MLB Player News

Smith entered Thursday's game to play first base after Ildemaro Vargas (thigh) was removed in the fifth inning. Smith went 0-for-1 in a 3-2 win over the Dodgers.

The lefty-hitting Smith would not have been the first choice as a replacement with Dodgers southpaw Justin Wrobleski still on the mound, but Jose Fernandez was already in the game as the DH. The Diamondbacks typically limit Smith's exposure to left-handers. Vargas is day-to-day and is not expected to suit up Friday against Washington lefty Foster Griffin, but it's unlikely Smith will be in the starting lineup.

Manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Ohtani is dealing with a "small" blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, but it's a "non-issue" for his pitching starts moving forward, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani was seen messing with the finger during Wednesday's start against Arizona, where he continued his dominance on the mound with six shutout innings to pick up his sixth win. He's out of the lineup Thursday against the Diamondbacks, but it's a routine day off after making the start the night before. Ohtani is expected to be fine for his next start on the road against the Pirates next week and should be back in the lineup at DH versus the Angels on Friday.

Ohtani is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Diamondbacks.

Ohtani is getting the day off as planned following his two-way start in Wednesday's 7-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Will Smith has the start as the designated hitter and is batting fifth while Mookie Betts takes Ohtani's typical leadoff spot.

Ohtani (6-2) allowed two hits and a walk while striking out six over six shutout innings to earn the win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. He also went 3-for-4 with two walks and a run scored in the 7-0 victory.

Ohtani has allowed just one run on nine hits and nine walks across 24 innings over his last four starts. He was able to get through this outing on 89 pitches (58 strikes) while also making a noticeable contribution at the plate by getting on base five times. Ohtani is scheduled to be out of the lineup Thursday in the series finale, but he should be good to face his former team, the Angels, when the Dodgers open up a three-game series with their regional rivals Friday. For the season, Ohtani has pitched to a world-class 0.74 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 67:18 K:BB through 61 innings over 10 starts. He's also batting .301 with a .941 OPS, 10 home runs, 33 RBI, 41 runs scored, six stolen bases, 14 doubles and two triples across 61 games at the plate. Ohtani's next pitching start is projected to be on the road in Pittsburgh.

Ohtani won't be in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani is set to work as a pitcher and a hitter Wednesday, so the Dodgers will give him a full day to rest and recover during Thursday's series finale. The two-way star has been looking much more like his usual self at the plate recently, slashing .385/.467/.667 across his last 10 games, and he remains dominant on the mound with a 0.82 ERA through 55 innings on the season.

Tena is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Tena will be on the bench for the second straight day following a stretch of five games in which he made four starts at designated hitter and went 1-for-13 with a walk and a run scored. The spike in playing time was tied to Dylan Crews missing out on a couple of starts due to a hand injury, but with Crews having since moved past that issue, Tena's opportunities could be more scarce moving forward.

Yelich went 2-for-3 with two RBI, two walks, one stolen base and two runs scored in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the Giants.

Yelich walked, stole his fourth base of the season and came around to score in the first inning. He then drove home a pair with a single in the eighth to give Milwaukee a three-run lead. Since missing a few days with a back injury last month, Yelich is 16-for-57 (.281) with three home runs, 10 RBI, 13 runs scored and an 8:20 BB:K over his last 14 games. He's slashing .286/.360/.455 with four homers, 20 RBI, 23 runs scored, four stolen bases and a 13:36 BB:K across 125 trips to the plate this season.

Smith is expected to take on the designated hitter spot most of the time against right-handers, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

That was Smith's job Monday, when he was activated off the 60-day injured list. He was on the bench for Tuesday's game against Dodgers lefty Eric Lauer but entered as a pinch hitter against a right-handed reliever. Smith's return mostly affects Adrian Del Castillo but could also eat into Ildemaro Vargas's playing time at first base.

Yelich went 3-for-5 with two RBI, three runs scored and a walk in Monday's 16-2 win over the Giants.

Yelich was notably one of seven Brewers to tally multiple hits Monday and one of six Milwaukee batters to register multiple RBI. The three-hit performance was the veteran slugger's fourth of the campaign as well. Through 109 at-bats, Yelich is hitting .275 with 10 extra-base hits, 18 RBI, 21 runs scored and three stolen bases.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Monday that Ohtani will serve as the designated hitter when he starts on the mound Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

There have been some starts this season in which Ohtani has focused solely on pitching while taking a break from the batter's box, but that won't be the case Wednesday against Arizona. Ohtani has earned the win in each of his last three outings and came away with the quality start in this past Wednesday's appearance against the Rockies. At the dish, he has reached base safely in each of his last 16 games, going 24-for-61 (.393) with one steal, four home runs and 15 RBI in that span.