MLB Player News

Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki is not in the starting lineup on Sunday. 

Plawecki sits after four straight starts behind the plate. He's replaced by Anthony Recker, who gets his ninth start of the year. Recker will bat sixth. 

Third baseman Eric Campbell is also out of the lineup, after eight consecutive starts. He's replaced by Ruben Tejada, who will start at third for just the second time this year. He's hitting eighth. 

Mets infielder Ruben Tejada launched his first home run of the season in Saturday's 8-2 loss to the Pirates. The home run was a solo shot in the eighth inning and was his first since the final day of the 2014 season. 

Tejada did not start the game on Saturday, but came in at shortstop as part of a double switch late in the game. 

Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed was the unlikely hero on Friday night. But unlikely or not, Ahmed's single in the 13th inning gave the Diamondbacks a 5-4 win over the Cubs.

Ahmed, who entered the game batting .194, went 3 for 6 with a home run and two RBI.

''I made some improvements, made some adjustments,'' Ahmed said. ''I'm starting to put the bat on the ball, starting to see it a lot better. The coaches here have been awesome - (hitting coach) Turner Ward and (assistant hitting coach) Mark Grace, and even my teammates here, they just stick with me, stay behind me, keep instilling confidence in me even though I'm struggling. That helped a lot.''

Ahmed is hitting .212/.281/.260 with a home run and eight RBI in 104 at-bats this season.

Hot-and-cold Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings was hot early this week. Now he's cold.

Owings has remained inconsistent all season. The latest example was a 12-for-22 outburst followed by his current 2-for-17 slide. It all adds up to a mediocre .252/.273/.367 slash line with just 10 RBI in 139 at-bats.

He is also striking out at a much higher rate in 2015 than he did a year ago. Owings has fanned 35 times.

Diamondbacks infielder Cliff Pennington ended a 0-for-16 slump during Thursday's 7-6 win at Miami. Pennington went 1 for 2 with one RBI, one walk and two runs.

Pennington had an RBI double in the sixth inning, which chased Marlins starting pitcher Mat Latos from the game. It was second RBI of the season.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford is being held out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers. Crawford has been red-hot at the plate, batting .432 over his last 10 games. But he has just one hit in 18 career at-bats against Dodgers' starter Clayton Kershaw. 

So, after starting each of the last eight games, Crawford will take a seat in favor of Joaquin Arias on Thursday. Crawford should be back in the lineup on Friday. 

Brandon Crawford has become a weapon within the Giants' offense, no matter who the opposing pitchers are.

Crawford, who has historically been better against left-handed pitchers, is hitting .265 against right-handed pitchers. He is still dominating lefties, hitting .414 with 2 home runs and seven RBI in 29 at-bats.

"I'm feeling good against lefties and righties right now," Crawford said. "That, along with being aggressive with pitches I like in the zone, that's been working for me. I feel good, but I'm not really focusing on what I've done the past week or tonight. Tomorrow is a new day."

The shortstop is on a five-game hitting streak, hitting .524/.545/.762 with a home run and nine RBI in 21 at-bats. 

Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed went 2 for 3 in Tuesday's win over Miami. 

Ahmed increased his average to .181 and drove in a run, his fifth of the season. 

Braves infielder Pedro Ciriaco is in the starting lineup for the second time this season, as he will be the starting third baseman on Tuesday against the Rays. Ciriaco started Sunday's game at shortstop, but will slide over to the hot corner with Phil Gosselin lost for at least two months with a thumb injury.

The light-hitting Ciriaco is batting second in the order on Tuesday. He does have three hits in seven at-bats this season, with all of them going for extra bases (two doubles and a triple).

Tony La Russa, the Diamondbacks chief baseball officer, had be thinks shortstop Nick Ahmed will improve with the bat due to all the work he's been putting in, according to MLB.com.

"I think Ahmed is making a real positive effort with Turner and Mark to build a stroke that he can repeat, that's gonna make him an offensive plus," La Russa said. "We believe in him because we know the talent, we know the work ethic. But you don't just flip the switch. He's making adjustments and he'll continue to adjust."

Ahmed, an outstanding defender, entered Sunday with a .165 batting average.