MLB Player News

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper homered and singled Saturday.

And the sun rose in the east.

Harper homers have indeed become commonplace - his ninth-inning blast against the Cubs was his league-leading 19th.

He now owns a ridiculous slash line of .333/.472/.721 and has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games.

Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler is encouraged by the progress he's made in returning from a sprained left ankle that landed him on the 15-day disabled list, June 3. 

Soler is wearing a walking boot, but he hopes to have it removed soon and plans to be ready on June 18, when he's eligible to return from the DL. 

"I’m going to keep working hard to get back,” Soler said, per ESPN. “[Hopefully] I feel good after my 15-days."

Nationals third baseman Yunel Escobar was not in the starting lineup again for Saturday's game against the Cubs. As a result, manager Matt Williams started Clint Robinson in left field, and moved Ryan Zimmerman to the No. 2 hole in the order, followed by Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon at cleanup.

Escobar has now missed back-to-back games after suffering a wrist injury while checking his swing during Thursday's contest. He is expected to rest again on Sunday and will try to test his wrist by taking light swings over the weekend, per the Washington Post. He is hitting .316/.376/.389 with two home runs and 14 RBI in 190 at-bats.

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 10-8 win over the Braves.

McCutchen has now hit safely in six straight and nine of his last 10 games.

Dodgers hot-hitting third baseman Justin Turner is out of the lineup Friday against St. Louis. Alberto Callaspo is taking his place.

Turner has four two-hit performances in the last eight games and owns a .303/.381/.496 slash line.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt and shortstop Brandon Crawford (calf) both returned to the starting lineup Friday night against Philadelphia, per MLB.com.

Both players received the day off on Thursday. Belt, who is batting fifth, is hitting .306 with seven homers and 24 RBI on the year. Crawford, who is batting sixth, is hitting .293 with eight homers and 37 RBI on the year.

After being pulled from Thursday's loss to the Athletics due to an illness, Tigers outfielder Yoenis Cespedes said he expects to play in Friday's game at the Chicago White Sox, reports MLB.com.

"I threw up, and I felt a little lightheaded," Cespedes said. "But I'm good now."

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley returned to the starting lineup as a designated hitter and is batting third Thursday against the Royals, per the Northeast Ohio Media Group. It's the fifth time this season he's serving as a designated hitter.

Brantley has at least a hit in 25 of the last 30 games played. He is hitting .299 (35 for 117) with 12 doubles, four homers, 25 RBI and 20 walks over that span.

Cleveland is an underdog (+100) at Kansas City, per VegasInsider.com.

Tigers outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was pulled after two innings Thursday against the Athletics due to flu-like symptoms. He was replaced in left field in the top of the third inning by Daniel Fields, who made his MLB debut.

Cespedes struck out in his only at-bat Thursday. He came into Thursday batting .279 with two home runs, four doubles and five RBI in his last 17 games.

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon went 4 for 5 from the plate in Wednesday's 7-6 win against the Dodgers. 

Blackmon hit two doubles, giving him a total of eight for the season. One of those was a ground-rule double during Colorado's rally in the ninth inning.

It's the first time he's recorded four hits in a game this season and the eighth time he's hit four in a game in his career. 

Blackmon also stole a base, his 11th of the season. He scored two runs and now has a slash line of .262/.339/.431.