MLB Player News

Bell went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 9-6 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday.

The Pirates' first baseman continued his strong start and did it in impressive fashion Wednesday afternoon, absolutely crushing a bomb into the Allegheny River. Bell already has nine homers, which is only three shy of his total from last season. He is hitting .295 with 23 extra-base hits, 27 RBI and 22 runs in 122 at-bats.

Lowe was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Lowe's first stint in the majors was short-lived, as the 23-year-old wound up making just nine appearances for the Rays, slashing .257/.289/.314 with a pair of doubles and 2:10 BB:K in those contests. This move frees up a spot on the roster for Austin Meadows (finger), who is expected to be activated from the injured list ahead of Friday's series opener against the Yankees. The 23-year-old Lowe figures to rejoin the Rays again at some point later in the season, but he'll toil away in the minors for now.

Cooper (hand) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment with High-A Jupiter on Wednesday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports

Cooper landed on the injured list over the weekend due to a left hand contusion, though his stay on the shelf was never expected to be a lengthy one, a notion supported by the fact that he's already been cleared to resume game action. The 28-year-old will be eligible to return May 11.

Guerrero is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Twins.

Guerrero is slashing just .162/.244/.189 with one RBI through his first 10 games as a big leaguer, so he'll head to the bench for Wednesday's series finale as he looks to hit the reset button. Brandon Drury is covering third base in his stead, with Billy McKinney picking up a start in the outfield as a result. With the Blue Jays off the schedule Thursday, look for Guerrero to rejoin the lineup for Friday's series opener against the White Sox.

Bour is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Tigers.

Bour will stick on the bench for a second consecutive game with another lefty in Matthew Boyd toeing the rubber for the Tigers. With southpaw Ryan Carpenter slated to start for Detroit on Thursday, Bour may be stuck on the bench until Friday. Albert Pujols is starting at first base and hitting fifth.

Walker is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Wilmer Flores will man first base in the series finale while Walker heads to the bench following a stretch of 14 consecutive starts. Though the 28-year-old has been a pleasant surprise for the Diamondbacks this season and maintains an excellent .943 OPS on the season, he's currently stuck in a bit of a home-run drought. He hasn't cleared the fence since April 23, though he has at least racked up eight doubles over that stretch.

Flores went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Rays.

Flores hit his second home run of the season in the ninth inning when the Diamondbacks mounted a futile rally already down by five runs. Much of his production has come in the last 10 games, a stretch in which he's had five multi-hit games. The infielder is slashing .414/.452/.690 with two homers and 10 RBI during his hot streak. Prior to that, Flores was hitting .203 with just two RBI over the first 22 games.

Alonso went 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBI in Tuesday's 7-6 win over the Padres.

The rookie again displayed a flair for the dramatic, as his ninth-inning blast off Adam Warren broke open a 5-5 tie. Alonso has cooled down a little, but he's still slashing .284/.362/.604 with 11 homers and 31 RBI through his first 36 big-league games.

France went 2-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Mets.

He took Noah Syndergaard deep in the fourth inning for his first career big-league homer. France is now slashing .241/.324/.448 through 12 games since his promotion, a performance that may not be good enough to keep him in the majors once Fernando Tatis Jr. (hamstring) returns from the IL at the end of the week.

O'Hearn went 1-for-4 with a walk, a grand slam and a second run scored in Tuesday's 12-2 rout of the Astros.

His third-inning blast off Collin McHugh ended up being the first of two grand slams by the Royals on the night. O'Hearn's .202/.317/.385 slash line and four homers in 32 games remains lackluster, but better days could be ahead -- his 17:28 BB:K and .233 BABIP suggest he's been unlucky rather than overmatched in the majors.