MLB Player News

Pederson will sit against the left-handed Roenis Elias and the Mariners on Sunday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Pederson did start against a southpaw on Friday but before that had sat against 17 straight lefties. Matt Kemp will start in left field Sunday, with Enrique Hernandez starting in center.

Ozuna went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, two walks and two runs in a win over the Brewers on Saturday.

A day after plating a pair of runs with a timely single, Ozuna was back at it again Saturday. His homer was his second of August, with both having come in the last four games. The veteran outfielder has now pushed his monthly average up to .304 with Saturday's production, which also afforded him his seventh RBI over his last eight contests.

Belt will start at first base and bat leadoff Sunday against the Reds, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

For the first time in his eight-year career in the big leagues, Belt will fill the table-setting role while normal leadoff man Andrew McCutchen shifts down to the three hole. It's unclear if manager Bruce Bochy plans to stick with Belt atop the lineup, but the 30-year-old's performance Sunday will likely have a say in the matter.

Turner went 1-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and a stolen base in Saturday's loss to the Mariners.

With his eighth-inning homer off Alex Colome, Turner extended his hitting streak to 12 games, and he's batting .404/.492/.731 in August. Turner also chipped in a rare stolen base, his second of the season and first since June 26. Now seemingly back to full health, Turner appears primed for a big final six weeks.

Reyes isn't in Saturday's starting lineup against Arizona.

Reyes is set for his second straight day on the bench, although he was called on to pinch hit Friday. Travis Jankowski draws the start in right field and will lead off.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a two-run single in a win over the Brewers on Friday.

The slugging outfielder got the scoring started with a first-inning hit that plated Yadier Molina and Jose Martinez. Ozuna has bounced back from a lackluster July (.210/.250/.314 over 112 plate appearances) to reach safely in 13 of 16 August contests and generate six multi-hit efforts this month.

Harper went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 8-2 win over Miami.

Harper plated a run in the third inning on a single to right field, and he tacked on an insurance run in the seven on another RBI single. Following Friday's contest, he's recorded three straight multi-hit games, and he's hit safely in eight of his last 10. Harper's batting average has risen 14 points over that stretch (.234 to .248).

McCutchen went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 2-1 extra-innings loss to the Reds.

He headed into Friday's tilt stuck in a 4-for-33 (.121) slump over his prior 10 games, so Cutch's performance was a relief for wary fantasy GMs. The 31-year-old now sports a .257/.355/.417 slash line on the year, and the steal was his 10th -- the ninth time in 10 big-league seasons he's reached double digits in that category.

Reyes is out of Friday's lineup versus Arizona.

Reyes will take a seat after starting 10 of the past 11 games. He's in a bit of a skid lately, as he's failed to get on base over the last seven outings, during which he's 0-for-21 with six strikeouts. Jose Pirela will draw a start in the outfield in his stead.

Meneses is pushing to become the International League's first Triple Crown winner in 44 years, The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

Meneses leads the league in homers (22) and RBI (76), while his .315 average trails only Rusney Castillo's .329. It's hard to get too excited about a 26-year-old first baseman who's still stuck in Triple-A, but Meneses is doing all he can to raise his profile. He has made real changes to his approach, pulling 36 percent of his hits after pulling just 27 percent over the last three years, so there's at least a chance that he's a genuine late bloomer. He's firmly stuck behind Carlos Santana and now Justin Bour on the Phillies' first base depth chart and does not have a 40-man roster spot, so a September call-up doesn't appear likely, but he may have done enough to earn a shot in 2019 with a team that lacks an established first baseman.