MLB Player News

Chapman went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored Thursday in the Athletics' victory over the Blue Jays.

The big fly, his eighth of the year, floated over the left-field wall off a John Axford fastball in the sixth to extend Oakland's lead to 9-4. Chapman went 11 games without a homer before he left the yard May 11 but looks to be re-establishing that part of his game. His flyball-heavy approach won't position him for a helpful batting average, but he takes plenty of walks to make up for that deficiency and keep him afloat in OBP formats.

Machado went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer Thursday in Baltimore's loss to the Red Sox.

Machado cleared the Green Monster with two outs in the ninth inning, when the Orioles were down to their final out losing 6-0. The moon shot, which put Machado in at least a tie for the major-league lead with 14 (pending other Thursday action), wasn't enough to tarnish David Price's complete-game win, but it was the latest highlight of a ridiculous run for Machado. He now has four homers and 13 RBI while going 9-for-28 (.321) in his last seven games. Despite Orioles' prolonged issues, Machado continues to provide MVP-caliber production.

Davis was not promoted to replace Jake Marisnick due to fewer games in the outfield than Tony Kemp, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

After demoting Marisnick to Triple-A Fresno, the Astros likely had a decision between Davis (1.017 OPS) and Kemp (.842) before settling on the more experienced outfielder in Kemp. The organization wanted to gradually expose Davis to the outfield when he was sent down to the minors earlier this season, but he's played just six games in left field since arriving in Fresno.

Duffy (hamstring) believes he'll be ready to return to the lineup Friday against the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy sat out Wednesday's series finale against the Royals after exiting Tuesday's game with tightness in his right leg. The infielder appears resigned to missing Thursday's series opener versus the Angels in order to give himself two days' rest, but he told reporters Wednesday that his hamstring already felt improved from the previous night, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

Astudillo is impressing the Twins' organization at Triple-A Rochester and is on the doorstep of the majors after Jason Castro went down for the year with a torn meniscus, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Astudillo has one of the most fascinating profiles of any player in affiliated baseball. Over nine minor-league seasons, the round-bodied catcher has a remarkable 3.1 percent strikeout rate. Getting the bat on the ball is more or less all he can do, though, as he's combined a .309 batting average with a 3.4 percent walk rate and a .092 ISO. That's a solid offensive profile for a catcher, but the problem is that Astudillo is a catcher in name only, having earned poor reviews defensively throughout his career. The Twins have had him catch almost exclusively in the minors this season and he's now just one injury away from finally getting a chance to see if his profile plays at the major-league level.

Chapman went 2-for-3 with a two-run double, a walk and a run in a win over the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Chapman opened the scoring on the night with a well-placed double to deep right field, plating Marcus Semien and Chad Pinder. The 25-year-old is progressively putting a dreadful 3-for-37 slump that encompassed his first 11 games of May behind him, as he's now 5-for-11 over his last three contests.

Duffy (hamstring) is not in the lineup Wednesday against Kansas City, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

As expected, Duffy will get the afternoon off after exiting Tuesday's contest with right hamstring tightness. In his absence, Daniel Robertson will start at third base. Consider Duffy day-to-day ahead of Thursday's series opener versus the Angels, though it seems unlikely that he'll rejoin the lineup before Friday.

Escobar is out of the lineup against the Cardinals on Wednesday, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Escobar will receive a rare day off following 23 straight starts in the Twins' lineup as Ehire Adrianza gets the nod at shortstop and Gregorio Petit steps in at third base. Over 35 games this year, Escobar is hitting .281/.333/.547 with seven home runs and 21 RBI. Expect to see him back in the lineup for Friday's game versus Milwaukee.

Moncada went 1-for-4 with a strikeout in Tuesday's 7-0 loss to the Pirates.

Moncada returned from the 10-day disabled list in the minimum amount of time Tuesday, and his previously injured hamstring held up well, per Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune. He made all the plays defensively and showed good lateral mobility.

Segura went 3-for-5 with four stolen bases, three runs, an RBI and a walk in Tuesday's win over the Rangers.

Segura had a field day on the bases and quickly jumped to the No. 4 spot in the majors by bringing his total to 11 steals on the season. This was also Segura's third consecutive multi-hit game, raising his batting average to .316 on the year. Among MLB shortstops, the 28-year-old is in the top five in RBI and runs scored.