MLB Player News

Rockies left fielder Corey Dickerson is out of the team's starting lineup for Tuesday's game. However the reason for Dickerson's absence is rest, not the foot that has been giving him trouble. 

Dickerson has been battling plantar fasciitis since spring training and was doubtful for the game. He told MLB.com he thinks he can play.  

The Denver Post reported that Dickerson believes he'll be able to play within the next few days and won't need a trip to the disabled list.

Charlie Blackmon moves from center to left field to replace Dickerson, and Drew Stubbs gets the start in center, batting seventh. 

With two hits Monday, including a double, Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen leads all MLB players with 49 hits against the Cubs since the start of 2013, per MLB.com.

He will be looking to add to that total Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, as the Pirates finish out a four-game series with Chicago. The Cubs will throw Travis Wood on Tuesday, Jason Hammel on Wednesday and Kyle Hendricks on Thursday.

McCutchen has never faced Hendricks in his career, but he is batting .259 (7 for 27) with one double, two home runs, seven RBI, seven walks and seven strikeouts against Wood and is batting .300 (6 for 20) with one double, two home runs, three RBI, one walk and four strikeouts against Hammel.

In 95 career games vs. Chicago, McCutchen is batting .333 with three triples, 23 doubles, 13 home runs and 51 RBI.

Cubs outfielder Jorge Soler didn't just extend his hitting streak to seven games Monday night against Pittsburgh. He did it in style.

Soler slammed four hits, including a seventh-inning double that contributed to a three-run inning that gave his team the lead for good. He is 12-for-32 during his tear and now boasts a slash line of .320/.364/.520 with two home runs and nine RBI in just 12 games.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Monday star center fielder Andrew McCutchen "has moved better the last couple of games," per MLB.com.

McCutchen has been playing through left knee soreness. However, the injury has only cost him to miss one game and he has played in eight straight games, including Monday's contest against the Cubs.

The four-time All-Star is batting .211 (8 for 38) with one double, two home runs and nine RBI in 11 games. 

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter went 2 for 3 at the plate in St. Louis' 2-1 win over the Reds Sunday. Carpenter provided most of the offense for the Cardinals in the game, smacking a leadoff home run in the first inning over the center field wall off of Mike Leake, his second of the season.

"I didn't know I had that in me," Carpenter said to MLB.com. "I got a good swing off, and I guess it was carrying a little bit better tonight than usual, because I don't hit balls up there often."

He later added a single to boost his average to .400 in 45 at-bats this season. He also leads the team with 10 RBI from the lead off spot in the order.

Infielder Justin Turner had a career-high four hits Sunday in the Dodgers' win over the Rockies.

Turner went 4 for 5 with his first three doubles of the season and an RBI. He's now 6 for 15 (.400 avg.) on the year.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is starting in left field in Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Belt has spent all but one inning at first base since the start of the 2013 season, with his only non-1B appearance coming last year, when he played one inning in right field in a game. The position isn't completely foreign to the infielder, as he made 30 starts in 2011 and four starts in 2012 in left field.

The alignment allows manager Bruce Bochy to start Buster Posey and first base and insert Andrew Susac at catcher. With Belt in the outfield, Gregor Blanco is not in the starting lineup.

The Giants are favorites (-135) against the Diamondbacks Sunday.

Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig, left fielder Carl Crawford, catcher Yasmani Grandal and third baseman Juan Uribe are not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Rockies.

Puig was able to return from a tight hamstring Saturday and go 2 for 3 with a walk, but manager Don Mattingly said that the outfielder had a noticeable limp while playing nine innings. Crawford is out of the lineup for the second straight day due to illness. Uribe and Grandal are sitting for the first time in four games.

With several starters sidelined, Justin Turner will bat second and play third base, Andre Ethier will bat fifth and start in right field, Scott Van Slyke will start in left field and bat sixth and A.J. Ellis will start behind the plate and bat eighth against Rockies right-hander Eddie Butler.

Despite the multiple absences, the Dodgers are heavy favorites (-165) Sunday.

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon has a goal this season: see more pitches at the plate, reports MLB.com. Blackmon is currently on a career-high pace at the plate with a .263 batting average in 10 games. He credits it to his patience at the plate early on.

"I started trying to see a few more pitches in spring training," Blackmon said. "I'm better deep in the count. It's better for the team to go deeper in the count. As a leadoff hitter you give your guys more chance to see the other pitcher's arsenal, and maybe earn a walk here or there."

Sometimes, Blackmon will take cuts just to keep pitchers from finding a rhythm.

"There will be times I'll be very aggressive to keep pitchers honest," he said. "That's by design. I don't always try to see 4.13 pitches. If I notice teams fall into a pattern one way or another, I'll come out of that and start hacking."

Bryce Harper hit his fourth home run of the season in the Nationals' 5-3 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. 

Harper went 2 for 3 with a walk and a game-tying solo homer in the fifth inning. Harper is hitting .279 with seven RBI.