MLB Player News

Casas went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in a 5-3 win against Atlanta on Wednesday.

Casas' perfect day at the plate included a seventh-inning solo shot off Spencer Strider that cut Atlanta's lead to a single run. The Boston first baseman has collected multiple hits in four of his past five contests, going 9-for-16 (.563 average) with three home runs, six RBI and a 5:4 BB:K during that span. While Casas' .253 season batting average is nothing to shout about, he's maintained a .360 OBP on the strength of an excellent 14.9 percent walk rate and has blasted 15 long balls, six of which have come in his past 11 games.

Lowe went 2-for-4 with a home run, two walks, three RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 13-5 win over the Astros.

Lowe got the Rangers on the board with a two-run homer in the third inning, then drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run in the fifth. He's been consistent at the plate since the All-Star break, hitting safely in 11 of 12 games while batting .429 (18-for-42) over that span. The first baseman has 12 homers, 57 RBI, 69 runs scored, 27 doubles and two triples while slashing .286/.380/.455 through 102 games overall.

Lester cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

He's no longer on the 40-man roster, but Lester has accepted the outright assignment and will remain in the organization. The 29-year-old has an .827 OPS with 15 home runs at Norfolk this season.

O'Hearn is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

With left-hander Ranger Suarez taking the bump for the Phillies, the lefty-hitting O'Hearn will unsurprisingly retreat to the bench. Ryan Mountcastle will replace O'Hearn at first base in the series finale.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Wednesday that the MRI results on Diaz's left groin were encouraging, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Diaz didn't play in Wednesday's loss to the Marlins after exiting Tuesday's game with groin tightness. While it's not clear when he might be ready to return to the lineup, it appears he will be able to avoid the injured list for the time being. Diaz dealt with a left groin issue earlier this season as well but didn't require an IL stint at that time.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said that Kirilloff is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners due to a sore shoulder, which Kirilloff injured on a diving play in Tuesday's 9-7 loss, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

After Kirilloff had started each of the last nine games, he appeared to be sitting out Wednesday's day game for maintenance purposes, but Baldelli clarified that an injury is keeping the 25-year-old out of the lineup. The Twins have an off day Thursday, and Baldelli is optimistic that Kirilloff will be ready to go for the club's weekend series in Kansas City after getting two full days of rest. Kansas City is expected to start a southpaw (Ryan Yarbrough) on Sunday, so the lefty-hitting Kirilloff is still likely to hit the bench for at least one game this weekend even if he's cleared for Friday's series opener.

Bell is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Bell had started each of Cleveland's last eight contests, so he's likely just receiving some routine maintenance as the Guardians and Royals wrap up their series with a day game after a night game. With Bell on the bench, Jose Ramirez will get a day out of the field and serve as the Guardians' designated hitter, while Tyler Freeman picks up a start at third base.

Diaz (groin) is out of the lineup for the Rays' series finale with the Marlins and is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Diaz will get examined after he exited Tuesday's 4-1 win with left groin tightness. According to Whitaker, manager Kevin Cash said that Diaz woke up Wednesday feeling no worse than Tuesday, so the Rays are optimistic that the 31-year-old won't have to go on the injured list as a result of the groin issue. Luke Raley will replace him at first base and will bat cleanup Wednesday.

Solano is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners.

Solano is on the bench for the fourth time in five games and appears to have lost hold of a regular role at third base. He'll still likely serve as a starting infielder against left-handed pitching, but Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro may be the Twins' preferred options at third base versus right-handed pitching while all of Jorge Polanco (hamstring), Royce Lewis (oblique) and Jose Miranda (shoulder) are on the injured list.

O'Hearn went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-3 loss against Philadelphia.

O'Hearn gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning with a solo homer off left-hander Matt Strahm, his ninth long ball of the year and second off a southpaw. The 30-year-old O'Hearn has seen steady playing time even with the return of Ryan Mountcastle, with Cedric Mullins (groin) and Aaron Hicks (hamstring) both on the IL. O'Hearn's gone 8-for-23 (.348) with a pair of homers and a 1.012 OPS over his last eight games, boosting his slash line to .310/.353/.536 with 33 RBI and 24 runs scored across 184 plate appearances this season.