MLB Player News

Belt's only hit was a two-run homer in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Dodgers.

Belt was the deciding factor Sunday, taking left-handed rookie Julio Urias deep in the bottom of the sixth inning. The homer was already his third of June, matching his season-high monthly total only 12 days in. Belt has been one of the more consistent options at first base -- especially in OBP leagues -- and it looks like his power is heating up with the weather.

Martinez went 2-for-4 Sunday with a double against the Yankees. It was his fourth consecutive multi-hit game.

He's 8-for-14 (.571) in those four games, but aside from Sunday, all the hits were singles. Since the start of June, Martinez is hitting .372 (16-for-41) with four doubles, one HR and eight RBI.

Cabrera doubled in the first inning of Sunday's game for his 2,400th career hit. He finished 2-for-4 with one run scored.

At 33, Miggy became the fifth-youngest player to reach the 2,400 hit mark; Ty Cobb was the youngest to do it at just 31. Cabrera had been scuffling of late -- he'd only had two multi-hit games in his last 18 games and was 16-for-71 (.225) with one HR and eight RBI in that same span. It's likely a case of gripping the bat just a little too tightly as the milestone approached.

Carpenter is out of the lineup for the second straight game Sunday against the Pirates.

Carpenter didn't get the starting nod Saturday either, but his absence Sunday is most likely due to the fact that the Pirates are sending another left-handed pitcher to the mound in Jon Niese. The infielder did suffer a jammed finger earlier in the week, so it makes sense to give Carpenter an extra day of rest, especially now that the infield has gotten deeper due to the return of Jhonny Peralta. In the meantime, Jedd Gyorko will get the starting nod at second base for the second day in a row.

Harper is not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Phillies, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

Harper will take a seat against southpaw Adam Morgan, as manager Dusty Baker will look to rest as many of his left-handed bats as possible, which includes giving lefty Ben Revere the day off as well. Harper has started to slip out of a recent slump since the start of June, going 10-for-32 to raise his batting average 12 points on the month. Look for the lefty slugger to return to action for an important three-game series with the Cubs that begins Monday. In the meantime, Chris Heisey will take over in right field.

Ozuna cranked his 12th home run of the season in Saturday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

The eighth inning solo shot was his only hit in five trips to the plate. Ozuna looked to be cooling off for a brief moment there, but is now 10-for-25 in his last five games with one home run and eight RBI over that span. He continues to be Miami's biggest run producer and is slashing .323/.368/.557 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI in 61 games this season.

Colon will make his third straight start at second base Sunday against the White Sox. He'll bat ninth in the order.

With the White Sox rolling out three straight left-handed starters in the series, Colon has entered the lineup for each game, effectively replacing Jarrod Dyson. In the first two games of the series, Colon went 3-for-8 at the dish, but he'll likely slide back into a reserve role once the string of opposing southpaw starters comes to an end.

Miller is out of the lineup Sunday against the Astros, freelance Rays writer Roger Mooney reports.

Miller will bow out of the lineup with lefty Dallas Keuchel twirling on the mound for the Astros. He'll give way to Tim Beckham at shortstop.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said Reed is "getting closer" to a big league promotion, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Luhnow said "there are certain things that we're definitely looking for that will give us confidence that he's going to consistently deliver up here. But I don't think we're that far away." It's possible Luhnow was referring to Reed's struggles against left-handed pitching (5-for-42 entering Wednesday), as they want him to be a regular in the lineup when he arrives in Houston, not as one-half of a platoon. Tyler White has struggled after a hot start to the season, batting just .172 over the last 30 days and .213 overall. Luhnow also suggested Super Two implications were not a concern regarding Reed's promotion, so expect to see him arrive in Houston in the coming weeks or even days.

Blackmon went 1-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and two runs in Saturday's 5-3 victory over the Padres.

The 29-year-old went deep for the first time in June, after closing out May with three homers over two games. Blackmon has actually seen his average drop 20 points this month, but he's still carrying a higher number in that category (.296) than all but one of his previous five seasons. Where Blackmon's production is lagging this season is on the base paths, as he's managed to swipe only four bags after totaling 71 stolen bases over the prior two campaigns.