MLB Player News

Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter was the only St. Louis hitter with multiple hits Sunday, going 2 for 5 with a run and an RBI in his team's 4-2 loss to the Red Sox in Game 4 of the World Series.

Carpenter grounded out to the second baseman in his first at-bat, then singled through the infield in the third inning and advanced to second base on a fielding error. He came around to score the game's first run on a single by Carlos Beltran.

Carpenter struck out looking to begin the bottom of the fifth before coming up with two outs and a man on second base in the seventh inning, when he drove in a run with a single to right to cut his team's deficit to 4-2. He had another chance to deliver a big hit with a man on and one out in the ninth but couldn't come through. His run would be the last run the Cardinals would score in the game, sending the series to Game 5 Monday tied 2-2.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper had surgery Friday to debride and repair the bursa in his left knee, MASNSports.com reports Saturday. 

Harper is expected to resume working out in 4-6 weeks following the surgery. He's expected to be ready to go for spring training. 

Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter went 0 for 4 Thursday but drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in his team's 4-2 win over the Red Sox in Game 2 of the World Series.

Carpenter grounded out twice and struck out once in his first three at-bats. However, he was given the chance to pay the hero in the seventh inning with his team down one, coming up with the bases loaded and just one out. He delivered a fly out to left field, bringing not just the runner home from third base for Carpenter's RBI, but also another run on a poor throw by the pitcher that tried to nail the runner heading to third.

Carpenter committed a fielding error on a tough play in the eighth inning trying to make a hurried throw to get Jacoby Ellsbury, but it didn't come back to haunt him as the Cardinals kept the Red Sox off the board in the inning. He's 1 for 8 as the series heads to St. Louis.

Cardinals second baseman and lead-off man Matt Carpenter continued to struggle in the National League Division Series Wednesday despite his team's 6-1 win over the Pirates. Carpenter went 0 for 4 in Game 5, making him hitless in his last four games and just 1 for 19 over the five-game series.

Carpenter closed the regular season on a 1-for-14 funk over his last four games despite hitting .349/.441/.523 overall in the month of September. He'll look to shake out of his recent slump when the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers begins Friday.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen reached base all four times in Sunday's Game 3 win over St. Louis.

McCutchen went 2 for 2 with a single, a double, a pair of walks and a pair of runs scored. McCutchen has reached base 12 times in 18 plate appearances for a brilliant .667 on-base percentage this postseason.

The Mets are expected to retain infielder Justin Turner, the New York Daily News reports. 

Turner hit .280/.319/.385 this year, his final pre-arbitration season. Turner is not expected to haul in a contract worth more than $1 million in arbitration, however, so the Mets can afford to keep him around as a utility man for at least one more year.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen became the first Pittsburgh player in history to reach base safely in each of his first four postseason plate appearances Tuesday night in the wild card win over the Reds.

McCutchen went 2 for 3 with two walks in the game as he scored a run in the 6-2 win to put the Pirates into the National League Division Series against the Cardinals. It was Pittsburgh's first playoff win since 1992.

The 26-year-old MVP of the Pirates hit .317 this season with 21 homers, 84 RBI and 27 stolen bases over 583 at-bats. He finished sixth in the NL in runs with 97 and fourth in walks with 78.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper told the Washington Post he does not plan to have surgery on his left knee this offseason. Harper struggled with knee and hip issues for much of the season, but he says he just needs rest.

"I really don’t see (surgery),” Harper told the Post. “It’s more trying to take the time off and let everything settle down. Everything is just swollen and things like that. I really don’t see going under the knife or anything like that."

Harper played in 118 games this season, hitting .274 with 20 home runs, 58 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Mets infielder Justin Turner returned from a hamstring injury Wednesday and went 5 for 11 over a three-game spain before recording an out as a pinch-hitter Saturday.

Turner entered Thursday's game as a pinch runner in the third inning before staying in to play third base, where he played complete games on Wednesday and Friday. He played first base Saturday after his pinch-hit appearance. Turner has hit .281/.321/.387 with two home runs and 16 RBI in 199 at-bats.

Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter has been among the best in the league at his position this season, but with top prospect Kolten Wong appearing close to joining the major-league team on a regular basis, the Cardinals could shift Carpenter to a new position in 2014, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

"The answer is," general manager John Mozeliak told the Post-Dispatch Friday after a question about Carpenter's future position, continuing after a pause, "I don’t think I need to answer that. The good news is we have some flexibility."

Carpenter leads all major-league second baseman in batting average (.321) and on-base percentage (.395). He leads all players in runs scored by a wide margin, with his 126 runs placing him 18 ahead of the player in second place (Mike Trout).