MLB Player News

A right knee laceration has landed Phillies minor league outfielder Darin Ruf on the Triple-A disabled list.

Ruf was demoted from Philadelphia to Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt will be able to remove his cast for good Friday, a big step in his recovery from a fractured left thumb.

Belt will have X-rays taken in the thumb before he is cleared to move on his recovery, but could be able to begin baseball activities if he is. He has so far been limited to swinging off a tee with his right hand, but the San Francisco Chronicle reports he could be back two weeks after he is cleared to move forward.

Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna has hit .314 over his last 10 games, with three homers and seven RBI. He has three two-hit games in that span and has upped his average to .265/.313/.449.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter went 0 for 4 in Monday's loss to the Royals, snapping his 14-game hitting streak. He also lost a 28-game streak of reaching base at Busch Stadium, according to MLB.com.

Carpenter is hitting .286/.372/.368 in 231 at-bats, with one homer and 18 RBI.

Dodgers infielder Justin Turner was one of the few bright spots in his team's 5-3 loss to the Pirates on Sunday.

Turner singled in a run in the second and took starter Edinson Volquez deep for a solo home run in the fourth inning. He finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two RBI. He has homered three times over the past nine games. He is hitting .262 with three homers and 12 RBI in 107 at-bats.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen cranked out three hits, including his fifth home run of the season in his team's 5-3 with over the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

McCutchen doubled in the opening frame, homered in the third and doubled again in the sixth. He finished 3 for 4 with three runs scored and one RBI. It was his first home run since April 23, ending a 32-game drought. He is hitting .307 with five homers and 24 RBI in 202 at-bats.

The Phillies have optioned outfielder Darin Ruf to Triple-A Sunday.

Ruf received just 10 at-bats in the majors, hitting .100. There was some talk about him potentially working his way into a platoon role, but the team had other plans. 

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon went 2 for 4 with a home run, four RBI and a steal in his team's 7-6 loss to the Indians Saturday.

Blackmon tallied his first RBI on a third-inning single then delivered a three-run homer in the seventh inning to tie the game. Blackmon has set career highs across the board with 10 home runs, 37 RBI and 10 stolen bases to go with a .317/.355/.523 line in 199 at-bats.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was able to play catch Friday, according to The Washington Post.

Harper is attempting to come back from thumb surgery, and has been able to make progress in recent weeks. It's unclear how quickly he'll be able to ramp up his workload. Harper hit .289 in 83 at-bats prior to the injury.

Last season, Matt Carpenter hit .318 with an MLB-leading 55 doubles. He's on pace for significantly less than that this season.

But a 10-game hitting streak in which he's batting .356 (16 for 45) with five doubles -- or almost half his season total -- is a definite step in the right direction.

His four walks during that stretch may be as well. Yeah, he was walking at a higher rate earlier this season, which is typically a good thing, but clearly, it had an adverse effect on his numbers. He was overly selective, taking a higher percentage of pitches than any player in the majors, and the strikeouts began to pile up as a result. During this 10-game streak, he has just seven strikeouts, which is much closer to the rate he had last season.

Really, it's been going on all of May. The hitting streak simply brought it into focus. Carpenter is back in his comfort zone as far as selectivity goes, and the doubles are coming as a result. Now would not be the time to sell him short.