MLB Player News

Blue Jays shortstop Ryan Goins turned his ankle and limped off the field after a groundout in the bottom of the fifth inning Saturday against Seattle, per Sportsnet. But he remained in the game.

He was hitless in three at-bats to drop his average to .242.

Indians left fielder Michael Brantley has told Sports Time Ohio that his absence from the Saturday lineup has nothing to do with the back ailment that has plagued him this season and that he should be fine for Sunday.

Brantley has cooled after a torrid stretch. He is 3-for-20 after raising his average from .226 to .348 over a four-week period.

"I just told him, 'Hey, sleep in, relax, and just get yourself ready to maybe pinch-hit in about the seventh,' … and I'll do the same with [Jason Kipnis] here probably pretty soon," manager Terry Francona said to MLB.com. "I've talked to him, too. They're both really good about communicating back with me, and it helps me."

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt homered and had three hits for the fourth time in six games Friday at Colorado. He went 3 for 5 with one double, two runs, two RBI and one strikeout.

Belt connected for a two-run homer in the sixth inning off Kyle Kendrick. It was his fourth home run, which have all come in the last six games. Friday's home run landed in the upper deck at Coors Field.

"It's almost like you were hitting a T-ball," Belt said, per MLB.com. "You hear the crack of the bat and you know which way it's going."

Belt has been on an offensive tear since early May. He is batting .403 in his last 17 games, raising his average from .214 to .317 in that span. Belt also has a .459 on-base percentage, .746 slugging percentage, 1.206 OPS, one triple, nine doubles, 11 RBI and 17 runs in his last 17 games.

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson smacked his 11th home run of the season to propel the Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the Padres on Friday.

With the game tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Pederson hit a solo shot off Joaquin Benoit. He finished the game 2 for 4. Pederson is 8 for 40 with two home runs over his last 10 games.

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez smacked a three-run home run to lift the Tigers to a 6-2 win over the Astros on Friday.

The home run came off Collin McHugh in the third inning. It was his ninth home run of the season. Martinez finished the game 2 for 3 with three RBI. Over his last 13 games, Martinez is 18 for 47 with three home runs and six RBI.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper smacked his 16th home run of the season during Friday's 2-1 win over the Phillies.

"See it and hit," Harper said, per MLB.com. "Plain and simple. Just trying to see and hit the ball, and I wasn't really thinking too much. He'd get 1-2 and throw a heater over. He was a little sneaky in the first three at-bats for those three guys. I was just guessing heater, and I guessed right and connected."

The solo home run came in the second inning off pitcher Sean O'Sullivan. The home run was Harper's lone hit in two at-bats during the game. He walked and struck out once during the contest.

Over his last 14 games, Harper is 24 for 46 with 11 home runs and 24 RBI. During that time, he has raised his average from .265 to .336.

Tigers left fielder Yoenis Cespedes reached base in all five plate-appearances in Thursday's win over the Astros. He went 3 for 3 with a double, walked twice and scored twice in the victory. That makes back-to-back three-hit games for the first-year Tiger, and four such performances in his last seven games. 

In fact, Cespedes has hit safely in nine of his last 12 games, and all nine games have been multi-hit performances. 

He also stole a bag for the second consecutive game, giving him threesteals on the season, all coming in the past week. 

Cespedes has had a rather interesting start to his tenure in Detroit. He hasn't hit for much power, with just five home runs on the year. But his 15 doubles are tops in the American League and he has an even .300 batting average entering play on Friday, despite his career .266 mark.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt was hit by a pitch during Thursday's 4-0 win over the Dodgers, but Belt said he was fine after the game, reports CSN Bay Area.

Belt was hit around his wrist by Clayton Kershaw, but there was no damage to the wrist. Belt went 0 for 3 with one strike out during the contest.

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera went 2 for 4 with an RBI in Thursday's walk-off win against the Astros. The RBI was his 31st and the 1400th of his career. His run-scoring single in the fifth gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead at the time.

Cabrera is the fifth-youngest player ever to reach 1400 RBIs. He joins Andres Galarraga as the only Venezuelan-born players to reach that plateau. 

He also extended his current hitting streak to nine games on Thursday. He has 14 hits in 35 at-bats during the streak to go along with four home runs and 10 RBI.

His 31 RBIs this season rank third in the American League. 

Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna went 2 for 5 with one RBI, one strikeout and two runs during a 7-6 loss Thursday vs. Arizona. Ozuna had an RBI single off Randall Delgado in the sixth inning.

Ozuna had his sixth multihit game in May. He is batting .276 (21 for 76) with three home runs, four doubles, eight RBI, nine runs, six walks and 14 strikeouts in 19 May games.