MLB Player News

Altuve went 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored in Saturday's 11-10 victory over Baltimore.

Altuve launched a two-run homer to center field in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to six games. He also drew two walks in the game and came around to score a run on each occasion. The star second baseman has been quite productive in September, hitting .355 with four home runs, seven RBI and 19 runs scored so far. He's also walked 11 times and stolen six bases over that span.

Hoerner (triceps) is batting fifth as the designated hitter Sunday against the Pirates.

Hoerner has been dealing with a triceps injury for the past couple weeks but will return to action Sunday for the first time since Sept. 11. The 25-year-old will be eased back into the lineup as the designated hitter, which pushes Franmil Reyes into the outfield mix.

Arraez is not in Sunday's lineup against the Angels.

Arraez is hitting .286 with 10 runs and three RBI in 22 September games. Jermaine Palacios will start at second base while Gary Sanchez gets the nod at designated hitter.

Merrifield went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, three RBI and a run scored in Saturday's win over Tampa Bay.

Merrifield blasted a three-run bomb off lefty reliever Brooks Raley with one out in the seventh inning to give the Blue Jays a three-run lead. He's gone 6-for-14 during his last four games with two doubles and three home runs and appears to have cemented himself as the Blue Jays' primary second baseman while Santiago Espinal (oblique) is on the injured list.

Vargas went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Saturday against the Cardinals.

He pulled a grooved 93-mph fastball from Jordan Montgomery out to left-center field for the first home run of his MLB career. Vargas has seen an uptick in playing time recently, as he has started in four of the last six games, although three of those starts came against left-handed pitchers. He is hitting .267 with two runs and three RBI over that stretch.

Rojas started at third base and went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Giants.

Rojas was held out of the starting lineup the previous three games -- two against left-handers and one against a right-hander -- largely due to erratic defense. He returned to action against San Francisco righty Alex Cobb Going forward, he could share third base with righty-hitting Emmanuel Rivera or switch hitter Sergio Alcantara.

Torres went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a 7-5 victory over the Red Sox on Saturday.

Torres has been swinging a hot bat of late, and he now has five home runs in his last dozen games. The 25-year-old second baseman is slashing an excellent .312/.391/.597 over 77 at-bats in September.

Castro went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in a 7-2 win over the White Sox on Saturday.

Castro got Detroit off to a strong start, swatting a two-run homer to right field in the first inning. He added a run-scoring single in the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie and put the Tigers up for good. This was a much-needed positive performance for the utility man, as he entered Saturday having gone 1-for-24 over his previous seven contests.

Semien went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Guardians. He also drew a walk.

Semien jumped on a curveball left over the plate by Cal Quantrill in the third inning and crushed it over the wall in center field to put the Rangers on the board. The second baseman drew a walk in his next at-bat and later added a single to give him his 10th multi-hit game this month. He also has four home runs in September to go along with 10 doubles, 14 RBI and 15 runs scored.

Donovan will hit the bench Saturday against the Dodgers, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Donovan started against the left-handed Andrew Heaney on Friday but will sit against a different caliber of southpaw in Clayton Kershaw on Saturday. Tommy Edman will slide to second base in his absence, while Paul DeJong starts at shortstop.