MLB Player News

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt went 4 for 5 at the plate during Friday's 6-0 win.

The four hits consisted of three singles and one double. Belt also scored a run and struck out once. Over his last six games, Belt is 12 for 21, but he only has two extra-base hits and one RBI during that span.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper had another huge game in Friday night's 9-2 win over the Braves. 

Harper went 3 for 4 with two home runs, a single and five RBI. That gives Harper five home runs in the past two games. He hit three homers against the Marlins on Wednesday. Harper has now hit 10 home runs in 29 games. 

Prior to this two-game outburst, Harper had totaled five homers through 27 games. He's since doubled his output and is 6 of 8 in these last two games.

Harper now holds a slash line of .284/.426/.627. 

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter is suffering from "extreme fatigue" and will not be available for the team's series in Pittsburgh, according to MLB.com. Carpenter was left in St. Louis to rest, though it is not yet known if he will be available for the three-game series in Cleveland that starts Monday. 

Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick is getting just his second day off this season, as he is not in the starting lineup for Friday's matchup with the Rockies. Kendrick, who last got a day off on April 26, has started to cool off after a hot start to the season.

Over his last 10 games, Kendrick is just 10 for 41 and has seen his season average drop from .314 to .280 over that span. 

Justin Turner is in the lineup at second base and batting third for manager Don Mattingly on Friday.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter is out of the lineup for the second conseuctive game on Friday against the Pirates. No word has been given regarding a possible injury for Carpenter, though he recently did have a bout of light headness. The Cardinals are facing a tough left-hander in Francisco Liriano on Friday, so it's likely that Mike Matheny is simply loading up on right-handers in his lineup. 

Pete Kozma is getting the start at third base while batting eighth for Matheny.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has become a doubles machine lately. Belt, who went 2 for 4 and scored a run in Thursday's loss to the Marlins, has recorded a double in five straight games and six of his last eight. Belt is also riding a five-game hitting streak, during which he is batting .471 (8 for 17) with a triple and an RBI to go along with the five two-baggers.

Belt is heating up after a rough start to the season. He has seen his season batting average rise from .235 at the end of April to .274 entering play on Friday. 

Playing in his 27th game of the season, Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna finally connected on his first home run of the season during Thursday's 7-2 win over the Giants.

Ozuna hit the two-run home run off Tim Hudson in the seventh inning. Ozuna finished the game 2 for 5 with two RBI. Ozuna had been 0 for 8 in his last two games. He is now batting .293 on the season and is 12 for 36 in his last nine games with four RBI.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen showed signs of coming out of his slump when he produced three hits during Thursday's 7-2 win over the Reds.

McCutchen went 3 for 4 during the game and he drove in one run. He raised his batting average from .188 to .210. McCutchen has hit safely in seven of his last eight games. However, he has just two extra-base hits during that span.

"Once we start keying on the good things, we start rolling, get the ball rolling here, it will be good regardless of if it's in our division or if it's out of our division," he said, per MLB.com. "As long as we get going, ain't going to be anyone really stopping us."

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter was given his first day off of 2015, as he was held out of Thursday's starting lineup against the Cubs. Carpenter had started all 27 games so far for St. Louis, but he has just four hits in 22 at-bats this month, so manager Mike Matheny opted to give him a rest.

Mark Reynolds received the start at the hot corner and hit fifth on Thursday, while Jon Jay moved up to the leadoff spot in the order.

The team is playing their 17th straight game without a break on Thursday, and their next schedule off-day isn't until May 11. So Matheny thought it best to give his starting third baseman a breather. 

"That's emotionally draining, physically draining," Matheny said, per FoxSports.com. "Some of these other guys have been stepping up big and got to keep them sharp."

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson connected on two home runs during Wednesday's game against the Brewers, but it was not enough as the Dodgers fell 6-3.

Each of the home runs were solo shots off Brewers starter Wily Peralta. Pederson now has nine home runs on the season and is batting .272. The two home runs were his lone hits in four at-bats Wednesday.