MLB Player News

Tovar isn't in Colorado's starting lineup Saturday versus Philadelphia.

It will be Tovar's second day out of the starting nine across the Rockies' past three games amidst a season-long slump. The 24-year-old is slashing a meager .187/.236/.269 over 144 plate appearances on the campaign and has gone just 6-for-54 (.111 batting average) at the dish over his past 18 games. Willi Castro is drawing the start at shortstop in Tovar's stead Saturday.

Lopez went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Friday's loss to the Nationals.

The shortstop has hit safely in 11 straight games, a hot streak that has seen Lopez rack up a .435/.435/.609 slash line with five doubles, a homer, a steal, four RBI and seven runs. Lopez's .351 batting average on the season is second in the majors behind the .353 mark of Arizona's Ildemaro Vargas.

Miller (back) is no longer doing baseball activities, MLB.com reports.

Miller was fielding ground balls in April but since appears to have been shut down. It's unclear if the 21-year-old top prosect has suffered a setback in his rehab from a nagging lower-back injury, or if the Phillies are being simply cautious with his recovery. In any event, Miller doesn't look to be close to making his season debut.

Freeland isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta.

Freeland has gone 5-for-14 with a homer, two RBI and three runs scored since the beginning of May, but the Dodgers will keep him on the bench to begin Friday's series opener. Santiago Espinal will get the nod at second base and bat ninth.

Tovar is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Mets.

Tovar has been in a deep slump at the plate, going just 7-for-63 with a 5:19 BB:K over his last 20 games. He's been down in the No. 8 spot in the Rockies' lineup for his last nine starts and now gets a day off to recalibrate things. Willi Castro will cover shortstop Thursday.

Abrams went 3-for-5 with a grand slam, two doubles, an additional RBI and an additional run scored in Wednesday's win over the Twins.

Abrams plated a run in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI double that scored James Wood and later crossed home plate in the bottom of the sixth following an RBI double from Brady House. However, his big moment would come in the bottom of the eighth with one out, as he cleared the bases with the second grand slam of his career. Abrams now has nine homers on the year and recorded a multi-hit performance for the fourth time in his last seven games, a stretch where he's hitting .423 with a robust 1.269 OPS across 30 plate appearances.

Griffin went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Griffin's knock extended his hitting streak to eight games, a span in which he's gone 12-for-29 (.414) with five extra-base hits and two steals. The shortstop hasn't shown a ton of power yet, but everything else has looked pretty good so far. He's batting .266 with a .735 OPS, two home runs, 16 RBI, 13 runs scored, eight steals, five doubles and two triples across 31 contests. Griffin is striking out at a 28.1 percent clip, which could make him prone to some slumps during his rookie year, but it's not all that concerning given his overall body of work.

McLain went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during the Reds' 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Cubs on Wednesday.

McClain cut the Reds' deficit to 4-2 when he smacked a solo homer off Colin Rea in the fifth inning. The long ball broke McClain's six-game hitless streak (during which he went 0-for-17 with four strikeouts), and his home run Wednesday was his third of the season.

De La Cruz went 0-for-4 with three RBI during the Reds' 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Cubs on Wednesday.

The shortstop put the Reds on the board early when his groundout in the first inning brought TJ Friedl home. De La Cruz also played a key role in the Reds' ninth-inning rally, when his flyball to deep-right field was barely caught by Seiya Suzuki, but it was enough for the rare sacrifice fly to bring two runners home to give Cincinnati a 6-4 lead. It was the fourth time this season that De La Cruz logged at least three RBI in a game, and his 29 RBI is tied for ninth most in the majors this season.

Fernandez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

Fernandez will be on the bench for the second day in a row, with both of his absences coming against right-handed pitchers. Though Fernandez maintains a .775 OPS on the season compared to Adrian Del Castillo's .657 mark, the latter's standing as a left-handed batter could afford him most of the playing time at designated hitter. Arizona previously had regular at-bats against right-handed pitching available for both players between DH and catcher, but Gabriel Moreno's recent return from the injured list will limit Del Castillo's opportunities to pick up starts behind the dish moving forward.