MLB Player News

Ohtani (knee) threw a bullpen session Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ohtani threw 31 pitches in the session and used his entire repertoire. It's the first time he's thrown off the mound since having his left knee drained and treated with a cortisone shot over the All-Star break. The next step for Ohtani isn't clear, but it's expected to be a few weeks before he's ready to make a start on the mound. Ohtani will continue serving as the Dodgers' designated hitter.

Sheets is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Atlanta.

The left-handed-hitting Sheets will hit the bench while Atlanta sends southpaw Martin Perez to the bump. Jase Bowen will spell Sheets in left field and will bat ninth.

Campusano will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game versus Atlanta.

It's the second straight start and fourth start in six contests coming out of the All-Star break for Campusano, who might be emerging as the preferred option at catcher for the Padres. Campusano has put up an .865 OPS in 12 games this month since coming off the injured list.

Fermin is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Atlanta.

Fermin started the first game of the series at catcher, but it's been Luis Campusano behind the dish the last two days. With just two starts to Campusano's four since returning from the injured list, Fermin looks to have been passed on the Padres' catching depth chart.

Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres.

Smith will retreat to the bench for the third game in a row, with his latter two absences coming while the Padres have sent right-handed starting pitchers to the hill. The 31-year-old has held down a strong-side platoon role for much of the season, but he's been squeezed for playing time in the wake of Mike Yastrzemski's return from the injured list. The lesser role comes while Smith has provided a poor .468 OPS over 13 games since the start of July, though he could still see at least semi-regular starts until Ronald Acuna (hamstring) completes his rehab assignment.

The Cardinals scratched Pages from the lineup ahead of Wednesday's game against the Angels due to a stomach virus, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Jimmy Crooks will draw the start at catcher and bat ninth in place of Pages, who can be considered day-to-day. Since tying a season high with three hits in a 9-6 win over the Twins on June 13, Pages has gone just 3-for-26 (.115 average) with a 39.3 percent strikeout rate.

Crooks will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Angels.

The young backstop had been slated to sit for the second day in a row, but he'll end up receiving a turn behind the plate in the series finale after Pedro Pages (illness) was scratched just minutes before first pitch. Crooks is hitting .176 with three home runs, nine RBI and four runs in 28 games since St. Louis called him up from Triple-A Memphis on May 29.

Marchan will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

He'll draw his first start since July 10 while top backstop J.T. Realmuto receives a rare day off in the series finale. Marchan is valued for his defense but has been an easy out at the plate this season, posting a lowly .322 OPS across 89 plate appearances.

Realmuto is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

The Phillies are off Thursday, so Realmuto will take a seat Wednesday and effectively get two days of rest before likely returning to the starting nine in Friday's series opener versus the Yankees. Realmuto has put together a seven-game hitting streak, during which he's driven in five runs and scored four times.

Rincones is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

The Phillies will keep the left-handed-hitting Rincones on the bench for a second straight game while the Dodgers send another southpaw (Eric Lauer) to the bump. Bryan De La Cruz will replace Rincones in right field Wednesday for what will be De La Cruz's Phillies debut.