MLB Player News

Carpenter is out of the lineup Sunday against the Giants.

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny will use an exclusively right-handed lineup to counter southpaw Madison Bumgarner, with the lefty-hitting Carpenter giving way at third base to Jedd Gyorko. Carpenter had started each of the Cardinals' last 22 games and has been one of the top offensive producers in the league over that stretch, slashing .321/.439/.728 with eight home runs, 22 runs and 15 RBI.

Miller is out of the lineup Sunday against the Braves.

Tyler Saladino will draw his fourth straight start at shortstop Sunday and appears to have overtaken Miller as the primary option at that position, but the latter still may have a path to playing time at the other middle-infield spot. Jonathan Villar will get the nod at the keystone Sunday with lefty Sean Newcomb on the hill for Atlanta, but Miller boasts a .274/.348/.465 slash line and 123 wRC+ versus right-handers this season, a steep upgrade over Villar's .251/.297/.338 line and 70 wRC+ in those same matchups. That discrepancy might make Miller the preferred candidate to occupy the strong side of a platoon at second base.

Turner went 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Angels.

Turner served as the Dodgers' designated hitter, and his two-run single in the fifth inning proved to be crucial in a tight victory. It has been a grueling recovery process from a wrist injury for the 33-year-old, but he appears to be rounding into form with a .276/.389/.474 slash line, four homers and 11 RBI over his last 23 games.

Belt went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Cardinals.

The Giants only managed eight hits on the day, and Belt provided their only extra-base hit. The first baseman is hitting .324 with a home run and six RBI over his last 10 games, pushing his slash line on the season up to .296/.387/.504.

Blackmon went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Colorado's 7-1 win over Seattle on Friday.

Blackmon went yard for the 16th time this season with a first-inning solo shot off Felix Hernandez. His .280/.353/.476 slash line through 327 at-bats would be considered terrific for most players, but it's actually lagging quite a bit behind the ridiculous standard he set last year, when he hit .331, posted an even 1.000 OPS, and clubbed 37 homers. Blackmon has remained a fantastic source of runs, as his current total of 65 leaves him fifth in the league. This was also his second three-hit effort in his last three games, so hopefully that's a sign he's gearing up for a hot streak that will pump his other numbers back toward the lofty levels he's capable of.

Winker is not starting Friday against the Cubs, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Winker is hitting .458 with a 1.218 OPS over his last nine games, but the Reds' outfield rotation will continue, with Adam Duvall starting over him in left field. Winker has pretty much been as advertised this season, with excellent on-base skills but little power or speed, leading to a .277/.391/.403 line with six homers and no steals on the season.

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Giants.

Ozuna took advantage of several RBI opportunities, driving in runs on a groundout and single. He showed signs of breaking out of his slump, recording his first two-hit performance since June 26th and his first extra-base hit since the 25th. While he had been on a tear at the plate in the first half of June, Ozuna entered Thursday's game with just a .278 slugging percentage over the last 15 days, so his season of hot and cold spells has continued.

Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, two walks and three runs scored Thursday against the Giants.

Carpenter took Johnny Cueto deep in the second inning for his 16th home run of the season. He now has at least one extra-base hit in three of his past four games and six of his last 10, helping him vault into the top 10 in the National League in OPS. While his power production stands out, Carpenter has also managed to raise his average to .264, his highest mark since April 2.

Carpenter went 3-for-4 with an RBI single, two doubles, a walk and a run in a win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Carpenter turned in another one of his superior performances from the top of the order, generating his third multi-hit effort over the last nine games. The veteran infielder is hitting a scorching .469 (15-for-32) with six doubles, two home runs, four RBI, six walks and 10 runs over that span, a stretch that includes a 5-for-5 tally against the Indians on June 26. After seeing his average and slugging percentage dip as low as .199 and .370, respectively, as recently as May 23, Carpenter has boosted those figures to .263 and .509, a season-changing surge that shows no signs of abating.

Winker went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.

Winker provided a game-tying, two-run single in the fourth inning and then later came around to score in the frame as Cincinnati went ahead to stay. The 24-year-old had a productive June, slashing .308/.432/.513 in the month, and is following that up with a strong start to July as well. In four games in the month, he's hitting .556 (5-for-9) with two doubles, two walks, three RBI and three runs scored.