MLB Player News

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen was held out of the lineup again on Tuesday due to lower body soreness, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. McCutchen has been sidelined since Thursday due to the issue, and has vowed not to return until he's 100 percent. He took part in batting practice and did some other work in the morning.

"Taking it slow, no point in rushing it," McCutchen said. "I'm just doing standard stuff and taking my time. It's better safe than sorry.

"I'm fine. I can do that stuff," McCutchen said. "I'm going out and not feeling any type of hindrance. Until it gets out of the system I'm going to take it day by day."

McCutchen is hitting .167 (2 for 12) with one double, one RBI, one walk and one run in five spring training games.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen doesn't want to push things too hard too fast. The former league MVP has been sidelined by a lower body injury for the last two days and wants to get right before getting back on the field, reports MLB.com.

"I've just been trying to get my legs under me," McCutchen said. "When you get back to baseball stuff after all the offseason workouts, it just takes a little time. I don't want to get back out there until I'm 100 percent."

McCutchen will take his time to get back on the field and is in no rush.

"We're dealing with him day to day," manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's down again [Sunday], we have the day off [Monday] and we'll re-evaluate on Tuesday. I think we're in a good place with him."

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is struggling at the plate this spring, going just 1 for 8 so far. Even though he missed Wednesday's game with an abdominal injury, Blackmon wants to show more discipline at the plate and wait on pitches, reports MLB.com.

"I'm trying to see a lot of pitches," Blackmon said. "The other day, I took a 2-0 pitch on purpose [Friday while facing White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana, against whom he singled earlier in the game]. I want to be comfortable hitting later in the count, deeper in the count, with more strikes. In the season, if I get a 2-0 pitch over the plate, I'm going to try to hit it real hard. I'm not going to be trying to extend the at-bat."

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen won't be in the lineup Saturday and Sunday due to lower body soreness. McCutchen was scratched Friday with the same ailment , and told reporters that he would be available to play had it been a regular season game, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Pirates All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen was scratched from Friday's spring lineup against the Orioles due to lower body soreness.

McCutchen, who has made the All-Star team four straight seasons, is off to a slow start this spring. He is batting .167 (2 for 12) with one double, one RBI, one walk and one run in five spring games.

Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna is off to a 1-for-12 start this spring, but manager Mike Redmond isn't worried. "It's too early to get concerned about 10, 12 at-bats," Redmond told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Ozuna also struggled mightily last year in spring training, per the paper, but ended up batting .269 with 23 homers and 85 RBI in his first full season in the majors.

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who has been slowed by an abdominal injury, will make his spring debut Wednesday against the Mariners, per The Denver Post.

Blackmon indicated that the abdominal strain only hurt when he swung a bat, but that most of the pain is now gone.

Max Scherzer allowed six hits in three innings but the new Nationals' starter gave up just one run in Tuesday's start. 

Scherzer struck out three Marlins, including slugger Giancarlo Stanton. He also got Stanton to ground into a double play. 

Scherzer threw 47 pitches in the outing. He declared himself pleased with the performance and happy that he had the chance to pitch out of the stretch. 

Rockies right fielder Charlie Blackmon is still expecting to make his Cactus League debut this week. 

"I'm going to try to get all facets of my game sharp in spring training," Blackmon said, per MLB.com. "I expect to run a little bit — open up the playbook a little."

Blackmon has been dealing with abdominal injury that has kept him from playing thus far. 

A year ago, Blackmon hit .288 with 19 home runs and 72 RBI.

Rockies manager Walt Weiss said that Charlie Blackmon will be able to maek his spring debut within a couple days. 

The outfielder has been sidelined with abdominal tightness. 

Blackmon hit .288 with 19 home runs and 72 RBI last year.