MLB Player News

Altuve went 4-for-6 with an RBI during Sunday's win against the Angels.

Altuve might be not hitting in the leadoff spot, but he continues to pace Houston's offense at the top of the lineup. Four more hits raised his average to .323, and the Venezuelan infielder is quietly riding a four-game hitting streak in which he's hit 6-for-15 (.400).

Petit is out of the lineup Sunday against the Astros.

Petit has taken over as the Angels' primary shortstop since Andrelton Simmons (thumb) hit the DL, but he'll get the afternoon off after starting 13 of the past 14 contests. He's hit for an acceptable batting average, but lacks power and could be at risk of losing playing time to Cliff Pennington (hamstring), who was activated from the DL on Saturday.

Andrus is out of the lineup Sunday against the Pirates.

With a pair of 0-for-4 outings over the first two games of the series, Andrus will get a breather in Sunday's matinee. In Andrus' stead, Hanser Alberto will pick up a start at shortstop and bat ninth in the order.

Merrifield is starting at second base and will bat second in the order Sunday against the White Sox, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

Merrifield has started the previous five games and has produced two hits in each contest, making a strong case for playing time over the struggling Omar Infante. Even if Infante eventually ends up reclaiming regular at-bats at the keystone, Merrifield's versatility could allow him to see frequent starts at third base and left field while Mike Moustakas (torn ACL) and Alex Gordon (wrist) remain on the DL.

Semien went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored in Saturday's 12-3 victory over the Tigers.

Even the struggling shortstop got in on the A's 17-hit act Saturday, notching his first multi-hit game since May 18, and sixth overall during the month. Although he's still largely scuffling at the plate, Semien has managed to nudge his average up 17 points to .222 and now has 12 RBI on the month as well.

Beckham went 2-for-4 with a double, three-run homer and two runs scored in Saturday's 7-2 victory over the Marlins.

Beckham extended the Braves' lead to the final margin of victory with a 404-foot blast to left-center field off reliever Edwin Jackson in the seventh. The 29-year-old now has two of his three homers on the season within the last four games, and is considerably outperforming his career numbers at the plate. Beckham's current .317 average sits 73 points higher than his career .244 figure, while his OBP and slugging percentage metrics are both north of .400. The current pace may be unsustainable over the long term, but he's undeniably swinging a hot bat that could provide handsome returns in any format at the moment.

Merrifield went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 8-7 victory over the White Sox.

Make it five straight multi-hit efforts for the 27-year-old rookie, who's treating major league pitching like his own personal batting practice session over his first 32 career at-bats. He came through with some clutch hitting in the Royals' momentous ninth-inning rally, plating fellow rookie Brett Eibner and Omar Infante with a single that closed their deficit to 7-4 at the time. Merrifield is now slashing .375/.375/.500 after Saturday's outing, and has hit safely in seven of eight games.

Marte (thumb) is on track to begin a rehab assignment next week, MLB.com's Greg Johns reports.

Marte took batting practice Saturday and fielded ground balls, which puts him on pace to return to game action next week. Barring any setbacks during his rehab assignment, it appears he has a good chance to be activated from the disabled list when first eligible June 6.

Merrified went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in Friday's 7-5 victory over the White Sox.

The 27-year-old continues his torrid pace, with Friday's effort marking his fourth straight multi-hit effort. He also commemorated his first two major league RBI with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning. Merrifield is now slashing .370/.370/.481 over his first 27 major league at-bats.

Solarte went 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI against Arizona on Friday.

The versatile infielder has been locked in at the plate of late, riding a modest three-game hitting streak and launching homers in two straight games. Solarte went yard twice for the first time this season, and has slugged an impressive .632 in 38 at-bats in 2016.