MLB Player News

Belt went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday against the Athletics.

Belt took Trevor Cahill deep in the fourth inning for his 14th home run of the season. Before the game, he was activated from the paternity list, though he only missed Friday's game before returning. Though this has been Belt's most productive season from a power standpoint, it was his first home run since June 28 and only his third since May 20.

Carpenter combined to go 2-for-4 in the Cardinals' doubleheader Saturday and hit a solo home run in both games, including a pinch-hit homer in the second contest.

The surface of the sun has nothing on Carpenter, who now has eight homers in a six-game streak, highlighted by his historic trio during a seven-RBI effort Friday. Carpenter tagged Tyler Chatwood in the third inning of the first contest and lifted one off Randy Rosario as a pinch hitter in the nightcap. For the year, he's hitting .277/.386/.593 with 25 homers, 53 RBI and 64 runs scored in 394 plate appearances. Heading into Saturday, he was slashing .352/.470/.926 for this month, and he now has 10 home runs in July.

Cespedes will see a specialist and get an MRI early next week, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Cespedes was activated from the disabled list Friday but revealed that he will eventually need surgery to deal with calcification on both his heels. He was unavailable off the bench Saturday against the Yankees but hasn't been ruled out for Sunday's game. It's a difficult situation to get a read on, even for the Mets, who evidently were unaware that surgery would be necessary. The outfielder's immediate future should become more clear after the MRI.

Belt was activated from the paternity list Saturday and will bat second and play first base against Oakland, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Belt ended up missing just one game on paternity leave. The first baseman has gone 0-for-15 in his last four games. Ryder Jones, called up to replace Belt on Friday, was sent back to the minors in a corresponding move.

Carpenter is on the bench for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cubs.

Carpenter picked up his fifth home run of the series in the afternoon game and has now homered in his last five games. Jose Martinez will start at first base in the nightcap.

Turner (groin) is not starting Saturday against the Brewers, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Turner hasn't played since July 12 after suffering a groin strain. He was thought to have a good chance to return Saturday but evidently wasn't cleared after a workout. Max Muncy will start at third base in his place.

Cespedes is out of the lineup against the Yankees on Saturday.

Though manager Mickey Callaway said Friday that playing a day game following a night contest would be no problem for Cespedes, he placed the 32-year-old on the bench after the slugger complained of soreness Saturday morning. In his first game back since the middle of May, Cespedes went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored during Friday's victory. He should be back in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale.

Blackmon went 2-for-5 with a walk and three runs scored Friday in the Rockies' 11-10 win over the Diamondbacks.

Blackmon picked up right where he had left off prior to the All-Star break in his return to action, logging his fourth consecutive game with at least two hits. The outfielder is hitting .386 with five home runs, 16 runs and 10 RBI over the Rockies' 14 games in July, putting him well on his way to finishing with his best month of the season.

Carpenter went 5-for-5 with two doubles, three home runs, four runs scored and seven RBI in Friday's 18-5 rout of the Cubs.

The five extra-base hits in a game tied the major-league record, and incredibly Carpenter accomplished the feat in only six innings, getting the rest of the day off in the blowout. He's now homered in four straight games dating back to before the All-Star break, and 16 of his 23 home runs on the season have come since June 5, a stretch during which he's hitting .352 (50-for-142).

Cespedes stated he's dealing with calcification in both his heels, which will require surgery at some point, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

When asked if he could make it through the rest of the season, Cespedes, who homered in his return to the lineup Friday, stated "I don't know." He'll likely attempt to wait until the end of the year before undergoing surgery, which has a recovery time of 8-to-10 months.