MLB Player News

Ozuna had two hits and scored a run in Wednesday's win over the Braves.

The 25-year-old outfielder continues to rake with a strong .323/.375/.571 slash over 266 at-bats. He's been the Marlins' best hitter for the majority of the season while chipping in 15 home runs and 43 RBI to go along with 45 runs scored.

As expected, Cespedes (wrist) will sit out of Thursday's contest at Atlanta.

Cespedes received good news Wednesday night and will avoid a trip to the disabled list. However, he may be forced to sit out a few games after receiving a cortisone injection on his left wrist. Alejandro De Aza will receive the start in center field Thursday while Cespedes is out.

Belt is out of the lineup Thursday against the Pirates.

The Giants are giving several veterans the day off for Thursday's day game, and Belt certainly deserves the break, having notched eight hits, including two home runs, over his last six games. Buster Posey will start at first base and hit cleanup Thursday.

McCutchen is out of the lineup Thursday against the Giants, the Pittsburgh Tribune's Rob Biertempfel reports.

The veteran will get the day game off Thursday, as the Pirates look to do anything that will get him going at the dish. His slash line has fallen to .238/.315/.401, and while he got off to a slow start in 2015 as well, he had already turned things around at this point last year. Gregory Polanco will start in center field and hit third while Matt Joyce and Sean Rodriguez occupy the outfield corners.

Cespedes, who exited Wednesday's game in the fifth inning due to left wrist discomfort, is dealing with a wrist sprain, received a cortisone shot and is considered day-to-day, David Lennon of Newsday reports.

It appears that while Cespedes could miss a few games because of the issue, he's avoided any major issues and possibly a trip to the disabled list. The team heads to Atlanta for the opener of a four-game set Thursday, but Cespedes will reportedly skip that contest at a minimum. More information on a potential timetable should be on the way in the coming days.

Cespedes was pulled from Wednesday's game after the fifth inning due to left wrist discomfort, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com reports.

It appeared that Cespedes was in some pain after taking a swing during his at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning. The training staff came out to check on him, but he remained in the game until the end of the inning when Alejandro De Aza took over in center field. The Mets' slugger will likely be evaluated soon and more information regarding the injury should follow.

Stanton is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Braves.

Stanton struggles at the plate continued as he struck out twice and had zero hits in five at-bats during Tuesday's loss to the Braves. Ichiro Suzuki will start in right field instead and lead off in order to get more lefties in the lineup to face right-hander John Gant.

Harper went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to the Dodgers.

The homer was his 15th of the season while the steal was his eighth. Harper seems to be emerging from his slump, hitting .333 (8-for-24) over his last six games with two homers, five RBI, three runs and two steals and pushing his slash line in June up to .294/.372/.412.

Belt went 2-for-6 with two doubles and two runs scored Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Belt now has four two-hit games in his last eight, though that threshold wasn't hard to reach with the Giants scoring 15 runs in this one. The first baseman also has four doubles and three home runs in that stretch, and has worked his slugging percentage up to .538 in what has been a breakout campaign.

Cespedes hit his 18th home run, a solo shot, as part of a 2-for-4 game Tuesday against the Royals.

Cespedes now has a pair of home runs in his last three games after hitting just one homer in his first 14 games in June. After hitting 35 home runs in 2015, Cespedes is now on pace for 42 this year, as he's showing his MVP-level performance for the Mets in the second half last season was no fluke.