MLB Player News

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run home run in Tuesday's win over Philadelphia. 

McCutchen went 2 for 4, improving his average to .229. He has three homers and 17 RBI this year. 

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter hit his 15th double of the year in Tuesday's win over Cleveland. 

Carpenter went 2 for 5, raising his average to .336. He scored twice and drove in his 21st run of the season. 

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly admitted Tuesday that the strong play of Alex Guerrero has complicated his plans for third base this season, according to MLB.com. 

Guerrero has split his time this season between third and left field, hitting .326 with six homers and 14 RBI in 46 at-bats. 

Juan Uribe (.261, 1 HR, 6 RBI) and Justin Turner (.309, 5 HR, 13 RBI) have also seen significant time at third for the Dodgers this season.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter (fatigue) is back in the starting lineup and batting second Tuesday, while center fielder Jon Jay (thumb) is on the bench for his team's game against the Indians.

Carpenter missed four games last week due to extreme fatigue but is ready to see his first action since Wednesday. He has hit .333/.403/.620 with five home runs and 20 RBI in 108 at-bats.

Jay suffered a thumb injury Saturday and was only able to serve as a pinch-runner Sunday. Peter Bourjos will make another start in center field with Jay sidelined.

The Cardinals are underdogs (+110) in Cleveland Tuesday.

Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna connected off Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke in the seventh inning for his third home run of the season during Monday's 5-3 loss the Dodgers.

The home run was Ozuna's only hit in the game. He finished the contest 1 for 3 with one walk and two runs scored. Over his last five games, Ozuna is 6 for 20 with three home runs and four RBI. Ozuna has hit each of the three home runs during that span.

After taking Sunday's game off to rest, Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton was back in Monday's lineup to face the Dodgers in Los Angeles, reports MLB.com.

Stanton will hit in his usual No. 3 spot in the lineup and he will face Zack Greinke. Stanton is 2 for 9 with one home run in his career against Greinke. Over his last nine games, Stanton is hitting .167 with one home run and eight RBI. 

The Marlins are the underdogs (+220) at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.

For the second straight game Juan Uribe is out of the Dodgers' starting lineup, as Justin Turner gets the nod at third base Monday against the Marlins. 

Turner, a utility infielder, was the Dodgers' hero on Sunday after breaking a tie game with a pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning. 

Uribe is hitting .261 this season with one homer and six RBI.

Phillies outfielder Darin Ruf is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Pirates.

Ruf has made seven straight starts while seeing time at first base and left field. With Ruf out of the lineup Ben Revere is shifting to left and Grady Sizemore is getting the start in right field for the second straight game.

The Phillies are home underdogs (+155) against the Pirates Monday, per VegasInsider.com.

The Cubs open a series against the Mets on Monday with a slightly revamped lineup that features right fielder Jorge Soler hitting cleanup for only the second time this season. 

Soler only has three home runs on the season, but with catcher Miguel Montero out of the lineup in place of David Ross, the Cubs will slide his bat into that power position. 

Soler's other appearance in the 4-hole came on May 5, when he went 1-for-4 in a loss to the Cardinals. The Cubs (-142) are favorites in Monday's contest. 

Third baseman Matt Carpenter will return to the Cardinals on Tuesday after missing four straight games dealing with what the team called "extreme fatigue," per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

Carpenter experienced dizziness, an elevated heart rate and trouble sleeping last week. The team ran tests, thinking it was a virus, but they did not reveal anything. So manager Mike Matheny decided to give Carpenter four days off. 

"Whenever a guy is that worn out we have to figure out a way," Matheny said. "It would make 'Carp' absolutely sick that we're having conversations like this. The reason he is able to do what he's been able to do is because of the work that he puts in."

Carpenter is hitting .333 with five homers and 20 RBIs this season, but was only 4-for-22 in six games so far this month.