MLB Player News

Rays manager Kevin Cash said prior to Sunday's game that Lowe (toe) is available off the bench against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Lowe is out of the lineup Sunday after being removed from Saturday's game against Detroit with a right toe contusion, but his absence is precautionary, with Cash saying the infielder is likely to return to the lineup for Monday's contest against the Nationals. Fantasy players may want to make sure that he does suit up for that contest, but it's clear that Lowe is not dealing with a significant injury.

Espinal is hitting ninth and playing second base for Sunday's contest against St. Louis, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

It's the first start of the season for Espinal, and it's no surprise it comes against a left-hander in Jordan Montgomery as he's handled southpaws well over his brief career. Whit Merrifield is playing left with Espinal at the keystone, while Kevin Kiermaier gets a day of rest.

Lowe (toe) is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against the Tigers, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.

Lowe left Sunday's game against the Tigers with a right toe contusion. The Rays may have sat the infielder even before the injury, as the team is going with an all right-handed lineup against southpaw Joey Wentz. Lowe is considered day-to-day, and he has a good chance to be back in the lineup for Monday's contest against the Nationals.

Hernandez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run in Saturday's 9-8 win over the Orioles.

Hernandez's first home run of the season was one of four on the day for Boston and helped cut the Red Sox's deficit to two runs in an eventual come-from-behind, walkoff victory. The shortstop hit out of the No. 9 spot against right-handed pitching in the Red Sox's first two contests, but manager Alex Cora previously teased the idea of Hernandez serving as the team's leadoff hitter versus left-handed pitching. However, with southpaw Cole Irvin taking the hill for Baltimore on Sunday, Hernandez will climb just one spot in the batting order to No. 8.

Arroyo will start at second base and hit seventh in Sunday's game against the Orioles.

Though manager Alex Cora suggested just over a week ago that Arroyo and Enrique Hernandez would be the club's primary leadoff options versus lefty pitching, the two infielders will hit seventh and eighth, respectively, Sunday while Boston matches up against a southpaw (Cole Irvin) for the first time in the regular season. Left fielder Rob Refsnyder draws the leadoff assignment over Arroyo, who went 1-for-7 with a double and two RBI over the Red Sox's first two games.

Bae went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Saturday against the Reds.

Bae's line was ugly, but Saturday's lineup made it clear that the Pirates are prioritizing playing him every day early on this season. With lefty Nick Lodolo on the mound for the Reds, Jack Suwinski sat while Bae shifted from second base -- where he started the first game of the campaign -- to center field. Though Bae is getting extra run for the time being, he'll need to perform without the handedness advantage to maintain playing time over Suwinski in the long term.

Gorman went 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBI in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Gorman delivered a two-run single in the third to stretch the Cardinals' lead to 3-0. He's started both games so far at designated hitter, but he hit fifth Saturday after batting seventh in the season opener. Gorman has gone 2-for-5 with four walks and two strikeouts through two games, an encouraging sign that he might improve slightly on his 9.0 percent walk rate and 32.9 percent strikeout rate from a season ago.

Gimenez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in a 2-0 victory versus the Mariners on Saturday.

There was little offense to be had in Saturday's pitching duel, so Gimenez's seventh-inning solo shot proved to be a valuable late-game insurance run. The long ball was the infielder's first of the campaign following last season's 17-homer performance. Gimenez has gone 3-for-10 through his first three contests in 2023.

Semien went 1-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Saturday's 16-3 win over the Phillies.

The second baseman got the rout started by driving the second pitch he saw from Zack Wheeler over the wall in right-center field in the first inning. Semien's 26 homers in 2022 were a bit of a disappointment after his 45-homer campaign the year before, but he made up for it with a career-high 25 steals. With one home run and one steal through the first two games of 2023, the 32-year-old could be a threat to deliver a 30-30 season.

India went 1-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and a stolen base in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Pirates.

India led off the home half of the first inning with his first long ball of the season to erase an early deficit. He struck out against Rich Hill in his second plate appearance but reached again in the fifth, setting up his first theft of the campaign. After injuries wrecked his 2022 season, India is 3-for-7 to start 2023 and seems determined to bounce back, which seems likely assuming better luck on the health front.