MLB Player News

Belt went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, an additional run and a walk in a 13-2 win over San Diego on Tuesday.

Belt kicked off the scoring with a two-run shot off opposing starter Yu Darvish in the first inning, added a single and run in the second and walked in the fifth. The veteran first baseman has been locked in early and is now slashing .438/.526/.875 with two home runs and three multi-hit games through four games on the young season.

Choi went 3-for-3 with a three-run home run, a double and a walk during Tuesday's 9-8 win over the Athletics in 10 innings.

Choi gave the Rays a 5-3 lead with his three-run homer during the second inning and reached base in all four of his plate appearances before being replaced by a pinch hitter. The 30-year-old has three consecutive multi-hit games and has a 1.706 OPS through the first five contests of 2022.

Manager Dusty Baker said Alvarez is feeling under the weather and isn't at the park for Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Astros are also missing a few coaches due to the ailment going around the clubhouse. Alvarez should be considered day-to-day, and it's unclear whether he'll be back with the team for Wednesday's series finale in Arizona.

Alvarez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Alvarez is 2-for-14 with one home run and two RBI to begin the season and will receive his first day off in Arizona. Aledmys Diaz will serve as Houston's designated hitter in his place Tuesday.

Harper will serve as the Phillies' designated hitter and will bat third in Tuesday's game against the Mets, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

With a career 1.017 OPS in 889 plate appearances in March or April, Harper has historically been at his best early in the season before injuries take their toll, but he's gotten off to a uncharacteristically slow start to 2022 despite being in optimal health. Through four games, Harper has generated one hit and two walks while striking out six times across 17 plate appearances. The strikeout rate is up, but in all likelihood, the hits will eventually start to fall in for Harper as the sample size increases. Fantasy managers should be heartened by the fact that he's still striking the ball with authority, as his Statcast-measured hard-hit rate and average exit velocity rank in the 97th and 93rd percentile in baseball, respectively.

Dickerson is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Nationals.

Washington is deploying a lefty starting pitcher (Patrick Corbin) for the second day in a row, so the lefty-hitting Dickerson will remain on the bench. Platoon mate Orlando Arcia gets another turn as Atlanta's designated hitter.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a run and a stolen base in Monday's 6-2 victory versus Miami.

Ohtani led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, then stole second base and came around to score on a Brandon Marsh homer. The slugger hasn't been able to get going with the bat yet, hitting .143 (3-for-21) through four games. However, he offers a tantalizing combination of power and speed as a hitter, as evidenced by his 46-homer, 26-steal campaign last season.

Vogelbach will remain on the bench Tuesday against the Cubs.

Vogelbach led off and served as the designated hitter against a pair of righties to open the season but has now sat against two straight southpaws, including Tuesday's starter Drew Smyly. He owns a career wRC+ of 46 against lefties compared to a 117 wRC+ against righties, so that usage pattern seems likely to continue. Michael Chavis will be the designated hitter this time around.

Cabrera went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Monday's win over the Red Sox.

Cabrera keeps inching closer to reaching the 3,000-hit threshold thanks to his first multi-hit game of the campaign. As if that was not enough, he also plated the team's first run in this game with a sac fly that scored Austin Meadows in the bottom of the first. Cabrera is now just nine hits short of reaching that aforementioned plateau.

Martinez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 3-1 loss to the Tigers.

Martinez's leadoff blast in the top of the fifth inning broke up Matt Manning's perfect game and proved to be the only offense the Red Sox could muster on the night. The long ball was Martinez's first of the season and his third extra-base hit of the campaign. He'll remain in the lineup Tuesday for the second game of the series, serving as Boston's designated hitter while batting out of the cleanup spot.