MLB Player News

What was expected became reality Friday when Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was absent from the lineup posted for the game in Houston.

Cespedes sustained a hamstring injury Thursday and could miss a few more games. He has been struggling recently with two hits in his last 15 at-bats.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was forced out of Thursday's contest because of a left hamstring injury, and is expected to miss "a few games," the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Cespedes was seen limping after legging out an infield single in the seventh inning. He was checked out by trainers and replaced by Josh Reddick. He finished 1 for 5 before the injury. He is hitting .238/.316/.464 on the year.

Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera continued his awakening at the plate Thursday with two hits, including a critical two-RBI single in the seventh inning that gave his team some breathing room and a 5-2 lead.

Cabrera had already singled in a run in the third to provide Detroit the lead for good. He now has 13 RBI on the year.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter was almost constantly on base Wednesday, in a 3-2 loss to the Mets. Carpenter reached four times, with three singles and a walk to his credit, though he scored just once while going 4 for 5.

 A recent three-game hitting streak has raised Carpenter's average to .296, and he carries a .392 on-base percentage and .346 slugging percentage as well through 22 games. 

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen has caught fire, homering for the third straight game Wednesday against the Reds.

McCutchen put together his third multi-hit game in a row to go along with the homer, a solo shot in the third inning of a 5-2 loss. He finished the game 2 for 4 with one RBI, one run scored and one walk.

As recently as Sunday, McCutchen was hitting just .243 with only one home run. He now has four homers on the season, and is hitting .298/.423/.536 in 84 at-bats.  

Blue Jays second baseman Ryan Goins went 1 for 2 with a walk, two runs and his first home run of the season in his team's 10-8 loss to the Orioles Wednesday.

Wednesday's game wa a home-run barrage, with the two teams combining for seven of them. Goins' home run was just his second extra-base hit and eighth hit overall this season. He has hit .154/.214/.231 in 52 at-bats.

One day after getting a game off to rest against a tough lefty, Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon was back at the top of the lineup Wednesday against the Giants.

Blackmon extended his hitting streak to five games, while reaching base multiple times for the fourth time in that streak. He scored four times while going 2 for 5 with a walk, and he added his fourth home run in three games, while driving in three in the 12-10 loss.

Blackmon has been one of the best hitters in the league through the season's first few weeks, and is now hitting .410/.453/.692 through 22 games. He has five home runs, 16 RBI and 19 runs scored in 78 at-bats. 

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt capped off a solid series in Colorado with his seventh home run of the season Wednesday, in a 12-10 win over the Rockies.

Belt had just one hit in the game, a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give his team a lead. He added one walk later in the game and was able to score, finishing the game 1 for 5 with two runs and two strikeouts.

Belt has slowed down a bit from a hot early start, but is still on pace for solid season. He is hitting .299/.337/.563 through 21 games, with seven home runs, 13 RBI and 14 runs scored. 

The flip-flop of Dustin Ackley and Brad Miller in the Wednesday lineup got the Mariners was intended to reinstate the latter into the second spot despite his slump.

Miller doubled in the eighth inning Tuesday for his first hit since April 17. But Lloyd McClendon claims optimism that he can regain the form that made him one of the hottest hitters in the game in spring training.

"Hopefully he's over the hump and back on course again," McClendon told MLB.com.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen homered for the second straight game during a 4-1 loss Tuesday against the Reds. After not homering in his first 15 games, McCutchen has connected for three home runs in his last six games.

McCutchen has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games. He is batting .364 (16 for 44) in that stretch, raising his season average from .194 to .288.

McCutchen also has a .442 on-base percentage, .682 slugging percentage, 1.124 OPS, five doubles, nine RBI, seven runs, seven walks and one stolen base in his last 11 games.