MLB Player News

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.

Rockies manager Walt Weiss said Wednesday that center fielder Charlie Blackmon has "embraced the leadoff role and is really evolving, but he's put in the work to do that," MLB.com reports.

Blackmon, who studies video intensely, leads all NL leadoff hitters with five home runs.

"You see his goofy side once in a while, but there's a lot of intelligence behind that goofiness, and tremendous work ethic," Weiss said.

Blackmon has hit .316/.365/.579 with 14 RBI, 14 runs scored and two stolen bases in 95 at-bats coming into Wednesday's doubleheader.

Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton made things interesting Wednesday in Washington. His team appeared doomed to a blowout defeat, but he slammed a three-run homer in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to 7-5.

Alas, that was the final score and it was Stanton who blew a chance to play hero again. He came up with two on and one out in the ninth against closer Drew Storen and struck out on three swings-and-misses.

The homer was Stanton's seventh of the year - all in the last 19 games.

Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler has been dropped to fifth in the order for Wednesday's matchup with the Cardinals.

It's the third straight game in which Soler has been moved down in the order, as he saw his first action leading off Friday before resuming his familiar role in the second slot Saturday. After a day off, he batted cleanup in the team's matchup with a lefty Tuesday.

Soler had hit in one of the top four spots of the lineup in all of his starts this season before batting fifth Wednesday. The move down isn't due to production, as the right fielder is 6 for 17 over the last seven days.

The Cubs are underdogs (+109) against the Cardinals Wednesday.

Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper launched three home runs-- a career high -- in his first three at-bats, leading his club to a 7-5 victory over Miami on Wednesday afternoon. Ryan Zimmerman was the last Washington player to hit three in game on May 29, 2013 against the Orioles.

Harper uncorked a solo home run to left field in the second inning off Tom Koehler. Harper's second home run was a monster two-run shot that landed in the second deck in right field, giving his club a 4-2 advantage in the third inning. He tacked on another solo home run -- an upper-decker -- off Koehler in the fifth inning to give Washington a three-run lead. He grounded out, but plated a run in his fourth at-bat in the seventh, finishing 3 for 4 with three runs scored and five RBI.

Harper, 22, has six career multi-home run performances. He is the youngest player to hit three homers in a game since Joe Lahoud did so for the Red Sox on June 11, 1969, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Harper is hitting .265/.416/.561 with eight homers, 20 RBI and an MLB-best 26 walks in 28 games. He has 13 career home runs against the Marlins -- more than any other opponent he's faced.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle acknowledged that Andrew McCutchen's sore left knee has impacted his approach on running to first base, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

McCutchen, who is making $10 million this season, voiced his frustration after he was held without a hit in four at-bats during Tuesday's loss to Cincinnati.

"I'm sick and tired of going 0-for-freaking-4. I know I'm better than that," McCutchen said, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I'm getting paid what I'm getting paid because of the way I should be playing. Right now I'm not doing what I should be doing for the money I'm making. ... It's under mediocre right now. It's bad."

McCutchen has been dealing with a sore knee since spring training, and at one point in early April revealed that he's only at "80 percent." He began the year hitting .238 (10 for 42) with two doubles, two homers and 10 RBI over his first 12 games. However, over his last 13 games, the former MVP has hit only .140 (7 for 50) with a triple and three RBI.

After Tuesday's game, he reassured that injury is not the main factor for his issues at the plate.

"I feel good, I feel strong when I'm up there. I feel fine when I'm hitting," McCutchen said. "I can't sit here and say my knee is the reason. I don't believe so. I just believe I’m a little off. ... Once it's going, it ain't gonna stop. While I'm down, get me while I'm down."

Nationals third baseman Yunel Escobar hit from the No. 3 position in manager Matt Williams' lineup on Wednesday. It was the first time this season that Escobar hit third in the batting order, as Williams shuffled the order a bit for the matinee matchup against the Marlins.

Escobar continues to hit well in 2015, though he did go hitless in three at-bats on Tuesday.

Shortstop Ian Desmond was moved up to the second spot in the lineup, while Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman returned to their normal spots, batting fourth and fifth respectively on Wednesday. 

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter hit a three-run, game-tying home run in the fifth inning of Tuesday's win over the Cubs. 

Carpenter went 1 for 3 and is hitting .346 this year. He has five home runs and added a fourth RBI later in the game to give him 20 on the season.