MLB Player News

Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a home run, double, two RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Yankees.

Alvarez took Tommy Kahnle deep in the sixth inning to record his fifth home run of the season. He followed that up with an RBI double in the ninth frame to bring the Astros within four runs. Alvarez has continuously impressed since making his major-league debut June 9, recording at least one hit in seven on his nine starts -- including seven extra-base knocks.

Pederson is not in the lineup Thursday against the Giants.

Pederson will sit for a second straight game with the Dodgers facing another lefty in Madison Bumgarner. Kyle Garlick is once again starting in left field in his stead.

Ohtani is not in Thursday's lineup against the Blue Jays, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The uber-talented designated hitter is hitting .356 with six home runs and three steals in his last 14 games. Justin Upton will get the start at DH, hitting third.

Harper is starting in right field and hitting leadoff Thursday against the Nationals, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Harper has primarily hit second or third this season, but he'll get a turn atop the order as the slumping Jean Segura is dropped to fifth. In 29 career games as the leadoff hitter, Harper is slashing .273/.362/.573 with eight homers and 19 RBI in 128 plate appearances.

Vogelbach went 1-for-2 with a walk, a home run and two RBI in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Royals.

He launched a solo shot in the first inning, going back-to-back with Domingo Santana. Vogelbach continues to get on base at an impressive clip -- he's got an 18:15 BB:K through 18 games in June -- and on the year, the 26-year-old is slashing .256/.396/.543 with 18 homers and 42 RBI in 69 contests.

Reyes went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 8-7 win over the Brewers.

His seventh-inning shot off Jeremy Jeffress provided the winning runs on the afternoon. Reyes has now reached the 20-HR plateau for the first time in his career, and Wednesday's blast ended a 12-game power drought during which the 23-year-old had slashed .167/.278/.167. Reyes' homers have tended to come in bunches this season, so don't be surprised if he keeps slugging during this weekend's series in Pittsburgh.

Brantley went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 3-2 loss against the Reds on Wednesday.

It looked like Brantley's two-run blast was going to hold up, but the Reds came back in the bottom of the ninth to win. Still, owners have to be pleased with Brantley's series in Cincinnati, where he went 7-for-13 (.538) with three extra-base hits in three games. Overall, he is batting .321 with 11 home runs, 42 RBI, 36 runs and three steals in 277 at-bats this season.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Giants, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

As per usual, Pederson will retreat to the bench with a left-hander in Drew Pomeranz toeing the rubber for the Giants. In his place, Kyle Garlick is starting in left field and hitting eighth.

Blackmon went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored Tuesday in the Rockies' 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

After a huge homestand, Blackmon stayed hot for the first contest of the Rockies' nine-game road swing. Blackmon's seventh-inning single made him the first player in Rockies history to record five consecutive three-hit games. He'll be in the lineup again Wednesday and will look to extend his record.

Cabrera is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Lingering knee issues are expected to keep Cabrera limited almost exclusively to designated hitter duty for the rest of the season and likely the rest of his career, though he did play first base Tuesday due to the lack of a DH in the National League park. He's back on the bench Wednesday for the series finale but should reclaim his DH spot Friday in Cleveland.