MLB Player News

McNeil went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's loss to the Pirates.

His third-inning shot off Paul Skenes opened the scoring on the night, but it proved to be a drop in the bucket as the Mets got routed 14-2. McNeil is quietly showing flickers of life at the plate -- two of his five homers on the season have come in the last eight games, and he's batting .250 (8-for-32) over that stretch. Even with that modest uptick in production, McNeil's .216 batting average and .585 OPS on the year are by far career worsts.

Morel isn't in the Cubs' lineup Saturday against the Angels.

Morel has put together a three-game hitting streak, though he has also struck out six times in 12 at-bats over that span. He'll take a day to rest Saturday while David Bote fills in at third base, batting eighth.

Amaya isn't in the Cubs' lineup for Saturday's game versus the Angels.

Saturday will mark the fourth time in five games that Amaya has sat down in favor of Tomas Nido, who will draw the start at catcher and bat ninth. The two backstops are still likely to split reps behind the plate going forward, though it appears Nido has emerged as the preferred option.

Kelly (shoulder) tossed one scoreless inning, during which he allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one batter, in a rehab appearance with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday.

Kelly had a bit of trouble finding the strike zone -- seven of his 13 pitches were balls -- and he allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base via a single and a walk. However, the veteran reliever followed with a strikeout before inducing an inning-ending double play to escape without allowing any runs. Kelly has tossed two scoreless frames through two rehab outings with the Single-A Quakes. It's not clear how many more minor-league appearances he'll be asked to make before being activated from the injured list, but there appears to be a good chance that he'll be back in Los Angeles' bullpen before the All-Star break.

Brujan went 1-for-4 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's loss to the White Sox.

The 26-year-old infielder has started four straight games at second base due to Otto Lopez (back) being on the injured list, but Friday's two-bagger was Brujan's first hit in 15 at-bats during that stretch. He did display some speed earlier in his career, swiping 55 bags between Single-A and High-A in 2018 while still in the Rays system, but Brujan doesn't get on base often enough to show whether he still has that in his arsenal. Through 174 plate appearances this season, he's slashing just .222/.293/.323 with a homer, eight RBI, 20 runs and three steals in six attempts.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Friday's loss to the Phillies.

The veteran slugger got hold of a 98.4 mph two-seamer from Jose Alvarado in the eighth inning, driving it 409 feet over the fence in right field. Ozuna snapped an 11-game homer drought with the blast -- tied for his longest dry spell of the year -- and while he has slowed down after a blistering start to the season, he's still slashing .296/.377/.560 through 86 contests with 22 homers and 70 RBI, with the latter mark tying him for the NL lead with Alec Bohm.

Riley went 1-for-3 with a walk, a two-run home run and a second run scored in Friday's loss to the Phillies.

Aaron Nola let a sinker catch too much of the plate in the fourth inning, and Riley drove it over the wall in center field for Atlanta's first runs of the night. The third baseman has an extra-base hit and at least one RBI in four straight games, and over his last 20 contests he's slashing .362/.438/.797 with six doubles, eight homers, 17 runs and 17 RBI.

Myers went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's 3-2 loss to the White Sox.

Seeing his first action in July, Myers chased Drew Thorpe from the game with a seventh-inning double before scoring the Marlins' first run of the night. The 28-year-old outfielder is beginning to see his playing time tick up, and he's taking advantage -- Myers has started three of the last eight games while also coming off the bench in a fourth, going 4-for-12 (.333) during that brief stretch with three of his five doubles and two of his three steals on the season. With Miami desperate for offense, manager Skip Schumaker could write Myers' name on the lineup card more frequently heading into the All-Star break.

Padres manager Mike Shildt said Friday that Tatis (quadriceps) isn't likely to be able to play in the All-Star Game, Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press reports.

Tatis was voted into the Midsummer Classic as a starter in the outfield alongside teammate Jurickson Profar, but it appears the former will need to sit out the contest. This isn't a surprising development, as Tatis had previously indicated that he could remain on the injured list until after the All-Star break. Tatis' election to the All-Star Game came as a result of a strong first half of the campaign during which he's slashed .279/.354/.468 with 14 homers, 36 RBI, 50 runs and eight stolen bases over 80 contests.

Chisholm went 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base in Friday's 3-2 loss to the White Sox.

For the second straight game, Chisholm reached base three times while swiping a base. The 26-year-old has been doing his job of late at the top of the order, slashing .315/.378/.397 over his last 21 games, but he's scored only seven runs over that stretch due to the overall struggles of the Miami offense. On the season, Chisholm is batting what would be a career-high .262 with 10 homers, 16 steals, 37 runs and 40 RBI in 85 contests.