MLB Player News

Walker isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

Walker had started in each of the five games after the All-Star break, and he went 6-for-19 with three doubles, three runs, an RBI, two walks and six strikeouts. He'll get a breather while Pavin Smith takes over at first base and bats fifth.

Diaz (neck) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays will keep Diaz on the bench for the second day in a row after he was scratched ahead of Tuesday's 9-3 due to neck spasms. Diaz is considered day-to-day, and the Rays are hopeful that with some extra maintenance, he'll be able to avoid a trip to the injured list. Ji-Man Choi will start at first base Wednesday in Diaz's stead.

Lowe 1-for-3 with a run scored in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to Detroit.

Lowe, who scored the Rangers' first run in 28.1 innings when Andy Ibanez doubled him home in the fifth inning, has just two hits over his last 16 at-bats and hasn't driven in a run over the last 13 games. Lowe's .400 slugging percentage ranks him 19th among first baseman with a minimum number of qualified plate appearances.

Gurriel went 3-for-5 with a run scored in Tuesday's 9-3 win over Cleveland.

All three of Gurriel's hits went for singles, and he ended up scoring early in the fifth as part of a six-run inning for the Astros. The 37-year-old has four multi-hit performances this month, but his pop seems to have vanished -- he hasn't hit a home run since June 11. Age continues to be just a number for Gurriel. He's slashing .316/.380/.472 with 10 homers, 57 RBI, 46 runs scored, a steal and a 37:38 BB:K over 376 plate appearances.

Abreu went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, a home run, four RBI and two additional runs scored in Tuesday's 9-5 win over the Twins.

Abreu did most of the heavy lifting on offense, which is nothing new for the slugger who continued his torrid month of July. He's slashing .328/.384/.672 with 21 RBI over 16 games this month. The RBI surge gives him 75 for the season, second only to Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero.

Vaughn entered Tuesday's game as a pinch hitter and singled in his lone plate appearance during a 9-5 win over the Twins.

The Twins grabbed the lead in the top half of the eighth inning but it was short-lived, as Vaughn, pinch-hitting for Seby Zavala, plated Adam Engel with the tying run before the White Sox tacked on four more scores in the frame. It was just Vaughn's second hit in 18 at-bats since returning from the All-Star break.

Freeman went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Padres.

With the score tied 1-1 in the sixth inning, Freeman drove a 95 mph Yu Darvish fastball on the outside corner over the fence in left field for the game's deciding run. The first baseman is back in MVP form, going yard five times in his last seven games while compiling a .407/.484/.741 slash line in July. The surge has boosted his OPS on the season to .903 with 22 homers and 55 RBI through 92 contests.

Wade went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Tuesday in a loss to the Dodgers.

Wade hit the longest of the Giants' four homers Tuesday, drilling a 413-foot shot to right field in the third inning. The 27-year-old has nine long balls on the campaign, with five coming over his past 18 games.

Cron went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Tuesday against the Mariners.

Cron took Paul Sewald yard in the eighth inning to record his 14th homer of the season. It was his third home run in his last five starts, during which time he's also tallied seven RBI and three runs scored. Overall, Cron is hitting .248/.357/.476 with 37 runs scored and 41 RBI across 291 plate appearances.

Votto went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Mets.

Votto crushed a fastball from Stephen Nogosek to dead center field in the third inning, giving the Reds the lead. It marked the Canadian slugger's first home run since July 3. He now has six hits in his last three games and has seen his average tick up to .262, just five points shy of his season-high .267.