MLB Player News

Blackmon isn't starting Thursday against the Diamondbacks.

Blackmon will get a breather after he went 5-for-8 with two runs across the last two games. Yonathan Daza will shift to right field while Garrett Hampson starts in center.

Turner will sit Thursday against the Marlins, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The veteran will rest during the early getaway day game. It's certainly not a performance-related day off, as he's hitting .500/.556/.750 thus far in the month of July. Zach McKinstry will take over at the hot corner in his absence.

Blackmon went 3-for-4 with a run scored in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.

All three of Blackmon's hits went for singles and he ended up scoring in the eighth on a throwing error by catcher Daulton Varsho. The 34-year-old Blackmon now has back-to-back multi-hit games and 15 total for the year, but for the most part he's lost his power and knack for stealing bases. He's slashing .267/.364/.374 with four homers, 38 RBI, 35 runs, and a 35:43 BB:K over 313 plate appearances.

Ruf went 1-for-1 with a two-run homer and a walk in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Cardinals.

Ruf entered the game in the sixth as a replacement for LaMonte Wade who had to be taken out due to a left hand strain. The 34-year-old Ruf walked his first time up and then clobbered a 427-foot home run to center to give the Giants some breathing room and put them up 5-2 in the eighth. He now has two home runs in the first week of July after missing most of June with a right hamstring strain. Ruf continues to be a viable depth option for manager Gabe Kapler this season, slashing .259/.396/.537 with eight homers, 20 RBI, 22 runs scored, a steal and a 23:38 BB:K over 134 plate appearances.

Turner went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 9-6 loss to the Marlins.

He took Ross Detwiler deep in the third inning, one of three Dodger long balls in the frame. Turner is red hot right now, batting .410 (25-for-61) over his last 17 games to push his slash line on the year to .303/.393/.493 with 14 homers and 45 RBI through 81 contests.

Pederson went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's win over the Phillies.

Pederson had gone hitless in five straight games coming into Tuesday's contest but he's now strung together consecutive two-hit performances. The outfielder has always been a bit of a streaky performer, and the 43-44 Cubs are going to need him to get hot if they want to push themselves back into the NL Central race.

McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Wednesday against the Cubs.

McCutchen provided the majority of Philadelphia's offense for the evening with a two-run blast in the sixth inning. It was his 15th home run of the season and second in as many games. Though he's hitting only .233 on the campaign, McCutchen has a .351 on-base percentage and has scored 46 runs while driving in 48 across 79 contests.

McCutchen went 1-for-5 with a grand slam in Tuesday's 15-10 win over the Cubs.

McCutchen's slam came in the first inning as the Phillies' offense got to Jake Arrieta quickly in the contest. In the seventh inning, McCutchen was replaced by Luke Williams in left field, likely to get the former some rest in his second game back from oblique soreness. The 34-year-old is up to 14 homers, 46 RBI, 45 runs scored, six stolen bases and a .792 OPS through 324 plate appearances.

Harper went 5-for-6 with a home run, a double, four RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's 15-10 win over the Cubs.

His three-run homer in the seventh inning was the first of his 15 long balls to come with runners on base this year. Harper also had a ground rule double in the fourth. The outfielder's big performance lifted his slash line to .282/.386/.529 through 267 plate appearances. He's added 30 RBI, 44 runs scored and seven stolen bases.

Winker is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against Kansas City, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Winker will get a chance to reset after going hitless across his last 14 at-bats. Aristides Aquino, Shogo Akiyama and Tyler Naquin will align the Reds' outfield from left to right as Nick Castellanos serves as the DH.