MLB Player News

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton will start in his first career MLB game in Sunday's game against the Rangers. 

Buxton is a highly regarded player that is the latest youngster to get the call. He received the nod on Saturday and the Twins are wasting no time inserting him into their plans. He's slated to hit ninth in the lineup. 

Buxton was hitting .283 with six homers with Double-A Chattanooga this year. 

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is not in the lineup for Sunday's series-finale against the Brewers. 

This wasn't expected to happen after Harper took a 95 mph fastball to his knee late in Saturday's game. The hit by pitch came after a superb performance that saw Harper reach base five times. 

"It hurts," Harper told The Washington Post on Saturday. "Really bad. … Squared me up pretty well. 95 to the knee don't feel very good. We'll see what happens (Sunday) and see if it feels good."

Filling in for Harper in right field will be Clint Robinson. He will be reevaluated Monday. 

"It was good that we were able to get him a day off [Sunday] and get some treatment on it," manager Matt Williams said, per The Washington Post.

The Phillies announced that they have recalled outfielder Domonic Brown from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, who will be available for Sunday afternoon's game against the Pirates. 

The corresponding move was to swap him out with outfielder Darin Ruf, who will head down to Lehigh Valley. 

Brown began the year with an Achilles injury and was demoted to Triple-A following the completion of his rehab. With Lehigh Valley, Brown hit .257/.307/.352 with two home runs and 26. 

He'll start in right field with the Phillies. 

Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez had two hits, including his 11th home run of the season, in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Indians. Martinez went 2 for 4 with the home run, a double, two RBI, a walk and a run scored.

The home run was a solo shot in the eighth inning to bring the Tigers to within a run, but it wasn't enough as the Indians were able to hold on for the victory.

This was Martinez's second multi-hit performance this month, as he owns a .237 batting average through 10 games in June.

Outfielder Andrew McCutchen drove in two runs without hitting the ball out of the infield as the Pirates picked up a 4-1 victory over the Phillies on Saturday. 

McCutchen got the Bucs on the board in the first inning with an RBI fielder's choice to third and drove in the team's final run in the second with an infield single. 

McCutchen has been hitting well in June, with nine RBIs in the month so far, a big reason why the Pirates have made a move in the standings. 

The Phillies have optioned outfielder/first baseman Darin Ruf to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following Saturday's game, according to MLB.com.

Ruf had been getting intermittent playing time lately for the Phillies, but he had been swinging the bat well when he got the chance. Ruf has six hits in 14 at-bats this month, including the 0-for-1 effort on Saturday.

"You never know with things like this," Ruf said, per MLB.com. "Hopefully I can go down and swing the bat well."

Overall this season, Ruf is batting .235 with three home runs.

"It is what it is," Ruf said. "Everyday at-bats don't really matter if I'm just going to come up and resume the same role."

His demotion opens up a roster spot for outfielder Domonic Brown, who will be recalled from Triple-A on Sunday.

Outfielder Bryce Harper had a big day at the plate Saturday in the Nationals' 7-2 victory over the Brewers, but the bigger concern was his knee after he was hit in the ninth inning with a fastball right near the quad muscle.

"It hurts," Harper told The Washington Post. "Really bad. … Squared me up pretty well. 95 to the knee don't feel very good. We'll see what happens tomorrow and see if it feels good."

Manager Matt Williams removed Harper immediately after the injury, and the outfielder said that if his knee didn't improve, he would not play Sunday. He has started all but one game this sason for the Nats. 

Prior to getting hit, Harper was 3-for-3 with a walk and drove in two runs to help Washington end a two-game skid. The Nationals slugger is now hitting .343 with 51 RBIs on the season. 

It was the Giancarlo Stanton show for the Marlins on Saturday, as the slugging right fielder hammered his MLB-leading 23rd home run and drove in all four runs in the team's 4-1 victory over the Rockies. 

In the first inning, Stanton crushed a double to the deepest part of the stadium to give Miami a 2-0 advantage and in the sixth, closed out the scoring with a 393-foot, two-run homer. Stanton now has seven home runs in his last 10 games. 

The slugger now has a league-leading 59 RBIs and is on pace for a 59 homer, 152 RBI season. 

The Twins announced Saturday they are promoting outfielder Byron Buxton to the big league club Sunday, moving MLB's current No. 1 prospect to the majors for the first time. 

Buxton, 21, will be recalled from Double-A Chattanooga in time for the Twins' series finale at Texas. The No. 2 overall pick in 2012, Buxton has bounced back in a big way from injuries that slowed him in 2014. He has a Southern League-leading 12 triples and was hitting .283 at Double-A. 

Buxton was the minors' consensus player of the year in 2013, but dealt with wrist, concussion and finger injuries that limited him to 124 at-bats in 2014. 

"I feel pretty good," Buxton said, per MLB.com. "I've been taking better at-bats. I've been laying off pitches early in the year I was swinging at. It's put me in position to drive the ball into the gaps more."

The Twins have not received much production from their center fielders, and the hope is that Buxton, who has an OPS of .866 and 20 stolen bases, can provide a spark in their lineup. 

Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon will get a rest on Saturday. Blackmon is not in the starting lineup, snapping a string of 14 straight starts in center. 

Brandon Barnes replaces Blackmon in center. It's his second start there and first since May 29. He'll bat eighth in the lineup.