MLB Player News

Diaz hit a solo home run in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter during Saturday's win over Milwaukee.

Diaz burst onto the scene as a freshman, and he outproduced expectations based on his pedigree. Though he's already up to four home runs and is a key cog for the Cardinals, the risk of a sophomore slump still looms, but more of the same from Diaz could put that concern to rest in a hurry.

Crawford will go on the bereavement list for three days next week, NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic reports.

The exact days he will miss have not been announced, but this will limit him to four games, at most, next week. Eduardo Nunez and Kelby Tomlinson are internal options to fill in at shortstop while Crawford is out, and top prospect Christian Arroyo will not be considered for a brief call-up.

Diaz is out of Saturday's lineup against the Brewers.

He is hitting .239 with three home runs and zero walks through 67 at-bats. Greg Garcia will get the start at shortstop and lead off against righty Chase Anderson.

Seager is out of Saturday's lineup against the Diamondbacks, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.

The Dodgers will deploy a righty-heavy lineup with lefty Robbie Ray on the mound for Arizona. Enrique Hernandez will start at shortstop and lead off.

Turner is batting second and starting at shortstop Saturday against the Mets.

It will mark the rookie's first start since April 8, when he suffered a hamstring strain that landed him on the disabled list. Turner made a dramatic return in the series opener Friday night, drawing the game-winning walk in the 11th inning as a pinch hitter. Look for the 23-year-old to improve upon his .158 average as he returns to regular action.

Turner entered Friday's game in the 11th inning as a pinch hitter and drew a bases-loaded walk off Jeurys Familia to give the Nationals a 4-3 win over the Mets.

It wasn't exactly proof that he's completely recovered from his hamstring injury, but after being activated from the DL on Friday, Turner should resume his spot as the starting shortstop Saturday and seems safe to use in fantasy lineups once again.

Baez went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo homer Friday against the Reds.

Baez's first homer of 2017 drew the Cubs within a run of the Reds in the fifth inning of a game they'd eventually win in extra innings. Although he got off to a slow start, he's now collected hits in six of his last seven games. Fantasy owners who may have left him on the bench recently will likely want to get him right back into their lineups.

Swanson will bat eighth Friday against the Phillies.

Manager Brian Snitker has not said explicitly that this will be Swanson's regular spot moving forward, but it would make sense if the team kept him in the bottom third of the order for a while as the 23-year-old attempts to regain some confidence at the dish. Swanson has batted exclusively out of the two-hole to this point, going just 8-for-61 (.131 average) with two extra-base hits, two walks and 16 strikeouts.

Turner (hamstring) was activated from the disabled list on Friday, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports.

While he's now back on the active roster, Turner will not immediately return to the starting lineup as manager Dusty Baker has opted to go with Wilmer Difo at shortstop again Friday. Turner has not seen major-league game action since going down April 8, but it appears that will be changing very soon.

Diaz, who endured an 0-for-18 slump before a pinch-hit infield single Wednesday, studied film of his at-bats from last season and reevaluated his mental approach earlier that day, Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "I think a day off helped a lot," Diaz said. "I reset my mind. I came in early, watched a lot of video from the last year. I just feel good. I have confidence it's going to be better in the next couple of games. You have to trust the process, and keep working."

Diaz burst onto the scene last season with a .300/.369/.510 line over 111 games, and he appeared to be on track for more of the same in the early going this season. In Wednesday film study, the shortstop and hitting coach John Mabry pinpointed a narrowing of the hips in Diaz's stance this year when compared to last season -- a factor which potentially was inhibiting his visibility. They also took note of the numbers indicating reduced plate discipline this season, as evidenced by an 18.1 percent increase in Diaz's swing percentage on pitches outside the strike zone.