MLB Player News
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Bryce Harper 1B | PHI
Phillies' Bryce Harper: Homers in back-to-back games
Harper went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and a home run in Friday's 10-1 win against the Rockies.
It took Harper six games to get his first home run of the season, and the Phillies slugger picked up his second home run of the season just one game later. Coupled with his double in the third inning, it marked the first multi-hit game of the season for the 33-year-old. Overall, Harper has struggled early, slashing just .179/.258/.429 with two homers and four RBI.
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Byron Buxton CF | MIN
Twins' Byron Buxton: Exits after HBP
Buxton was removed from Friday's game against the Rays after getting hit on the forearm by a pitch, Audra Martin of FanDuel Sports Network North reports.
Buxton immediately headed into the Twins' clubhouse after taking a 91.6-mph fastball off his right forearm in the seventh inning. X-rays came back negative afterward, so he appears to have suffered only a bruise as a result of the incident. James Outman entered the game to run for Buxton and would be the favorite to start in center field if the latter ends up missing a start or two.
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Mark Vientos 1B | NYM
Mets' Mark Vientos: Slugs first homer of year
Vientos went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to the Giants.
Getting the start at first base and batting sixth against Robbie Ray, Vientos got hold of a slider from the southpaw and drove it 406 feet into the left-field seats. It was the 26-year-old slugger's first homer and first RBI of the season, and while he's been used sparingly so far, Vientos has gone 3-for-9 with a double in his limited action.
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Josh Bell DH | MIN
Twins' Josh Bell: Homers again Thursday
Bell went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and two runs scored in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Royals.
The 33-year-old went deep for the second consecutive game by launching a homer off Steven Cruz in the ninth inning. His shot was one of three in the frame that blew the game open. Bell has been a strong point in the Twins lineup, leading the team in RBI with five so far. That production has been especially important for a Minnesota lineup that struggled last season, finishing 25th in total offense.
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Bryce Harper 1B | PHI
Phillies' Bryce Harper: Hits first homer of season
Harper went 1-for-5 with a solo home run and a strikeout in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Nationals.
Harper has endured a slow start to the season with only three hits in 27 plate appearances, but he was finally able to break through Wednesday with his first homer. Harper now has hits in each of the past two games, and it's too early to make much of the fact that he's hitting .120 with a .425 OPS through the first six games of the season.
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Josh Bell DH | MIN
Twins' Josh Bell: Connects for first homer
Bell went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run, two walks and three total runs scored in Wednesday's 13-9 loss to the Royals.
Bell has gone 3-for-15 (.200) with four walks and seven strikeouts over his first five games this season. All three of his hits have gone for extra bases (two doubles, one homer). The 33-year-old is getting steady playing time as the Twins' designated hitter, but he's batted no higher than fifth in the order after being viewed as a potential cleanup hitter late in spring training.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Next start scheduled April 8
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Wednesday that Ohtani is scheduled to make his next start in the team's series finale against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, April 8, Jack Harris of the California Post reports.
The Dodgers plan on deploying a six-man rotation during the upcoming six-game road trip by mixing in a start for southpaw Justin Wrobleski, which means the next time Ohtani takes the mound will be during next week's World Series rematch. Ohtani dominated in his pitching debut against the Guardians on Tuesday, allowing one hit and three walks while striking out six across six scoreless innings to earn the win. Per Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com, Ohtani holds the longest regular-season scoreless streak among active pitchers at 22.2 innings, dating back to the 2025 campaign.
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Giancarlo Stanton DH | NYY
Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton: Grabbing breather Wednesday
Stanton is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Seattle.
Stanton will receive his first day off of the season after picking up exactly two hits in each of the Yankees' first five games. Ben Rice will get a day off from first base but will stick in the lineup at designated hitter in Stanton's stead.
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Joc Pederson DH | TEX
Rangers' Joc Pederson: Idle against southpaw
Pederson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.
The left-handed-hitting Pederson has now hit the bench for each of the Rangers' first three matchups versus southpaws, which doesn't come as a major surprise with the 33-year-old having produced a 79 wRC+ over 668 career plate appearances against lefties. Andrew McCutchen is expected to serve as Pederson's primary platoon mate this season, but Brandon Nimmo will be in the designated-hitter spot Wednesday while McCutchen draws his first start in right field.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Smooth in season pitching debut
Ohtani (1-0) completed six scoreless innings in a win against Cleveland on Tuesday, allowing one hit and issuing three walks while striking out six batters. He also went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks as a batter.
The Dodgers opted to have Ohtani be the last of the team's five pitchers in the season-opening rotation to make a start, but he looked every bit an ace against the Guardians. The two-way star retired the first seven batters he faced and yielded just one hit (a Rhys Hoskins double) overall. Ohtani did put some additional runners on base with three walks and a hit-by-pitch, but he threw 54 of 87 pitches for strikes, so his control wasn't particularly shaky. In addition to the strong outing on the mound, he reached base three times, extending his regular-season on-base streak to 36 games dating back to last year. That's the longest active streak in the majors, as is his current regular-season 22.2-inning scoreless streak as a pitcher, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com. He hasn't hit a home run or stolen a base yet, but Ohtani continues to show why he's arguably baseball's -- and fantasy's -- most unique player.