MLB Player News

Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson is back in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers.

Pederson didn't start Wednesday's game but entered the game as a pinch-hitter and went 1 for 2 with a walk.

Pederson is hitting .333 with five hits and four walks in his last five games.

Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's clash with the Rangers. Pederson had started all but one of the last 29 games for the Dodgers, but with lefty Wandy Rodriguez on the mound, manager Don Mattingly opted to give the young outfielder the night off.

With Pederson out of the lineup, Chris Heisey will make the start in center field on Wednesday. 

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper went 3 for 3 at the plate to help lead the Nationals to a 16-4 win over the Rays on Tuesday.

Harper drove in his only run of the game when he hit his 22nd home run of the season off Josh Riefenhauser in the fifth inning. He also walked once.

Over his last 14 games, Harper is 20 for 48 with four home runs and nine RBI.

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner blasted his sixth home run of the season during Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Rangers.

Turner tied the game with the home run in the ninth inning, but the Dodgers lost in the bottom of the inning. The two-run shot was Turner's only hit in four at-bats during the contest.

Prior to Tuesday's contest, Turner was hitting .450 with four RBI in his last seven games.

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton hit his 24th home run of the season in Tuesday night's 12-2 victory over the Yankees. 

Stanton hit the three-run bomb in the bottom of the fifth inning. Stanton finished the game 2 for 4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Over his past 10 games, Stanton is hitting .444 and now has recorded a hit in nine straight games. 

Stanton is hitting .265/.351/.616 this season. 

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper made his return to the starting lineup Monday against the Rays after sitting out Sunday due to a knee injury. He was in the lineup Monday as the team's DH.

Harper has hit safely in five straight games and continues to thrive offensively in June. He is batting .415 with a .732 slugging percentage and 1.252 OPS in 12 June games. He also has three home runs, four doubles, eight RBI, six runs and eight walks.

Don Mattingly has finally confirmed what has been assumed for a while - that Justin Turner is the starting third baseman for the Dodgers.

"It's pretty much Justin," Mattingly told the Orange County Register.

Turner has been the man since Juan Uribe was traded to Atlanta, though he lost a few games with a knee ailment. He has hit safely in each of his last six starts and owns a fine slash line of .316/.388/.493.

Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler began throwing as a part of his rehab process on Sunday, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

Soler, who is one the 15-day disabled list, will be able to remove the protective boot he's been forced to wear on his ankle soon. He has not begun hitting yet.

Soler is hitting .265 with four home runs and 19 RBI in 189 at-bats this season.

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon hit his eighth home run of the season in Sunday afternoon’s 4-1 win against the Marlins.

Blackmon, hitting leadoff, crushed Dan Haren’s seventh pitch of the game over the right field wall for a solo home run in the top of the first inning. Blackmon finished the game 1 for 4 from the plate.

Blackmon is hitting .282 in his last 10 games and now has 21 RBI for the year.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is not in the lineup for Sunday's series-finale against the Brewers. 

This wasn't expected to happen after Harper took a 95 mph fastball to his knee late in Saturday's game. The hit by pitch came after a superb performance that saw Harper reach base five times. 

"It hurts," Harper told The Washington Post on Saturday. "Really bad. … Squared me up pretty well. 95 to the knee don't feel very good. We'll see what happens (Sunday) and see if it feels good."

Filling in for Harper in right field will be Clint Robinson. He will be reevaluated Monday. 

"It was good that we were able to get him a day off [Sunday] and get some treatment on it," manager Matt Williams said, per The Washington Post.