MLB Player News

Second baseman Matt Carpenter was pretty much the entire offense for the Cardinals in a Wednesday loss to the Mets.

Carpenter set a tone that his teammates did not follow with a home run leading off the first inning. He doubled and scored in the ninth, but St. Louis fell short.

The big game was the first in a while for Carpenter, who was in a 2-for-22 slide heading into the game.

Mike Redmond indicated that he might have kept Giancarlo Stanton in a tighter game Wednesday despite a wrist contusion, but a four-run deficit motivated him to remove his slugger. Stanton had an unfriendly encounter with the outfield wall in the top of the first, though he showed no ill-effects when he slammed a home run in the bottom of the inning for the Marlins.

"I saw him kind of grimace after his first at-bat but then he hit the home run so I wasn't too concerned," Redmond told the Palm Beach Post. "As the game went along and it continued to get a little sore, at that point, being down 5-1, I just wanted to make sure we got him out of there. We need this guy for the long haul. He wanted to stay in but I'm thinking about tomorrow and the next day."

Stanton is all but set to play Thursday.

The removal of Marlins sizzling slugger Giancarlo Stanton from the game Wednesday with a wrist contusion appears to have been merely precautionary. He is expected to return to the lineup Thursday against the Mets, per the Miami Herald.

Stanton slugged a solo home run in the first inning of the loss to the Cubs. He has three homers in his last six games.

Indians manager Terry Francona told MLB Network Radio that outfielder Michael Brantley has a mild concussion but might be able to avoid a trip to the 7-day disabled list and return Saturday. Brantley took a shot to the head Monday while sliding into second base, then was scratched Tuesday due to head and neck soreness.

He's hitting .323 with 11 homers and 46 RBI in 266 at-bats.

Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton was removed in the seventh inning of the Wednesday afternoon game against the Cubs with a wrist contision likely sustained when he crashed against the wall in the first trying to snag a Chris Coghlan double.

Stanton, who didn't allow the wrist injury to bother him when he slugged a home run in the bottom of the first, is considered day-to-day.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley's absence from the lineup Tuesday was due to concussion-like symptoms, but manager Terry Francona told MLB.com he hopes it will end up being just a precautionary move.

"He's going to go over for further testing, get some imaging [done], things like that," Francona said. "You have a head injury and you play and something happens, you're talking about something pretty serious. We're going to err on the side of caution."

Brantley passed all preliminary concussion tests following Monday's game, but started to feel symptoms while warming up Tuesday. He was sent to a local hospital for testing, and is day-to-day at this point. 

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Tuesday that he has seen Carpenter fighting fatigue lately, MLB.com reports. Carpenter has started 69 of his team's first 70 games and played three innings in his only other time out of the starting lineup. The major-league leader in plate appearances, Carpenter has hit .283/.373/.370 with two home runs, 25 RBI and two stolen bases in 276 at-bats.

Dodgers infielder Justin Turner remained out of the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rockies.

Turner hasn't started since June 12 due to a calf injury, though he's been able to make a couple pinch-hit appearances during that stretch. He has hit .295/.346/.417 with three home runs, 19 RBI and two stolen bases in 139 at-bats.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley was initially announced as a starter Tuesday against the Angels, but was scratched from the lineup hours before first pitch due to head and neck soreness.

Brantley took a shot to the head Monday while sliding into second base, and is still dealing with the lingering effects.  He is at a local hospital undergoing testing, and is officially day to day at this point. 

Nationals manager Matt Williams said outfielder Bryce Harper (thumb) took batting practice Tuesday for the first time since undergoing surgery in late April, per The Washington Post. Williams reiterated July 1 as the best-case scenario for Harper's return.