MLB Player News

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter struck out three times in his first three at-bats Thursday in Cleveland. Then he made up for it with one swing in the eighth inning.

"I was able to lay off a couple tough sinkers by (Marc) Rzepczynski and get one up in the zone and put a good swing on it," Carpenter said after the game, per MLB.com.

Carpenter blasted a two-run homer just over the outstretched glove of Michael Bourn in right-center to turn a potential 1-0 loss into a 2-1 lead that stood up. He has six home runs and 23 RBI on the year.

His .612 slugging percentage ranks sixth in the majors.

Attention major-league umpires: If Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper feels you're talking down to him, he'll let you have it. 

In Wednesday's 9-6 win over the Diamondbacks, Harper was tossed after a debatable check swing. Harper felt he checked but umpire Rob Drake called him out on strikes. Harper felt Drake should have checked with the third base umpire about the play. 

“‘You’re gonna have to check it," Harper said he told Drake, according to The Washington Post. "He said, ‘You’re really gonna act like that?’ I didn’t like that comment from him. I don’t like getting talked down to by an umpire. I respect the umpires as much as I can but to tell me I’m going to act like that I gave him a piece of my mind.”

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is not in Thursday's lineup against the Phillies. More than likely, this is just a day off for the veteran. 

After a cold start in April, McCutchen has seen his batting average rise as he's recorded hits in seven of his last eight games. 

Outfielder Gregory Polanco is back in the lineup and hitting first. First baseman Pedro Alvarez is hitting fifth. Third baseman Jung Ho Kang is hitting sixth and catcher Chris Stewart is batting ninth. 

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson and shortstop Enrique Hernandez both hit home runs in Wednesday night's 5-4 loss to the Marlins. 

Both hit their home runs in the fifth inning. Hernandez hit a two-run homer and Pederson hit a solo shot. The Dodgers scored three runs in the inning. 

For Pederson, that's his 10th homer of the season. Hernandez hit his first of the year. 

With Charlie Blackmon receiving a night of rest, the Rockies inserted Corey Dickerson in the leadoff spot for Wednesday's contest against the Angels, per the Denver Post.

Dickerson is hitting .313 (31 for 99) with five homers and 16 RBI over 27 games. He will bat leadoff for just the second time this season.

Colorado is an underdog (+155) against Los Angeles in Anaheim.

Pirates slugger Andrew McCutchen had claimed throughout the first month of the season that his problems at the plate were the result of a faulty swing rather than a faulty left knee.

Perhaps he is proving himself right.

McCutchen has finally broken out with 10 hits in his last 26 at-bats, including a two-home homer Tuesday night against Philadelphia. It marked his first home run to center this season.

"I said that when things aren't going well that it has nothing to do with my knee," McCutchen told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "It just had to do with the fact that I wasn't playing like I should be playing. It was just a matter of time. When things get going, they're going to get going."

McCutchen hit .194 in April for only the  second sub-.200 month in his career. His average has crawled up from .185 to .229 since May 5.

Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper and manager Matt Williams were both tossed by home plate umpire Rob Drake in the seventh inning of Wednesday's game against Diamondbacks.

Harper was ejected after he struck out on a check-swing to end the top of the seventh. Williams was also tossed after arguing with Drake. Harper doubled in the second inning and finished 1 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout. He is hitting .308 on the season with 12 homers and 31 RBI.

Phillies' Darin Ruf is starting in left field and batting cleanup on Wednesday against the Pirates. Ruf was out of the lineup each of the last two games with a right-hander on the mound. Ruf is batting just .137 against righties this year. 

But with left-hander Francisco Liriano on the bump Wednesday, Ruf will look to break out of a 6-for-30 slump over his last 10 games. 

Ben Revere will slide over and play center field and Ryan Howard moves down to fifth in the batting order on Wednesday. 

Giancarlo Stanton murdered a fast ball on Tuesday and sent it out of Dodger Stadium in the Marlins' loss.

Dodgers left fielder Scott Van Slyke didn't even move when the ball shot over his head.

Stanton became the fourth player ever to hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium, joining Willie Stargell (twice), Mike Piazza and Mark McGwire.

The homer was Stanton's eighth of the year and the RBI was his 30th.

Bryce Harper launched another home run Tuesday, connecting for a two-run blast in the Nationals’ loss to the Diamondbacks.

After hitting six homers over a three-game stretch (Thursday-Saturday), Harper did not homer in his last two before Tuesday.

He now has seven homers over his last six games and 12 overall for the season, tops in the National League.