MLB Player News

Loftin is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Yankees.

Loftin had started each of the last five games at second base, but he will begin Thursday's contest on the bench. Garrett Hampson will occupy the keystone for the Royals as they try to avoid a sweep.

Keith is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Southpaw Patrick Corbin is on the bump for the Nationals, so the left-handed-hitting Keith will begin the contest on the bench. Andy Ibanez will handle second base for the Tigers.

Valdez entered Wednesday's game as a pinch hitter and went 1-for-1 with a walk, a double and two RBI in an 8-6 win over Philadelphia.

He delivered a two-out, two-run double as a pinch hitter for Jamie Westbrook, giving the Red Sox a lead they would not relinquish. Valdez remained in the game and played second base. Since a wave of infield injuries led to him becoming the starting second baseman against right-handers, Valdez is 5-for-22 with a home run, two doubles and seven RBI over eight contests.

Torres went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run, an additional run and a walk Wednesday in an 11-5 victory against Kansas City.

Torres further busted open the game for the Yankees with a three-run shot off Daniel Lynch in the seventh inning. The long ball was his second in June and his sixth overall this season. Four of the long balls have come over his past 21 contests after Torres went deep just twice over his initial 49 games.

Valdez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

The lefty-hitting Valdez will exit the starting nine while the Phillies bring southpaw Cristopher Sanchez to the hill. The Red Sox will turn to the right-handed-hitting Jamie Westbrook to replace Valdez at the keystone.

Keith (knee) will start at second base and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Keith will slot back in at the keystone after he was excluded from the starting nine in both of the past two games, though he appeared off the bench and went hitless in his lone at-bat in Tuesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss. The rookie got off to a rough start to the season but seems to have turned the corner since mid-May, as he's slashing .286/.324/.414 over a stretch of 22 games.

Gimenez went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Reds.

Gimenez has gone 4-for-26 (.154) over six games in June, and he hasn't drawn a walk in that span. The second baseman has maintained fairly steady playing time, but he's hit lower in the order with the Guardians facing a southpaw in three of their last four games. That may be a factor in his quiet stretch, though he's still doing well overall with a .263/.318/.363 slash line, four home runs, 10 steals, 33 RBI and 35 runs scored across 60 contests.

Lowe went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Cubs.

After the Rays tied the game earlier in the ninth, Lowe launched a 3-2 splitter from Hector Neris into the right-field bleachers for a three-run homer, giving Tampa Bay a 5-2 victory. It's the third homer for Lowe this season and his second in six games -- he's gone 6-for-23 (.261) with 10 RBI in that span. Overall, the 29-year-old second-baseman is batting .205 with a .711 OPS, 18 RBI and 11 runs scored through 26 games this season.

Mateo (concussion) went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's 4-0 win over Atlanta.

Mateo missed just over a week due to a concussion, and he provided a big blast in his first at-bat back from the injured list. His second-inning homer ended up being plenty of offense for Baltimore in this contest. Mateo his .246 over the 20 games prior to his absence, and he's at a .248/.295/.470 slash line with four homers, 16 RBI, 20 runs scored and 10 stolen bases through 43 contests overall. While he started at shortstop Tuesday to give Gunnar Henderson a breather, Mateo's playing time will likely be primarily at second base moving forward, which will push Jordan Westburg over to third and Ramon Urias back into a utility role.

Drury (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Drury went down with a hamstring injury May 8 and was placed on the 10-day injured list a day later. The second baseman hasn't faced any setbacks with his recovery to this point and is now ready to test himself in a game setting for the first time in over a month. Expect Drury to appear in at least a couple of games with Salt Lake before the Angels decide whether he's fit to return from the IL.