MLB Player News

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Friday's 6-4 victory over the Phillies.

The 25-year-old outfielder's bat remains red-hot, as he's now managed three straight multi-hit efforts. Ozuna has also hit safely in six consecutive games and reached base safely in 14 straight. The recent offensive surge has his slash line up to .260/.313/.462 over 104 at-bats.

Stanton launched a 475-foot home run, his 10th of the season, to lead the Marlins to a 6-4 win against the Phillies on Friday.

Stanton's blast in the bottom of the eighth gave the Marlins a two-run lead and helped secure their 11th win in the last 12 games. Stanton has simply been the best hitter in baseball over that stretch, cranking seven home runs while posting a .395/.531/1.026 line. For the season, he's now slashing .274/.391/.632 with 24 RBI. As Giancarlo goes, so go the Marlins.

Blackmon is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Giants.

With lefty Madison Bumgarner due up for San Francisco, Blackmon will take a seat in favor of Gerardo Parra in center field. Ryan Raburn will man left as DJ LeMahieu slots in atop the batting order. Blackmon is 8-for-28 with two doubles and a homer since his return from the DL late last month.

Cespedes went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer during Thursday's road loss in San Diego.

After breaking up Colin Rea's no-hit bid with a single in the seventh, Cespedes slammed a line-drive homer over the left-field fence as the Mets attempted to make a comeback from a five-run deficit in the ninth. It wasn't enough, but you won't hear the slugger's fantasy owners complaining. Cespedes has made a habit of these out-of-the-park-in-a-hurry liners to left so far this year, and those big rips are no small part of the reason that he's been carrying an OPS over 1.000 for more than two weeks now.

Soler is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Soler has been struggling this season, hitting just .185/.276/.292 with two home runs through 25 games this season. He should no longer be considered an every day player considering how well Javier Baez and Tommy La Stella have been playing off the bench, as well as the ability of Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist to shift to the outfield if necessary. Soler has been known to heat up with the weather, so he is worth keeping an eye on still.

McCutchen called for Tuesday's official scorer to be fired after he was charged with an error on a line drive to center field. "He smoked it. It was a knuckleball," McCutchen told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I did what I could to try to catch it. Whoever scored that an error should be fired. That's unbelievable. I'd like him to try to catch that one."

McCutchen, who later apologized, went 2-for-5 with a double in Tuesday's loss to the Cubs. Since slugging three homers in Colorado, the outfielder has slashed .207/.303/.379 in his last seven games. Slow starts have become an annual spring rite for McCutchen but he's always warmed up with the weather.

Stanton went 2-for-3 with a double, a homer, a walk, two RBI and two runs against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

After seeing his eight-game hitting streak end the day before, Stanton got right back to work on rebuilding the ol' batting average. He's now smashed six homers in his last nine games, reminding anyone with short-term memory issues about his status as one of the game's top power hitters.

Harper went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBI in the Nats' win over the Royals on Wednesday afternoon.

Prior to the multi-hit game Wednesday, Harper was mired in a 2-for-26 slump (13 strikeouts). He's now sitting with 10 home runs through 27 games this season, putting him on pace to threaten the 50-homer plateau by the end of 2016 if he can maintain his current power production.

Ozuna mashed a two run home run, his fifth of the season, during Tuesday's win over the Diamondbacks.

Ozuna has struggled with consistency a bit so far this season and is batting just .228 with a .290 OBP through 92 at-bats while also striking out 25 times with just eight walks in 24 games. On the positive side, he's clubbed five home runs and is slugging .457 with 13 RBI a year after hitting just 10 home runs in 494 at-bats. It is nice to see the power bounce back in the early going and he'll remain a solid run producer batting fifth in the Marlins lineup.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rays, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports.

Manager Dave Roberts announced last week that Pederson would get Wednesday off while the Dodgers were playing on the unforgiving Tropicana Field turf, and he held true to that statement. Tracy Thompson will fill his spot in center field and bat sixth.