MLB Player News

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa was not in Wednesday's lineup, and is using his benching as a motivation to improve, according to the Washington Times.

Manager Davey Johnson clarified comments he made Wednesday, and indicated that Espinosa could return to the starting lineup Thursday. Espinosa was initially expected to be benched for the Braves series. 

While he wasn't happy about the reduced playing time, Espinosa expressed he would work hard to make sure this doesn't happen again. The second baseman said, "I’ll take these two days and just use them for motivation. Use it in a positive way, the best I can, and when I get my next opportunity to play, I’m going to come back stronger than I’ve ever been." Stephen Lombardozzi started in Espinosa's place Wednesday.

Mariners shortstop prospect Nick Franklin dominated the Triple-A competition in April, hitting .410/.538/.623 with three home runs and four stolen bases in 61 at-bats. His .538 OBP leads all Triple-A batters this season.

Franklin should eventually force himself onto the Mariners' roster if he continues to play at a high level.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus has a nine-game hitting streak after going 1 for 5 in Wednesday's loss to the White Sox. However, he also struck out three times in the loss, including with two outs and two men on in the ninth inning of a three-run deficit.

Andrus has boosted his batting average from .194 to .248 during his hitting streak, but he left six men on base Wednesday out of the second spot in the order.

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa might be struggling, but he's not concerned about his injured shoulder.

Espinosa spent most of the offseason strengthening muscles around his torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. Espinosa is hitting just .173 to start the year, but said his shoulder is "great," and hasn't given him any problems this season. Espinosa also said he's been happy with his approach this year, but his batted balls are turning into outs. His .197 BABIP supports that theory. 

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa will not start at second during the team's next two games.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson told a Washington radio station that Stephen Lombardozzi will start the next two games against the Braves. In 85 at-bats this season, Espinosa is hitting just .173/.212/.333. 

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve singled in the fifth inning Tuesday in New York to set a team record for most hits in April by a player at his position, MLB.com reports. Altuve's 34 are one more than Craig Biggio had in 1998.

Altuve entered Tuesday batting .327 with a homer, six doubles and 12 RBI. The 22-year-old also two steals.

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham, who underwent surgery earlier in the month to remove the hamate bone from his left hand, had his stitches removed Tuesday, according to MLB.com.

Beckham is waiting to be cleared for baseball-related activities. He hopes to start taking flips next week while accompanying the team in New York. Beckham was batting .316 in seven games before getting hurt.

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa finished 0 for 4 with a walk during his first appearance as the No. 2 hitter in a 6-3 win over Cincinnati on Saturday. Espinosa, typically the sixth or seventh hitter in the batting order this season, was moved higher in the lineup with the hope he would receive better pitches in front of Bryce Harper.

"I want him to think about line drives, getting on base and that kind of thing," manager Davey Johnson told MLB.com.

Entering play Saturday, Espinosa was 12 for 65 (.185) with two homers and just six RBI through 20 games.

The Rangers gave shortstop Elvis Andrus a scheduled day off Saturday against Minnesota. Leury Garcia got the start at short.

Andrus is sitting with a six-game hitting streak in which he's gone 10 for 28 (.357) with three doubles, an RBI and a stolen base. He's scored five runs over that span.

Nationals shortstop Danny Espinosa has struggled to get going, but he showed encouraging signs Thursday against the Reds in his best performance of the season.

Espinosa powered the Nationals to an 8-1 win, going 2 for 4 with a home run and a double. He drove in three runs in the game, doubling his total for the season. Espinosa also scored twice.

Espinosa is batting .177 with eight extra-base hits, seven runs and six RBI in 62 at-bats. Thursday was his first game with multiple extra-base hits.