MLB Player News

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco is in the starting lineup Sunday, batting sixth and serving as the designated hitter in his team's matchup with the White Sox.

Mesoraco made his first start since April 11 in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader, as he's been limited to pinch-hit duty while dealing with a hip impingement. With the option to serve as designated hitter off the table after Sunday's game, Mesoraco will likely return to pinch-hit duty while trying to rehab the injury. He's just 2 for 30 on the season.

The Reds are underdogs (+110) in Chicago Sunday.

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud is scheduled for an exam Tuesday to determine if he can remove his soft cast and be cleared for baseball activity, ESPN New York reports.

d'Arnaud suffered a broken pinky finger after being hit by a pitch three weeks ago and is on the 15-day disabled list while recovering. He has hit .317/.356/.537 with two home runs and 10 RBI in 41 at-bats.

Mets rookies Dilson Herrera and Kevin Plawecki are out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.

Herrera has made seven straight starts at second base since joining the lineup but will get a breather Sunday, with Ruben Tejada taking his place. Plawecki has made five straight starts behind the plate, but Anthony Recker will catch Sunday.

The Mets are road favorites (-150) in Philadelphia.

Reds' Devin Mesoraco is back in the starting lineup for game 2 against the White Sox on Saturday, according to MLB.com.

Mesoraco is slotted as the designated hitter and will bat sixth. It will be his second start since April 11 with a hip injury, although he has been able to come on as a pinch hitter over the last couple of weeks.

Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt has lost his starting job. Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer is trying to help him find his swing.

Seitzer has been urging the 23 year old to stop swinging for the fences and start swinging for hits.

"Don't try to do too much," Bethancourt told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution when asked what Seitzer was telling him. "Try to use my hands, try to get back in my approach, and I should be alright."

Bethancourt has received more playing time since veteran replacement A.J. Pierzynski slowed down after a torrid start. But it hasn't helped. He is 3-for-26 with five strikeouts in eight games previous to Saturday. That lowered his slash line to .159/.196/.227.

Right fielder Mark Trumbo and catcher Tuffy Gosewisch will get some rest Saturday as  both are out of the Diamondbacks' starting lineup against the Padres.

Trumbo has started 24 of the D-backs' 28 games in right field before Saturday while Gosewisch has started 21 games behind the plate.

Outfield utility-man Ender Inciarte will start in right and bat leadoff with Jordan Pacheco batting seventh in his seventh start behind the plate.

Jonny Gomes and A.J. Pierzynski aren't in the Braves' starting lineup for Saturday's game against Washington.

Kelly Johnson gets the start in left field in place of Gomes. It's Johnson's 13th start of the year in left, one shy of Gomes' total, but it's just the second time in the last six games that Johnson has started there.

Johnson will bat cleanup.

Christian Bethancourt gets the start behind the plate in place of Pierzynski. It's his 13th start of the year at catcher. He'll bat seventh. 

Devin Mesoraco is back in the Reds' starting lineup on Friday against the White Sox. Mesoraco, who hasn't started a game since April 11 due to a hip injury, is listed as the designated hitter and cleanup hitter for manager Bryan Price. 

Mesoraco has been able to pinch hit over the last few weeks, but has not recorded a hit since his last start. He has just two hits on the season overall. 

Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch went 3 for 4 with four RBI during Thursday's 11-0 win over the Padres.

Gosewisch entered the game without any extra-base hits on the season, but he hit three doubles Thursday. Gosewisch now has back-to-back three-hit games after only having one multi-hit game prior to Wednesday's game. The last two games has raised his batting average from .176 to .237.

"It felt great," Gosewisch said, per MLB.com. "First one, got lucky and it fell in and relaxed a little after that and got some pitches to hit. But as a whole I think the whole team had a great approach. We just continued to get hits throughout the game."

Pirates catcher Chris Stewart drove in two runs to help lead the Pirates to a 7-2 win over the Reds on Thursday.

Stewart went 2 for 4 in the game. The two RBI came when he hit a single off Kevin Gregg to drive in Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte in the seventh inning. Stewart has now hit safely in his last four games. During the hitting streak, Stewart has six hits in his last 15 at-bats.