MLB Player News

Ozuna went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run against Tampa Bay in Saturday's 9-2 victory.

Ozuna hit one of three Atlanta homers in the fifth inning, cracking a two-run shot to center field. The long ball was Ozuna's 20th of the campaign, third-most in the majors. He's reached 20 homers in a season eight times in his career, including in each of the past three campaigns.

The Nationals signed Ramirez to a minor-league contract Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ramirez was released by the Rays earlier this week after hitting just .268/.284/.305 in 48 games. The 29-year-old is a career .287/.325/.408 hitter and has slashed .322/.357/.445 against left-handed pitching. Ramirez will report to Triple-A Rochester for now but is a good bet to be added to the Nationals' roster sooner rather than later, especially with Joey Gallo (hamstring) expected to miss significant time.

Calhoun is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's contest against the Giants, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Calhoun will remain on the bench for a third game in a row. Taylor Ward will make another start at designated hitter after recently battling a back issue, while Kevin Pillar enters the lineup in left field and bats fourth versus San Francisco.

Langford went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and an RBI in Friday's 3-2 loss to Seattle.

Langford had a run-producing single in the first inning then put himself in scoring position with a steal. It was his third steal in the last two games and fourth over the last five contests. Since returning from a hamstring injury in late May, Langford is batting .306/.346/.429 with four extra-base hits, nine RBI, four steals and four runs scored over 13 games.

Garver went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and two walks in Friday's 3-2 win over the Rangers.

Garver is up to eight homers this season, and he's hit three of them over his last eight games. In that stretch, he's batting .250 (6-for-24) with eight RBI and two doubles. It's encouraging to see more power out of the 33-year-old -- he went 18 games without a homer between May 13 and June 5. Garver is slashing a poor .176/.300/.352 across 230 plate appearances this season, though he's added 25 RBI, 23 runs scored and 10 doubles while seeing fairly steady playing time at designated hitter.

Pederson went 2-for-4 with a homer, a steal, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 7-1 win over the White Sox.

Pederson collected his fourth steal of the season, marking his highest total since 2017 -- his career high is six, set in 2016. The veteran lefty bat flashed his power too, tattooing a 425-foot solo homer off Michael Soroka in the seventh for the Diamondbacks' final run of the evening. The 32-year-old Pederson has found new life in Arizona, slashing .291/.387/.521 over 197 plate appearances with nine homers, 24 runs scored and 30 RBI this season.

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored in Friday's 5-2 win over Colorado.

The 37-year-old crushed a mammoth 448-foot solo homer of Ryan Feltner in the sixth inning to give the Pirates a lead they never relinquished. McCutchen later tallied another run when a Bryan Reynolds single drove him home in the eighth. McCutchen has been a steady producer over the last 30 days, hitting .297 (28-for-94) with five homers, 19 runs scored and 12 RBI in 22 games.

Calhoun is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Giants.

Calhoun will take a seat for a second straight game Friday, with Kevin Pillar playing left field and batting cleanup while Taylor Ward bats third as the DH. Calhoun is 10-for-30 (.333) in June with five walks and two strikeouts.

Velazquez is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Dodgers.

After starting in each of the Royals last four games, Velazquez will get the day off Friday. Adam Frazier will DH and bat fifth while Drew Waters handles right field and bats eighth.

O'Hearn is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Phillies, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

O'Hearn will avoid a matchup against southpaw Ranger Suarez on Friday, as Adley Rutschman fills in at DH and James McCann catches. O'Hearn is just 1-for-11 against lefties in 2024 and all nine of his home runs have come against right-handed pitching.