MLB Player News

Second baseman Matt Carpenter was pretty much the entire offense for the Cardinals in a Wednesday loss to the Mets.

Carpenter set a tone that his teammates did not follow with a home run leading off the first inning. He doubled and scored in the ninth, but St. Louis fell short.

The big game was the first in a while for Carpenter, who was in a 2-for-22 slide heading into the game.

Mike Redmond indicated that he might have kept Giancarlo Stanton in a tighter game Wednesday despite a wrist contusion, but a four-run deficit motivated him to remove his slugger. Stanton had an unfriendly encounter with the outfield wall in the top of the first, though he showed no ill-effects when he slammed a home run in the bottom of the inning for the Marlins.

"I saw him kind of grimace after his first at-bat but then he hit the home run so I wasn't too concerned," Redmond told the Palm Beach Post. "As the game went along and it continued to get a little sore, at that point, being down 5-1, I just wanted to make sure we got him out of there. We need this guy for the long haul. He wanted to stay in but I'm thinking about tomorrow and the next day."

Stanton is all but set to play Thursday.

The removal of Marlins sizzling slugger Giancarlo Stanton from the game Wednesday with a wrist contusion appears to have been merely precautionary. He is expected to return to the lineup Thursday against the Mets, per the Miami Herald.

Stanton slugged a solo home run in the first inning of the loss to the Cubs. He has three homers in his last six games.

Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton was removed in the seventh inning of the Wednesday afternoon game against the Cubs with a wrist contision likely sustained when he crashed against the wall in the first trying to snag a Chris Coghlan double.

Stanton, who didn't allow the wrist injury to bother him when he slugged a home run in the bottom of the first, is considered day-to-day.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Tuesday that he has seen Carpenter fighting fatigue lately, MLB.com reports. Carpenter has started 69 of his team's first 70 games and played three innings in his only other time out of the starting lineup. The major-league leader in plate appearances, Carpenter has hit .283/.373/.370 with two home runs, 25 RBI and two stolen bases in 276 at-bats.

Dodgers infielder Justin Turner remained out of the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rockies.

Turner hasn't started since June 12 due to a calf injury, though he's been able to make a couple pinch-hit appearances during that stretch. He has hit .295/.346/.417 with three home runs, 19 RBI and two stolen bases in 139 at-bats.

Nationals manager Matt Williams said outfielder Bryce Harper (thumb) took batting practice Tuesday for the first time since undergoing surgery in late April, per The Washington Post. Williams reiterated July 1 as the best-case scenario for Harper's return.

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer in the first inning Monday, giving him 19 to lead the National League. Stanton went 2 for 5 with a walk and two runs scored.

Stanton, who has one more homer than Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki, also leads the NL with 56 RBI, five more than Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt.

Dodgers infielder Justin Turner was held out of the starting lineup Monday night against the Rockies because of a calf injury. Turner has been sidelined since Thursday because of the injury. He is hitting .295 with three homers and 17 RBI in 139 at-bats this season. His status remains uncertain for Tuesday's game against Colorado.

Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna had a big offensive game Saturday, going 2 for 3 with a walk, a triple, a home run, three RBI and two runs scored in his team's 8-6 loss to the Pirates.

Ozuna continues to strike out at an alarming rate, racking up 19 strikeouts in his last 11 games, but he hasn't let him limit his power at the plate. He owns a .271/.319/.466 line with 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 236 at-bats.