MLB Player News

Escobar went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-3 win over Atlanta.

The veteran infielder has four of his 10 homers on the season in July, but he still hasn't been able to put together a prolonged hot streak. Escobar is batting just .192 (10-for-52) on the month, and his slash line on the season remains a lackluster .217/.273/.387.

Moustakas went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in the loss to the Yankees on Wednesday.

Moustakas took Luis Severino deep for a solo shot in the top of the second inning, giving the Reds a 3-0 lead. The homer was his fifth of the year and second in three games. Additionally, the long ball filled the middle slot of a back-to-back-to-back homer barrage in conjunction with Kyle Farmer and Stuart Fairchild. Moustakas has struggled to hit for average this year, batting .210 with five homers, 11 doubles, 20 RBI, 23 runs and two stolen bases over 205 at-bats in 63 games this season.

Senzel was scratched from Wednesday's lineup against the Yankees due to mid-back stiffness, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Senzel was penciled in to start in center field, but he was a late removal from the lineup due to the back issue. He missed a few games with a lower-back strain during the first half of June, but he returned without a trip to the injured list and didn't appear to have any further issues until Wednesday.

Madrigal (groin) will work on strength and volume this week, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Madrigal was removed from Sunday's rehab game at Triple-A Iowa after experiencing renewed tightness in his left groin, but he'll work on strengthening exercises to begin the week. It's not yet clear when he'll be able to resume his rehab assignment, but it's possible that he'll rejoin the Cubs sometime in late July.

Newman isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Marlins.

Newman started in the last five games and hit .364 with a double, two runs and two RBI during that time. Josh VanMeter will draw the start at second base and lead off.

Kennedy is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Giants.

Kennedy is on the bench for third time in five games and may have moved into a timeshare with Sergio Alcantara, who gets another start at the keystone. Both players may soon see their opportunities at second base dwindle, as manager Torey Lovullo recently said that he expects to break Ketel Marte back in at the position at least once before the All-Star break. Marte has been serving exclusively as a designated hitter since returning to the lineup June 21 after he missed a few games due to a Grade 1 hamstring strain.

Sosa is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Sosa is back on the bench after he started in five of the last six games while going 2-for-18 at the plate. Though Brendan Donovan (illness) is out of the lineup for the fourth game in a row, he doesn't appear to be in jeopardy of landing on the injured list, so Sosa likely won't see his opportunities increase moving forward.

Muncy is on the bench Tuesday against the Cardinals, Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA reports.

Days off may become more frequent for Muncy, who's gone 4-for-30 since the beginning of July, if he doesn't begin producing more consistently at the plate. Justin Turner is playing third base Tuesday while Will Smith fills in at designated hitter.

Riley went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Mets.

The third baseman spoiled Max Scherzer's shutout bid by going yard in the seventh inning, but it was the only offense Atlanta generated on the night. Riley is notoriously streaky, but he's locked in right now -- he's hit safely in seven straight games and has homered in three straight, boosting his slash line on the season to .282/.348/.564 with 24 home runs, 51 runs and 57 RBI through 86 contests.

McMahon went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Monday's 6-5 loss to the Padres.

All four of McMahon's steals this season have come in July, after he went 0-for-2 on the basepaths in the first three months of the campaign. While he didn't notch a hit Monday, he's gone 8-for-33 (.242) with a home run in 10 games this month. That's just a little better than his .235 average for the season, and he's added a .692 OPS with 40 RBI, 34 runs scored, 13 doubles and two triples through 334 plate appearances.