 extra-base hits on the campaign, putting him in a tie for 11th place among all MLB hitters.

Belt is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt rejoined the lineup Tuesday after missing a pair of contests due to a knee injury, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in his first game back. There has been no news suggesting the first baseman suffered a setback Tuesday, so it appears the Giants are simply easing him back into action. Pablo Sandoval is starting at first and hitting cleanup in place of Belt.

Carpenter, who went 1-for-5 with an RBI double, a walk and a run in a win over the Braves on Tuesday, will remain in the leadoff spot for the time being despite his season-long struggles, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports. "He's got the right approach for it," manager Mike Shildt said. "He's an All-Star-caliber player, an MVP-caliber player. He understands what that looks like. We all want to see the results, including him, [be] more consistent."

Carpenter's season line remains a middling .201/.319/.338 through 182 plate appearances, but the Cardinals' skipper appears set to stick with the veteran at the top of the order for the time being. While Carpenter has been a notoriously slow starter in several seasons during his career and most recently dug himself out of a similar hole in 2018, he has experienced some regression in key areas thus far this season. Langosch notes the infielder's barrel rate is down from last year's 13.7 percent to 8.3 percent, while his hard-contact rate is down a full 10 percentage points to 34.7 percent.

Ohtani (elbow) extended his throwing distance to 115 feet prior to Wednesday's game against the Twins, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Just as the Angels suggested would be the case when he was activated from the 10-day injured list last week, Ohtani's throwing program won't impact his availability to make regular starts at designated hitter. He'll be included in the lineup as the No. 3 hitter Wednesday after collecting five hits between the first two games of the series. Ohtani should continue to gradually stretch out his throwing distance off flat ground before advancing to mound work later in the summer.

Jimenez (ankle) went 1-for-4 with a run scored for Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.

Jimenez served as the designated hitter in the first game of his rehab assignment for the Knights. The White Sox will keep him down on the farm for the rest of the week, and have Jimenez get reps in the outfield before activating him off the IL.