MLB Player News

Morel went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Thursday's loss to the Dodgers.

The Cubs couldn't get much going in the contest, but Morel ensured that they weren't shut out with his two-run blast to left field in the fifth inning. The long ball was his ninth of the campaign and was just his third hit over his past six contests. Despite the recent mini-slump, Morel is enjoying a strong rookie campaign with a .273/.343/.503 slash line, 25 RBI, 33 runs and seven stolen bases in addition to the nine homers.

Ruf isn't starting Thursday against the Padres, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Ruf will be out of the lineup for a second consecutive game after he went 4-for-11 with a homer, two doubles, four RBI and two runs over his last five contests. Tommy La Stella is serving as the designated hitter while David Villar starts at third base.

Blackmon isn't starting Thursday against the Diamondbacks.

Blackmon is sitting for the second time in the last four matchups after he went 0-for-6 with two walks and three strikeouts over the last two games. Connor Joe, Yonathan Daza and Randal Grichuk are starting in the outfield from left to right while Kris Bryant serves as the designated hitter.

Vogelbach is not in the starting lineup for Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader versus the Reds.

Vogelbach will take a seat in the day game Thursday after he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Wednesday's loss to the Yankees. Bryan Reynolds will slide over to designated hitter while Bligh Madris enters the lineup in left field and bats seventh in Game 1.

Ozuna went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 3-0 win over the Cardinals.

Ozuna hit a solo shot in the fifth inning to put Atlanta on the board. The designated hitter is having arguably his best month of the year, slashing .261/.261/.696 after picking up at least one hit in five of six games. He has just three strikeouts during that span and has taken his batting average from .223 to .229. The homer in Wednesday's game was his third of the month after he hit four in all of June. Ozuna is up to 17 home runs on the season.

Ruf hit a two-run home run in his only at-bat during Wednesday's 7-5 win against Arizona.

With the Giants trailing by two in the eighth inning, Ruf was brought in to pinch hit for Lamonte Wade. The former smashed a 429-foot, two-run shot to left field to tie the game. Ruf didn't remain in the contest to play defense, but his mark was already made, and San Francisco ultimately pulled out the win. Ruf's homer was his first since June 22 and his seventh of the campaign. He slugged a career-high 16 long balls over 262 at-bats last season.

Morel went 1-for-3 with a walk, a triple and a run scored in Wednesday's win over the Brewers.

Chicago trailed 1-0 entering the eighth inning, but Morel delivered a jolt with a one-out triple that nearly left the park. The outfielder then scored on a Rafael Ortega single to tie the game. Morel has cooled off some since a hot start to his rookie campaign, but his mix of power and speed (eight home runs and seven stolen bases across 46 games) makes him an intriguing fantasy player so long as he's making regular contact at the plate.

Ruf is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Ruf went 3-for-16 over his past seven contests and will head to the bench for Wednesday's series finale in Arizona. Yermin Mercedes will bat third as the designated hitter.

Madris is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees.

The 26-year-old finds himself on the bench for the second straight contest after Ben Gamel (hamstring) was activated from the injured list Tuesday. Madris is 3-for-20 with a double, a stolen base and nine strikeouts in his past five contests.

Hummel is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.

Hummel went 4-for-15 with a triple, a walk, four runs, an RBI and two stolen bases while starting in each of the past four games, but three of those starts came against left-handed pitching. With righty Alex Cobb on the hill for San Francisco on Wednesday, the switch-hitting Hummel will head to the bench for the series finale. He looks as though he'll be stuck in a short-side platoon role while all of David Peralta, Alek Thomas, Daulton Varsho and Ketel Marte are healthy and available.