MLB Player News

Espinal started at third base and went 1-for-3 in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh.

Espinal received a second consecutive start at the hot corner, as Jeimer Candelario (tendinitis) was unavailable. This could be a situation where manager David Bell is giving Candelario multiple days to rest up, including a team day off Thursday, so that he'll be ready to go Friday when the Reds open a home series against the suddenly hot Red Sox.

The Brewers optioned Dunn to Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday.

Playing time has been hard to come across recently for Dunn, and the emergence of Joey Ortiz hasn't helped. The 26-year-old Dunn has slashed .221/.282/.316 through 104 plate appearances in the big leagues this year and will now head back to the minors to get back on track. Tyler Black was recalled from Nashville in a corresponding move.

Arenado (elbow) said after Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Marlins that he expects to return to the lineup Saturday versus the Giants in St. Louis, Paige Leckie of MLB.com reports.

Arenado was lifted for a pinch runner in the top of the eighth inning after he took a 94 mile-per-hour sinker to his right elbow in his fourth plate appearance of the afternoon. Before departing, Arenado went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored. Though Arenado has been diagnosed with a bruised right elbow after initial X-rays returned negative, he noted that the pitch hit him in a nerve in the elbow that caused his hand to cramp up. Based on his postgame comments, Arenado already seems to be ruling himself out for Thursday's series opener with the Giants at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., but he's counting on being ready to go coming out of Friday's off day.

The Cardinals announced that Arenado was removed in the top of the eighth inning of Wednesday's game against the Marlins due to a right elbow contusion.

Initial X-rays on Arenado's elbow appear to have returned negative, but he'll undergo further medical evaluation as the Cardinals look to ascertain that he's not dealing with anything more than a bruise. Before he was lifted from the game for a pitch runner after being hit in the elbow by a 94 mile-per-hour sinker during his fourth plate appearance of the day, Arenado went 2-for-3 with his first stolen base of the season and a run scored.

Arenado was removed from Wednesday's game in Miami after being hit by a pitch on the right elbow, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. He went 2-for-3 with his first stolen base of the season and a run scored prior to exiting the game.

A Huascar Brazoban offering in the top of the eighth inning caught Arenado, who went down in a heap. He looked to be in considerable pain and eventually exited the field with a trainer. The Cardinals should have more on his condition shortly.

Senzel is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Senzel is hitless over his last five games, so he will be given a day off to regroup. Trey Lipscomb will start at third base in Senzel's stead.

Candelario (tendinitis) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

Candelario will be on the bench for the second game in a row while he deals with unspecified tendinitis. Reds manager David Bell already said that Candelario isn't at any major risk of landing on the injured list, so the expectation is that the veteran corner infielder will be good to go for Friday's series opener versus the Red Sox coming out of Thursday's team off day.

Espinal started at third base and went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's 2-0 win over Pittsburgh.

Espinal provided all the offense needed with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. He was making his first start in seven games and has just 18 at-bats this month; however, he could see action in the immediate future. Jeimer Candelario, who started at first base, was removed from Tuesday's contest due to tendinitis. Candelario has been the team's primary third baseman and may be held out of Wednesday's series finale in Pittsburgh.

Hayes went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Tuesday against the Reds.

Hayes tallied the Pirates' only run with a solo home run in the seventh inning -- his third of the season. The performance also extended his hitting streak to a modest five games, though he has no multi-hit performances in that span to go along with only two RBI and two runs scored. Hayes has a disappointing .084 ISO across 215 plate appearances this season.

Vientos went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional runs scored in Tuesday's win over the Rangers.

The 24-year-old third baseman opened the game's scoring by scorching a 409-foot solo homer off Michael Lorenzen in the second inning. Vientos has been hot since securing the hot corner in Queens when Brett Baty was demoted May 31, hitting .333 (19-for-57) with three homers, 11 runs scored and 11 RBI. Overall, Vientos is slashing .317/.375/.554 in 112 total plate appearances this season.