MLB Player News

Ford will sit Saturday against Houston.

Ford hits the bench after starting seven straight contests, a stretch in which he hit .458 with a pair of homers. Teoscar Hernandez will rest his legs in Ford's usual designated hitter spot Saturday, with Dylan Moore taking Hernandez's place in right field.

Winker isn't in the Brewers' lineup Saturday against the Reds.

Winker has yet to put it together at the plate this season, as Thursday's 0-for-2 performance brought his average down to just .199 . Christian Yelich will serve as Milwaukee's designated hitter Saturday, opening a spot for Raimel Tapia to start in left field and bat fifth.

The Diamondbacks optioned Lewis to Triple-A Reno on Saturday.

Lewis was called up from Reno at the end of June, and he'll now return to the minors after going 3-for-15 over five games. Lewis holds a .950 OPS in Triple-A this season, and it's possible he makes it back to Arizona later this sumer if he can catch fire again in the minors. Tyler Gilbert was selected from Reno in a corresponding move.

Martinez went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double, an additional RBI and a walk against the Angels in an 11-4 win Friday.

Each of the Dodgers' four All-Star position players went deep in the contest, including Martinez, who slugged a solo shot to left field in the second inning. The long ball pushed the veteran up to 21 homers on the campaign -- five more than he hit over 139 contests with Boston last season. Martinez added an RBI double in the third, drawing him to within one RBI of matching the 62 he posted last year with the Red Sox.

Meneses went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Friday's 7-2 loss to the Rangers.

The 31-year-old took Cody Bradford deep in the first inning and tagged Glenn Otto in the sixth, with both blasts going to deep left field. It's the first career two-homer performance for Meneses, who ended a brutal 47-game power drought in the process while doubling his home run total on the season. He's been making plenty of contact -- he hit .280 (51-for-182) during that homerless stretch -- but after he slugged 13 long balls in 56 games during his surprising big-league debut last year, more was expected from Meneses in 2023.

Vogelbach went 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBI in Friday's 7-5 extra-inning win over the Padres.

Vogelbach went 0-for-10 over five games between June 28 and July 4, but he's now posted back-to-back multi-hit efforts. The designated hitter provided a pair of RBI singles in this contest. He's slashing just .225/.335/.355 with five home runs, 26 RBI, 20 runs scored and seven doubles across 197 plate appearances while sitting versus most southpaws.

Ford went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, two walks, four RBI and three runs scored in Friday's 10-1 win over the Astros.

Ford plated two runs with a double in the fourth inning and tacked on a solo shot in the ninth. It's the second time in the last four games he's racked up multiple extra-base hits. The 31-year-old is batting .282 with eight homers, 17 RBI, 15 runs scored and three doubles over 86 plate appearances, and his strong hitting in July is helping him hold down the designated hitter spot versus right-handed pitchers.

Pittsburgh activated Choi (Achilles) from the 60-day injured list Friday.

Choi is finally recovered from the left Achilles strain that has kept him out since mid-April, just in time to serve as a DH option for the Pirates as Andrew McCutchen (elbow) heads to the 10-day IL. Choi went 10-for-31 (.323) with three homers and nine RBI on a nine-game rehab assignment split between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.

Pittsburgh placed McCutchen on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to July 6, with right elbow discomfort.

McCutchen missed a few games in late June due to right elbow soreness, and the issue seems to have carried over into July as he'd gone 0-for-17 with two walks and six strikeouts over his last four games. The veteran is eligible to return July 16 -- the Sunday after the All-Star break -- and could be an important asset for the Pirates if he's able to carry a clean bill of health into the August 1 trade deadline.

Pederson is not in the lineup Friday versus the Rockies.

Wilmer Flores will serve as the designated hitter against left-hander Austin Gomber. The left-handed-hitting Pederson has gone 3-for-15 in limited action this year against southpaws.