MLB Player News
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Marcell Ozuna DH | ATL
Braves' Marcell Ozuna: On bench again Sunday
Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
After a run of 70 straight starts came to an end last weekend, Ozuna now finds himself on the bench for the third time in Atlanta's past seven contests. The veteran slugger has gone 4-for-15 with two homers over his past four games but has a .665 OPS since the start of July and a .577 mark since the start of June while playing through a hip issue, which he's likely to have to manage the rest of the season.
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Ben Rice C | NYY
Yankees' Ben Rice: Sitting against lefty Sunday
Rice is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.
The left-handed-hitting Rice will head to the bench for the second straight game while the Cubs send another lefty (Shota Imanaga) to the hill. Though Rice has maintained a .795 OPS through six games in July and owns a 134 wRC+ versus opposite-handed pitching this season, the Yankees have yet to commit to using the 26-year-old as a full-time player against righties. Rice was on the bench for three of the Yankees' previous five matchups versus righty starters, with Paul Goldschmidt occupying first base in each of the contests that Rice was out of the lineup.
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Brent Rooker DH | ATH
Athletics' Brent Rooker: Belts homer No. 20
Rooker went 2-for-2 with a walk, a double, a home run and three RBI in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.
The 30-year-old slugger broke open a 2-2 tie in the fifth inning when he lofted a Kevin Gausman splitter over the fence in left field. Rooker is on a roll heading into his second All-Star Game, slashing .315/.373/.648 over the last 14 games with four of his 20 homers on the season, along with six doubles, 10 runs and 11 RBI.
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Mike Trout CF | LAA
Angels' Mike Trout: Closing in on milestones
Trout went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run and four RBI in Saturday's 10-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
His big blow was a two-run homer off Zac Gallen in the fifth inning, which gave the Halos a 6-2 lead. Trout is finding a groove heading into the All-Star break, going yard four times in the last seven games, and the 33-year-old is closing in on some big career milestones -- he needs five more home runs to reach 400, and six more RBI to hit 1,000.
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Kyle Manzardo 1B | CLE
Guardians' Kyle Manzardo: Homers in win
Manzardo went 1-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 6-2 win over the White Sox.
Manzardo's sixth-inning homer was the game-winning hit, breaking a 2-2 tie. The round-tripper was his 14th of the season. It was a rare highlight for Manzardo (.217 batting average), and his first RBI in 10 contests. He continues to share the DH role with David Fry, and neither one is making a case to claim full-time at-bats.
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Marcell Ozuna DH | ATL
Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Swats solo homer Saturday
Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a 7-6 victory versus the Cardinals on Saturday.
Ozuna belted a 422-foot shot to left-center field in the second inning to give Atlanta a 2-0 lead. The veteran slugger may be working his way out of a prolonged power slump -- he's gone deep twice in his past three contests following a 21-game stretch with no home runs. Ozuna has had a pretty down year by his recent standards, posting a .761 OPS through 89 contests after registering an OPS above .900 in each of the previous two campaigns.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Tosses three dominant frames
Ohtani allowed one hit and issued one walk while striking out four batters over three scoreless innings in a no-decision against San Francisco on Saturday. He also went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts as a hitter.
For the first time in a Dodgers uniform, Ohtani went deeper than two innings, completing three frames on 36 pitches against the Giants. He threw 25 of those offerings for strikes, including six whiffs, and fanned a season-high four batters while looking entirely at ease on the mound. Ohtani gave up a run in one inning during his 2025 pitching debut versus San Diego on June 16, and since then he's tossed eight scoreless frames while allowing just two hits and posting a 10:2 K:BB over four starts. The Dodgers will almost certainly continue to build him up gradually, so he probably won't be pitching deep enough to qualify for a win for several more starts, but all signs to this point indicate that Ohtani hasn't lost the ability to be an ace after undergoing UCL surgery in September of 2023. Per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register, Ohtani will next pitch in one of Los Angeles' first five games following the All-Star break, though it's not yet clear if he'll again form a piggyback with Emmet Sheehan, who tossed 4.1 frames following Ohtani on Saturday.
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Colt Keith 3B | DET
Tigers' Colt Keith: Reaches three times in loss
Keith went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored in Saturday's 15-7 loss to the Mariners.
Despite the lopsided loss, Keith continued his strong performance as Detroit's leadoff man. He's batted first in each of his starts dating back to June 19, and during that time, Keith is batting .319 with four home runs, 10 RBI and 14 runs scored across 19 games. The young infielder's fantasy stock is on the rise given his prime position atop a potent Detroit lineup that is sixth in the majors in runs scored.
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Wilmer Flores 1B | SF
Giants' Wilmer Flores: Sitting again
Flores is not in Saturday's lineup against the Dodgers.
Flores will sit out his second straight game overall and fifth with a right-handed starter or bulk reliever taking the mound. Dominic Smith appears to have taken over the large-side platoon role at first base for the time being, and he will hit eighth Saturday.