MLB Player News

Smith (quadriceps) is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers.

After exiting early in Wednesday's 3-2 win due to left quad tightness, Smith will take a seat for Thursday's matinee contest. The Diamondbacks seem to be classifying Smith as day-to-day, and even if he had emerged from Wednesday's contest without an injury, he likely would have been in line to sit Thursday since the Brewers are sending a lefty starter (Jose Quintana) to the bump. Tyler Locklear will get the nod at first base in the series finale.

Devers went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs, a double, a walk, four total runs and five total RBI in a 12-3 victory versus the Cubs on Wednesay.

Devers ignited San Francisco's offense early with a first-inning solo blast. He added a run-scoring double in the third and a three-run homer in the sixth. Devers finished with his fourth four-hit game of the campaign, and his five RBI trailed only his May 23 eight-RBI performance against the Orioles for his most this season. In fact, Devers tallied more RBI on Wednesday than he had in his previous 15 games combined.

Ohtani (1-1) earned the win over Cincinnati on Wednesday, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out nine batters over five innings.

Ohtani gave up a solo homer to Noelvi Marte in the third inning, but the Reds otherwise weren't able to do much against him. The two-way star got 14 whiffs on his 87 pitches and fanned a season-high nine batters. Of note, Ohtani threw 23 curveballs Wednesday -- per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, which blew away his previous career-high total of 16. It's equally important that Ohtani was allowed to finish the fifth inning -- it was the first time this season he's gone that deep, which by rule means it's the first time he was able to qualify for a victory. That's a significant development for fantasy managers, as the Japanese superstar should be able to help in that category moving forward while potentially building upon his already impressive 44:7 K:BB through 32.1 frames.

Smith was removed from Wednesday's game against the Brewers due to left quadriceps tightness.

Smith tweaked his quad while running out of the batter's box after hitting a single in the seventh inning, and he was immediately lifted for a pinch runner. The severity of his injury remains unclear, but more details may emerge after the game. If the 29-year-old ends up needing to miss time, Tyler Locklear would be the next man up to start at first base.

Andujar is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Dodgers.

Andujar has now been absent from the lineup for each of the last four and five of the last six contests in which the Reds have faced a right-handed pitcher. He has retained his role as the cleanup hitter against lefties during that span, but the 30-year-old looks to be settling back into the short side of a platoon.

Winker (back) was cleared to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday with Single-A St. Lucie, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Though no reports indicated that Winker had resumed baseball activities, the 32-year-old evidently made enough progress behind the scenes over the last few days for the Mets to clear him for a rehab assignment. He'll start at designated hitter for St. Lucie on Wednesday and likely remain in the minors for several more games in order to stockpile at-bats and prove that his back won't be an issue if he's needed for spot duty in the corner outfield. Though Winker could be ready to return from the 60-day injured list at some point in September, the Mets may not be willing to open up regular playing time for him, especially while the team is getting good results from its current DH duo of Mark Vientos and Starling Marte. Winker slashed an unremarkable .229/.309/.400 in 81 plate appearances in the majors prior to being shut down with the back issue.

Bell is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Yankees.

Southpaw Max Fried will toe the rubber for the Yankees, marking the third straight time that the switch-hitting Bell has been out of the lineup against a lefty. Andres Chaparro will play first base in the series finale.

Ozuna is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game in Miami.

Ozuna has followed a hot stretch with another slump, having gone 3-for-30 with 13 strikeouts over his last nine contests. He'll get a day off to regroup while Ronald Acuna serves as Atlanta's designated hitter and Jake Fraley (knee) plays right field.

Flores went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and a second run scored in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Cubs.

Flores has homered twice over his last seven games, though he has gone a modest 4-for-19 (.211) in that span. The infielder's blast in the second inning opened the scoring Tuesday. Flores is up to 14 long balls, 64 RBI, 40 runs scored, one stolen base and nine doubles over 109 games this season. He continues to see steady playing time versus left-handed pitchers with only occasional starts against righties.

McCutchen is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cardinals.

The Pirates will give McCutchen a routine day off after he had been included in the starting nine in each of the last three contests. With McCutchen taking a seat, Bryan Reynolds will get a day off from playing right field but will stick in the lineup at designated hitter.