MLB Player News

Polanco went 5-for-5 with a double, a two-run home run and two runs scored Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

Polanco's big day at the plate began with a single in the first inning, but was highlighted by his seventh home run of the season in the second inning. While he appeared to be coming back to Earth after a very hot start to the season, Polanco recorded nine hits in 12 at-bats during the team's series in Toronto. He remains one of the more surprising early-season performers, hitting .344/.412/.649 across 148 plate appearances.

Andrus went 3-for-5 with a double, a pair of stolen bases and a run in a 9-6 victory against the Pirates on Wednesday.

It was a successful first game in the No. 2 spot in the batting order. Andrus had batted third in 27 of 29 games prior to Wednesday, but if this is a permanent switch, it might allow him more chances to steal bases as he did Wednesday. Andrus is hitting .338 with five home runs, 23 RBI, 21 runs and eight steals in 136 at-bats this season.

The Red Sox are considering using Chavis in the outfield, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Chavis hasn't officially starting working in the outfield yet, though he was tracking flyballs before Wednesday's game as the Red Sox are exploring different ways to keep the young slugger in the lineup once Dustin Pedroia (knee) returns from the IL. Through 17 games this season, the 23-year-old Chavis is slashing .293/.423/.638 with six homers and two steals.

Chavis is not starting Wednesday against the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Chavis sits for the first time since entering the lineup April 21. He was hitting an excellent .354/.466/.771 through Saturday but has since gone 0-for-10, dropping his season line to a still-strong .293/.423/.638. Eduardo Nunez gets the start at second base.

Rosario is starting at shortstop and hitting second Wednesday against the Padres.

This marks the third time in four games Rosario is situated in the two hole after primarily hitting in the bottom third of the order for the first month of the season. The move is warranted, as the young shortstop is slashing .280/.317/.417 with a pair of homers and four stolen bases through 33 games.

Andrus will bat second and start at shortstop Wednesday against the Pirates, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Andrus batted third in 27 of his first 29 starts of the season, but he'll hit out of the two hole for the fourth straight contest. It looks like he'll regularly hit between leadoff man Shin-Soo Choo and Nomar Mazara for the foreseeable future with Rougned Odor having yet to find his swing this season.

Frazier is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

He'll sit for the day game after the night game after drawing starts in each of the Pirates' previous nine contests. Frazier should be reinstalled as the team's starting second baseman and leadoff man Thursday in St. Louis, but Starling Marte will serve as the table setter for the final game of the Pirates' homestand.

Marte will start at second base and bat fifth Wednesday against the Rays.

Marte has hit either first or second in the order in each of his past five starts, but he'll move into the heart of the lineup to provide the Diamondbacks with an infusion of power as top slugger Christian Walker rests. With nine home runs through Arizona's first 36 contests, Marte is well on his way to surpassing last season's career-high total of 14 long balls.

Merrifield went 4-for-5 with a triple, a home run, three runs scored, five RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 12-2 rout of the Astros.

The big blow was his seventh-inning grand slam off Framber Valdez, at which point Merrifield probably regretted not trying to stretch one of his earlier singles into a double to give him a cycle. The 30-year-old is having another outstanding campaign, slashing .299/.351/.545 through 37 games with six homers, seven steals, 19 RBI and 30 runs.

Lowe went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and two RBI in Tuesday's 6-3 win over Arizona.

Lowe extended his hit streak to 11 games and has a 1.019 OPS over 44 at-bats in that stretch. The 24-year-old is slashing .311/.366/.597 with eight home runs and 22 RBI, though his 31.3 percent strikeout rate and unsustainable .408 BABIP suggest he's due for some regression.