MLB Player News

Center fielder Joc Pederson was one of a few bright spots in what was otherwise a dismal night for the Dodgers, as they were pounded 15-2 by the Mets on Saturday. Pederson went 3 for 4 with a double and a solo home run, his 21st of the year.

Pederson was in need of a game like this for himself, as he came into the night struggling at the dish. The three-hit performance on Saturday gives him a .262 batting average over his past 10 games.

Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez isn't in the starting lineup for Sunday's game. To replace him, Justin Turner moves across the diamond from third base. Turner gets his seventh start at first base. 

Replacing turner at third is Alberto Callaspo, who gets his 17th start. 

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt had a nice night at the plate, as he went 2 for 5 with three RBI and a run scored in Friday's 9-3 win over the A's. Belt ripped an RBI double in the fifth inning, and added a two-run single in the eighth.

Belt has hit safely in 11 of his past 12 games, batting .333 with five two-baggers over that stretch. 

Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon went 3 for 5 in Friday's win over Cincinnati. 

Blackmon scored once, drove in a run and stole his 25th base of the year. 

Blackmon now has seven multi-hit games in his last 10. 

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner went 3 for 5 with two doubles and a home run in Friday's win over the Mets. 

Turner hit in his sixth straight game. He's 13 for 24 with a pair of three-hit games and a four-hit outing over that stretch. He's also homered in two of the last three. 

Turner drove in two runs and has scored in six of the last seven games. 

On May 23, Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen had a multi-hit game with a homer. He did the same on June 23.

So perhaps it was meant to be that on Thursday - July 23 - he again achieved that feat. McCutchen, who had not blasted off as part of a multi-hit game over the past month, singled and scored in the first inning and turned a 4-1 lead into a 6-1 lead with a two-run tater in the seventh.

His big game ended a 4-for-24 mini-slump and sweetened his slash line on the year to .289/.389/.496.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter went deep on Thursday for his 10th home run of the season. The third-inning, two-run blast, his only hit of the game, gave the Cardinals a 4-2 lead, and they would hold on for the 4-3 win over the Royals.

After going 135 at-bats between home runs, Carpenter has now hit two in his last 35 at-bats. But he has just three other hits over that same stretch, giving him a .143 average over the nine games. 

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, but he did something Wednesday that he had not done previously during that stretch. He knocked one over the fence for the first time since June 20.

Belt blasted his 10th homer, a 413-foot solo shot in the sixth inning that tied the game. He also walked twice in improving his on-base percentage to a strong .353.

Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon will get a day off, as he's being held out of the lineup against the Rangers on Wednesday afternoon. Blackmon had started 17 games in a row, and has been a force offensively atop the Rockies' lineup.

In that 17-game stretch, Blackmon slashed .357/.416/.571 with two doubles, two triples, three home runs and 10 RBI. 

But he'll get a day of rest in the matinee affair, with Drew Stubbs handling center field and DJ LeMahieu moving up to the lead-off spot in the order.

Bryce Harper has been one of the few bright spots offensively for the Nationals, and he'll try to do some damage from the No. 3 spot in the lineup for Wednesday's series finale vs. the Mets. 

However, Harper has been better this year hitting clean-up, with a .356 average, 17 homers and 48 RBIs from that position in the lineup.

But, given the Nationals' injury situation, it's been hard to provide Harper any protection, so he's spent 11 of the last 12 games hitting third, where he's at .292 with 10 homers and 16 RBIs.