MLB Player News

Buxton went 2-for-4 with two homers and four RBI in Friday's victory over the White Sox.

Buxton clocked a three-run homer in the first inning followed by a solo shot in the fourth. He finally snapped out of an ugly 1-for-35 skid with his first extra-base hit since July 4. Buxton has 17 home runs but his 31.5 percent strikeout rate has led to an unsightly .197/.284/.426 slash line. The 29-year-old was dropped to sixth in the lineup Friday, just the sixth time he's hit lower than the cleanup spot this year.

Pederson went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Nationals.

Pederson snapped a month-long homer drought with his game-tying blast in the third inning, but the Giants were limited to just two hits over the rest of the contest. During his 23-game power drought, Pederson his just .167 with two doubles and a triple. The 31-year-old remains in a strong-side platoon role while primarily serving as the designated hitter. He's hitting .233 with a .781 OPS, nine homers, 34 RBI and 37 runs scored over 63 contests this season.

Choi went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-5 loss to the Angels.

Choi has homered three times in his last seven games while going 6-for-19 (.316) in that span. The warm bat has helped Choi remain in the mix for playing time between first base and designated hitter. Carlos Santana and Andrew McCutchen are also involved in that playing time battle with two spots available for the three players. Choi is at a .186/.210/.475 slash line with five homers, nine RBI, seven runs scored and two doubles over 62 plate appearances this season.

Ohtani (8-5) allowed five runs on six hits and a walk while striking out nine over 6.1 innings to earn the win Friday over the Pirates.

Ohtani has battled various issues on his right middle finger for weeks, but he was able to throw 87 pitches (60 strikes) in this start. The results were mediocre, however -- he allowed four home runs, two of which came from top prospect Henry Davis. At the plate, Ohtani went 0-for-1 with three walks and two runs scored to help his own cause. The two-way star is at a 3.71 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 148:47 K:BB through 111.2 innings over 19 starts. He also has a .305/.400/.676 slash line across 96 contests as a hitter. Ohtani is tentatively lined up for a road start in Toronto next week, if the Angels don't trade him or hold him out for asset protection ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Rooker was scratched from the lineup Friday versus the Astros due to an illness, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Seth Brown is now playing right field and batting eighth for the Athletics. As long as it's not a serious ailment, Rooker should be available again sometime this weekend. He has a decent .783 OPS so far in July after slumping badly through much of June.

McCutchen is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Angels, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

McCutchen will sit for a second straight game Friday after he went 2-for-8 with a double and a strikeout over the first two games of the team's series with Cleveland. Ji-Man Choi will take over at designated hitter and bat cleanup in the series opener with Los Angeles.

Harper is making his first professional start at first base Friday as the Phillies take on the Guardians, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Harper has been working out at first base for a while now and is finally ready to try his luck at the position in a game setting. If he proves capable of handling first base regularly, it opens up designated hitter for Kyle Schwarber and allows the Phillies to improve their defense in left field.

Vogelbach is in the lineup for Friday's game against the Red Sox, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Vogelbach was not in the lineup originally submitted by the Mets but is part of the revised one. He will be at designated hitter and batting fifth against Kutter Crawford.

Vogelbach is out of the lineup again for Friday's tilt against the Red Sox, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Vogelbach has now been on the bench for three of the last four games even with the Mets facing righties in those contests. DJ Stewart will be in the designated hitter spot Friday.

Ford went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 5-0 win over the Twins.

Ford struck out in his first three at-bats Thursday before launching a two-run homer off Jorge Lopez in the eighth inning, extending Seattle's lead to 4-0. The game was emblematic of Ford's season thus far -- he's up to 10 home runs while slashing .260/.316/.596 despite a 32.5 percent K-rate through 114 plate appearances. While Ford's batting average isn't likely sustainable, he can be a legitimate source of power in fantasy leagues.