MLB Player News

De La Cruz is starting at shortstop and batting eighth for Thursday's game in Detroit.

De La Cruz didn't start Wednesday's game and a day later is in the lowest batting order position he's been at all season. The talented rookie homered and drove in six runs in the first game of a doubleheader versus the Angels back on Aug. 23, but in 20 games since he's hit just .158/.256/.197 with a 32.2 percent strikeout rate.

De La Cruz entered Wednesday's game as a pinch runner and stole a base in a 4-3 win over the Tigers.

De La Cruz, who has slumped during the second half of the season, was held out of the starting lineup against lefty Eduardo Rodriguez on Wednesday. The switch hitter had snapped an 0-for-22 run against southpaws the previous day. De La Cruz ran for Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the sixth inning and stole his 27th base, then stayed in the game to play shortstop and went 0-for-1. De La Cruz is batting .181 since the All-Star break.

Lawlar went 1-for-3 in Wednesday's 7-1 loss to the Mets.

Lawlar's bunt single in the sixth inning snapped a stretch of 13 at-bats without a hit. He's 2-for-16 since being called up Sept. 7, and neither hit has left the infield. The Diamondbacks have settled into starting Lawlar against left-handers over the past few games, and he was pinch hit for in his final at-bat Wednesday when the Mets brought in right-handed reliever Trevor Gott.

Witt went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and one RBI in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the White Sox.

Witt has been hot at the plate and on the basepaths, going 7-for-14 (.500) with five steals over his last four contests. He's converted his last six stolen base attempts without getting caught, putting him at 44-for-54 this season. After a relatively quiet first week in September, Witt has bounced back well. He's slashing .276/.317/.494 with 28 home runs, 88 RBI and 83 runs scored across 143 games overall.

Bogaerts is absent from the lineup Wednesday versus the Dodgers.

Ha-Seong Kim will play shortstop and bat leadoff as Matthew Batten handles second base and hits eighth. This appears to be a routine day off for Bogaerts, who has slashed .439/.489/.805 in 45 plate appearances since the calendar flipped to September.

Wendle is not in the lineup Wednesday at Milwaukee.

Garrett Hampson will start at shortstop and bat seventh as the Marlins take on right-hander Trevor Megill and a parade of Brewers relievers. Wendle owns a brutal .224/.259/.325 slash line through 102 games (297 plate appearances) this season.

Edman is absent from the lineup Wednesday at Baltimore.

Richie Palacios is playing second base and Lars Nootbaar will patrol center field. Edman has gone 0-for-13 with four strikeouts over his last three games.

Allen is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.

Allen has a .536 OPS through 10 games in September and will take a seat for Wednesday's series finale in Houston. Kevin Smith will step in at shortstop and bat ninth.

Perdomo is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Mets.

Jordan Lawlar will start at shortstop and Emmanuel Rivera (shoulder) is back in action at third base. Perdomo has batted just .115 with a .439 OPS in 35 plate appearances since the calendar flipped to September.

Williams is absent from the lineup Wednesday versus the Nationals.

Liover Peguero will start at shortstop and bat seventh as Jared Triolo handles second base and hits ninth. Williams, 24, has slashed just .217/.294/.272 through his first 103 major-league plate appearances this season with the Pirates.