MLB Player News

Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Ozuna will hit the bench for the second time in less than a week while he heads into the All-Star break amid a slump at the plate. Over his last eight games, Ozuna went 4-for-29, dropping his season average to .221. Atlanta will give Ronald Acuna a day out of the outfield and deploy him as the designated hitter Sunday in place of Ozuna.

Stanton is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Red Sox.

Stanton will get a breather after he started seven straight games and went 7-for-30 with three homers, seven RBI and seven runs in those contests. Tim Locastro will take over in right field and bat eighth in the Yankees' final game before the All-Star break.

Choi will sit Sunday against the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Choi will get a breather after he went 1-for-9 with an RBI in the first two games of the series. Brandon Lowe will start at designated hitter while Yu Chang enters the lineup at second base and bats ninth in Sunday's series finale.

Stanton went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and three runs in Saturday's 14-1 trouncing of the Red Sox.

Matt Carpenter (two home runs, seven RBI) did the heavy lifting for the Bronx Bombers on Saturday, but Stanton and Anthony Rizzo did their parts to ensure the Yankees' No. 6 hitter had plenty of run-producing opportunities. Stanton has now scored at least once in all but two of his last nine starts while homering four times and driving in eight runs of his own over that stretch.

Carpenter went 2-for-4 with two home runs, a walk, three total runs and seven total RBI in Saturday's 14-1 rout over the Red Sox.

Boston took an early 1-0 lead, but Carpenter erased that with his three-run shot to right field in the first inning. The veteran connected on another three-run shot in the fifth, and he closed his ledger by drawing a bases-loaded walk in the eighth. It's been a remarkable resurgence for Carpenter this season -- he's slashing an incredible .360/.473/.933 with 13 homers, 31 RBI and 22 runs over just 92 plate appearances. Per ESPN, Carpenter is the fifth player in the expansion era to notch an OPS of at least 1.400 through his first 30 games of the season with a minimum of 90 plate appearances.

Ruf went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Brewers.

Ruf opened the scoring in the sixth inning with a blast off Brewers starter Eric Lauer. This was Ruf's second straight game with a homer, and he's up to nine long balls on the year. The 35-year-old has hit safely in nine of 15 games in July, though he hasn't record a multi-hit effort since June 23. He's slashing .227/.336/.376 with 32 RBI, 41 runs scored and two stolen bases through 283 plate appearances. Ruf should continue to work his way into the lineup regularly versus southpaws.

Morel will sit for the second portion of Saturday's doubleheader against the Mets.

Morel went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in the first game, dropping his OPS in his surprising rookie season slightly to .816. David Bote will handle second base in the nightcap.

Pederson isn't starting Saturday's game against Milwaukee.

Pederson will head to the bench after three consecutive starts since left-hander Eric Lauer is on the mound for the Brewers. Yermin Mercedes is starting in left field and batting fifth.

Belt isn't in the lineup Saturday against the Brewers.

Belt started the last three games but will head to the bench with left-hander Eric Lauer on the mound Saturday. Darin Ruf is taking over at first base and batting third.

Miller was scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Mariners due to right neck tightness.

Miller was slated to serve as the designated hitter Saturday after sitting Friday, but he's dealing with a neck issue that will prevent him from starting. It's not yet clear whether he'll be available off the bench, but Elier Hernandez will take over as the DH and bat ninth.