MLB Player News

Ozuna scored twice and drove home a pair of runs while going 3-for-5 with a triple in Saturday night's win over the Nationals.

Ozuna also clubbed a pair of hits in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader as he continues to pick up his season. He's now hit safely in 14 straight games while racking up nine multi-hit efforts over that span. His season line has ridden to a strong .313/.361/.552 through 35 games to go along with 21 runs scored, six home runs and 19 RBI.

Soler is out of the lineup Sunday against the Pirates.

Soler has started six of the last seven games for the Cubs, but has collected just three base knocks over that span. The 24-year-old has plenty of potential, but he'll soon need to start showing some results if he plans on staying a regular in manager Joe Maddon's lineup. Kris Bryant will take his place in left field Sunday, while Javier Baez takes over at the hot corner.

McCutchen extended his batting streak to eight games Saturday, going 1-for-4 with a double against the Cubs.

He's hitting .382 in 34 at-bats over his hot streak, which includes four doubles and two dingers. McCutchen might struggle a little bit Sunday. He has just two singles in 16 career at-bats against starter Jon Lester.

Harper has dropped his appeal and will serve his one-game suspension in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Marlins, the Washington Post's Chelsea Janes reports.

This is as good a time as any for Harper to serve the suspension, as it will spare him from playing 18 innings Saturday. Chris Heisey will get the start in right field and hit seventh in his place. Make sure Harper is not in any daily lineups Saturday evening, but he should be safe to deploy Sunday.

Dickerson was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Saturday.

The Padres recalled Leonel Campos from El Paso to take Dickerson's place. Dickerson mainly served a pinch-hitting role for the Padres and only started one game. He went 2-for-10 with one home run and four RBI before he was sent down.

Harper was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, and a two-run home run in the Nationals' win over Miami on Friday night.

Harper is hitting just .278, albeit with 11 home runs and 29 RBI on the season, but he sports a ridiculous .456 OBP as teams routinely pitch around him - he has walked 37 times in just 35 games. It's pretty easy to understand why, as his seventh-inning home run in this one broke a 2-2 tie and propelled the Nationals to a win.

McCutchen went 3-for-5 with a run scored and a two-run home run in a losing effort against the Cubs on Friday afternoon.

The home run, his eighth of the season, came with two outs in the ninth inning, proving to be too little, too late. However McCutchen, who got off to a very sluggish start, now has his average up to a steadily improving .261 and is showing clear signs of breaking out. An offensive explosion could very well be imminent for the extremely talented center fielder.

Winker, 22, is slashing .303/.405/.394 with two home runs and 17 RBI through 30 games for Triple-A Louisville.

Perhaps most impressively, Winker has more walks (20) than strikeouts (14). On the downside, his power has been almost non-existent after he hit 13 home runs in 123 games at Double-A last year, but there's still plenty of time for him to develop that aspect of his game.

Ruf was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday.

Ruf had been getting somewhat consistent playing time on the short side of a platoon at first base with Ryan Howard, but he did nothing to warrant a spot on the roster, batting a mere .158 with three RBI on the season. He'll head to the minors to try and get back on track at the plate. The Phillies called up first baseman Tommy Joseph from Triple-A to take his spot on the roster.

Belt (illness) is back in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

An illness kept Belt out of the lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the Blue Jays, but he was able to enter the game as a pinch hitter and log two at-bats. He'll reclaim his spot at first base Thursday and he'll bat fifth in the order against Arizona ace Zack Greinke.