MLB Player News

Bauers is on the bench for Thursday's matinee against the Padres.

Bauers went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts in his start Wednesday against San Diego. The 30-year-old will come off the bench against the Padres despite San Diego starting right-hander Griffin Canning. Andrew Vaughn will bat fifth and start at first base today over Bauers.

Yelich (back) is out of the lineup Thursday against the Padres, his second consecutive absence, Hunter Baumgardt of Fox Sports 920 reports.

Yelich will continue to treat his sore back as he sits out another game against the Padres. The 34-year-old recently spent just under a month on the IL due to a groin issue, and he's now dealing with a different injury just one game after making his return. Yelich has a history of back problems, though it isn't clear if the current injury is related to his past issues. He should be considered day-to-day heading into Friday's series opener in Minnesota.

McCarthy is not in the lineup for Thursday's tilt in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates are going with a left-handed opener in Mason Montgomery before turning things over to a righty bulk reliever in Carmen Mlodzinski. McCarthy could enter mid-game once Mlodzinski comes in, but he'll begin the contest on the bench.

Soto (foot) will start at designated hitter and bat third in Thursday's game versus the Tigers.

Soto had to be pulled from Wednesday's contest after fouling a ball off his ankle, but X-rays came back negative and he will not have to miss a start. The 27-year-old has been scuffling at the plate in May, sporting just a .502 OPS with one home run and a 5:10 BB:K.

Lile went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's 8-7 extra-inning win over the Reds.

The Louisville native is playing the first series of his career up Interstate 71 in Cincinnati, and he's putting on a show for his family and friends. After going yard twice Tuesday in the series opener, Lile added a third long ball Wednesday in timely fashion, as he took Tony Santillan deep in the top of the 10th inning to break open a 6-6 tie. Lile has hit safely in six straight games, a stretch in which he's batting .435 (10-for-23), and the surge has boosted his slash line on the season to .269/.333/.443 with six homers, three steals, 22 RBI and 27 runs in 42 contests.

Betts went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Giants.

Betts has gone 2-for-13 with one strikeout over three games since he returned from a right oblique strain. The shortstop wasn't hitting all that well prior to the injury, so he may need to shake off some rust over the next few games. Betts is up to three homers, eight RBI, eight runs scored and no stolen bases over 45 plate appearances this season while batting .171 with a .659 OPS.

Burleson went 3-for-5 with a double in Wednesday's 6-2 loss to the Athletics.

Burleson continues to hit well, going 20-for-62 (.323) with five multi-hit efforts over his last 15 games. The 27-year-old has gone 8-for-26 over the first six games of the Cardinals' current road trip, which ends Thursday. For the season, the first baseman is batting .274 with a .795 OPS, six home runs, 30 RBI, 21 runs scored, 11 doubles and two stolen bases across 41 contests.

Sheets went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Milwaukee.

Sheets played the part of hero Wednesday, drilling a go-ahead three-run blast off Brewers right-hander Abner Uribe in the ninth inning. The left-handed-hitting slugger tends to sit versus southpaws, having taken only nine at-bats against left-handed pitching so far, but he's been a reliable source of power for the Padres when he's in the lineup. Sheets is batting just .226 over 115 at-bats overall, but he does have six long balls, nine doubles and 16 RBI.

Benge went 3-for-5 with an RBI single and a run scored during the Mets' 3-2 extra-inning win over the Tigers on Wednesday.

Benge sent the fans home happy after smacking an RBI single in the 10th to give the Mets the one-run win. His three hits are a season high, and it was his seventh multi-hit game of the year. Over his last nine games, Benge has gone 12-for-31 (.387) with one home run, seven RBI and eight runs scored.

Moniak went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer, a triple, a double and five total RBI in Wednesday's 10-4 win over the Pirates.

It's already Moniak's third game with three or more hits this year, as the outfielder would finish a single shy of a cycle while driving in a season-high five runs. Moniak would put Colorado ahead for good with his three-run homer off Mitch Keller in the fifth inning, his 12th long ball through just 35 games this year. Moniak's gotten off to a red-hot start, slashing .315/.358/.693 with 26 RBI, 12 runs scored and a stolen base across 137 plate appearances.