MLB Player News

Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien is batting eight in Sunday's matchup with the Yankees.

Semien has become a mainstay atop the lineup, and Sunday's game will be his first batting anything but second since May 11. While the shortstop has struggled a bit in the second half of May, he is 5 for 15 over his last four games. The A's will go with second baseman Ben Zobrist in the No. 2 spot on Sunday after initially batting him third since his return from the disabled list.

The A's are favorites (-128) at home on Sunday, per VegasInsider.com.

White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly in Friday's win over Houston. 

Beckham remained in the game and went 1 for 2, with a solo home run. The homer was Beckham's third, and the two RBI gave him 13 on the year. 

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus is out of the lineup Friday night against Boston knuckleballer Stephen Wright for the first time this season. He had started all previous 48 games.

Andrus is hitless in his last two games with three strikeouts in five at-bats. He owns a slash line of .241/.298/.316.

Nationals infielder Danny Espinosa hit his sixth home run of the year in Wednesday night's 3-0 win over the Cubs. 

The homer, which came in a pinch-hit situation, was an insurance run for the Nationals in the top of the ninth inning. Espinosa is now hitting .256/.357/.463 for the season. 

Espinosa is on pace to have the best hitting season of his career. He's never ended a year with a batting average over .247. 

Angels infielder Grant Green is getting the start at second base for Wednesday's contest with the Padres. Green was just recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday after starting the year with the big club.

"It’s nice," Green said, per the Orange County Register. "I feel comfortable there. I have felt comfortable there for a long time. It’s nice to get back in the infield and play kind of where I want to play."

Green is at the keystone position and batting ninth for manager Mike Scioscia, while Johnny Giavotella gets the day off. 

Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien is getting the day off and is being held out of the lineup Wednesday against the Tigers. Semien is mired in a 7-for-38 slump over his last 10 games, and has played in every game this season.

Eric Sogard will spell Semien at shortstop and bat ninth on Wednesday afternoon. 

Rays shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and outfielder Steven Souza remain out of the lineup on Wednesday against the Mariners. Both players have been out since Monday, with Cabrera nursing a groin injury and Souza bothered by an injured wrist.

The team has not provided an update on the status of either player, but with the team off on Thursday, there's a chance they could return for Friday's game in Baltimore.

Brandon Guyer continues to handle right field, and Nick Franklin will grab the start at shortstop on Wednesday. 

Utility infielder Logan Forsythe will be the Rays starting first baseman with James Loney sidelined 4-6 weeks with a broken finger, manager Kevin Cash told reporters Monday, per the Tampa Bay Times.

Cash added Rene Rivera and Tim Beckham will fill in at first base as needed.

Forsythe started at first base Monday against the Mariners and hit his fifth home run of the season. He has a .323/.379/.527/.906 slash line in his last 25 games.

Padres first baseman Yangervis Solarte went 2 for 4 from the plate in Monday night's 4-3 loss to the Angels. 

Solarte hit an RBI double to left field in the seventh inning that scored Will Middlebrooks. It snapped a five-game streak where Solarte had not notched an RBI. The double was Solarte's 10th of the season. 

This was the second outing in a row that Solarte recorded a multi-hit game. 

Solarte now holds a slash line of .283/.331/.399. 

Rays first baseman Logan Forsythe scored his team's only run with a solo homer in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Mariners. 

Forsythe went yard in the sixth inning for his fifth home run of the season. Forsythe finished the game 1 for 3 and drew a walk. He's now hitting .299/.374/.487 for the season. 

Three of Forsythe's five home runs have come in the month of May.