MLB Player News

Ohtani is not starting Saturday against the Red Sox.

Ohtani will get the day off Saturday after going 0-for-8 with a golden sombrero in Friday's extra-innings loss. Justin Upton is serving as the DH in his stead, allowing Brian Goodwin to start in left field.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks.

No surprise here; the Dodgers are facing a lefty in Robbie Ray and Pederson still has logged only four starts against southpaws all season. He has a .463 OPS in his limited action against lefties, but Pederson continues to lead off against nearly all opposing righty starters.

Cabrera (biceps) is starting at DH and hitting third Saturday against the Twins.

Cabrera has been cleared to rejoin the lineup after missing the past three games with a biceps injury. He's hitting .274/.344/.429 with three home runs this month and will look to pick up where he left off against lefty Martin Perez on Saturday.

Stanton (knee) took batting practice, ran arcs, and participated in defensive drills Friday, but it is still unclear when he may return, Randy Miller of NJ.com reports.

Stanton continues to ramp up his activity, but the Yankees remain vague about when he will be ready to return to game action. He may face live pitching next week, which would move him a step closer to potentially rejoining the big club. The slugger has played in only nine games this season as he has dealt with a variety of injuries.

Brantley is not in the lineup Saturday against the Blue Jays, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley has started the past eight games, slashing .310/.394/.448 with a home run and a 3:4 BB:K during that stretch. He'll give way to Jake Marisnick in the outfield in this one.

Soler went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Friday's 14-2 loss to the Orioles.

He gave the Royals a brief lead in the first inning with his second long ball in as many nights, but the game was all O's after that. Soler is slashing .253/.344/.540 on the year with 38 homers -- matching his career total coming into 2019 -- and 97 RBI.

Martinez went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, an RBI double and two runs scored in Friday's 7-6 extra-innings win over the Angels.

Martinez's third-inning blast off Angels starter Jose Suarez gave the Red Sox a 4-0 lead at the time. He later drove in Xander Bogaerts with a double in the sixth. Martinez has found his power groove with five homers in his last six games, during which he's hitting 11-for-26 with 15 RBI and nine runs scored. The surge has him up to a .314/.388/.582 slash line with 33 homers, 90 RBI and 87 runs scored.

Belt went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run, an RBI double, and three runs scored in Friday's 8-3 win over the Padres.

Belt got things going with his first-inning homer off Padres starter Dinelson Lamet. The first baseman then scored on a Joey Rickard single as part of a seventh inning rally. Belt's big night was capped by his RBI double to plate Austin Slater before coming around to score on an Evan Longoria double. Over his last seven games, Belt is hitting .360 (9-for-25) with five RBI and six runs scored. The surge has raised his season line to .234/.344/.404 with 16 homers, 54 RBI and 69 runs scored in 129 games.

Cabrera (biceps) is available to pinch hit Friday against the Twins, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Cabrera will sit for the third straight game Friday, but he appears to be close to returning to the lineup. Ronny Rodriguez will serve as the designated hitter in his absence.

Choi went 2-for-4 with a two-run double, a walk and two runs in a win over the Astros on Thursday.

Choi's timely two-bagger in the seventh inning snapped a 6-6 tie and cinched his third multi-hit effort of the last four games. Choi's recent success comes in the wake of extended struggles, as the 28-year-old South Korean went 8-for-45 over his first 16 games of August.