MLB Player News

Albies went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and two runs scored in Monday's win over the Giants.

Albies' second half has been a far cry from his brilliant first half, as even with Monday's production factored in he's still batting just .253/.294/.353 since the All-Star break (170 at-bats). Those struggles have resulted in Albies falling to the bottom third of the batting order recently, but his season stats remain beyond impressive for a 21-year-old and he's shown improvement from the right side of the plate, providing a silver lining during this rough stretch.

Altuve banged his knee while attempting to turn a double play in Monday's win over the Tigers, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. He stayed in the game and finished 1-for-4.

Altuve had spent nearly a month on the disabled list earlier this season with soreness in the same knee, so there was some concern following the play. The second baseman said he was a little sore, but is confident he can play Tuesday.

Merrifield went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in Monday's win over the White Sox.

Merrifield led off the first with his 12th home run of the season. He had been slumping lately with just three hits in his last 27 at-bats, but hopefully the homer will snap him out of his slump. He remains one of the best second basemen in baseball with his .302 average and 31 steals.

Marte is on the bench Monday against the Rockies.

Marte has been struggling against right-handed pitching of late and will sit for the third time in four games. He'll give way to Daniel Descalso, who looks to have at least temporarily secured the larger portion of the timeshare at the keystone.

Urias went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's win over the Reds.

Urias returned to the lineup after a scheduled rest day Saturday, and he cashed in with his second home run of the year. The 21-year-old is slashing just .205/.265/.364 over his first 49 major-league plate appearances, but his dynasty value remains high despite the early struggles.

Altuve went 2-for-5 with a solo home run Sunday against the Red Sox.

Altuve took Rick Porcello deep in the sixth inning to record his 11th home run of the season. It was his first home run since Aug. 24, though he is riding a modest four-game hitting streak, during which he's managed five hits across 16 at-bats. After swiping 11 bases between June and July, Altuve has also stopped running since returning from a knee injury on Aug. 21, going only 1-for-2 on stolen base attempts.

Lowe hit a three-run home run in the first inning while going 1-for-4 of Sunday's game.

Lowe went hitless in his first 19 at-bats after his callup in August, but he has hit .352/.444/.648 since breaking that slump. The home run was his fourth in his last 10 games.

Marte is out of the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Braves, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Marte hits the bench for the second time in the series as he is 4-for-20 since the start of September. Daniel Descalso will start at second base and bat fifth for the Diamondbacks with Nick Ahmed back at shortstop.

Andrus is not in the lineup Sunday against the Athletics.

Andrus hasn't gotten a day off since late July, so he'll head to the bench to rest. Jurickson Profar will slide over to replace him at shortstop, allowing Willie Calhoun to fill the void.

Rodriguez is starting at shortstop and batting seventh in Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

With regular shortstop Jose Iglesias (abdomen) still out of the lineup for at least one more day, Rodriguez will pick up the start Sunday. The 26-year-old is slashing just .217/.255/.336 this season, though he's shown surprising pop lately with four home runs in his last 12 games.