MLB Player News

Arenado went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run in Friday's 7-5 loss to the Pirates.

The Cardinals did all their scoring in the third inning, and Arenado hammered a Roansy Contreras fastball to right-center field to give his team a 5-0 lead the bullpen couldn't hold. The third baseman has seven hits, including three extra-base hits, in his last four games, and since the beginning of May he's slashing .305/.353/.590 with eight of his 10 homers on the season as he puts a sluggish start to 2023 behind him.

McMahon went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's win over Kansas City.

McMahon got the game started with a solo shot in the first frame. He's been red hot lately and not just at Coors Field, posting six multi-hit performances in his last nine games with the last five coming on the road. During that stretch, he's gone 17-for-34 (.500) with five homers and 14 RBI. McMahon is now slashing .260/.339/.490 with 27 extra-base hits through 230 plate appearances.

Machado (hand) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and he will start at third base and bat fourth Friday versus the Cubs, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Machado will return to the lineup after missing over two weeks with fracture in his left hand. The 30-year-old has struggled from the plate this season, slashing .231/.282/.372 over 156 at-bats with the Padres, all of which represent career lows. With San Diego's lineup now fully healthy, Machado will look to take advantage of batting cleanup behind Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis and Juan Soto.

Sosa isn't starting Friday against the Nationals, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Sosa has recorded just one hit -- a home run Wednesday -- over his last six games and will take a seat to start Friday's contest. Drew Ellis will take Sosa's spot at third base and bat ninth.

Padres manager Bob Melvin said Thursday that Machado (hand) could return from the injured list Friday, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

"Might be (Friday)," Melvin said. "I can't confirm that." The skipper's caginess aside, Machado does seem like a good bet to return Friday as long as he checks out well pregame. He's upped his activity level over the last several days with no apparent issues and doesn't appear to be in need of a rehab assignment. The star third baseman has been sidelined since mid-May with a small fracture in his left hand.

McMahon went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Thursday's loss against the Diamondbacks.

McMahon's been on an absolute tear of late -- he's now batting .500 (15-for-30) with four home runs and eight extra-base hits over his last eight games. He's boosted his slash line to .255/.336/.475 over 226 plate appearances this season with eight homers, 29 runs scored, 31 RBI and four stolen bases.

Candelario went 2-for-3 with two walks, a home run, three RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Dodgers.

He took Noah Syndergaard deep in the fifth inning for his seventh homer of the year, but his seventh-inning steal was his first of 2023. Candelario turned things around in a big way in the second half of May, slashing .404/.485/.737 over his last 15 games with three homers and 11 RBI, and while the 29-year-old was signed in the offseason to be something of a stopgap at third base, he's proving to be a steadying force for a young Nationals infield.

Newman is in the leadoff spot again Thursday at Boston.

Newman also batted at the top of the Reds' lineup Wednesday and went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He's slashing .323/.417/.387 in 72 plate appearances since the beginning of May and has recently become Cincinnati's preferred tablesetter versus left-handed pitching opponents. Chris Sale is on the bump for the Red Sox on Thursday.

Collier is hitting .230 with a .336 OBP, four home runs and three steals in 37 games for Single-A Daytona.

Collier, who doesn't turn 19 until November, is the fourth-youngest qualified hitter at Single-A. He hasn't put up gaudy numbers, but it's impressive that he has been better than league average (107 wRC+) while keeping the strikeouts in check (22.1 K%) in his full-season debut.

Hayes went 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBI on Wednesday against the Giants.

Hayes delivered a two-RBI triple in the third inning to snap a three-game hitless streak. Even with the productive day, he's struggled mightily across his last 15 starts by hitting only .175 with a 26.6 percent strikeout rate. He's salvaged his line in that span by driving in 10 and scoring five runs. Nevertheless, Hayes has gone from the Pirates' primary leadoff hitter to regularly batting fifth or sixth.