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MLB Player News

  • Grant McCray RF | SF

    Giants' Grant McCray: Handling full-time role

    McCray will start in center field and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

    The lefty-hitting McCray has now started in each of the Giants' seven games following his call-up from Triple-A Sacramento last Wednesday, including three matchups with left-handed pitchers. McCray has batted .273 with three extra-base hits (one home run, two doubles) over his first six starts, but a 43.5 percent strikeout rate suggests rougher times could be ahead for the rookie once his .455 BABIP normalizes.

  • Giants' Jerar Encarnacion: Falls into platoon role

    Encarnacion will start in right field and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

    Earlier this month, Encarnacion appeared to have taken hold of a full-time role while dabbling between designated hitter and the corner outfield, but he looks to have moved into a short-side platoon role following Grant McCray's promotion from Triple-A Sacramento last Wednesday. Each of the right-handed-hitting Encarnacion's last three starts have come against left-handed pitching, while he's been excluded from the lineup in each of the Giants' last four matchups with right-handed pitchers.

  • Giants' LaMonte Wade: Sitting against lefty

    Wade is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

    With the White Sox sending southpaw Garrett Crochet to the bump, the lefty-hitting Wade will give way to the right-handed-hitting Mark Canha at first base in the series finale. Of Wade's 296 plate appearances on the season, only 34 have come against left-handed pitching.

  • Curt Casali C | ATL

    Giants' Curt Casali: Filling in for Bailey at catcher

    Casali will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

    Casali will start behind the dish for the third game in a row after going 3-for-6 with a walk, three runs and an RBI in the first two contests of the series. With Patrick Bailey (oblique) going on the injured list Tuesday, Casali looks poised to operate as the Giants' clear No. 1 catcher for the time being.

  • Matt Carpenter DH | STL

    Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Provides offense off bench

    Carpenter hit a two-run home-run as a pinch hitter in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Brewers.

    Carpenter was activated earlier in the day after a minimum-length stay on the injured list due to a back strain. He's played in just seven games since the All-Star break, going 4-for-10 with two homers, five RBI and four runs scored in those contests. The 38-year-old is expected to remain in a bench role most of the time, while Alec Burleson and Willson Contreras continue to garner most of the at-bats at designated hitter. Carpenter is slashing .261/.336/.414 with four homers, 13 RBI, 14 runs scored, five doubles and no stolen bases over 125 plate appearances.

  • Ji-Hwan Bae 2B | MIL

    Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: On bench against lefty

    Bae is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

    The lefty-hitting Bae will hit the bench for the second day in a row while the Rangers send another southpaw (Andrew Heaney) to the hill, but the 25-year-old might have temporarily recaptured a regular spot in the lineup versus right-handed pitching. He started in each of the Pirates' last three matchups with righties, going 2-for-11 with three strikeouts. Billy McKinney looks to be Bae's main threat for playing time in right field with Bryan De La Cruz and Bryan Reynolds likely to see more starts at designated hitter in the short term while Andrew McCutchen (knee) is on the injured list.

  • J.D. Martinez DH | NYM

    Mets' J.D. Martinez: Slugs 14th homer

    Martinez went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's loss to the Orioles.

    The veteran slugger got hold of a Burch Smith fastball in the eighth inning and drove it over the fence in right-center field, bringing the Mets to within two runs, but it was as close as they got in an eventual 9-5 defeat. Martinez has gone yard in back-to-back games, giving him 14 homers on the year, but through 17 games in August he's slashing just .211/.318/.439 as the 37-year-old continues to struggle to provide consistent offense.

  • Connor Norby 2B | COL

    Marlins' Connor Norby: Bangs out two doubles

    Norby went 2-for-4 with two doubles in Tuesday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

    Making his second start for the Marlins, Norby collected his first extra-base hits with his new club. The 24-year-old batted fifth while playing third base, and with Otto Lopez getting a long look at second base, the hot corner figures to be Norby's main home for the rest of the season. Before the trade that sent him south from Baltimore, he had gone just 6-for-32 (.188) with the O's this season but compiled a .300/.392/.522 slash line in 80 games at Triple-A Norfolk.

  • Rowdy Tellez 1B | ATL

    Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Idle against southpaw

    Tellez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

    For the second day in a row, the lefty-hitting Tellez finds himself on the bench while the Rangers send another southpaw (Andrew Heaney) to the bump. Connor Joe will fill in for Tellez at first base.

  • Grant Holmes SP | ATL

    Braves' Grant Holmes: Nabs win in relief

    Holmes (2-0) was credited with the win in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over the Phillies, striking out two over two perfect innings of relief.

    Bumped back to the bullpen upon the return of Reynaldo Lopez from the injured list, Holmes wound up taking over for Lopez in the sixth inning Tuesday and become the pitcher of record when Atlanta took the lead in the bottom of the frame. Holmes has pitched well in a swingman role in his first MLB campaign, and the 28-year-old righty has a 3.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 49:10 K:BB through his first 47 big-league innings.

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