MLB Player News

Belt is batting fifth in the order during Sunday's game against the Rockies, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt has spent the past month primarily hitting out of the three hole for the Giants, but he will find himself batting fifth for the first time this season Sunday. Manager Bruce Bochy hopes that the shift in the order will help jump-start Belt's ice-cold bat, as the 29-year-old is hitless in his previous 17 at-bats. Brandon Crawford will occupy the third spot in the order Sunday.

Vargas will start at first base and bat fifth Sunday against the Indians, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

With Robbie Grossman hitting the bench for a second straight game, Vargas will enter the lineup for the sixth time in eight contests. Grossman had seemingly emerged as manager Paul Molitor's preferred option at designated hitter earlier this month, but Vargas' uptick in at-bats of late suggests that may no longer be the case. Grossman hasn't helped his cause by going 0-for-12 over his last three starts, but Vargas has started to slump a bit too after bashing out four of the Twins' franchise-record 28 hits in Tuesday's blowout win over the Mariners. Since that contest, Vargas has gone 1-for-12 with five strikeouts.

Pederson will start in center field and lead off Sunday against the Reds, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Both of the Dodgers' primary leadoff options in recent games, Chris Taylor and Chase Utley, will receive days off in the series finale, so Pederson will jump four spots in the order to set the table for Los Angeles. Over 27 at-bats as the Dodgers' No. 1 hitter this season, Pederson has recorded seven hits and has scored five runs.

Cespedes is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Manager Terry Collins had previously announced that Cespedes would be getting Sunday off after starting three straight games from Thursday to Saturday. The timing is a bit unfortunate, as the star left fielder is coming off a monster four-hit game from Saturday's contest. Curtis Granderson will hold down left field in his absence, but Cespedes should be back in the lineup Monday against the Dodgers.

Cabrera went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's loss to the Tigers.

After going 22 games without a homer, Cabrera is starting to heat up. The veteran slugger has now swatted two out in his last three games. He's in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak --slashing .379/.419/.759 in 29 at-bats over that span -- and will look to keep swinging a hot bat as the Tigers wrap up their series with the Rays before heading out on an extended road trip.

Pederson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 10-2 win over Cincinnati.

The homer was Pederson's second in as many days, and he appears to have rediscovered the power stroke that evaded him through the first two injury-plagued months of the season. The Dodgers have two matchups against soft-tossing righties (Bronson Arroyo and Scott Feldman) on the docket, making the 25-year-old a strong short-term play with potential for more if he can keep things rolling.

Lewis landed on the 7-day DL with High-A Modesto with soreness in his surgically repaired right knee, Modesto Nuts broadcaster Keaton Gillogly reports.

He re-injured his knee while trying to make a play in the outfield on June 12 after making just four plate appearances this season. There is reportedly no structural damage, so he should be able to return at some point in the coming weeks.

Carpenter went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Friday's 11-2 win over the Orioles.

Carpenter has his average up to .250 following Friday's effort, which also extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The veteran infielder is sporting an impressive 26.1 percent line-drive rate and 47.8 percent hard-contact rate over his first 15 games of June, which has already led to 11 extra-base hits (seven doubles, four homers), three more than he compiled in all of May.

Belt is not in the lineup Saturday against the Rockies, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Belt has been rather ineffective at the dish recently, going hitless in each of his last four tilts. That, in combination with the left-handed Kyle Freeland toeing the rubber for the Rockies, likely led to Belt's rest day Saturday in favor of Buster Posey at first base. With the right-handed Tyler Chatwood scheduled to start Sunday, expect Belt to rejoin the lineup for the matinee series finale at hitter-friendly Coors Field.

Turner is not in the lineup for Saturday's contest against the Reds, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Turner has started six of the seven games since returning from a hamstring injury, so Saturday will likely serve as just a routine day off for him. Since his return, the 32-year-old third baseman has slashed .400/.500/.560 and has collected hits in all seven contests. He should rejoin the lineup Sunday, while Logan Forsythe will man the hot corner in his place Saturday.