MLB Player News

Merrill went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Cardinals.

Merrill put an exclamation point on a three-hit effort with a two-run homer in the ninth inning, notching a homer and a steal in the same game for the second time this season. The 23-year-old is showing some signs of life at the plate, going deep twice in his past five contests while tallying multiple hits in four of his past eight. On the season, he's slashing .213/.277/.358 with eight home runs, 30 RBI, 32 runs scored and 12 stolen bases across 294 plate appearances.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Wednesday that Acuna (hamstring) is a "long way" from returning from the 10-day injured list, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Acuna missed nearly three weeks of action in May with a left hamstring strain and landed back on the IL one week ago with the same injury. Because the strain is in the same spot, Weiss noted that the club will be more cautious this time around with the star outfielder. With the All-Star break less than four weeks away, Atlanta could choose to hold Acuna out until the second half.

Johnston is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Cubs.

It's the first time since mid-April that the left-handed-hitting Johnston is not in the lineup against a right-hander (in this case, Javier Assad). Jake McCarthy and Tyler Freeman will fill the corner outfield spots for the Rockies in the series finale.

Lawlar will start in center field and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Angels.

Lawlar has cracked the starting nine for a fourth game in a row, with the Diamondbacks having faced three lefties and one righty during that stretch. Since coming off the 60-day injured list Friday, Lawlar has gone just 2-for-12 at the plate, but he's reached base on four other occasions (two walks, two hit-by-pitches) and has gone 3-for-3 on steal attempts. With the Diamondbacks demoting Ryan Waldschmidt to Triple-A Reno earlier this week, Lawlar could have a clear path to playing regularly in center field.

Gurriel is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.

Gurriel will get a breather for the matinee contest after he went 1-for-8 with an RBI while making starts in left field and at designated hitter the previous two nights following his return from the 10-day injured list Monday. Arizona will go with Ketel Marte in the DH spot Wednesday, while Tommy Troy, Jordan Lawlar and Corbin Carroll fill out the outfield from left to right.

Hernandez (hamstring) will take live batting practice Thursday and could be ready to begin a rehab assignment early next week, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Hernandez is ramping up his baseball activities this week after missing the last two-plus weeks with a left hamstring strain. If Hernandez is able to begin a rehab assignment early next week, he could be ready to return from the 10-day injured list by the following weekend. Ryan Ward has been serving as the Dodgers' primary left fielder since Hernandez went down.

Ruiz went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's loss to the Phillies.

The 27-year-old got the start in left field and ruined Jesus Luzardo's shutout bid by taking the southpaw deep in the seventh inning. Ruiz continues to do damage in that split, and over 40 plate appearances against left-handers this season he's batting .273 with three of his four homers on the year, along with seven steals, six RBI and nine runs.

Hernandez is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Phillies.

Hernandez's playing time has been trending up, but he will begin Wednesday's contest on the bench after starting each of the previous five games. Esteury Ruiz will patrol left field and bat ninth for the Marlins.

Dunn is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Dunn has hit a bit of a lull at the plate, slashing just .125/.222/.188 with one double, two walks, one steal and two RBI over his last four games. The Reds likely aren't ready to pull the plug on Dunn as an everyday player, but he could end up becoming an odd man out of the lineup more frequently if Cincinnati wants to open up more playing time Edwin Arroyo or Noelvi Marte. Arroyo will replace Dunn as the Reds' leadoff man Wednesday after batting ninth in his previous three starts.

Young is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Young appears to be getting a routine day off after he started in each of the last three tilts. The Nationals will go with Dylan Crews in center field as they try to complete the series sweep.