MLB Player News

Merrifield went 4-for-5 with a run scored in Monday's 6-3 extra-innings win over the Dodgers.

This was Merrifield's eighth multi-hit effort in 17 games in July -- he's batting an excellent (.355) for the month. That's also come with some power in the form of four home runs, accounting for a majority of his total (six) this season. The versatile 34-year-old's surge has him up to a .299/.351/.403 slash line with 42 RBI, 43 runs scored and 20 stolen bases over 92 contests. Most importantly, it's helped him stay in the lineup on a near-everyday basis of late, primarily at second base and in left field.

Westburg went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's 3-2 victory over the Phillies.

Westburg gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead with his first career home run, taking Cristopher Sanchez deep to the opposite field in the second inning. The 24-year-old Westburg had been struggling a bit at the plate, going 4-for-21 (.190) over his previous eight games while falling into a platoon role. The rookie infielder is now slashing .266/.319/.438 with 10 runs scored, eight RBI and a stolen base through his first 69 plate appearances.

Short hit a two-run home run in his only at-bat during Monday's 5-1 win over the Giants.

Short entered the game in the top of the eighth inning, taking over at third base for Nick Maton. He then went deep in the bottom half of the frame, giving him five home runs this season. That's only one away from his career high, and Short reached a career high in RBI with 22. The infielder had six home runs and 20 RBI across 61 games back in 2021, then appeared in just six games for the Tigers last year.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday that it's possible Altuve (oblique) can be activated without going out on a rehab assignment first, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Baker did note that he has not yet spoken to Altuve about the possibility. Altuve began taking batting practice last week as he works his way back from a left oblique strain, so if he doesn't wind up needing rehab games it seems as if he could be activated relatively soon. The veteran second baseman has been sidelined since early July.

Frazier is not in the starting lineup Monday against the Phillies.

Frazier will head to the bench as the Orioles face off with left-hander Cristopher Sanchez. Jordan Westburg will take over at second base and bat fifth in the series opener with Philadelphia.

Massey is out of the lineup for Monday's contest in Cleveland.

The 25-year-old will begin this one on the bench as left-handed Logan Allen toes the rubber for the Guardians. Massey has actually fared better against lefties this season with a .673 OPS versus a .593 OPS against righties, but opportunities against southpaws have been few and far between.

Gimenez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 8-5 extra-inning loss to the Phillies.

Gimenez took Aaron Nola deep in the second inning. While Gimenez has hit two homers over eight games since the All-Star break, he's batting just .200 (6-for-30) in that span. The second baseman has warmed up over the last couple of months, but he's still at a .244/.314/.390 slash line over 94 contests this season. He's added nine homers, 15 stolen bases, 38 RBI and 43 runs scored.

Massey went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's 8-5 loss to the Yankees.

Massey now has three homers in his last three games after going 24 contests without a long ball. Even with his recent power surge, it's been a tough month at the plate for the 25-year-old Massey -- he's gone 9-for-46 with a .669 OPS in 14 games since the start of July. Overall, the 25-year-old second baseman is slashing .213/.267/.343 with seven homers, 29 RBI, 19 runs scored and three steals across 251 plate appearances this season.

Remillard went 2-for-5 with a solo homer, two RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's loss to the Twins.

Remillard cranked his first big-league home run with a blast to left center in the third and then followed up with an RBI single in the fifth. It was his first RBI since July 7 and his fourth multi-hit game this month. Though it appears the 29-year-old has lost out on an everyday spot, he's provided a nice spark when in the lineup, slashing .309/.371/.407 with six extra-base hits, 13 RBI, 10 runs and a 7:26 BB:K in 92 plate appearances. It shouldn't be expected he'll keep those numbers up though, considering he hit .244/.340/.376 over three seasons at Triple-A.

Rengifo went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Sunday's win over the Pirates.

Rengifo went deep in the fifth and sixth innings Sunday, bringing him to nine home runs on the year. Five of those have come in the last 14 games and he's gone 12-for-40 (.300) during that span. Still, he's slashing just .220/.309/.365 with 29 RBI and 16 extra-base hits through 275 plate appearances.