MLB Player News

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen has returned to the club's lineup Monday against the Brewers.

McCutchen has been scuffling to begin the year, hitting just .216/.286/.375 in 88 at-bats. After starting 24 this year, McCutchen was not in the club's lineup Sunday. He'll face Yovani Gallardo Monday. 

After pulling Matt Carpenter for a pinch hitter in the ninth inning Saturday, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Carpenter needs to communicate with him about nicks and bruises, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Carpenter was dealing with some oblique soreness, though downplayed the issue. Matheny saw Carpenter trying to stretch the injury in the on-deck circle, and decided to pull him from the game. Matheny also expressed a desire for Carpenter to be up front with him about minor nicks and bruises, saying he doesn't need to push through anything to keep his roster spot.

Carpenter was able to play Sunday, but did not register a hit. His oblique soreness is not thought to be an issue going forward. 

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera extended his hitting streak to 12 games Sunday night against the Braves. He went 2 for 4 with a homer and two runs scored in the 8-3 win.

The 30-year-old led off the sixth inning with a double before launching a three-run bomb off Cory Gearrin the following frame.

Cabrera is batting .420 (21 for 50) during his streak with two home runs and 15 RBI.

Playing in his first game since April 12, A's outfielder Yoenis Cespedes made an impact in his return to the lineup Sunday against the Orioles. After missing time due to a hand injury, he went 2 for 5 with a homer and a pair of runs scored in the 9-8 win.

The 27-year-old singled in the sixth inning and came around to score on a Josh Donaldson double. In the ninth with his team trailing by two, he launched a two-run shot off Brian Matusz to tie the game.

"He's very impactful, obviously," manager Bob Melvin said. "That home run was kind of what he's all about. We need him in the lineup and he showed today why."

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter, who left Saturday's game with an oblique injury, endured a quiet performance Sunday afternoon against the Pirates.

Carpenter went 0 for 4 with a strikeout in a 9-0 defeat. He is hitting .375 with two doubles, five runs scored, a home run and an RBI in his last four games played. He is hitting .273 with three home runs and eight RBI in 88 at-bats.

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton bashed two homers and finished with four RBI during a 6-4 victory over the Cubs on Sunday. Stanton, who also drew a walk and scored three times, finished 3 for 3 with a two-run homer in the first inning and a solo shot in the eighth.

It was the seventh time in his brief career he has hit multiple homers in a game and gave him three overall -- his season total -- in the past two outings. Stanton, last year's National League slugging leader (.608), waited 65 at-bats before hitting his first homer Saturday.

"It was just a matter of time," manager Mike Redmond said. "This guy is a special player. He's a game-changer."

Exactly one year after making his much-heralded major-league debut, Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper declined to reflect on his early accomplishments that have supported his billing as one of the most enticing prospects in history. Instead, the 20-year-old and reigning NL Rookie of the Year Award winner looked to the future.

"I haven't really thought about it. I'm the type of person that puts everything behind me and just looks ahead," he told MLB.com. "I live for that moment right then and there. Don't look back, try to get better every day, try to be the best that I can and play the game the right way."

No other Nationals player in history has registered as many homers (nine) or RBI (18) as Harper during the month of April. He also entered play Sunday with a .373 batting average, sparking talk that he could become the first 20-year-old since Al Kaline in 1955 to capture the batting title.

"I don't see why not," hitting coach Rick Eckstein said. "I don't always measure success by your batting average, but I measure it by other qualities. Everything that he shows -- he shows the ability and feel for the game and feel for his body in making adjustments."

The Athletics activated outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the 15-day disabled list Sunday and started him as the cleanup hitter against the Orioles, MLB.com reports. 

Cespedes, who had been out with a hand injury, went 3 for 9 (.333) on an injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento. One of those hits was a home run and he drove in four runs. 

Cespedes entered Sunday batting .200 for the A's this year with three homers and seven RBI. 

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter made it into the starting lineup Sunday against the Pirates after leaving Saturday's game with an oblique injury. Carpenter has been heating up at the plate, batting .500 (6 for 12) with one home run, one RBI and two doubles in his last three games.

"I felt good, so I'm back in there," Carpenter said, per MLB.com. "Obviously, I felt something [on Saturday], and it was an awkward swing. I was stretching the rest of the game, but I didn't think it was anything serious. I felt pretty good about it."

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter said he was pulled from the ninth inning of Saturday's game against the Pirates because of an oblique injury, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"It tightened up on me a little bit," Carpenter said. "There in the ninth inning it was more of a precautionary move to make sure, to get me out of there in case I took a swing and it got worse. That's basically it."

Carpenter has been swinging a hot bat after ending a lengthy slump. He's hitting .500 (6 for 12) with one home run, one RBI and two doubles in his last three games after batting .108 (4 for 37) in his previous 10 games.