MLB Player News

Abrams is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

The Nationals are closing out their series in Boston with a day game after a night game and left-hander Payton Tolle is starting for the Red Sox, making it an ideal time for the left-handed-hitting Abrams to receive a breather. Nasim Nunez will slide over from his usual spot at second base to replace Abrams at shortstop.

Turner went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and three RBI in Tuesday's 8-0 win over the Pirates.

Only three of the Phillies' 12 hits on the night went for extra bases, but Turner had two of them including a two-run homer off Brandan Bidois in the eighth inning. The star shortstop has gone yard in back-to-back games and has hit safely in eight straight, batting .342 (13-for-38) during that heater with three doubles, two home runs, one steal, six RBI and nine runs.

De La Cruz batted leadoff and went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday's 7-2 loss to Milwaukee.

Fresh off the injured list a week ago, De La Cruz endured a four-game stretch in which he had one hit in 14 at-bats but has turned that around. He's hit in three straight games since, going 4-for-13 with a home run, a double, two RBI and three runs scored. De La Cruz has served as the leadoff hitter the last four games since Blake Dunn (elbow) landed on the injured list.

Betts went 3-for-5 with a double, one RBI and one run scored in Tuesday's 9-3 win over the Athletics.

Betts hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games in June, going 19-for-51 (.373) in that span. The shortstop has put his slow, injury-disrupted start to the season behind him with this surge. He's now hitting .244 with a .744 OPS, 11 home runs, 28 RBI, 31 runs scored, eight doubles and one stolen base over 51 contests.

Swanson went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Tuesday's 9-7 win over the Padres.

Swanson has started to get his bat going recently with a .340 average, six home runs and a whopping 21 RBI over his last 12 games. The hot stretch is beginning to make up for a rough start to the season for the veteran shortstop. Overall, Swanson is now batting .203 with a .691 OPS, 13 home runs and 49 RBI in 82 contests.

Abrams went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 8-1 win over the Red Sox.

Abrams launched a 402-foot blast off Tommy Kahnle in the top of the eighth inning. The 25-year-old has gone just 2-for-22 with 12 strikeouts over his past six games, though both hits have gone for extra bases. Overall, he's still slashing a strong .273/.355/.511 with 18 homers, 60 RBI, 52 runs scored and 13 steals across 355 plate appearances in what could earn him a nod as the National League's starting shortstop in this year's All-Star Game.

Kim is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cardinals.

Kim had started in Atlanta's last four games, but he went 0-for-11 over that stretch to bring his average down to a lowly .068 for the season. Atlanta has an opening in the everyday lineup for Kim while Mauricio Dubon is needed in the outfield to help cover for the absence of Ronald Acuna (hamstring), but Kim's inability to get going at the plate has made it increasingly difficult for manager Walt Weiss to justify keeping him in the starting nine. Jorge Mateo will spell Kim at shortstop Tuesday.

Adames (back) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

The veteran shortstop was absent from Monday's starting nine after exiting Sunday's contest due to back spasms, and he'll sit for a second straight game Tuesday. Casey Schmitt will fill in at shortstop with Adames on the bench, allowing Drew Gilbert to pick up a start in the outfield.

Pratt is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Reds.

After starting at shortstop in each of Milwaukee's last six games, Pratt will give way to Joey Ortiz on Tuesday. Since being promoted from Triple-A Nashville on June 16, Pratt is batting just .211, but he's been able to maintain some fantasy relevance by going 5-for-5 on stolen-base attempts.

Lopez isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rockies.

Lopez will get a breather after going 2-for-5 with a homer and a double during Monday's victory. Javier Sanoja will slide over to shortstop while Lopez sits, opening up third base for Leo Jimenez.