Cruz was scratched from Tuesday's lineup against the Phillies for undisclosed reasons, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Cruz was penciled in to bat third as the designated hitter, but he was absent from the revised lineup that Washington released just before first pitch. Yadiel Hernandez was originally set to sit Tuesday but will instead start in left field.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Drives in one, scores twice
Rotowire
Cruz went 2-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and two runs scored Wednesday against the Pirates.
Cruz drove in his run with a single in the first inning and has delivered nine RBI across his last nine starts. Despite the strong counting stat production, he has maintained just a .166 average across his last 15 games. Overall, Cruz has a .249/.333/.385 line across 302 plate appearances on the season.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Three-RBI game
Rotowire
Cruz went 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored in a 6-4 win over the Rangers on Sunday.
The veteran slugger continues to swing a hot bat. This time he came up big with runners in scoring position, hitting two singles to plate three runs. Cruz now has hits in five of his past six games and has produced 43 RBI on the season.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Homers, picks up 40th RBI
Rotowire
Cruz went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in a 3-2 loss to the Rangers on Saturday.
After getting off to a very slow start this season by batting .155 in April, Cruz is steadily producing out of Nationals' cleanup spot. With his game-tying home run in the sixth, Cruz now has eight home runs and 40 RBI on the season. If Cruz can stay healthy and continue slugging at the .500 clip he has so far in June, he could find himself approaching the 100-RBI mark by season's end.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Steals second bag
Rotowire
Cruz went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Sunday's loss to the Brewers.
There's still a little juice left in Cruz's 41-year-old legs, as he stole his second bag of the year in the third inning off the battery of Jason Alexander and Omar Narvaez. Cruz's bat has also come to life lately, and over his last eight starts he's batting .469 (15-for-32) with three homers and eight RBI.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Racks up four hits in return
Rotowire
Cruz went 4-for-5 with a homer, three RBI and two runs in Friday's 11-5 win over the Brewers.
After missing Thursday's loss to Miami due to back tightness, Cruz returned to the lineup Friday and posted his first four-hit game of the season. The 41-year-old has three multi-hit performances over the last seven matchups, and he's hit .414 with two homers, five runs and five RBI during that time.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Returns to lineup
Rotowire
Cruz (back) is starting Friday against the Brewers.
Cruz was scratched from Thursday's lineup due to back tightness, but he'll serve as the designated hitter and bat cleanup during Friday's series opener against Milwaukee. Over his last five games, the 41-year-old has hit .400 with a homer, a double, three RBI and two runs.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Dealing with back tightness
Rotowire
Cruz was scratched from Thursday's lineup against the Marlins due to back tightness, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Cruz was originally scratched for undisclosed reasons. The severity of the issue is not yet known, though manager Dave Martinez said Cruz is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Friday. Yadiel Hernandez took over as the designated hitter, and Lane Thomas would also likely benefit if Cruz is out for an extended amount of time.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Late scratch Thursday
Rotowire
Cruz was scratched from Thursday's lineup against the Marlins for an undisclosed reason.
While a reason for Cruz's scratch wasn't given, he was removed from the lineup several minutes before the start of the game. Yadiel Hernandez will serve as the designated hitter and bat sixth.
Cruz (ankle) went 0-for-1 with three walks in Wednesday's 5-0 loss to the Mets.
Cruz missed one game after being hit by a pitch above his left ankle Monday. The designated hitter wasn't able to get a hit against Carlos Carrasco and three Mets relievers, but the three walks were a season high for Cruz. The 41-year-old is up to an 11.3 percent walk rate this year. He's added a .235/.325/.341 slash line with four home runs, 27 RBI, 23 runs scored, six doubles and a stolen base through 47 contests.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Returns to lineup
Rotowire
Cruz (ankle) is starting Wednesday's game against the Mets.
Cruz was held out of Tuesday's lineup after he was hit by a pitch above his left ankle Monday, but he'll serve as the designated hitter and bat third during Wednesday's matchup. The 41-year-old has recorded hits in 10 of his last 11 games, and he's hit .432 with five doubles, seven RBI, six runs and a stolen base during that time.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Not starting Tuesday
Rotowire
Cruz (ankle) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
The veteran slugger sustained a bruise above his left ankle when he was hit by a pitch during Monday's contest, and he'll be held out of the starting nine for at least one game. It's unclear whether Cruz will be available off the bench, but he should be considered day-to-day until his status is updated.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Comes up big in twin bill
Rotowire
Cruz went 3-for-7 with two doubles, two walks, three RBI and two runs between both ends of Saturday's doubleheader with the Rockies.
Cruz has now gone 16 consecutive games without a home run, but the veteran slugger is at least slashing an impressive .364/.417/.455 with 10 RBI, seven runs and a stolen base during the ongoing long-ball drought. He'll be back in the lineup for Sunday's series finale with Colorado, serving as Washington's designated hitter and No. 4 batter.
Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Swipes bag in Tuesday's loss
Rotowire
Cruz went 3-for-5 with a run scored, two RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 9-4 loss to the Dodgers.
The 41-year-old stole his first base of the season while extending his modest hit streak to five games, a stretch during which Cruz is batting .474 (9-for-19). He has only one extra-base hit, a double, among those knocks, however, and his .092 ISO on the season is 200 points lower than the mark he posted in 2020.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: In Monday's lineup
Rotowire
Cruz (ankle) will bat cleanup as the designated hitter Monday against the Dodgers, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.
Cruz exited Sunday's game against the Brewers with a sprained ankle, but manager Dave Martinez indicated that no trip to the injured list was expected. The sprain is evidently a particularly light one, as Cruz will return without missing a single game.
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Nationals' Nelson Cruz: Suffers sprained ankle
Rotowire
Cruz sustained a sprained ankle in the fourth inning of Sunday's win over the Brewers, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Cruz suffered his injury while sliding into second base in the top of the fourth inning Sunday, but he remained in the game. However, he later felt uncomfortable while trying to hit and was ultimately replaced by a pinch hitter. The 41-year-old will be reevaluated Monday, but manager Dave Martinez said after the game that he didn't think Cruz would require an IL stint.
Cruz (illness) will bat cleanup and serve as the designated hitter Tuesday against the Marlins.
Cruz was scratched from Monday's lineup due to an illness, but that was evidently merely a one-day problem. He'll return to his regular role Tuesday and will look to build on a run which has seen him hit .333/.405/.545 with a pair of homers over his last nine games.
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Player Bio
HT/WT: 6-2, 230 lbs
Birthplace: Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Dominican Republic
