MLB Player News

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two total RBI in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Cardinals.

McCutchen had gone 0-for-6 with two walks in his last two games, but he was able to add some hits Wednesday. He went yard in the fourth inning and knocked in another run with a ground rule double in the fifth. He's now posted six multi-hit efforts in 18 games in June. Overall, the veteran is slashing .242/.309/.352 with five homers, 27 RBI, 26 runs scored, five stolen bases and nine doubles through 56 contests.

Buxton did not play in Wednesday's loss to Cleveland due to knee soreness, Darren Wolfson of Channel 5 Saint Paul reports.

Wolfson reports Buxton's knee flared up and has been an issue for a while. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game the center fielder wanted to play Wednesday but couldn't move around well enough to be available, according to Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. It's not yet clear if Buxton will be able to take the field for Thursday's series finale against the Guardians.

Soler went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run Wednesday against the Rockies.

Soler went yard back-to-back with Jazz Chisholm in the seventh inning to record his 13th home run of the season. It was Soler's first long ball since June 7 -- a span of 11 starts during which he hit just .214 with one RBI and four runs scored. For the season, Soler has maintained a .221/.315/.443 slash line with 31 RBI and 31 runs scored across 268 plate appearances.

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs during Wednesday's 5-3 win against the Mets.

The 24-year-old went back-to-back with Alex Bregman during the opening frame, and Alvarez followed with another solo shot during the third inning. He leads all of baseball with a 1.064 OPS and now has 21 home runs and 51 RBI for the season. Alvarez has especially been flexing his power lately with four long balls in his past four games.

Buxton is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.

Buxton's absence comes as a surprise after he received a breather Saturday before starting in both of the Twins' next two games while benefiting from a team off day in between them. At this point, the Twins haven't indicated that Buxton is dealing with an injury, so the prevailing assumption is that he's getting another maintenance day. Nick Gordon replaces Buxton in center field Wednesday.

Reyes isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Twins.

Reyes returned to the lineup Tuesday against Minnesota and went 1-for-5 with a two-run homer and four strikeouts. Josh Naylor will serve as the designated hitter while Owen Miller starts at first base.

Morel is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Pirates.

Morel will get his first day off since making his MLB debut May 17. He started his career red hot, but he has gone 3-for-21 with 10 strikeouts over his last five games. The rookie will be replaced in center field by Rafael Ortega, who will bat leadoff.

Harper (hand) is starting Wednesday against the Rangers, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Harper didn't appear in any of the last three games due to an infected blister on his left hand, but he'll serve as the designated hitter and bat cleanup during Wednesday's series finale against Texas. Over his last six games, he's gone 8-for-18 with two doubles, four runs, three RBI and a stolen base.

Vogelbach went 2-for-2 with two walks, a double, two RBI and a run scored Tuesday against the Cubs.

Vogelbach singled and doubled in consecutive plate appearances to account for the majority of his damage Tuesday. He has been a big part of Pittsburgh's hot offense to start its series against the Cubs, collecting four hits with two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored across two games. Overall, Vogelbach is hitting .226/.314/.423 across 191 plate appearances on the season.

Ozuna went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in a 12-10 loss to the Giants on Tuesday.

There has always been plenty of pop in Ozuna's bat, and his home run off Anthony DeSclafani now gives him 13 home runs on the year. Despite being a career .270 hitter, the 31-year-old slugger is slashing only .227/.275/.414 in 2022. Baseball Savant ranks him in the 90th percentile of xSLG, so it is possible that his slash line normalizes upward toward his career standard.