CF Charlie Blackmon went 4-for-4 with a walk and finished a double shy of the cycle. He drove in three runs, increasing his major league-leading RBI total to 45. His triple was his major league leading seventh of the season, two shy of the career-high nine he hit in 2015. Blackmon has hit safely in eight straight games, going 16-for-37 (.432) in that span and raising his average 23 points to a season-high .337.

CF Odubel Herrera was moved up to first in the batting order Friday with 2B Cesar Hernandez on the bench. Herrera has been shuffled throughout the lineup this week as he tries to break out of a slump. He went 1-for-4 in the series opener against the Reds, which followed an 0-for-5 showing with five strikeouts on Thursday against Colorado.

2B Cesar Hernandez was held out the lineup Friday night because of a groin injury. It was the first game of the season that Hernandez missed and just the second time he did not start. The 27-year-old is hitting .289 with a team-leading 54 hits.

OF Stephen Piscotty left the team for personal reasons. Manager Mike Matheney said, "We sent Steve home to take care of some things on a personal level." Matheny said no corresponding roster move had been made, Piscotty had not been placed on the bereavement list and he did not know when Piscotty would return. Piscotty, who is hitting .224 with two homers and 12 RBI in 30 games, was getting a scheduled day off and was not in the lineup. Since returning from the disabled list Saturday, following a right hamstring strain, Piscotty is 3-for-19 in five games, four starts.

3B David Freese is struggling at the plate since coming off the DL. He was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts against the Mets and is 6-for-39 (.154) since returning to the lineup, with 17 strikeouts.

C Yadier Molina singled in the second to extend his hitting streak to 15 games and was robbed of a hit in the eigthth by third baseman Nolan Arenado, who made a sweeping stop of Molina's hard smash. Molina is one game shy of his career-high hitting streak, having hit safely in 16 consecutive games from July 8-Aug. 2, 2016. During his current streak, Molina is hitting .281 (18-for-64).

CF Andrew McCutchen, who has struggled all season at the plate and was relegated to the bench for two games in Atlanta this week, was moved to sixth in the order. He had never batted lower than cleanup as a starter. McCutchen managed one of Pittsburgh's six hits, a one-out single up the middle in the seventh. That raised his average from .203 to .205.

RF Gregory Polanco played in his first game since came off the DL (left hamstring strain) Thursday. He started against the Mets, batting in his customary cleanup spot, and picked up where he left off before he got hurt. He went 2-for-4, including his second homer. In his 10 games before the May 14 injury, Polanco hit .333 with five extra-base hits. He's slowly working on his season average, which is now .260. "It was just good to have him back in the lineup," Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison said of Polanco. "Nobody likes to be on the DL. It was good for him to come back and get his feet wet but also show that he's a good spot. It was very encouraging."

SS Jean Segura went 3-for-4 with a double, a pair of infield hits and a stolen base. He has five hits in the last two games and is hitting .346 on the season. It was his seventh three-plus-hit game of 2017 and he has 13 multi-hit road games, including six of the last seven He is batting .359 over his last 24 games.

1B Danny Valencia had a second-inning single and was cut down trying to stretch it into a double. But he has an eight-game hitting streak, going 10-for-28 (.357) during the streak. He has hit .310 over his last 24 games.

RHP Yovani Gallardo battled through 5 1/3 innings Friday night at Fenway Park, but suffered his second straight loss to fall to 2-5 on the season. He allowed seven hits and three runs, walking six, striking out five and wild pitching home a run. "Yeah I definitely had to battle," he said. "The whole night obviously wasn't consistent. But I made pitches whenever I had to."

RHP Corey Kluber made a rehab start for Double-A Akron on Friday night. Kluber has been on the disabled list since May 3 with a lower back strain. At Akron, Kluber pitched five scoreless innings on one hit, with one strikeout and no walks. "He said he felt good," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "We'll sit down with him tomorrow and see what the next step is."

OF Austin Jackson has been activated off the disabled list. Jackson had been on the DL since May 2 with a hyperextended left big toe. Jackson takes the roster spot of OF Lonnie Chisenhall, who was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list on Thursday. Jackson made a pinch-hitting appearance Friday in the ninth inning but struck out to end the game.

SS Francisco Lindor's third-inning RBI single on Friday night extended his hitting streak to 11 games. During the streak, Lindor is hitting .295 (13-for-44). He is batting .320 at home, although just eight of his 23 RBIs have come at Progressive Field.

DH Brandon Moss' three-run homer in the fourth inning cut a 4-0 Cleveland lead to 4-3 on Friday night. Moss has five home runs in the last eight games, a span of 28 at-bats. Before that streak Moss had homered four times in his previous 80 at-bats. Moss' home run on Friday also snapped a streak by Royals hitters, who were 0-for-35 with runners in scoring position, dating to the second inning of a game at Minnesota on May 19.

3B Mike Moustakas' home run in the fifth inning was his 12th of the season, coming in the Royals' 47th game. That's the fastest a Royals player has hit 12 home runs in a season since Jermaine Dye hit 12 in his first 27 games in 2000.

OF Chris Heisey (right biceps rupture) went on the disabled list Wednesday after he was injured during batting practice. He was to have an MRI, but a team spokesperson said Friday that there is no update on his condition.

RHP Stephen Strasburg will face his hometown team Saturday. He is 5-1 with a 3.28 ERA against San Diego in six starts.

2B Wilmer Difo got the start at second on Friday night as veteran Daniel Murphy got the night off. Difo was 0-for-4 and is hitting .186. Difo has proven he can be a solid backup but may not have the bat to play every day in the majors.

1B Adam Lind got a rare start as Ryan Zimmerman got Friday night off. Lind was 1-for-4 and is hitting .340. Lind has excelled as a pinch-hitter this year and has taken over the reserve role from Clint Robinson. Zimmerman has been on fire and has given Lind few opportunities, though manager Dusty Baker wants to make sure and give his regulars time off.