MLB Player News

McCutchen is absent from the starting nine Saturday at Cincinnati.

The 37-year-old will give way to Oneil Cruz at DH on Saturday while Billy Cook slides to center field. McCutchen is 9-for-32 (.281) with a pair of home runs over his last nine games.

Ohtani went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a stolen base and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-4 win over the Rockies.

Though he didn't quite match the 6-for-6, three-homer, 10-RBI, two-steal masterpiece that helped him establish the 50-50 club Thursday, Ohtani's performance Friday was another excellent one. Ohtani is not showing any sign of fatigue in the final month of the season -- he now has eight home runs, nine steals and 24 RBI while batting .324 over 18 contests in September. With 52 home runs and 52 steals on his ledger, Ohtani still has time to push for a 55-55 campaign with eight games remaining on the Dodgers' schedule. He's likely to play regularly as long as home-field advantage through the National League playoffs is up for grabs.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said Friday on MLB Network that it's "very unlikely" Ohtani (elbow) will pitch during the postseason.

Ohtani has been throwing off a mound and is expected to face hitters soon as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Manager Dave Roberts said earlier this month that the chances of Ohtani pitching out of the bullpen some during the playoffs are "not zero," but it was always an extreme long shot and Gomes added that it's "not in the plans as of now." On Thursday, Ohtani become the first player in major-league history to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season. He'll return to being a two-way player in 2025.

Ohtani went 6-for-6 with three home runs, four runs scored, 10 RBI and two stolen bases Thursday in a 20-4 win against the Marlins.

Ohtani entered the game two home runs and one stolen base short of recording the first 50-50 season in MLB history. He quickly reached 50 steals for the season in the first inning, when he swiped third base after reaching base on a leadoff double. Ohtani then went yard in back-to-back frames later in the contest to clinch the impressive milestone. After slugging a three-run home run off position player Vidal Brujan in his final at-bat in the eighth inning, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to record three home runs and two stolen bases in the same game.

McCutchen is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest in St. Louis.

McCutchen had a couple hits and scored a run in Wednesday's loss to the Cardinals, but he will begin Thursday's series finale on the bench. The Pirates are going with Bryan Reynolds at designated hitter and Nick Yorke in left field.

Ohtani went 1-for-5 with a stolen base Wednesday in an 8-4 win over Miami.

Ohtani didn't take long to continue his advancement on the majors' first 50-50 season, singling to left field to open the game and promptly swiping second base before advancing to third on a throwing error. His teammates were unable to bring him home, however, and Ohtani didn't reach base again in the contest. The Japanese superstar is up to 48 home runs and 49 thefts on the campaign with 10 regular-season games remaining on the schedule.

Ozuna went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, two doubles, two runs scored and two total RBI during Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Reds.

Ozuna snapped a streak of 26 games without a home run, taking Tony Santillan yard in the seventh inning. In September, Ozuna is 17-for-56 (.304) with seven runs, two RBI and almost as many walks (10) as strikeouts (11).

Encarnacion is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Encarnacion appeared to have settled into an everyday role after making five consecutive starts, but he'll find himself on the bench Wednesday for the second day in a row. Both of Encarnacion's absences have come against right-handed pitchers, so he may have moved back into the short side of a platoon in the corner outfield or designated hitter with the lefty-hitting Michael Conforto.

Martinez is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Nationals, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

In the midst of a six-game hitless stretch, Martinez will grab a seat for the series finale. Starling Marte will occupy the designated-hitter spot for the Mets while Tyrone Taylor plays right field.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Pederson will hit the bench for the series finale while the Rockies send southpaw Austin Gomber to the hill. Randal Grichuk (lower body) will replace Pederson in the lineup as Arizona's designated hitter.