MLB Player News

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 10-0 rout of the Reds.

The 28-year-old slugger helped chase Nick Lodolo from the game with a sixth-inning blast to right field. It was Alvarez's first long ball in May and his 13th of the season, third in the American League behind the Yankees' Aaron Judge and the White Sox's Munetaka Murakami (15 each). All three are tied for the AL lead in RBI at 29 with the Rays' Jonathan Aranda.

Ozuna went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Giants.

Ozuna has gone 9-for-27 (.333) with two homers, six RBI and a 4:5 BB:K over his last seven games. The slugger is still digging his way out of a cold start to the season, but he's had fairly steady playing time at designated hitter to do that. He's batting .198 with a .593 OPS, four homers, 14 RBI, 11 runs scored and three doubles across 32 contests this year.

Rooker went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, an additional RBI and a walk in a 12-1 romp over Philadelphia on Thursday.

Rooker wasted no time making his presence felt, smashing a two-run blast to left field in the first inning. That was just his fourth homer of the season, though that's due in part to a stint on the injured list in mid-April. Rooker is still slashing a meager .177/.256/.342 on the campaign, but he's been showing signs of breaking out, batting .320 (8-for-25) with a pair of homers and seven RBI through his first six games of May.

Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs, an RBI and a stolen base Wednesday in a 12-2 rout of the Astros.

Ohtani entered the game having gone 0-for-17 across his previous five contests. He struck out in his first plate appearance to extend that cold spell to 0-for-18 -- one shy of his career-worst 0-for-19 stretch -- before hitting a double in the third inning. Ohtani subsequently scored on a wild pitch, and he reached twice more before the end of the contest. The two-way star has been uncharacteristically quiet at the dish so far this season, slashing .248/.389/.442 with just six home runs and 15 RBI along with a more productive 25 runs scored and five stolen bases across 162 plate appearances. On the flip side, he's been outstanding on the mound, producing an MLB-best 0.97 ERA with an 0.81 WHIP (ranked second in the league) and a 42:9 K:BB over 37 innings spanning six starts.

Ozuna isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against Arizona.

Ozuna will get a breather after making five consecutive starts, during which he went 6-for-19 with a homer, five RBI and four runs scored. Oneil Cruz will serve as Pittsburgh's designated hitter in Ozuna's place, opening up center field for Jake Mangum.

Bell is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Nationals.

It's a routine day off for Bell, who is slashing just .164/.215/.164 with no home runs over his last 15 tilts. Trevor Larnach is being used at designated hitter for the Twins in Thursday's matinee.

Torrens got his third straight start Wednesday, and his work with the pitching staff could continue to earn him more playing time, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Francisco Alvarez got the start at DH in two of those contests as Mets manager Carlos Mendoza focuses his lineup construction on run prevention to help his struggling club. David Peterson in particular has pitched much better with Torrens behind the plate, so the 30-year-old could end up as the personal catcher for the southpaw. Through 42 plate appearances this season, however, Torrens has zero home runs and a .476 OPS that would be his worst mark since he was a rookie in 2017.

McCutchen started in right field and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Yankees.

McCutchen's started two consecutive games and has hits in three straight starts. He's taking advantage of injuries to Wyatt Langford (forearm) and Brandon Nimmo, who served as the designated hitter Wednesday while dealing with a recent hamstring issue. McCutchen is slashing .235/.286/.333 with one home run, five RBI and six runs scored over 24 games (56 plate appearances).

Pederson is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees.

Brandon Nimmo has been limited to designated hitter duty as he comes back from a hamstring issue, which leaves Pederson without a spot to play. It's just the second time this season that the left-handed-hitting Pederson has been absent from the lineup when the opposition was starting a right-handed hurler.

Harper went 3-for-4 with a walk, two home runs, three runs scored and three RBI in Tuesday's 9-1 win over the A's.

The veteran slugger took Luis Severino deep for a solo shot in the third inning to open the scoring before launching a two-run homer off Tyler Ferguson in the eighth. Harper is locked in right now, racking up seven hits over the last three games including two doubles and three long balls to boost his slash line on the season to .286/.377/.571 with nine home runs, two steals, 22 runs and 23 RBI in 36 contests.