MLB Player News

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a walk and a three-run home run during Thursday's 8-7 loss to the Nationals.

Ozuna has been mired in a big slump to start the season, but he seems to be shaking that off and heating up as of late. The 35-year-old crushed his first home run of the season Thursday, a three-run homer in the fifth that allowed the Pirates to match a four-run inning by the Nationals with one of their own. After having just two hits in the first 10 games, the 14-year veteran has five hits as part of a four-game hit streak.

Ohtani (2-0) allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out 10 over six innings to earn the win Wednesday over the Mets.

Ohtani didn't hit Wednesday, as he is still dealing with some residual effects of a hit-by-pitch from Monday's game. Whatever issue is there didn't impact his pitching, as he continues be nearly unhittable this season. The lone run against him came on MJ Melendez's ground-rule double in the fifth inning. Across three starts (18 innings), Ohtani has a 0.50 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 18:6 K:BB. His next pitching start is tentatively projected to be at San Francisco next week, but Ohtani should be able to get back into the lineup as a hitter before then.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with an RBI on Wednesday against the Nationals.

Ozuna drove in one of Pittsburgh's two runs with a single in the first inning. That extended his hitting streak to three games and continued some needed improvement, as he had only two hits across his first 39 at-bats of the year. During his modest three-game hit streak, Ozuna has one double, two RBI and a run scored.

Vientos is not in the Mets' starting lineup against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Vientos has not recorded a hit over his last seven games, going 0-for-23 with eight strikeouts and a sacrifice fly over that span. He'll be on the bench for Wednesday's game while Brett Baty starts at first base and bats third.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Ohtani will start on the mound against the Mets on Wednesday but will not serve as the team's designated hitter, Buster Olney of ESPN reports.

The decision to have Ohtani out of the lineup was tied to when he was hit by a David Peterson pitch during Monday's game against New York, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Ohtani has gone 0-for-7 with one run scored over his last two outings and will have the opportunity to focus solely on pitching during Wednesday's contest. Dalton Rushing will serve as the Dodgers' designated hitter and bat seventh while Kyle Tucker moves up to the leadoff spot.

Baker started at first base and went 1-for-4 in Tuesday's 4-3 win over Baltimore.

Baker entered the starting nine after Ketel Marte (back) was scratched. That forced a lineup reshuffle with Ildemaro Vargas moving from first base to cover second and Baker getting his first start since being called up last week. Marte's injury is not considered serious, and Vargas could move back to first base for Wednesday afternoon's series finale.

Ozuna is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Nationals.

After a recent two-game benching, Ozuna returned to the starting nine for all three contests of the Pirates' series versus the Cubs over the weekend but went just 1-for-12 with a walk and four strikeouts. Now sitting on a lowly .070/.167/.070 slash line over 48 plate appearances on the season, Ozuna could be in line for a part-time role at designated hitter until he turns a corner at the dish.

Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two walks in Sunday's loss to the Rangers.

After blasting a leadoff homer Saturday, Ohtani did it again Sunday, cranking Jacob deGrom's first-pitch fastball over the right-field wall. After going homerless through his first six games, Ohtani has launched five over his past nine contests and has recorded five multi-hit efforts during that span. The two-way star is off to a strong start at the plate overall, posting a .996 OPS through 73 plate appearances in 2026.

Vientos is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

Vientos had settled in as the Mets' primary first baseman while Jorge Polanco (Achilles) is less than 100 percent but will hit the bench Sunday while in the midst of an 0-for-15 slump. Jared Young will take over at first base and bat third in the series finale versus the A's.

Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a 6-3 victory versus Texas on Saturday.

After the Rangers' Brandon Nimmo led off the game with a homer, Ohtani returned the favor with a long ball of his own leading off the Dodgers' half of the first inning. The two-way star didn't go deep until his seventh game this season, but he's now homered four times over his past eight games. Ohtani has yet to steal a base this yet, but he's otherwise been quite productive, slashing .283/.412/.528 with the four long balls, nine RBI, eight runs and 11 walks through 14 games as a hitter while having yet to allow an earned run across 12 innings spanning two starts on the mound.