RADIO
Ketel Marte Scratched With Back Stiffness
Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (back) was scratched from Thursday's starting lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals with back stiffness, according to Steve Zinsmeister of Arizona Sports. Ildemaro Vargas is starting at the keystone and will bat seventh for the Snakes against Cardinals right-hander Michael McGreevy. For now, we'll consider Marte to be day-to-day until we know more. Fantasy managers will want to remove him from their starting lineups and check back on Friday to see if he's available in D.C. for the series opener against the Washington Nationals. It might be a good time for Marte to take a day off, as he's hitting just .229 (16-for-70) with a .619 OPS, one homer, three doubles, a triple, six RBI, nine runs scored, three steals, five walks, and 15 strikeouts in 17 games in July to drop his season line to .258/.313/.461 with a .773 OPS. The Dominican switch-hitter and three-time All-Star continues to be a strong source of power at the keystone, though, with 18 homers and 59 RBI in 98 games and 432 plate appearances in his 12th year in the majors.
Source: Steve Zinsmeister
Source: Steve Zinsmeister
