MLB Player News

Ahmed used Friday's day off from the starting lineup to work on his swing mechanics, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Ahmed focused on his lower half, which he believes led to a chain reaction of issues throughout the rest of the swing. He also acknowledged the knee injury that dogged him throughout spring training and landed him on the injured list to start the season played more of a role than he was willing to admit. "I've developed compensations," he said, "that I couldn't necessarily feel and have to go about undoing those compensations now and get back to being the type of hitter I know I can be." The shortstop entered Friday's game as a pinch hitter for his replacement, Josh Rojas, and grounded out. That dropped Ahmed's average to .073.

Story went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double Friday in a victory over Philadelphia.

Though Story is hitting a respectable .286/.320/.443 on the campaign, he entered Friday without a home run over his 66 at-bats. The start shortstop ended the power drought with a solo shot to left field in the fourth inning to put the Rockies on the board. Story has been among the league's top power-hitting shortstops since his first season in 2016, so there figures to be plenty more long balls off his bat as the season progresses.

Edman went 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run in Friday's 5-4 victory over the Reds.

Edman didn't get a hit in the contest, but he still helped fantasy managers who roster him with his fourth stolen base of the campaign. After swiping only two bags in six tries in 2020, Edman has looked more like the stolen-base threat he was in his 2019 rookie campaign, when he was successful on 15 of 16 theft attempts. The 25-year-old has accounted for two homers, four RBI and nine runs scored this season.

Baez went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, two runs and a strikeout in Friday's 15-2 win over the Brewers.

The Cubs put up at least 15 runs for the second time in the last three games Friday, and Baez reached base three times in the blowout win. The 28-year-old hit his sixth home run of the year with a solo shot in the second inning to give the Cubs an 8-0 lead. Baez is now slashing .233/.273/.507 with 17 RBI, 12 runs and 35 strikeouts this season.

Crawford (ribs) is starting Friday's game against the Marlins, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Crawford wasn't in Thursday's lineup after he exited Wednesday's contest due to rib cage tightness. However, he appeared as a pinch hitter Thursday and struck out in his lone at-bat. Crawford is starting at shortstop and batting seventh against Miami on Friday.

Ahmed will sit Friday against Atlanta.

Ahmed sits for just the second time since returning from a knee injury April 10. He's struggled significantly at the plate, hitting .075/.119/.075, though a .100 BABIP likely accounts for some of his problems. Josh Rojas will take over at shortstop in his absence.

Ahmed went 0-for-4 in Thursday's 14-11 win over the Reds.

Ahmed, who was pulled for a pinch hitter for the second straight game, saw his batting average drop to .075 (3-for-40), but manager Torey Lovullo plans to stick with him as a starter, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. "The swing is a little disconnected," Lovullo said. "It's not synced up. I just think it has more to do with direction. He sees the ball. He's confident. I just feel like mechanically there is a little flaw in there that is preventing him from squaring the baseball up on a consistent basis." With Josh Rojas' batting heating up over the last four contests (4-for-10, three walks, one HR), there's a chance Lovullo gives Ahmed a one-day break at some point. The manager added that he does not believe the knee that forced Ahmed to miss the first two weeks of the season is an issue.

DeJong is hitting .310 (9-for-29) with three home runs and six RBI across his last eight games.

The slugging shortstop also has four walks and six runs over that span, although he's still struck out at a 33.3 percent clip. DeJong actually has a solid .450 slugging percentage for the season thanks to his five home runs, and his current surge has at least pulled his average back to the Mendoza Line for the first time since April 5.

Berti will start at third base and bat seventh Thursday against the Giants, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Berti figures to see a significant increase in playing time with Brian Anderson (oblique) forced to the injured list. While he's gotten off to a slow start with the bat -- he has only six hits in 38 plate appearances -- Berti could be a source of stolen bases if he can get on base at a strong enough clip.

Crawford (side) isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Marlins, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Crawford exited Wednesday's game against the Phillies and is now considered day-to-day after he was diagnosed with rib cage tightness. Mauricio Dubon will start at shortstop Thursday, batting eighth.