MLB Player News

A slump has landed Rays first baseman Jake Elmore on the bench Friday night against Boston.

Elmore, who has started 12 of the last 13 games, is on a 1-for-18 slide that has dropped his average to .245, its lowest point since May 3.

It seems as if the hamstring issue that sidelined Astros second base Jose Altuve last week is a thing of the past. On Thursday, Altuve went 3 for 4 with two doubles, two stolen bases and three runs scored in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. This was his first multi-hit performance since June 8.

Altuve is 6 for 16 in the four games since returning from a short absence with the hamstring injury.

With the two stolen bases, Altuve is up to 20 on the year, giving him four straight seasons of at least 20 steals.

"That's part of my game against everyone," Altuve said, per MLB.com. "Try to get on base, get to the next base. We knew we only needed a couple runs to win the game because we had our best pitcher out there."

Padres utility man Yangervis Solarte started and capped off a six-run eighth inning, but it wasn't enough to avoid the 13-8 defeat at the hands of the Giants on Thursday. Solarte came on as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, smacking a leadoff double with his team down 9-2 at the time.

Solarte came around to score on the very next hit. Then, after the Padres put up another four runs, Solarte came up for a second time in the eighth, this time with runners on the corners and two outs. He promptly lifted a run-scoring single to draw the Padres within a run.

But they wouldn't be able to capitalize any further, and the Giants put up a four-spot in the bottom half to put the game out of reach.

Solarte had been hitless over his previous 10 at-bats coming into Thursday's contest. He is hitting .242 overall this season. 

The Yankees reinstated Stephen Drew from the paternity list Thursday, the team announced.

Drew missed the last two games while on the paternity list. Meanwhile, the team also recalled infielder Gregorio Petit from Triple-A. Petit hit .200 with five RBI in 35 at-bats for the Yankees earlier this season.

For the first time in the last 11 games, the Astros will have second baseman Jose Altuve in the leadoff spot for Wednesday's game at the Los Angeles Angels, the team announced.

Altuve will go against Andrew Heaney, who he has never faced in his career. Over his last 12 games, Altuve is hitting .244 with no home runs and three RBI.

The Astros are the favorites (-100) at Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien had his first multi-hit performance since May 30. On Tuesday, Semien went 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in the 8-6 win over the Rangers. 

Despite the lack of multi-hit efforts, Semien has managed to maintain a .296 batting average over his last eight contests. 

Perhaps even more noteworthy for Semien is that he has not committed an error in his last seven games, his second-longest errorless streak of the season. He still leads the American League with 22 errors on the season. 

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus totaled three hits, including two doubles, and two RBI in five at-bats Tuesday against the Athletics. Andrus, who was held out of the lineup Sunday, also had one run and one strikeout.

Andrus is batting .265 (18 for 68) with one home run, one triple, two doubles, eight RBI, seven walks, eight runs, 12 strikeouts and two stolen bases in 19 June games.

Dodgers shortstop Enrique Hernandez gave Los Angeles an early 1-0 lead Monday against the Cubs after leading off the top of the third inning with a home run off Tsuyoshi Wada. However, the Dodgers couldn't hold the lead, losing 4-2.

Hernandez homered for the third time this season, with two homers coming in his last 13 games (eight starts). He is batting .313 (10 for 32) with a .563 slugging percentage, .924 OPS, two doubles, two home runs, three RBI, six runs, three walks and four strikeouts in that span.

Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe hit his eighth home run of the season in Monday night's 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays. 

Forsythe went yard in the bottom of the seventh inning on a solo shot. He finished the game 2 for 3 with a single and two walks. Forsythe's RBI from the solo home run gives him 32 for the season. 

This is the second consecutive multi-hit game for Forsythe as he now has five in the past two days. 

He now has a slash line of .293/.371/.455 this season. 

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve will be in the starting lineup for Monday's contest at the Los Angeles Angles, reports MLB.com.

Altuve has missed the last four games after sustaining a hamstring injury. He will bat third and play second base.

Altuve will face Hector Santiago, who he 2 for 8 against in his career with no extra-base hits. Over his last 14 games, Altuve is hitting .250 with three RBI.

The Astros are the underdogs (+125) at Los Angeles on Monday.