MLB Player News

Semien went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Sunday's 7-3 win over San Diego.

Semien unloaded for his second homer in as many days, lofting a Randy Vasquez slider over the left-field wall for a solo shot in the second inning. The second baseman has been on a power surge of late, going 7-for-25 (.280) with four homers over his past seven games. On the year, the 35-year-old is slashing .226/.277/.362 with eight homers, 25 RBI, 26 runs and five stolen bases across 65 games.

McLain went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Cardinals.

It was the second career multi-homer effort by McLain, who has now gone deep in back-to-back games. The middle infielder was virtually unstoppable during spring training earlier this year, posting a 1.540 OPS across 59 Cactus League plate appearances, but he's cooled down dramatically since the start of the regular season. McLain is slashing .206/.303/.368 with eight long balls, 10 doubles, 25 RBI and seven stolen bases through 239 trips to the plate, but he could be starting up a power surge.

Nunez is not in the Nationals' starting lineup against the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Nunez will get a breather after going 3-for-8 with two RBI and one steal over the first two games of the series. Jose Tena will start at second base Sunday and bat eighth.

Lowe (knee) isn't starting for the Pirates against Atlanta on Sunday.

Lowe fouled a ball off his right knee in the ninth inning Saturday and had to exit the game. He expressed worry about the incident after the game because he fractured his kneecap on a similar at-bat in September of 2023, per Jason Mackey of MLB.com, but a CT scan Saturday revealed that Lowe avoided a serious injury. Still, Lowe is set to miss at least one contest, and he'll have Monday's team off day to get more rest. Nick Gonzales is starting at second base for the Pirates on Sunday, and Marcell Ozuna is the team's DH.

Wetherholt (groin) is starting at second base and batting leadoff for St. Louis versus Cincinnati on Sunday.

Wetherholt missed three games due to a groin issue, but he's feeling well enough to return to action Sunday. Bryan Torres covered second base both Friday and Saturday, but he'll move to left field upon Wetherholt's return.

McLain started at shortstop and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Saturday's 6-5 loss to St. Louis.

McLain launched his sixth home run of the season in the fourth inning, giving Cincinnati a 5-3 lead. He's started at shortstop in four of five games since Elly De La Cruz (hamstring) landed on the injured list. Edwin Arroyo started the other contest. De La Cruz has begun light baseball activity and will undergo an MRI checkup June 12, and he appears headed for a relatively brief IL stint.

Semien went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and a second run scored in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Padres.

Semien's strong effort at the plate snapped an 0-for-12 skid. He's hit three homers over his last six games as he shows some flashes of getting his season on track. Overall, the second baseman is batting .222 with a .623 OPS, seven homers, 24 RBI, 25 runs scored, eight doubles and five stolen bases on seven attempts through 64 games.

Song went 2-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Mets.

Song swiped a bag in the third inning, but he was thrown out attempting to steal home in the fifth. He still got involved in the offense -- Song, No. 9 hitter Freddy Fermin and leadoff man Fernando Tatis were the only Padres with hits in the contest. Song was 0-for-11 over his last nine games before Saturday, though he's now started four of the last six games at second base. The uptick in playing time could stick, at least against right-handed pitchers, as Tatis appears set to retake a regular role in the outfield due to Ramon Laureano (hip) being out for the year. Song is batting .194 with a .550 OPS, no home runs, three steals on five attempts, four RBI and five runs scored over 37 plate appearances this season, so he'll need to hit consistently to keep a decent share of playing time.

Turang went 2-for-5 with a pair of solo home runs in Saturday's 7-1 win over the Rockies.

Turang opened the scoring in the first inning and followed it up with another solo shot in the eighth. He had gone 15 games without a long ball entering Saturday, and that stretch included six consecutive hitless games from May 25-31. The second baseman has rebounded by going 10-for-22 (.455) in June, lifting him to a .282 average and .891 OPS on the year. Turang has added nine homers (halfway to last year's total) with 37 RBI, 50 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 13 doubles and two triples over 59 games.

Castro is not in the Rockies' starting lineup against the Brewers on Saturday.

Castro will take a seat after going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored in Friday's series opener. Edouard Julien and Kyle Karros will start at second and third base, respectively, in Saturday's contest.