MLB Player News

Machado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Nationals on Thursday.

San Diego managed only three hits in the contest, with Machado's fourth-inning solo blast accounting for the team's only run. The All-Star third baseman had his string of eight straight multi-hit contests snapped in the loss, though he still extended his hit streak to 10 games. Machado was named the NL Player of the Week last week as a result of slashing .429/.448/.821 with two homers and 10 RBI over six contests.

Vargas went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Thursday's 3-1 win against the Padres.

Vargas produced the first run of the game with a solo shot off Yu Darvish in the third inning. The long ball was his first since May 20, though he's spent considerable time in the minors since that date. Vargas has never flashed much power in the minors, and he's swatted a modest 10 homers across 428 career at-bats as a big-leaguer.

Wisdom is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Orioles.

Wisdom will take a seat for the day game after a night game, paving the way for P.J. Higgins to draw a third consecutive start after he went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals. Meanwhile, Wisdom went 0-for-4 on Wednesday, dropping his season average to .219. Even if Higgins gains more traction as an everyday player at first base for the Cubs, Wisdom would still likely have potential paths to steady at-bats at third base or designated hitter.

Rivera is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Giants.

Rivera started the last five games, but he went just 2-for-15 (.133) over the last four, so manager Torey Lovullo decided to hold him out Thursday. Stone Garrett will enter the lineup in Rivera's place.

Davis went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

Davis' solo shot in the sixth inning gave the Giants a one-run lead, but Arizona stormed back in the eighth to pull out the win. The long ball was Davis' fourth in 12 games since he joined the Giants in a trade Aug. 2. The veteran is slashing .364/.447/.758 with his new club.

Muncy went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Milwaukee.

Offense was hard to come by in the contest, and Muncy provided what turned out to be the winning run when he launched a solo shot to right field in the seventh inning. The long ball was the sixth in August for the veteran and accounted for his 13th RBI through 13 games. After struggling through the first four months of the campaign, Muncy has caught fire in August, adding to the homer and RBI totals with a .340/.415/.830 slash line.

Baty went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Wednesday's 9-7 victory over Atlanta.

Baty took Jake Odorizzi deep in his first career at-bat. Baty only played six games at Triple-A Syracuse, but he mashed at the Double-A level to the tune of a .312/.406/.544 slash line, and Wednesday's homer gives some early validation to the team's decision to promote him. It was also a plus that Baty didn't go down on strikes in his debut, considering he'd mustered a 25.0 percent strikeout rate in Double-A Binghamton.

Longoria is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Longoria has appeared in seven games since returning from the injured list Aug. 8 and has gone 5-for-19 with a home run, three RBI and four runs. Tommy La Stella will serve as the designated hitter while J.D. Davis starts at third base.

Hayes (back) is expected to rejoin the Pirates after spending the minimum of 10 days on the injured list, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

Hayes has dealt with a back injury since Friday, and he was officially placed on the 10-day IL on Tuesday. However, the team evidently doesn't consider his injury to be too significant since he's expected to return after a minimal IL stint. Rodolfo Castro has served as the Pirates' primary third baseman in Hayes' absence.

Escobar was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a strained left oblique, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

The veteran third baseman was unable to get past the oblique injury this week and will now be unavailable for at least the next week and a half. Luis Guillorme (groin) is also on the IL, and prospect Brett Baty was promoted to the majors and should take over as New York's primary third baseman for the time being. It's unclear how long Escobar is expected to be sidelined, but he may be in line for a reduced role once healthy.