MLB Player News

Harper (knee) is not in the Nationals' lineup Tuesday against Philadelphia, Mark Zuckerman of MASN reports.

Harper took a pitch off of his right knee Monday and exited the game with what the team would later diagnose as a contusion. While Harper is not expected to miss significant time, he'll sit Tuesday as the Nationals attempt to avoid turning a minor injury into something that could linger. Washington will go with an outfield of Clint Robinson, Ben Revere and Jayson Werth on Tuesday.

Harper was diagnosed with a right knee contusion Monday, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

Harper was hit by a pitch during Monday's game against the Phillies. He remained in the game for a bit, but when his knee stiffened up, Nationals manager Dusty Baker removed Harper from the game as a precautionary measure. For now, he's considered day-to-day.

Harper exited Monday's game against the Phillies after taking a pitch to the right knee area, CSN Mid-Atlantic reports.

Harper was hit by a Jeremy Hellickson fastball and initially remained in the game. However, after being thrown out in a double play, he departed the field and headed to the clubhouse, with Chris Heisey taking his place in right field. The Nationals haven't released an update on Harper's status, so consider the reigning MVP day-to-day until further notice.

Blackmon went 1-for-5 with a solo home run on Monday against the Reds.

Blackmon has been seeing the ball well all month for the Rockies. The outfielder has hit safely in eight straight games, recording six extra-base hits in that span. After hitting .250 in April, Blackmon has busted out with a .315 average this month. His recent production is more in line with what Blackmon contributed each of the past two seasons.

Carpenter went 4-for-5 with two doubles, three runs and a strikeout Monday against the Brewers.

The 30-year-old third baseman recorded his first multi-hit effort since May 19, and has gone 11-for-38 (.289) over the past 10 games. The Cardinals need him to produce a bit more at the top of the lineup, but perhaps this four-hit game (a season-high mark for him) might be what he needs to get back on track.

Belt went 2-for-4 with a homer and a pair of runs scored in the Giants' loss to the Braves on Monday.

Although he's been productive all season as the Giants' regular first baseman, Belt's homer Monday was his first since May 4 in Cincinnati. For the season, he's now hitting .294/.413/.488 with five homers, 25 RBI and a 35:35 BB:K, and Belt should continue to see plenty of chances to deliver as a run producer working from the middle-third of the San Francisco lineup.

Stanton (side) remains out of the lineup Monday against the Pirates, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports.

Stanton will effectively miss his sixth straight contest, as Cole Gillespie will be called upon to man right field in his stead. Although Stanton was able to take batting practice Sunday and expects to be available during this series, he'll have to wait at least another day to return to the starting lineup. That being said, he may be available to pinch hit in Mondays's contest, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.

Stanton (side) expects to return to the Marlins' lineup during the team's upcoming series with the Pirates, MLB.com reports.

He once again got in some batting practice prior to Sunday's game while adding some drills on the field, and appears to be on the verge of returning to the lineup. Meanwhile, some further details of the injury have emerged as Stanton indicated he initially got hurt in a collision with Marcell Ozuna on May 15 and aggravated the injury making a throw Tuesday against the Rays. Stanton will return with a .214/.326/.481 line with 12 home runs and 26 RBI through 43 games.

Ozuna stayed hot in Sunday's win over the Braves, finishing 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and three runs scored.

The 25-year-old has been on fire of late, as he extended his hitting streak to 11 games and slugged his third homer of that stretch. Ozuna is also batting .344 on the season and has already equaled his home run total from all of last year, putting him firmly on track for a career year if he can keep it up.

McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI against the Rangers on Sunday.

The center fielder continues to struggle this season with a career-low .803 OPS in 194 at-bats, but he seems to be figuring this out of late. McCutchen has hit safely in nine of the past 11 games, and even though he's hit a mere .244 over that span, the fact that he's making contact suggests his numbers should improve sooner than later.