MLB Player News

Ozuna went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBI in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Mets.

He'll be retelling the story behind this one for a long time, as Ozuna connected on a 100mph-fastball from Noah Syndergaard on his roundtripper, his 11th on the season. The 24-year-old had also gone hitless over his last four games, so the homer was certainly notable in more ways than one. Despite the recent struggles, he's slashing .327/.377/.579 over 202 at-bats, while already surpassing his 2015 homer total.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus expects Cabrera (back) to play Saturday, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

He'll check on Cabrera prior to Saturday's contest to be sure, but it sounds like the early exit from Friday's game is due to a relatively minor ailment.

Cabrera left Friday's game with lower back tightness and is considered day-to-day.

He finished Friday's game going for 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI prior to his departure. Andrew Romine took over at first base, and no further details regarding the extent of Cabrera's injury are immediately available.

McCutchen (thumb) is in the lineup Friday and hitting second against the Angels.

He aggravated a pre-existing thumb injury in Thursday's game, but will attempt to play through any lingering discomfort. McCutchen probably isn't 100 percent healthy, so that should be noted when contemplating deploying him in daily leagues, but with Jered Weaver and his 5.40 ERA on the mound for the Angels, it's an appealing matchup nonetheless.

Miller, who was hitting .174 on May 4, has now raised his average 76 points since that date following a 2-for-4 effort against the Twins on Thursday.

The offseason acquisition from the Mariners had been mired in perhaps the worst slump of his professional career to open his Rays tenure. Miller's batting average didn't even eclipse .100 until his 10th game of the season, and it took a 4-for-5 performance against the Angels on May 6 for him to finally cross the Mendoza Line. The 26-year-old slashed .291/.351/.535 overall in May, and has kicked off the new month with a .333 (3-for-9) average over the first two games.

Harper (knee) is back in the lineup for Friday's game against the Reds.

After missing two consecutive games due to a knee contusion, Harper will rejoin the Nationals' lineup in time for their series opener at Great American Ball Park. He'll face left-hander Brandon Finnegan in his return. Harper has struggled of late and he's struggled against lefties all season by his standards, batting .225 with a .808 OPS in 40 at-bats against southpaws.

Soler is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Soler went 2-for-3 with two runs in Thursday's game and started 11 of the last 14 games in left field, but manager Joe Maddon decided to hold him out Friday with Kris Bryant moving to the outfield to make room for Tommy La Stella at third base.

McCutchen aggravated a pre-existing thumb injury in Thursday's game against the Marlins, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune reports.

Fortunately, McCutchen told MLB.com's Adam Berry that he didn't consider the issue to be one that would require a stint on the disabled list. However, thumb injuries can obviously affect a player's ability to grip the bat, so McCutchen may have to battle through more discomfort until the soreness eventually subsides. He figures to be back in the lineup Friday, but if Clint Hurdle opts to give the star outfield the day off, Starling Marte could slide over to center while Matt Joyce takes over in left.

Belt went 2-for-3 with a walk and two doubles in Thursday's win against the Braves.

Belt pushed his average back above .300 for the first time since May 18. He's had a great start to the season in nearly every facet of the game. The first baseman's plate discipline has been elite and Belt's contact rate is at a career high (80 percent). His strike out rate has improved to a career-best 16.1 percent, too.

Stanton went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI, two walks and a strikeout against Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Stanton has been a huge fantasy disappointment this season, but the fact that he's hitting, getting on base and producing runs could indicate he might be leaving his slump behind. His average is still a paltry .213, but he's hit safely in four of the past five games. All the signs indicate he's on the right track.