MLB Player News

Pratto is absent from the lineup Sunday against Houston.

Matt Duffy will start at first base and bat fifth versus the Astros and left-hander Framber Valdez. The left-handed-hitting Pratto went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI sac fly and a run scored in the Royals' 10-8 win Saturday.

Mountcastle (shoulder) remains out of the lineup Sunday versus the Rays.

Mountcastle has missed the Orioles' entire four-game series against Tampa Bay after tweaking his left shoulder Wednesday versus the Cardinals. The good news is that imaging scans taken Thursday showed no structural damage, and he is not currently an IL candidate. The 26-year-old has been swinging on the side as he fights through a bit of lingering discomfort and could return to action at some point during the O's upcoming three-game set at Houston, which begins Monday.

Calhoun is absent from the lineup Sunday versus the Rangers.

Jose Ramirez will take a turn in the DH role for the Guardians as Steven Kwan, Ramon Laureano and Will Brennan start across the outfield. Calhoun went 2-for-8 with a two-run homer across the first two games of the three-game weekend series.

France went 2-for-4 in an extra-innings loss to the Dodgers on Saturday, pushing his average over the last five games to .353 (6-for-17).

All six of France's hits during that span have been singles, but he reached safely in all five contests to push his season on-base percentage to an impressive .340. However, the veteran infielder's current surge still leaves his season average at a middling .252 -- way off the .285 figure he's averaged over the last three seasons -- with the downturn at least partly attributable to a small bump in strikeout rate to 18.1 percent from tallies of 16.3 percent and 15.4 percent in the prior pair of campaigns.

Guerrero went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Red Sox. He also walked three times in the contest.

Guerrero walked in each of his first two trips to the plate before crushing a leadoff homer to open the bottom of the seventh to bring the Blue Jays back within one run of Boston. It marked the first baseman's third consecutive game with a home run and his second game in a row with two hits. He's now hit safely in four straight, driving in six runs over that stretch to go along with four runs scored.

Porter went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 10-8 win over the Astros.

Porter began the game on the bench but entered as a result of an injury to Salvador Perez. The veteran catcher left the game in the fifth inning after a Jose Altuve foul tip ricocheted off Perez's facemask, and Porter took over behind the plate one batter later. The 28-year-old took advantage of the opportunity when he ripped a slider from Joel Kuhnel deep to left field for his first career homer in his second MLB game. Perez is thought to have avoided a concussion, but if he misses further action, Porter is the only other healthy backstop on the Royals' roster with MJ Melendez having made a full-time transition to the outfield earlier in the season.

Walsh went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Tigers.

Walsh hit a homer as a pinch hitter Friday and went yard again Saturday in his first two games back since he was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. He got the start in right field and played there for the full game Saturday. The 30-year-old is slashing a meager .139/.253/.319 with three homers, eight RBI and seven runs scored over 83 major-league plate appearances, so it's unlikely he gets a full-time role over the last two weeks of the season.

Schanuel went 3-for-5 with a solo home run in Saturday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Tigers.

Schanuel got the Angels on the board with a third-inning solo shot, his first career big-league homer. It took him 21 games to check off that milestone, and he had just one extra-base hit, a double, prior to his long ball Saturday. Considering the 21-year-old was fast-tracked to the majors after just 22 minor-league games, in which he hit .370 with a 1.004 OPS, it's a little surprising he hasn't added much power yet, though it's not his best tool. In the majors, he has a .296/.418/.346 slash line with four RBI, 14 runs scored and a 15:12 BB:K over 98 plate appearances.

Cron (back) was reinstated from the injured list Saturday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Cron last played Aug. 15 but has been activated to take the roster spot of Shohei Ohtani (oblique). With both Ohtani and Mike Trout (wrist) sidelined, Cron should have the chance to earn at-bats as the designated hitter.

Mountcastle (shoulder) will sit for the third straight game Saturday against the Rays, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

An MRI showed no damage to Mountcastle's shoulder Thursday, but he'll nonetheless continue to rest and heal. Ryan O'Hearn will get another start at first base.