MLB Player News

Pederson is not in the lineup Saturday against the Padres as he's battling a knee bruise, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Pederson suffered the injury when fouling a ball off his knee in Friday's contest. That explains why he's sitting against a righty, though he's potentially available off the bench. The Dodgers face a lefty Sunday and get an off day Monday, so he could have a few extra days to rest before potentially returning Tuesday against the Rangers.

Pederson is on the bench for the second game in a row Saturday against the Padres, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Pederson's absence Friday made sense, as the Dodgers faced left-hander Clayton Richard, but he'll sit again Saturday despite the Dodgers squaring off against righty Brett Kennedy. The Padres will throw another lefty, Robbie Erlin, on Sunday, so Pederson could sit for all three games of the series. Cody Bellinger will start in center field Saturday.

Blackmon went 2-for-4 with a walk and a two-run homer in Friday's loss to the Cardinals.

He connected for a two-run shot -- his 23rd of the year -- off starter Miles Mikolas in the fifth inning. Blackmon has had multi-hit performances in three of his last four games but is hitting just .224 with two homers and six RBI in August. The 32-year-old has just 55 RBI on the year but ranks fourth in the majors with 93 runs.

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases in the Giants' 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Rangers on Friday.

The veteran outfielder stuffed the stat sheet, cranking his 15th homer and swiping his 12th and 13th bags of the season from atop the order. He hasn't produced at the level of his All-Star years this season, but McCutchen has managed to put together a solid campaign after a slow start, as he's now slashing .255/.354/.415 through 467 at-bats.

Turner went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and three RBI to help the Dodgers to an 11-1 win over the Padres on Friday.

Turner was right in the middle of the proceedings on a huge day for the Dodgers lineup, doing his part to help the cause with a fourth-inning two-run blast off Clayton Richard for his 10th long ball of the season. The 33-year-old has been red hot lately and he's now hitting an even .300 to go along with a robust .888 OPS over 240 at-bats.

Pederson is not in the lineup versus San Diego on Friday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Pederson will head to the bench with left-hander Clayton Richard pitching for the Padres. Chris Taylor is set to roam center field and bat fifth in his place.

McCutchen will man right field and bat atop the order against the Mets on Thursday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

McCutchen was held out of the lineup Wednesday amid rumors that he could be on his way out of town after being placed on revocable waivers earlier this week. According to Robert Murray of The Athletic Wisconsin, McCutchen wasn't claimed, which will allow the Giants to engage any of the other 29 clubs in a trade rather than having to negotiate with one team exclusively. The Giants' decision to reinsert McCutchen in the lineup for the series finale suggests a trade probably isn't imminent just yet, but the outfielder could be sent elsewhere within the next few days. Over 123 games this season, the 31-year-old has hit .255/.353/.412 with 14 home runs, 53 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Harper went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Phillies.

The slugger showcased some of his other talents in this one, beating the shift with a bunt in the first inning and then swiping his 11th bag of the season in the fourth. Harper's posted five multi-hit performances in his last seven games, and he's now rung up a spectacular .385/.442/.679 slash line through 20 games in August with five homers, 14 runs, 17 RBI and three steals.

Carpenter struck out in all four of his at-bats Wednesday in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over the Dodgers.

After going 3-for-5 and connecting on his 34th home run of the season in the series opener, Carpenter received a breather Tuesday. The time off evidently didn't prove helpful, as the four strikeouts were a season high for the infielder. Though Carpenter has been one of the majors' top hitters since mid-May, he's fallen into a bit of a slump in the second half of August. Not including his big performance Monday, Carpenter has recorded only one hit over his most recent seven starts, resulting in a 10-point drop in his batting average over that stretch.

Pederson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Cardinals.

Pederson provided the Dodgers' only hit against Jack Flaherty and their lone run on the night with his long ball in the sixth. While Pederson has struggled somewhat since the All-Star break -- he came into Wednesday's game batting .232/.281/.476 since the intermission -- he still has respectable numbers overall and should continue to lead off against right-handed pitching.