MLB Player News

France went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Saturday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Rangers.

He turned around a Spencer Patton fastball to lead off the ninth inning, giving the M's a very temporary reprieve and France his 10th homer of the season. He's hit safely in nine straight games, batting .297 (11-for-37) over that stretch, but that actually counts as cooling down for the streaky 27-year-old -- since the All-Star break he's slashing a sizzling .375/.434/.479.

Dalbec went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 9-5 loss to the Rays.

His fifth-inning blast off Ryan Yarbrough was his first homer since June 28 and 11th of the season. While it was a nice way to wrap up July, Dalbec still slashed only .210/.234/.306 through 21 games on the month with an atrocious 1:25 BB:K. The return of Franchy Cordero hasn't had a big impact on Dalbec's playing time, but the eventual Boston debut of Kyle Schwarber (hamstring) probably will.

Cronenworth went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, walk and strikeout in a 5-3 loss to the Rockies on Saturday.

Starting at shortstop for the injured Fernando Tatis, Cronenworth homered in the third to even the score at 2-2 and later walked in the sixth to reach base twice on the game. The infielder has put his power on display this season with 15 long balls in 104 games after just four in 54 contests in 2020. With Tatis out, Cronenworth is likely to gain shortstop eligibility as his appearance Saturday was his seventh this season.

Calhoun went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in an 8-3 defeat to the Dodgers on Saturday.

Calhoun slugged a two-run home run in the fourth to bring Arizona within one run of Los Angeles' lead and later singled in the sixth. It was the outfielder's first home run since April 25 and he now has three long balls in 28 games after hitting 16 in 54 games last season.

Raley was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Raley spent a week on the big-league roster during his latest stint with the team, going just 1-for-9 at the plate. He now owns a .483 OPS through 65 plate appearances in his rookie season.

Manager Gabe Kapler said he hopes Flores (back) will be available off the bench Sunday versus the Astros, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

The 29-year-old exited Saturday's contest with soreness in his lower back, but it appears the injury isn't a serious concern. He went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer prior to exiting the contest. Flores should be considered day-to-day heading into Sunday's series finale.

Flores was removed from Saturday's game against the Astros due to lower-back soreness, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Flores went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run to begin Saturday's contest, but he was replaced by Thairo Estrada in the bottom of the fifth inning. The severity of the issue isn't yet clear, and his availability for Sunday's series finale against Houston remains up in the air.

Tellez isn't starting Saturday's game against Atlanta.

Tellez has been on a tear across the last seven games, as he's hit .448 with four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBI and eight runs. Eduardo Escobar will shift to first base while Luis Urias starts at the hot corner.

Bell isn't starting Saturday against the Cubs, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Bell hit a solo home run in Friday's win over the Cubs, but he'll get a breather for the second game of the series. Ryan Zimmerman will start at first base and bat third.

Walker will sit Saturday against the Dodgers.

Walker owns a modest .709 OPS thus far in the second half, though that's at least better than the .620 OPS he managed prior to the break. Asdrubal Cabrera slides to first base in his absence, with Drew Ellis starting at third.