MLB Player News

Fernandez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.

Though he'll head to the bench while southpaw Robbie Ray takes the hill for the Giants, the left-handed-hitting Fernandez has gained traction in the everyday lineup versus right-handed pitching. He started in each of the last five matchups with righties, going 7-for-17 with two home runs, two doubles, four RBI and three runs during that stretch.

Church is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics.

After starting in each of the last five games, the left-handed-hitting Church will head to the bench while southpaw Jeffrey Springs toes the rubber for the Athletics. Church is slashing just .154/.227/.256 in 46 plate appearances since getting called up from Triple-A Memphis on Aug. 17, and his playing time could tail off in September after the Cardinals reinstated Victor Scott from the injured list earlier this week.

Chourio (hamstring) will serve as the Brewers' designated hitter and bat second Wednesday against the Phillies.

Chourio was originally slated to sit out Wednesday's contest after reporting cramping in his right hamstring following Monday's game. However, he'll now join the starting nine to replace Christian Yelich (back), who was scratched from the lineup shortly before first pitch. Chourio has performed well in three games since returning from the injured list, going 6-for-12 at the plate while driving in two RBI and scoring four runs.

Kepler is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers.

The left-handed-hitting Kepler will hit the bench for the third time in four games, with two absences coming against southpaws. Though he should continue to play frequently versus righties, Kepler will occasionally find himself as the odd man out of the lineup with the Phillies having begun to open up more playing time for Harrison Bader as part of a four-man rotation in the outfield.

Lee is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Lee will be on the bench for the beginning of Wednesday's game while the hot-hitting Drew Gilbert gets the nod in center field in his stead. Lee has logged at least one hit in seven of his last eight games, going 9-for-31 (.290 average) with an RBI over that span.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said that Chourio will be out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies after the outfielder reported some cramping in his hamstring following Monday's 10-8 loss in the series opener, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. "Nothing to worry about...I just thought, be cautious here a little bit, because we need him," Murphy said.

Chourio missed a month of action due to a right hamstring strain before he returned from the injured list Saturday and went 6-for-12 with a home run, two doubles, a walk, four runs and two RBI in his first three games back in the lineup. The 21-year-old felt some stiffness in the hamstring while playing on the turf in Toronto over the weekend and didn't quite feel 100 percent Monday, so the Brewers decided it was a prudent move to give Chourio a two-day break, as Tuesday was a team off day. Murphy didn't seem to suggest that Chourio was dealing with any sort of setback or aggravation with the hamstring, so the expectation is that Chourio will be back in the lineup for Thursday's series finale.

Florentino (hamstring) has gone 1-for-9 with a double, a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in two games since being reinstated from Single-A Bradenton's 7-day injured list Saturday.

Florentino was on the shelf for just over the minimum seven days due to a left hamstring strain, but the injury doesn't look like it will be derail what has been an outstanding season for the 18-year-old, who has emerged as one of the top lower-level prospects in all of the minors. Through 52 games at Bradenton, Florentino has walked at a 14.5 percent clip and has produced a .265/.384/.513 slash line with 10 home runs and 29 steals in 33 attempts.

Crow-Armstrong is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta.

The slumping Crow-Armstrong had already been held out of the lineup for Tuesday's 4-3 win while southpaw Joey Wentz toed the rubber for Atlanta, but the left-handed-hitting outfielder will now remain out of the starting nine against a right-hander (Bryce Elder). Cubs manager Craig Counsell seems to be taking a similar approach with Crow-Armstrong as he did with Kyle Tucker a few weeks ago, when Tucker was benched for three straight games for a mental reset amid a rough stretch at the plate. Tucker has bounced back well since returning to the lineup, and the Cubs are hoping that the brief break allows Crow-Armstrong to return to the All-Star-level production he delivered earlier in the season. Since the start of August, Crow-Armstrong is slashing just .163/.217/.231 with one home run and two stolen bases over a stretch of 30 games.

Tucker (calf) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta.

As anticipated, the Cubs will hold Tucker out of the lineup for the series finale after the star outfielder was removed from Tuesday's 4-3 win due to left calf tightness. According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com, Tucker said that his calf had been bothering him for a few days leading up to Tuesday, but the 28-year-old was still able to come through with a three-run, opposite-field home run in the bottom of the third inning before he was lifted from the game in the top of the seventh. The Cubs are hopeful that by keeping Tucker out of the lineup Wednesday, he'll be ready to play in the weekend series with the Nationals following Thursday's team off day.

Conforto is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

The left-handed-hitting Conforto will hit the bench against right-hander Braxton Ashcraft, paving the way for Alex Call to pick up a start in left field. In addition to facing competition from Call, Conforto's standing atop the depth chart in left field could be threatened by the recent reinstatement of Hyeseong Kim, who made three starts at the position during his rehab assignment.