MLB Player News

Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Sunday's win over the Astros.

Ohtani absolutely smoked a slider that wound up traveling 448 feet at 110.2 mph and put the Angels up 2-0 in the sixth. It wound up being the difference in the ballgame. He also swiped his 17th bag of the year and his fifth in 12 games in August. Ohtani leads the American League with 41 home runs now and trails only the surging Matt Olson for the MLB lead (43). Ohtani has been scorching hot at the plate over the last few weeks. In 17 games since July 27, he's slashing .368/.500/.702 with five homers, seven RBI and 14 runs.

Choi isn't starting Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

Choi's recent offensive struggles have made the Padres more willing to use other players from their lineup in the DH spot, which is exactly what they will do Sunday. Xander Bogaerts will serve as San Diego's designated hitter, moving Ha-Seong Kim to shortstop, Jake Cronenworth to second and Garrett Cooper in at first base.

Ohtani won't make his next scheduled start Wednesday against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani isn't dealing with an injury, but he told manager Phil Nevin that he was experiencing some fatigue and will therefore have his next start postponed to Aug. 23 against Cincinnati. It's unclear who will start Wednesday in Ohtani's place, though the recently activated Griffin Canning seems like a possible candidate.

Encarnacion-Strand (hand) is hitting sixth and starting at designated hitter in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Pirates.

Encarnacion-Strand was hit by a pitch Friday and removed from the game. X-rays were negative, but he was still held out Saturday. Encarnacion-Strand is hitting .286 with two home runs, four runs and six RBI over his last 10 games.

Soler is out of the lineup Sunday against the Yankees.

Soler is not in Miami's lineup for the second consecutive game. This comes after he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts against the Yankees on Friday. What appeared to be a breather Saturday may be a little more. Josh Bell will start in the designated hitter spot again and Yuli Gurriel will start at first.

Martinez (hamstring) will sit Sunday, though he will be available to pinch hit, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.

Manager Dave Roberts said following Saturday's 4-1 victory that Martinez will not start Sunday, and the expectation is the veteran slugger will return to the lineup Tuesday against the Brewers after Monday's team off day. Martinez last started a game this past Sunday versus San Diego.

Vogelbach went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run in a 21-3 loss to Atlanta during the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.

Getting the start at DH and batting fifth, Vogelbach ended up providing the Mets with their only offense of the entire day when he took Michael Tonkin deep in the eighth inning -- they were shut out 6-0 in the nightcap. It's the veteran slugger's eighth homer of the year and first since July 25, and after going 1-for-2 with a walk in the second contest of the twin bill, Vogelbach is slashing .223/.324/.367 through 215 plate appearances on the season.

Rooker went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 3-2 loss to Washington.

Rooker tagged starter Jake Irvin for a solo homer in the sixth inning and pushed his season total to 19. The outfielder has been slumping lately, batting 3-for-23 (.130) across his last eight games, but still owns a .240/.327/.467 slash line on the year (96 games).

Blackmon (hand) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque on Saturday.

Blackmon has been on the injured list since June 11 with a fracture in his right hand, but he finally seems to be approaching a return to the lineup. The Rockies haven't specified how many games Blackmon will play in during his assignment, but there's a chance he's activated Monday ahead of Colorado's next homestand. The veteran outfielder was slashing .265/.347/.422 through 242 plate appearances before getting injured.

Martinez (hamstring) is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus the Rockies.

As expected, Martinez will remain on the bench for another contest Saturday while nursing an injured hamstring. The plan is to see if he can go in Sunday's series finale, but for the time being, Will Smith will slot in at designated hitter while Austin Barnes enters the lineup at catcher and bats ninth against Colorado.