MLB Player News

The Cardinals' Matt Carpenter, who was hit in the throat by a ball off the bat of Ryan Howard Thursday night, was in the starting lineup Friday against the Phillies. 

"It shocked him a bit, he was wondering how it was going to feel himself," manager Mike Matheny told MLB.com. "He came in early, and they ran him through a battery of tests and everything came out clear."

Carpenter went 0 for 2 with a walk in the the rain-shortened 8-2 loss, dropping his average to .267. 

Athletics manager Bob Melvin said he isn't sure when outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (hand) will be ready to come off the 15-day disabled list, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. Melvin said Cespedes is still unable to swing a bat due to the strained muscle in his left hand.

Cespedes, who has been doing some running and throwing drills over the past few days, is eligible to be activated off the DL on April 28. 

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton was back in the lineup Thursday against the Reds, after missing nearly a week of action due to a shoulder injury.

Stanton was in his usual third spot in the batting order and out in right field. He went 1 for 3 with a walk while striking out twice. He also looked uncomfortable in the field, bobbling the ball twice in the outfield to give him three errors this season. The Marlins lost 11-1.

Stanton has found few opportunities to succeed, as opposing pitchers have walked him nine times in 10 games. He is batting just .182 with 14 strikeouts in 33 at-bats, and he has yet to hit his first home run. 

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley has been unable to get his bat going through the first two-plus weeks of the season.

Brantley went 1 for 4 out of the leadoff spot Thursday in a 6-3 loss to the Red Sox. Brantley's lone hit was a single, a recurring theme for him, as he has just one extra-base hit in 46 at bats.

Brantley is batting .261 with just one double. He has driven in two runs and scored five more, while walking five times and striking out eight. He has a solid .358 on-base percentage, but his on-base plus slugging is a subpar .641. Brantley is coming of a .750 OPS last season, with a career-high 47 extra-base hits. 

As expected, Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton returned to the starting lineup Thursday at Cincinnati after missing six starts with a shoulder injury. Stanton enters play Thursday with a .167 average and hasn't hit a home run through his first nine games.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy dropped first baseman Brandon Belt to the seventh spot in the lineup Thursday against the Brewers. Bochy said he made the move because other players, like Brandon Crawford, were hitting better and he hopes this move will take some pressure off the struggling Belt.

Bochy added he might keep Belt low in the lineup for a while. Belt is off to a slow start after a torrid spring, batting .180 (9 for 50) with no home runs and four RBI in 13 games.

Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper picked up a double and three singles in five at-bats in his return to the lineup Wednesday. Harper missed Tuesday's action with flu-like symptoms, and appeared to still be affected by the illness in the game despite the big offensive day.

Harper boosted his season average to .364 with the four-hit game.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen recorded his third multi-hit performance in the last five games on Wednesday night against the Cardinals. He went 2 for 4 with a pair of runs scored in a 5-0 win.

McCutchen singled for both of his hits and is batting .275 (14 for 51) with two homers, 11 RBI and five stolen bases.

Cubs prospect Jorge Soler's five-game suspension for a bat-wielding incident ends Thursday and he is expected to be back in the lineup at High-A Daytona, MLB.com reports. Soler was hitting .423 with two home runs in six games before the suspension.

Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper is in the team's starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlinsa after missing Tuesday's action with flu-like symptoms.

Harper returns to a .320/.382/.640 line in 55 plate appearances with five home runs and one steal this season.