MLB Player News

Belt (knee) ran the bases Thursday, Amy Gutierrez of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt is still on schedule to return from the disabled list early next week during San Francisco's three-game series with the Dodgers. He's been on the shelf since July 26 with a bone bruise on his knee, but it shouldn't be long until he's back in the starting nine, barring any setbacks.

Pederson is not in the lineup Thursday against the Rockies, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

As per usual, Pederson will head to the bench with a lefty (Tyler Anderson) getting the ball for the opposition. Enrique Hernandez will start in center field and hit sixth in his stead.

Harper (leg) will be available to pinch-hit off the bench during Thursday's game against Atlanta, Byron Kerr of MASN Sports reports.

Manager Dave Martinez said Harper's knee and shin area is "pretty swollen" but that an X-ray came back clean. It wouldn't be surprising to see Harper remain on the bench for Thursday's series finale, but he will likely be back in the starting nine Friday in Chicago when the Nationals face the Cubs in another afternoon matinee.

Harper was scratched from Thursday's lineup after getting hit by a pitch on his leg during Wednesday's contest.

Per Jamal Collier of MLB.com, Harper was a little sore following Wednesday's affair, though he did remain in the game after the incident. The outfielder should be considered day-to-day heading into Friday's matinee against the Cubs. In his absence, Michael Taylor was added to the lineup in center field.

Jimenez (illness) went 1-for-2 with a solo homer before Wednesday's game against Triple-A Syracuse was suspended due to inclement weather.

Jimenez, who hadn't played since Saturday due to an illness, made a splash in his first game back, swatting his ninth homer of the season for the Knights -- and his fourth in the last nine games. The 21-year-old phenom is now hitting a healthy .378 in 30 games since being promoted to Triple-A and is inching closer to earning a promotion to the majors.

Harper went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-3 loss to the Braves.

It was his third homer in the last seven games and 28th of the season, as Harper continues to turn around a disappointing campaign. He's hitting .339 (21-for-62) since the All-Star break with five home runs and 17 RBI in 18 games.

Stanton went 1-for-4 with a grand slam, a walk and a strikeout in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.

Stanton broke open the game with his sixth career grand slam, turning a tie game into a 6-2 Yankees lead in the eventual four-run win. The reigning NL MVP has gone deep in consecutive contests to give him 27 homers on the year, and he ranks fifth in the American League with 73 RBI.

Buxton (wrist) could return to action for Triple-A Rochester "sometime next week," according to big-league manager Paul Molitor, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

He hit in the batting cage Tuesday and will do so again Wednesday, as he continues to make progress with his rehab. With the Twins out of the playoff race, they will likely leave Buxton at Triple-A through the minor-league season in an effort to get him going at the plate before he joins the big-league club in September.

Ohtani is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Tigers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels haven't been strictly platooning Ohtani, but he'll sit Wednesday with the left-handed Blaine Hardy on the mound. Albert Pujols will be the designated hitter, with Jefry Marte playing first base.

Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in the Cardinals' 3-2 win over the Marlins on Tuesday.

The home run was Carpenter's 30th of the season, giving him sole possession of the National League lead. Given that Carpenter had only gone deep three times through May 20, his surge up the leaderboard has been nothing short of miraculous. In addition to bagging 27 more long balls since that date, Carpenter has also delivered a .327 average, 46 RBI and 60 runs in 69 games, making him a four-category stalwart.