MLB Player News

Choi went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Friday's 4-2 victory over the Astros.

Choi came through with a clutch base hit in the third inning, plating a pair of runs on a single to center. After struggling to find playing time at the big-league level in three previous organizations, the 27-year-old is expected to see plenty of opportunities in the designated hitter slot and at first base for Tampa Bay in 2019.

Belt is out of the lineup for Friday's game against San Deigo, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Belt took the collar on Opening Day, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. and will likely have to wait until Saturday to pick up his first hit of the 2019 campaign, barring a pinch-hit appearance. Buster Posey will slot in at first base, allowing for Erik Kratz to start behind the plate.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Arizona, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Dodgers will grant Chris Taylor the start in left field with left-hander Robbie Ray slated to pitch the second contest of the season for the Diamondbacks. Pederson launched two homers Opening Day but will take a seat Friday.

McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a solo homer, a walk and a second run scored in Thursday's victory over the Braves.

McCutchen couldn't have started his Phillies career any better, launching a leadoff homer off Julio Teheran in the home side's first at-bat of the season. He later walked to lead off the seventh inning and was eventually driven in by Rhys Hoskins' grand slam. Locked into the leadoff spot with quality hitters behind him in a hitter-friendly park, McCutchen could be in line for a late-career renaissance and is a good bet to score plenty of runs.

Carpenter (back) went 0-for-4 in a season-opening loss to the Brewers on Thursday.

Carpenter was true to his word about being ready to roll for Opening Day after a back injury limited him to 23 at-bats in Grapefruit League play. The veteran was back in his customary leadoff spot, one in which he slashed .264/.380/.539 with 60 extra-base hits (30 doubles, 30 home runs) and 60 RBI last season over 436 at-bats. Carpenter will look to avoid the type of slump that sunk his first full month of the season in 2018 (.145 average in April), which should be a bit easier to accomplish with Paul Goldschmidt now hitting behind him in the No. 2 hole.

Belt batted second and went 0-for-4 in Thursday's 2-0 loss to San Diego.

Belt's Opening Day stat line was forgettable, but his placement second in the order against a southpaw was notable. The 30-year-old figures to bat in the heart of the order against righties, but the club lacks proven right-handed threats against lefties, opening the door for Belt to move up the order instead of down against same-handed pitchers. The move -- combined with Belt's excellent on-base skills -- should boost his run production when he is not being asked to drive in runs against right-handed starters.

Jimenez saw just four fastballs over the 17 pitches in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the the Royals, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports. He went 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to earn his first RBI.

Jimenez struck out in his first two at-bats and was thrown a lot of offspeed stuff. "We saw it a little bit early in camp when he was pressing a little bit, some of the way pitchers were attacking him was a little bit different from what he had seen before," said general manager Rick Hahn. "He's going to have to make some adjustments along the way. If he does get off to a hot start, they are going to quickly adjust to him and then the game of cat and mouse is going to be on." Jimenez will be the everyday left fielder and be given plenty of at-bats to make those adjustments Hahn refers to.

Pederson went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs and a double to help the Dodgers to a 12-5 romp over the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

On an explosive Opening Day for the Dodgers, Pederson starred hitting atop the lineup, cranking two of his team's eight home runs on the afternoon. He'll make a strong case to keep garnering at-bats in the leadoff role if he can parlay the Opening Day fireworks into a sustained hot streak, but his .170 batting average over 53 at-bats against left-handed pitching last year likely means Pederson will frequently find himself sitting against southpaws.

Brantley went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Rays.

Brantley went yard in the fourth inning, tagging Blake Snell for his first home run as an Astro. He also reached base in the sixth inning on a single, but was ultimately caught stealing second base. Notably, Brantley served as the cleanup hitter even with a southpaw on the mound. If he remains in that role throughout the season, he should be in a strong position to drive in runs.

Ohtani (elbow) took batting practice on the field Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The is reports.

This is an encouraging step for Ohtani, who had been limited to hitting in the cage prior to Thursday's session. The 24-year-old will continue to ramp things up over the next month as he looks to return at some point in May.