MLB Player News

Harper went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Monday's 13-8 win over the Braves.

Harper put the Phils ahead early with his third home run of the season and later singled and scored on a J.T. Realmuto long ball. Just like that, the 27-year-old outfielder is batting over .300 and his OPS is once again north of 1.000. He also chipped in his first stolen base last week.

McCutchen is not in the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta.

McCutchen has struggled out of the gate this season, hitting .133/.206/.167 through nine games. He sits for the second time in the last three games, though his previous time on the bench came in game one of a doubleheader Sunday. Jay Bruce moves to left field in his absence, with Phil Gosselin serving as the designated hitter and occupying McCutchen's usual leadoff role.

Winker went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Brewers.

Batting fifth as the DH, Winker drove in two runs on a single in the first inning and followed up with his first long ball in the fourth. Winker started against opposing lefties Eric Lauer and Brett Anderson on Friday and Saturday, something he did on only seven occasions last season. He's one of the few Reds batting above .240 and should at least remain a fixture against right-handed pitching.

Blackmon went 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and a walk in Sunday's 5-3 loss to Seattle.

Blackmon continues to swing a red-hot bat, collecting his fourth straight multi-hit performance and ninth in 15 games this season. His slash line is up to .458/.492/.695, while he has 18 RBI and 13 runs scored.

Ohtani went 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and a walk in Sunday's 7-3 loss to Texas.

Ohtani led off the sixth inning with a double and later came around to score. For the season, five of his seven hits have gone for extra bases. The 26-year-old owns a .171/.227/.439 slash line in 44 plate appearances.

Solak went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored in Sunday's 7-3 win over the Angels.

Solak entered Sunday with just one extra-base hit this season but quickly tripled that total with a strong day at the plate. For the season, the rookie utilityman owns a .233/.340/.302 slash line across 50 plate appearances.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Stanton (hamstring) would undergo an MRI on Monday in New York City, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Even though the Yankees haven't determined the full extent of the injury Stanton suffered in the second half of Saturday's doubleheader with the Rays, Boone acknowledged that the hamstring issue was significant enough to sideline the slugger for at least the next week, which explains the club's decision to move him to the injured list Sunday. The Yankees slotted Mike Ford in as the designated hitter for the series finale with the Rays, but expect a number of players to cycle in at that spot while Stanton is sidelined.

Manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that Alvarez (undisclosed) is "making progress," but the skipper was unwilling to put a timeline on the 23-year-old's return to the Astros, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. "He hasn't been hitting that long. He hasn't been running that long," Baker said. "You don't want to do anything to hurt his legs, you don't want to do anything to hurt his obliques because you're not used to rotating. I really don't know how long it's going to be or how long it's going to take."

After missing all of summer camp for undisclosed reasons, Alvarez has been working out at the Astros' alternate training site in Corpus Christi for about two weeks as he looks to get reacclimated to baseball activities following a lengthy layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The slugger looked like his normal self during an intrasquad game Saturday, hitting a pair of doubles against minor-league pitcher Luis Garcia. Though Alvarez seems to be rounding into form, the Astros' slow approach to his ramp-up program makes it unlikely he'll be activated from the injured list ahead of Monday's series opener against the Giants. With no target date for Alvarez's 2020 debut, his fantasy managers will likely have to err on the side of caution and keep him on their bench for another week.

Choi is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Choi will get a break after starting each of the Rays' last three games, including both ends of Saturday's doubleheader, when he went 3-for-7 with two doubles, a walk and two runs. Mike Brosseau will cover first base in Choi's stead.

Ford will serve as the Yankees' designated hitter and will bat sixth Sunday against the Rays, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

The Yankees will give Ford the first chance to replace everyday DH Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday. While Ford should see his overall opportunities increase for the duration of Stanton's absence, the 28-year-old won't necessarily settle into a full-time role. Manager Aaron Boone could elect to use Aaron Judge at the DH spot more often, in which case Mike Tauchman would benefit from more playing time in the outfield.