MLB Player News

Hoerner went 3-for-4 with a walk, two doubles and an RBI in Friday's 15-2 win over the Brewers.

Making his first start off the season after getting called up Thursday, Hoerner delivered for the Cubs right away. Chicago isn't getting a ton of production from David Bote or Eric Sogard at second base, so there's an opportunity for Hoerner to seize regular playing time if he's productive at the plate. The 23-year-old looked good in a 20-game debut back in 2019, posting a .282/.305/.436 slash line, but those numbers fell to .222/.312/.259 across 48 games last year.

Lopez isn't starting Saturday's game against the Tigers.

Lopez had started each of the last five contests and went 4-for-17 with two doubles, four RBI and three runs during that time. Hanser Alberto will start at shortstop while Hunter Dozier starts at the hot corner Saturday.

Rojas went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Friday's 5-4 loss to Atlanta.

Rojas got the start at shortstop in place of the slumping Nick Ahmed and hit safely in his third straight start. Manager Torey Lovullo said Ahmed remains the starting shortstop for now, but Rojas' bat is heating up. He's gone 5-for-13 with a double, a home run, three RBI and five runs scored over his last five appearances (three starts).

Semien went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and one strikeout in Friday's 5-3 win over the Rays.

Semien capped off a four-run rally with two outs in the first inning Friday by hitting his fifth home run of the year. The 30-year-old is now slashing .208/.279/.403 with five home runs, 10 RBI and four stolen bases this season.

Albies went 2-for-4 with a double, a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

The second baseman has a slow start to the season, but Albies may be coming out of his funk. Over his last nine games he's gone just 7-for-31 (.226), but six of his hits (three doubles and all three of his homers on the year) have gone for extra bases.

Merrifield went 2-for-5 with an RBI single, a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 6-2 win over the Tigers.

Merrifield plated Michael Taylor with a single and came around to score on Jorge Soler's two-run double in the fifth inning. In the ninth, Merrifield and Carlos Santana executed a double-steal, but neither of them scored. The speedy Merrifield has six stolen bases, three home runs, 13 RBI, 13 runs scored and a .292/.333/.472 slash line through 81 plate appearances atop the Royals' order.

Haggerty, who entered Thursday's extra-inning win over the Red Sox as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, laced a go-ahead RBI double, stole a base and scored in his one plate appearance.

The utility man's run-scoring two-bagger snapped a 3-3 tie in the 10th inning and gave Haggerty his fourth hit in his last 11 plate appearances. The 27-year-old has been in the batter's box on only 27 occasions through his first 11 games, but he's picked things up after going 1-for-8 with one strikeout in his first three games this season.

Altuve (illness) has been cleared to work out with his teammates but is not yet ready to return to game action, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Altuve has been away from the team for over a week while on the COVID-19 injured list. He worked out on the field prior to Friday's game against the Angels but needs a few more days to get back in game shape before being activated.

Lowe is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Lowe hit a home run in each of the past two games but will head to the bench Friday with southpaw Steven Matz pitching for Toronto. Mike Brosseau will start at the keystone and bat cleanup for the Rays.

Torres went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run in a victory over Cleveland on Thursday.

Torres came into the contest having collected just three hits over his past 23 at-bats, but he matched that hit total with a trio of singles Thursday. The multi-hit effort was his first of the season, and the RBI was his first since April 11. The shortstop is off to a slow start to the campaign, slashing .219/.315/.250 with no home runs and only two RBI.