MLB Player News

Castro is not in the lineup for Friday's contest against the Giants.

Castro has now been absent from the lineup for three of five games this week, which is a shame for his fantasy managers given that the Rockies have been at home in Coors Field all week. Edouard Julien is covering second base for Colorado.

Cronenworth went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run against the Dodgers in a loss Thursday.

San Diego exploded for six runs over two innings against Los Angeles starter Roki Sasaki, with Cronenworth's three-run blast providing the final half of that scoring. However, the Dodgers went on to mount a comeback and emerged with the victory. Cronenworth's long ball was his first since April 8, though he missed most of May and June while recovering from a concussion. The veteran infielder is slashing a meager .164/.276/.236 across 128 plate appearances on the season, and his three RBI on Thursday nearly matched the four RBI he had produced over his first 35 contests combined.

Song went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a blowout loss to the Cubs on Wednesday.

The Padres didn't have much to celebrate on a day when they were blown out of the water by a 23-3 margin. However, Song enjoyed a personal milestone when he hit his first major-league home run with a 385-foot solo blast in the fifth inning. The 29-year-old hasn't shown much power so far with a .100 ISO through 69 plate appearances, though he's demonstrated good plate discipline with a 9:13 BB:K and has swiped six bases on eight attempts.

Nunez went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's rout of the Red Sox.

The light-hitting infielder lofted a Payton Tolle fastball over the Green Monster in the fourth inning for his first homer of the season, and the fifth of his career in his 172nd MLB game. Nunez is still looking to escape the slump he got mired in late in June, and over his last nine contests he's batting just .160 (4-for-25) with 14 strikeouts.

Albies went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an RBI double and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Cardinals.

Albies tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI double before putting Atlanta up 2-1 in the third with his two-out blast off Michael McGreevy, his 13th homer this season. The long ball was the first in nine games for Albies, who'd gone 5-for-29 with just one extra-base hit in his previous eight contests. The second baseman is now slashing .276/.325/.444 with 48 RBI, 53 runs scored and one steal across 360 plate appearances this season.

McLain started in center field and went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to Milwaukee.

Though the hitless effort dropped his season average to .196, McLain had no issues defensively while making his first career start in the outfield. He could continue to see time at the position against left-handed pitching while Blake Dunn (elbow) and Dane Myers (shoulder) are on the injured list.

Marte went 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI, two stolen bases and one run scored in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Giants.

Marte wasn't able to extend his homer streak Wednesday, but he made up for it on the basepaths. The second baseman is up to three steals on the year, all of which have come in his last nine games. He probably won't pick up the pace much in terms of steal attempts, but he's doing enough with the bat lately to be a set-and-forget player at the keystone. Marte is now hitting .267 on the year with an .811 OPS, 17 home runs, 54 RBI, 48 runs scored, 18 doubles and two triples over 82 contests.

The Giants recalled Koss from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday.

With Matt Chapman (abdomen) being placed on the injured list, Koss is back with the big-league club for the first time since May 15. Koss made the Opening Day roster for San Francisco but batted just .071/.133/.143 in 15 plate appearances before being demoted. The 28-year-old played in just three games for Sacramento before suffering a fractured wrist. After completing a rehab assignment, Koss has been cleared to return to action and will start Wednesday at shortstop while batting ninth versus the Diamondbacks.

McLain will start in center field and bat eighth in Wednesday's game versus the Brewers.

McLain played a frame in center field Tuesday after entering that contest as a pinch hitter, and now he's making his first career start at the position. If he proves capable of handling center field defensively, McLain could draw regular starts there against lefties while Blake Dunn (elbow) and Dane Myers (shoulder) are shelved.

Julien is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Julien has been a fixture in the lineup against right-handed pitching lately, but he'll cede second base to Willi Castro on Wednesday while Miami sends right-hander Max Meyer to the bump. Julien has generated a modest .646 OPS on the season, but he picked up his production in June, finishing the month with a .288./422/.365 slash line over 22 games.