MLB Player News

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson smacked his 11th home run of the season to propel the Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the Padres on Friday.

With the game tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Pederson hit a solo shot off Joaquin Benoit. He finished the game 2 for 4. Pederson is 8 for 40 with two home runs over his last 10 games.

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez smacked a three-run home run to lift the Tigers to a 6-2 win over the Astros on Friday.

The home run came off Collin McHugh in the third inning. It was his ninth home run of the season. Martinez finished the game 2 for 3 with three RBI. Over his last 13 games, Martinez is 18 for 47 with three home runs and six RBI.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper smacked his 16th home run of the season during Friday's 2-1 win over the Phillies.

"See it and hit," Harper said, per MLB.com. "Plain and simple. Just trying to see and hit the ball, and I wasn't really thinking too much. He'd get 1-2 and throw a heater over. He was a little sneaky in the first three at-bats for those three guys. I was just guessing heater, and I guessed right and connected."

The solo home run came in the second inning off pitcher Sean O'Sullivan. The home run was Harper's lone hit in two at-bats during the game. He walked and struck out once during the contest.

Over his last 14 games, Harper is 24 for 46 with 11 home runs and 24 RBI. During that time, he has raised his average from .265 to .336.

Tigers left fielder Yoenis Cespedes reached base in all five plate-appearances in Thursday's win over the Astros. He went 3 for 3 with a double, walked twice and scored twice in the victory. That makes back-to-back three-hit games for the first-year Tiger, and four such performances in his last seven games. 

In fact, Cespedes has hit safely in nine of his last 12 games, and all nine games have been multi-hit performances. 

He also stole a bag for the second consecutive game, giving him threesteals on the season, all coming in the past week. 

Cespedes has had a rather interesting start to his tenure in Detroit. He hasn't hit for much power, with just five home runs on the year. But his 15 doubles are tops in the American League and he has an even .300 batting average entering play on Friday, despite his career .266 mark.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt was hit by a pitch during Thursday's 4-0 win over the Dodgers, but Belt said he was fine after the game, reports CSN Bay Area.

Belt was hit around his wrist by Clayton Kershaw, but there was no damage to the wrist. Belt went 0 for 3 with one strike out during the contest.

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera went 2 for 4 with an RBI in Thursday's walk-off win against the Astros. The RBI was his 31st and the 1400th of his career. His run-scoring single in the fifth gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead at the time.

Cabrera is the fifth-youngest player ever to reach 1400 RBIs. He joins Andres Galarraga as the only Venezuelan-born players to reach that plateau. 

He also extended his current hitting streak to nine games on Thursday. He has 14 hits in 35 at-bats during the streak to go along with four home runs and 10 RBI.

His 31 RBIs this season rank third in the American League. 

Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna went 2 for 5 with one RBI, one strikeout and two runs during a 7-6 loss Thursday vs. Arizona. Ozuna had an RBI single off Randall Delgado in the sixth inning.

Ozuna had his sixth multihit game in May. He is batting .276 (21 for 76) with three home runs, four doubles, eight RBI, nine runs, six walks and 14 strikeouts in 19 May games.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is back in the starting lineup for Thursday's matchup with the Dodgers. But with Clayton Kershaw on the mound for Los Angeles, Belt will hit in the seventh spot in the lineup. It's the first time he's batted lower than sixth all season.

Belt has just three hits in 32 career at-bats against Kershaw, which is likely the reason for the move down the batting order. 

Belt has been hot at the plate, batting .381 with three home runs and eight RBI over his last 10 games. 

Phillies outfielder Ben Revere is getting just his second day off this month, as he is being held out of the starting lineup for Thursday's series finale against the Rockies. Revere has been hitting fairly well lately, batting .268 with three RBI and three stolen bases over his last 10 games.

Darin Ruf will handle left field and bat third, while shortstop Freddy Galvis will hit lead-off for the first time this year. 

Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez is serving as a designated hitter Thursday afternoon against the Astros, with Tyler Collins receiving a day off. Collins served as a DH for the previous two games since Victor Martinez was placed on the disabled list.

Rajai Davis is in right field batting seventh, and Anthony Gose is in center and at the leadoff spot.

Detroit is favored (-160) at home against Houston, per VegasInsider.com.