MLB Player News

Stanton is back in the lineup for Friday's game against the Giants.

After getting his first day off of the season Thursday, Stanton will get back into the order at the cleanup spot for the Marlins' series opener in San Francisco. Stanton had been slumping a bit by his standards leading into his day off, batting .217 over the last week. He'll be facing San Francisco right-hander Jeff Samardzija.

Ruf is starting in left field and batting seventh for Friday's game against the Brewers, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly reports.

With a right-hander on the mound, Ryan Howard will assume his normal position at first base but Ruf will receive a rare start in the outfield, as the Phillies attempt to bolster their offense in any way possible. Ruf has been used sparingly as a pinch-hitter over the past few games, but did go 1-for-3 with a double in his last start against the Nationals.

Soler is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Reds.

Javier Baez will start at third base, shifting Kris Bryant to Soler's usual spot in left field for the day. Soler is just 1-for-14 over the last five games so a day off to recuperate could prove beneficial.

Harper went 1-for-4 with a solo shot, his major league-leading eighth home run of the season, in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Marlins.

He's now tied with Trevor Story for the league lead in HR, and his 22 RBI is six ahead of his next-closest competitors for the league lead in that category. Harper is also hitting a scintillating .400/.414/1.040 over the past week, as opposing pitchers have been almost completely unable to get a hittable pitch past him. His 2015 was extraordinary, but it may only have been the tip of the iceberg.

Ozuna blasted a three-run homer in the first inning off Max Scherzer to lead the Marlins to a surprising win Thursday against the Nationals.

Like most of his team, Ozuna has struggled at the plate to start the season, slashing a paltry .200/.214/.345 in his first 55 at-bats. The 25-year-old hit just 10 home runs a year ago after smashing 23 in 2014. Last year's numbers are more likely to be representative of the type of player Ozuna is, which is still a valuable asset in many formats.

McCutchen, who went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts Wednesday, is batting .059 in 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

He's hit a pair of solo homers in the past week but has otherwise struggled, striking out 12 times in eight games. McCutchen is slashing .237/.348/.407 in the early going. He's gone 1-for-4 with a pair of walks against Thursday starter James Shields.

Cespedes went 2-for-6 with a home run in Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

The native of Cuba is slashing .291/.371/.636 with five homers and 13 RBI through his first 55 at-bats. Cespedes does have 20 strikeouts, but a high number of K's is par for the course throughout his career. He appears well on his way to another campaign of 25-plus homers and 100-plus RBI.

Stanton is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Stanton has yet to really get anything going with the bat, so manager Don Mattingly decided to give him his first day off of the season Thursday in hopes of providing a spark. Ichiro Suzuki will get the start in right field Thursday in Stanton's place.

Pederson will hit cleanup in Thursday's game against the Braves, Andy McCullough of the LA Times reports.

Pederson has not hit higher than sixth in any other game this season, but he will move up to the fourth spot Thursday with regular cleanup hitter Adrian Gonzalez being bumped up to third for a day. Pederson has a hit in three straight games and owns an .883 OPS against right-handers on the season. He will face a righty Thursday with Matt Wisler on the mound for the Braves.

Turner is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Braves, according to Andy McCullough of the LA Times.

Turner tallied two hits in Wednesday's game but just three hits in the previous seven games, so manager Dave Roberts decided to give him the day off Thursday. Charlie Culbertson will fill in at third base in Turner's place.