MLB Player News

Perhaps it won't matter because Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton has been mashing everything in sight, but he has struggled against Rockies starter Kyle Kendrick, who will face him Friday night.

Stanton is batting a mere .115 against Kendrick lifetime, though one of his three hits traveled over the fence.

He does, however, have seven home runs in the last nine games and eight hits in the last four.

Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton stayed red-hot at the plate in Thursday's 6-0 win over the Rockies. Stanton went 2 for 5, including his league-leading 22nd home run of the season. Stanton's three-run blast gave the Marlins an early 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Stanton also had an RBI single in the second inning. He now has nine home runs in his last 12 games. 

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt received a day off Thursday against the Mets, as catcher Buster Posey drew the start at first base. It was the second time in seven games and just fourth time since May 1 that Belt wasn't in the starting lineup.

Belt is batting .241 (7 for 29) with one double, one home run, six RBI, three runs, three walks, nine strikeouts and two stolen bases in eight June games.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt hit his eighth home run of the season during Wednesday night's 8-5 win over the Mets. 

This marked Belt's first home run in the month of June. He finished the game 2 for 5 with two RBI and a run scored. He also struck out once from the plate. He's now hitting .296/.371/.519 this season. 

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter went 2 for 5 with a RBI in his team's 4-2 win over the Rockies on Wednesday.

Carpenter snapped a five game hit-less streak with the multi-hit performance. 

Carpenter is hitting .297 with eight home runs and 31 RBI in 209 at-bats this season.

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner will miss his second-consecutive game during Wednesday's contest against the Diamondbacks, reports TrueBlueLA.com.

Turner is suffering from a left knee contusion, which he sustained during Monday's game. He was replaced at third by Alberto Callaspo, who will bat seventh.

With Turner's knee showing signs of improvement, manager Don Mattingly said he hopes to have Turner back for Friday's game, reports the Orange County Register. The Dodgers are off Thursday. 

The Dodgers are favored (-180) over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna was one of the only offensive bright spots during the 7-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday. Ozuna saved his only hit of the game for his final at-bat, a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning. 

The home run was his fourth of the season, but his first since May 11. Ozuna is still batting a respectable .288, and he extended his current hit streak to 11 games on Wednesday. 

Marlins manager Dan Jennings made a few tweaks to his lineup Wednesday against the Blue Jays, including moving slugger Giancarlo Stanton to cleanup for the first time this season. Stanton had hit third in every game he played this season.

Taking the third spot in the lineup was outfielder Christian Yelich, who hit first, second, fifth, sixth and seventh this season before Wednesday's game.

Stanton is having a pretty good start to June. He is batting .321 (9 for 28) with a .857 slugging percentage, 1.224 OPS, three doubles, four home runs and five RBI in seven games. In 98 career games batting cleanup, Stanton has a .263/.504/.868 slash line.

Yelich has a .280/.366/.753 slash line in 25 career games batting third. He is off to slow start in June, batting .200 in seven games, but he is batting .276 since May 23.

Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon went 1 for 4 in Tuesday's win over St. Louis. 

Blackmon singled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to seven straight games. 

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton hit two home runs in Tuesday night's 4-3 loss against the Blue Jays. 

Stanton hit solo shots in the first and seventh innings. He now has 21 home runs this season. Stanton is now hitting .333 with eight home runs over his past 10 games. He holds a slash line of .245/.332/.586 this season.