MLB Player News

The Nationals expect Bryce Harper to return from the disabled list Monday, and the Washington Post reports Sunday the team will send down a pitcher to make room for him.

Harper finished his four-game rehab stint Saturday for Double-A Harrisburg, finishing 4 for 11 with three extra-base hits while recovering from a knee injury. Harper is expected to start Monday against the Brewers, batting third and playing left field. The Nationals could use Harper as they are 15-16 without him in the lineup, compared to 25-18 when he played.

"Just add his energy, doing what he does," outfielder Denard Span said. "Some silly stuff. But just his presence, I think it gets everybody going. I think it will be good to have him back tomorrow."

Harper was hitting .287/.386/.587 before his injury. 

Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna pushed his hitting streak to nine games Sunday against the Padres with a 2-for-4 performance. Ozuna also scored two runs.

Ozuna is batting .382 (13 for 34) with a home run, four doubles and nine RBI in his last nine games. He also has a stolen base and five runs.

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton launched a solo home run in Saturday's 7-1 win against the Padres. Stanton extended his hitting streak to five games and homered for the fifth time since his DL activation June 10.

Stanton, who missed several weeks with a hamstring injury, is batting .313 (21 for 67) with five doubles, nine runs and 13 RBI in 17 games since returning to the Marlins' lineup.

With the July 31 trade deadline a month away, Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was asked Sunday by MLB Network Radio on whether he thought Stanton would be with Miami at the end of the season.

"I sure hope so, I think he's a pretty good player," Beinfest said.

Mets infielder Justin Turner (intercostal strain) is playing catch, but he has yet to swing a bat, according to ESPN. He is still a few weeks away from returning.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper (knee) said he felt "pretty good" following his second outing for Double-A Harrisburg Saturday. Harper played nine innings for the first time during his four-game rehab assignment (two games for Class A Potomac).

"I felt pretty good the last couple days and nothing really feels anything like a setback or anything like that," he said, per MLB.com. "Everything feels good, so I'm excited about where I am and hopefully we can get going."

Harper is on track to the return to the Nationals' lineup Monday against the Brewers.

"It's just depends what (general manager Mike) Rizzo and them say," Harper said. "I'm not going to say anything, I don't know if I'm playing or not and we're just going to see how I feel (Sunday), see how I feel Monday and go from there."

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper will play nine innings for Double-A Harrisburg Saturday, MLB.com reports. Harper will then have the day off Sunday and rejoin the Nationals Monday against Milwaukee. 

Harper has played in one game for Harrisburg and went 2 for 4 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBI. He also walked in the game. 

Mariners shortstop Brad Miller batted ninth Friday in his major-league debut against the Cubs, and he made a bit of an impact. Miller was hitless in three at-bats, however, he walked and added an RBI groundout in a 5-4 win in 10 innings. 

Astros outfielder J.D. Martinez snapped out of a slump Friday, with a 3-for-4 day against the Angels.

Martinez, who had gone 11 straight games without posting multiple hits, had two singles and a double in a 4-2 loss, raising his average to .251.

Martinez is batting just .212 in the month of June, and he has multiple hits just twice in 23 games. 

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera had another monster night at the plate as he went deep twice and recorded four hits during Friday's contest against the Rays.

Cabrera hit a two-run home run in the opening frame off Alex Colome to extend his hitting streak to a season-high 13 games. He then launched a solo shot off the rookie to extend the lead in the fourth inning. He finished 4 for 4 with three runs scored and three RBI in a 6-3 win.

It was Cabrera's 19th multi-home run game since joining the Tigers in 2008. He has gone 25 for 51 during his hitting streak. He leads the majors in batting average (.377) and RBI (81). The 30-year-old has 24 home runs and is four behind Chris Davis for tops in the majors.

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen had a big performance in his team's 10-3 win over the Brewers Friday, going 3 for 5 with one double, one run, three RBI and his ninth home run of the season.

The homer was just McCutchen's second of June, and only one of his 15 stolen bases have come this month. He has hit .293 in 294 at-bats.