MLB Player News

Belt went 1-for-1 with three walks and a run in Saturday's 5-3 victory over the Nationals.

The slugging first baseman has displayed some excellent plate discipline over the last week, drawing eight walks over the last five games while only whiffing twice. Belt has only homered once since June 20, however, and is hitting just .222 in July. While the current month has easily been his poorest of the season, Belt has a chance to quickly turn his fortunes at the plate around if he continues to exhibit the same patient eye of recent contests.

Blackmon went 2-for-4 with two doubles and scored twice in Saturday's victory over the Mets.

The center fielder followed up Friday's four-hit performance with another impressive game Saturday, notching his 20th and 21st doubles of the season. Last year, Blackmon hit a career-high 31 two-baggers and is now on pace to outperform that number in 2016. He's also on track to challenge last season's career-high 93 runs scored. Setting new personal records this season would be especially impressive considering he lost time to a stint on the DL back in April.

Cespedes was removed from Saturday's game following his fifth-inning at-bat for precautionary reasons, MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reports.

The reason for Cespedes' removal was not explicitly noted, but he missed a game earlier this week with a sore quad, so it's possible he felt some tightness in the area and was taken out of the game because of it. Cespedes' status for the Mets' next game Sunday will be revealed at some point on Sunday morning.

Dickerson (hip) is not in the lineup Saturday against the Reds, Bill Center of Padres.com reports.

Dickerson was lifted from Friday's game after a collision in the outfield with teammate Travis Jankowski left him with a concussion. While Dickerson was able to walk off the field under his own power, the Padres will exercise caution and hold Dickerson out for at least a day. San Diego will go with an outfield alignment of Jankowski in center, Alexei Amarista in left and Matt Kemp in right Saturday.

Ozuna clubbed his 18th home run of the season as part of a 2-for-4 effort in Friday's loss to the Cardinals.

It was the outfielder's first homer since way back on July 1 and prior to Friday's blast, he had batted .202/.262/.269 over his last 21 games. Ozuna has, however, hit in three straight, including the home run and a pair of doubles, and appears to be getting back in a groove at the plate. Even with the sluggish July, Ozuna is slashing .299/.350/.515 on the year with 18 home runs, 57 runs scored and 54 RBI.

After leaving Friday's game following an outfield collision, Dickerson has been diagnosed with a right hip contusion.

While Dickerson did not make it out of the first inning in Friday's game, he does not appear to be dealing with a serious setback at first glance. It's not clear if the injury will force Dickerson to miss any further action, but that will become clear when the Padres release their lineup several hours prior to their next game Saturday.

Dickerson was removed from Friday's game following a collision in the outfield with teammate Travis Jankowski, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Dickerson was able to walk off the field following the collision, but he will not be able to continue beyond the top of the first inning Friday night. Expect an update on his status when more details regarding his health are released.

Blackmon went 4-for-5 with two doubles and scored a run in Friday's victory over the Mets.

The center fielder raised his average to .303 with his first four-hit performance of the season. Despite a short stint on the DL earlier in the year, Blackmon is still on pace to challenge last season's career highs in doubles (31) and runs scored (93).

Carpenter (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield on Sunday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The three-time All-Star was recently cleared to resume baseball activities after being shut down for several weeks, and has successfully ramped up close to a rehab assignment. It's uncertain how long Carpenter will need in the minors to prepare for a return to the major league roster, but it seems he has a decent chance to make it back for the start of the team's homestand next week. He will immediately resume his role as the Cardinals' leadoff hitter upon activation.

Cespedes (quad) is back in the lineup Friday against the Rockies.

Word of a quadriceps flareup Wednesday provided a bit of a scare, as the quad issue is something that's been lingering since before the All-Star break, but it seems it was simply a minor setback. Cespedes has been cleared to return following Thursday's off day, and will look to reach the seats for just the second time since the intermission.