MLB Player News

Merrifield went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and a stolen base in Saturday's win over the Angels.

Merrifield swiped his 15th bag of the season in the second inning after reaching on a fielder's choice and then went on to score Atlanta's fourth run of the contest on a single from Michael Harris. The second baseman would later spark a five-run inning with a leadoff homer in the fifth, marking his first long ball since June 8 against the Mets. Merrifield has now hit safely in three of his last four games and has scored at least one run in three of his last five.

Bader is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Bader has a .599 OPS through 14 games in August and will take a seat for Sunday's contest. Tyrone Taylor is starting in center field and batting eighth in the series finale versus Miami.

Reynolds (back) is serving as the designated hitter and batting second in Sunday's game against Seattle, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.

Reynolds sat out Saturday's contest due to a sore lower back, but he's back in the lineup for the series finale. Since the All-Star break, he's slashing .282/.365/.365 with 10 runs scored, one home run, eight RBI and a 30.2 percent strikeout rate across 95 plate appearances.

Alvarez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Alvarez went 1-for-7 with a walk, a run and two strikeouts in the first two games of the series and will take a seat Sunday. Luis Torrens will step in behind the plate to catch for Paul Blackburn in the series finale.

McNeil is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

McNeil started the previous 10 games and had an .839 OPS during that span, but he'll receive a day off for Sunday's series finale. Jose Iglesias will step in at the keystone and bat seventh against Miami righty Valente Bellozo.

Ozuna went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer, a walk and three runs scored in Saturday's win over the Angels.

Ozuna crushed a hanging slider from Griffin Canning 437 feet over the wall in center field in his first at-bat to score Michael Harris and Austin Riley, giving the veteran slugger his 36th long ball of the campaign and his fifth this month. Ozuna added two leadoff singles in the contest, marking his second consecutive three-hit performance and his sixth multi-hit effort in his last 10 games overall. Over that latter stretch, he's batting .428 (18-for-42) with four homers, seven RBI and nine runs scored.

Pederson is absent from Sunday's lineup against Tampa Bay.

Despite right-hander Drew Rasmussen taking the mound for the Rays in Sunday's series finale, the lefty-hitting Pederson will begin the contest in the dugout. Since the All-Star break, Pederson is slashing .345/.478/.745 with 13 runs scored, six home runs and 16 RBI across 71 plate appearances. Randal Grichuk will serve as the designated hitter and bat sixth.

Marte is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.

After sitting out for three games due a low-grade ankle sprain, Marte returned to the lineup Saturday and went 1-for-3 with a walk. He'll sit for the series finale as he gets eased back into things, with Kevin Newman starting at second base and batting ninth.

Yepez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Philadelphia, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.

Yepez is mired in a 2-for-22 slump over the past six games and will head to the bench Sunday after making 37 straight starts. Travis Blankenhorn will bat eighth as the designated hitter in the series finale versus the Phillies.

Machado went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double and a run in Saturday's 8-3 win against Colorado.

Machado had gone 1-for-14 over his previous four games before posting the big effort Saturday. It was the third time this season that the veteran third baseman has recorded four hits in a game. Since July 17, Machado is slashing .343/.377/.643 with five homers, six doubles, 17 RBI, 13 runs and a stolen base over 17 contests.