MLB Player News

Hiura was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Friday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Hiura didn't have an everyday role in the time since his latest call-up in late June and didn't look great at the plate, striking out 39.4 percent of the time while slashing a passable but unexciting .230/.324/.443. The acquisition of Eduardo Escobar means his role was expected to shrink still further down the stretch, so he'll head to the minors in search of regular at-bats. He has very little to prove at the Triple-A level, however, hitting .347/.434/.691 there in 77 career games.

Diaz went 3-for-5 with an RBI single, a double and two runs in a win over the Yankees on Thursday, snapping an 0-for-17 skid.

Diaz put together a 4-for-5 effort against Cleveland on July 22 before hitting his mini-slump, and Thursday's strong production was reminiscent of that game. The 29-year-old has given his season a nice boost in July, as he'll enter Friday night's series opener against the Red Sox with a .304/.371/.554 slash line that includes three doubles, one triple, three home runs and nine RBI across 62 plate appearances covering 17 games.

Hoskins (groin) isn't starting Friday's game against the Pirates.

Hoskins tweaked his groin in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader, and he'll be out of the lineup for at least one contest. Brad Miller will start at first base and bat second.

Abreu (neck) is starting Friday's game against Cleveland.

Abreu was held out of Thursday's contest due to a stiff neck, but he'll play first base and bat third Friday. The 34-year-old has gone 0-for-14 with a run, two walks and three strikeouts across his last four games.

Cronenworth went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Rockies.

The Padres were clinging to a one-run eighth-inning lead when Cronenworth provided some breathing room with a two-run shot to right field off Daniel Bard. The long ball was his first since July 16. Half of his 14 homers came during a 14-game hot stretch between June 11 and June 25.

Votto went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Thursday's win over the Cubs.

Votto's power surge over the last two weeks has been incredible and he went yard for a franchise-record sixth straight game Thursday, a span during which he's racked up eight homers and 14 RBI. The veteran first baseman is riding a seven-game hitting streak and has slashed .329/.453/.753 with 10 homers, 24 RBI, 17 runs scored and an 18:26 BB:K across 103 plate appearances this month.

Alonso went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Thursday against Atlanta.

Alonso took Drew Smyly yard in the fifth inning to record his 23rd homer of the season. He's produced at a high level since the All-Star break, racking up six homers, 13 RBI and nine runs scored in 12 starts. For the season, Alonso has a .262/.338/.512 line across 370 plate appearances with 62 RBI and 47 runs scored.

France, who went 2-for-4 with a run in a loss to the Astros on Wednesday, owns a .375 average, .913 OPS and minuscule 9.4 percent strikeout rate in the 53 plate appearances covering his last 12 games.

France also has multi-hit efforts in exactly half of those contests, with the only possible quibble with his numbers being the fact he only has three extra-base hits (two doubles, one home run) during that span. Nevertheless, the hot-hitting infielder now owns a rock-solid .278/.356/.421 slash line on the season, and his respective .331 and .333 averages with men on base and men in scoring position have helped lead to 44 RBI over 93 games.

Guerrero went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a walk Thursday against the Red Sox.

Guerrero launched a three-run shot off Boston reliever Phillips Valdez in the fifth inning to extend Toronto's cushion to 9-0. It was the 33rd home of the year for Guerrero, but his first in the last seven games. Despite that brief power outage, Guerrero is hitting a league-leading .328 with a 1.086 OPS in 424 plate appearances this season and will take a six-game hitting streak into Friday's home matchup with Kansas City.

Tellez went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a double, two RBI and three runs scored during Thursday's win over the Pirates.

Tellez cranked an opposite-field 410-footer against Chris Stratton in the seventh to further extend Milwaukee's lead. He also hit an RBI double in the sixth, which would have been a homer in 23 ballparks. The 26-year-old now has four long balls and two doubles while batting .378/.467/.757 across 15 games since recently joining the Brewers.