18 Austin Hedges C

Hedges is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets.

Hedges will return to the bench Tuesday as he is mired in a 2-for-23 slump over his last seven games. Francisco Mejia will start behind the plate and bat eighth in his stead.

Hedges is not in the lineup Sunday against the Dodgers.

Hedges sat for two games in a row early in the week but then returned to the lineup for three straight. Francisco Mejia gets the start Sunday.

Hedges remains on the bench Wednesday against the Braves, Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Hedges finds himself on the bench in consecutive games for the first time this season. Francisco Mejia draws another start despite going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in Tuesday's contest.

Hedges is not in the lineup Saturday against the Nationals.

The 26-year-old will receive the day off as Francisco Mejia starts at catcher Saturday, batting eighth in the order. Mejia hasn't started in back-to-back games so far this season, so Hedges will probably return to the lineup Sunday.

Hedges went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in a 6-3 win over the Mariners on Tuesday.

It was the second straight game with a long ball and fourth homer of the season for the 26-year-old backstop. Hedges is hitting just .208 through 53 at-bats, but he's clearly outperforming Francisco Mejia, who is hitting .161 with no homers, so he should command the majority of the starts behind the dish, especially if he can build on this recent power surge.