MLB Player News

Twins shortstop Eduardo Escobar provided some surprising pop Wednesday, blasting two home runs in his team's victory over the Rays.

Escobar, who entered the game with five homers on the season, hit his first in the sixth inning, a 418-foot shot to right. He followed that up with another home run to right in the eighth to provide a key insurance run. 

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas went 3 for 5 with three extra-base hits in Sunday's win over Boston. 

Moustakas homered for the second time in three games and added two doubles. He drove in a season-high four runs on the game. 

Moustakas' eight total bases were the most since he also had eight in a four-hit game on May 15. 

Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia is back in the lineup and hitting cleanup Sunday despite a nagging hamstring injury, per MLB.com. 

Valencia said that while he was not 100 percent, he felt good enough to play in the series finale. 

"He's got some tendinitis. It's something we're just going to have to deal with," Athletics manager Bob Melvin said. 

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson continued his bid towards the American League MVP award, as he went 4 for 5 with three runs scored and a career-high six RBI in the 15-3 beatdown of the Angels.

Donaldson got the scoring started for the Blue Jays on Saturday, as he blasted a three-run home run in the third inning. It was his 32nd homer of the year. In the fourth, he added a two-run single before ripping an RBI double in the fifth inning.

He is now hitting .351 (13 for 37) with three home runs and 17 RBI over his last 10 ballgames. 

Athletics infielder Danny Valencia is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's matchup with the Rays. Valencia is dealing with lower hamstring tightness, which could keep him out of action for at least a couple of days, depending on the results from his MRI, according to MLB.com.

Indians third baseman Giovanny Urshela is back in the starting lineup for Wednesday's showdown with the Red Sox. Urshela missed the past two games while dealing with a shoulder injury.

He's back at the hot corner while batting eighth on Wednesday.

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson hit two home runs in Tuesday's win over Philadelphia.

Donaldson went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and four RBI. He has 33 home runs on the year and three multi-homer games this season.

The two-home game was his first since May 26.

A shoulder injury is sidelining Indians third baseman Giovanny Urshela for a second straight game. Urshela is being held out of Tuesday's starting lineup against the Red Sox. 

Mike Aviles will cover the hot corner on Tuesday while Urshela recovers.

A sore shoulder has the Indians giving rookie third baseman Giovanny Urshela a break Monday in Boston per MLB.com. Mike Aviles is set to man the position instead.

Urshela, who should return to the lineup Tuesday, has been a mainstay since his promotion. But he has slumped recently with just three hits in his last 26 at-bats and five no-hit games in the last seven. His average has dropped from .251 to .234 during that stretch.

Danny Valencia returned to the Athletics' lineup on Sunday. 

Valencia was scratched from Saturday's game after struggling with back and hamstring issues. 

On Sunday, he'll start at third for the seventh time in 11 games since joining the team. He also has two starts at DH.