MLB Player News

Jung went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Saturday's 8-3 loss to Washington.

Jung went yard in the fourth and sixth innings, but it was not nearly enough to overcome the 8-0 deficit created by starter Andrew Heaney, who left the game after three innings. The long balls were the 18th and 19th for Jung, who leads all MLB rookies in that category. He's hit safely in five of his last six contests, logging multiple hits in four of them and going 9-for-26 (.346) with five extra-base hits and six runs scored.

De La Cruz went 2-for-5 with two runs, an RBI and three stolen bases Saturday in an 8-5 win against Milwaukee.

De La Cruz seems to find a way to dazzle on a daily basis, and Saturday was no exception. The phenom provided a highlight-reel sequence in the seventh inning when he plated the go-ahead run with a two-out single, stole second, stole third and proceeded to steal home by catching the Brewers napping. De La Cruz has notched at least one theft in four straight games, going 12-for-22 (.545 average) at the plate with a home run, four RBI, five runs and seven steals during that stretch. He's already up to 16 stolen bases on the campaign despite having played in just 29 games.

Baty (hamstring) went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Padres.

Baty missed a couple of games while dealing with hamstring soreness. The third baseman has gone 18-for-61 (.295) over his last 18 games, setting him up nicely if he can sustain the momentum into the second half. He's slashing .248/.316/.359 with five home runs, 21 RBI, 27 runs scored and two stolen bases over 64 contests this season.

Muncy went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and two total RBI in Saturday's 10-5 win over the Angels.

Muncy has homered three times over his last six games, accounting for half of his hits in that span. Prior to this surge, he'd gone 14 contests without a long ball, though there was a two-week absence with a hamstring injury in that span. Muncy is slashing .198/.331/.476 with 21 homers, 53 RBI, 47 runs scored and a stolen base over 72 games this season.

Baty (hamstring) is starting at third base and batting eighth Saturday against the Padres, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

A sore hamstring kept Baty out of the Mets' last two games, but he'll be back in action for Saturday's contest. The 23-year-old third baseman is 4-for-13 with two runs scored since the beginning of July.

Rendon (lower leg) remains on the bench for Saturday's game against the Dodgers, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Rendon has been out of action since fouling a ball off his shin Tuesday against the Padres. The Angels' break starts a day early, so unless Rendon appears off the bench Saturday, he's already made his final appearance of the first half. Assuming his shin injury is nothing worse than a bruise, he should have ample time to heal by the time the Angels resume play next Friday versus the Astros.

Paredes will not start Saturday's game against Atlanta, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Pardes has swung a hot bat recently, homering four times in his last 18 games while slashing .291/.459/.564. He'll get a rest Saturday with Taylor Walls taking over at the hot corner.

Longoria isn't in the Diamondbacks' lineup Saturday against the Pirates.

Longoria is hitless in nine plate appearances since the beginning of July, so he'll get a day off Saturday to regroup. Emmanuel Rivera will fill start at third base in Longoria's place and bat sixth.

Candelario (knee) is starting as Washington's designated hitter Saturday against the Rangers, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Knee soreness forced Candelario to sit out Friday's game, but the issue seems to have subsided ahead of Saturday's contest. Candelario is 5-for-21 with two homers and five runs scored since the beginning of July, and he remains a candidate to be traded before the Aug. 1 deadline.

Peterson will hit the bench against lefty James Paxton and the Red Sox on Saturday.

Peterson started against a lefty in Friday's series opener, but Brennan Bernardino was merely an opener in that contest. Peterson owns a career 52 wRC+ against southpaws, so it's no surprise to see him sit against Paxton. Aledmys Diaz will take over at the hot corner.