MLB Player News

DeJong went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 6-0 win over the Cubs.

The shortstop capped off St. Louis' five-run fifth inning with his blast off Cubs reliever Dan Winkler. DeJong has now homered in back-to-back games, giving him 12 on the year. The 27-year-old still carries a disappointing .185/.286/.385 slash line with 28 RBI, 26 runs scored and three stolen bases through 234 plate appearances, but he's hit safely in six of the nine games he's played in July.

Manager David Ross said following Saturday's loss to the Cardinals that Baez was removed in the ninth inning as a precaution after the shortstop jammed his thumb earlier in the contest, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

Baez went 2-for-3 prior to exiting. Ross sounded more than optimistic that the shortstop will be good to go Sunday, but it might be worth monitoring his status prior to the series finale.

Story was scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Padres due to soreness from being hit by a pitch Friday, Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette reports.

Both Story and Brendan Rodgers (illness) were late removals from Saturday's starting nine. It doesn't sound like Story will miss extended time, but he should be considered questionable for Sunday's series finale.

Crawford went 3-for-3 with a solo homer, three RBI and a pair of runs scored Saturday against the Nationals.

Crawford drove in his first of three runs with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, then he added an RBI single in the third and a solo homer in the sixth. Crawford, who is hitting a scorching-hot .571 (16-28) over his last seven contests, will go into the final game of the first half with 18 homers and 58 RBI while slashing .282/.359/.553 in 298 plate appearances. He owns a robust .912 OPS after having never topped .800 in any of his 10 previous major-league campaigns.

Edman will be on the bench Saturday against the Cubs, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Edman finds himself on the bench after going hitless in three straight games. Matt Carpenter will be the second baseman in his absence.

Correa (COVID-19) is unlikely to rejoin the Astros for Sunday's series finale against the Yankees, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Manager Dusty Baker said Saturday that Correa is still feeling sick. With the All-Star break looming, the shortstop will have some extra recovery time before the Astros begin their series in Chicago next Friday.

Crawford went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and two runs in a win over the Angels on Friday.

Crawford turned in a prototypical leadoff effort in the victory, serving as a constant thorn in the side of Angels pitchers and coming home with the game-tying run on a Ty France single in the seventh. The shortstop's productive night snapped a rare 0-for-12, three-game skid and pushed his season average and on-base percentage to impressive .280 and .343 marks, respectively.

Franco is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Blue Jays, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

An 0-for-5, four-strikeout performance Friday dropped Franco's average to .211 in 57 big-league at-bats. Despite his struggles at the plate, the Rays figure to be patient with their top prospect as he adjusts to MLB pitching. Taylor Walls will start at shortstop and bat sixth Saturday.

Fletcher went 3-for-5 with a solo home run in a loss to the Mariners on Friday.

Fletcher didn't waste any time making sure his torrid streak would continue another day, as he led off the contest with a solo shot to left field. He went on to collect two more base knocks, making it four straight games in which he has collected multiple hits. Fletcher's current 22-game overall hitting streak is the longest in the majors this season and the longest by an Angel since Garret Anderson's 23-game streak in 2008, per MLB Stats. Over the course of his streak, Fletcher is batting .427 with 17 runs and 11 RBI.

Ahmed went 0-for-5 with a run, walk, two stolen bases and a strikeout as the Diamondbacks defeated the Dodgers, 5-2 on Friday.

Ahmed reached on an error, stole third and scored in the fifth, and walked and stole second in the eighth. The Gold Glove shortstop isn't a huge threat on the bases but now has five steals in 77 games as he looks to surpass a career-high eight thefts from 2019.