MLB Player News

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper returned to action after a two-game absence on Monday in San Francisco. The Nationals have Harper batting third and starting in right field. 

Harper was dealing with a bruised left knee. He enters the game Monday batting .171 (6 for 35) with two home runs and four RBI in 12 May contests.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes homered for the eighth time this season and second time in six games Sunday against the Royals. He also had his first multi-hit game in 14 starts.

Cespedes entered Sunday in a 7-for-49 slump in his last 13 games. He did have three home runs and five RBI in that span.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera had his second career three-home run game Sunday night against the Rangers.

Cabrera had a three-run home run in the third, and solo shots in the fifth and eighth innings. He became the 23rd player in major-league history to finish 4 for 4 with three home runs, five RBI and four runs scored. But he became the first player to do it in a loss as the Tigers fell to the Rangers 11-8.

Cabrera hit .304 with eight homers and 34 RBI through 42 games during his triple crown season in 2012. He is hitting .387 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI through 42 games this season.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen told The Pittsburgh Tribune that he injured his knee sliding into home a few days ago.

McCutchen, who missed Sunday's game against the Astros, has no structural damage on his knee. He is hitting .281 with six homers and is listed as day-to-day.

"I just felt a little uncomfortable, and wanted to make sure everything was OK," McCutchen told MLB.com.

Rookie outfielder Marcell Ozuna hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the sixth inning for the Marlins, which turned out to be the game-winning hit in a 2-1 victory Sunday against the Diamondbacks. Ozuna has managed two multi-RBI game through 18 appearances, which account for five of his eight RBI.

Ozuna has hit safely in five straight games, but he's batting just .278 (5 for 18) with one triple and three RBI in that span.

"That kid, the pressure of any situation doesn’t bother him," manager Mike Redmond said, per the Sun-Sentinel. "He’s learned so much up here. Early in the game he was really aggressive, swinging early in the count. [Hitting coach] Tino [Martinez] and myself talked to him about trying to work counts and get a little bit deeper into counts and try and get a little bit better pitch to hit. That was a great at-bat. He got a good pitch up in the zone and made him pay."

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley knocked in four runs as part of a 2 for 4 game in Sunday's win over Seattle.

Brantley finished with two runs scored and his second home run in the process. Brantley continues to be a force in Cleveland's revamped lineup, as his batting line is at a robust .301/.357/.392.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley, batting third, singled home Michael Bourn in the first and added a three-run homer in the second, all off Mariners starter Felix Hernandez Sunday.

Brantley, batting .301, went 2 for 4 and scored twice. He has 19 RBI and two homers over 153 at-bats. 

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper missed a second-straight game Sunday against the Padres because of a bruised left knee. Harper is batting .171 (6 for 35) with two home runs and four RBI in 12 May games.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen has been scratched from Sunday's lineup with knee pain, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The cause and extent of the injury are both unclear. McCutchen played the entirety of Pittsburgh's 11-inning loss to Houston on Saturday and has played in 42 of 43 games this season.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter knocked in two runs in a loss Saturday against Milwaukee.

Both RBI came on his only hit in four at-bats, a sixth-inning single. He also walked and is hitting .303/.386/.452.