MLB Player News

Muncy was removed from Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks in the fifth inning after colliding with Ildemaro Vargas at first base, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.

Muncy legged out an infield single, but he and Vargas had a violent collision at first base. Both players were helped off the field and removed from the contest. Prior to leaving, Muncy was 1-for-2 at the plate. Santiago Espinal pinch ran for the injured third baseman.

Garcia (hamstring) remains out of the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Twins.

It will be a fifth straight start missed for Garcia, who is working his way back from a right hamstring injury. The Royals are optimistic Garcia will be able to avoid the injured list, but a decision one way or another will need to be made soon. Nick Loftin is again filling in at third base in Garcia's stead.

Gray is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Royals.

The day off comes after Gray committed three errors at shortstop Wednesday. It will be Ryan Kreidler handling the position for the Twins on Thursday.

Ramirez went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, a solo home run and three total runs scored in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Yankees.

It's been a minute in terms of leaving the yard for Ramirez, who endured a 13-game stretch without a home run. The blast was his ninth in 63 games. He also extended a hit streak to five games, which is part of a longer stretch in which Ramirez has emerged from a season-opening slump. He was batting just .207 on May 14 but has gone 23-for-69 (.333) with 12 extra-base hits and 16 RBI over 18 games since. The 33-year-old is up to a season high .245 average.

Durbin went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored in Wednesday's 8-1 win over Baltimore.

It's still in the small-sample-size zone, but Durbin appears to be emerging from a season-opening slump. Wednesday's double extended his streak of games with an extra-base hit to six, and the third baseman is 9-for-24 with seven RBI, one steal and three runs scored over that stretch. With Wednesday's production, Durbin raised his average to a season-high .193.

Bichette went 4-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Mariners.

It was a much-needed performance from Bichette, who'd gone 0-for-13 over his previous four contests. He drove in two runs in the fourth inning with one of his four singles before adding a third RBI with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Bichette is still slashing just .226/.280/.310 through 271 plate appearances this year with five home runs, 31 RBI and 29 runs scored.

Madrigal went 4-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored in Wednesday's 11-4 win over the Rockies.

Madrigal has gone 6-for-15 over six games since he was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake last Wednesday. None of those hits have gone for extra bases, and he was also caught on his lone stolen-base attempt. Madrigal has carved out a part-time role in the infield while Vaughn Grissom is covering first base in the absence of Nolan Schanuel (ankle). Madrigal should be in the lineup against most southpaws, though it doesn't look like he'll be strictly platooned for now, as he's already made two starts versus right-handed pitchers.

Gonzales went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run, a double and an additional RBI in Wednesday's 11-9 loss to the Astros.

Gonzales has homered twice over his last three games and has seven RBI during a five-game hitting streak. The infielder is known to have a fairly steady bat, though that typically doesn't come with power -- those two recent long balls are all he's hit this season. Gonzales is batting .314 with a .758 OPS, 29 RBI, 31 runs scored, three stolen bases and 10 doubles through 56 contests.

Paredes went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, an additional RBI, a walk and two total runs scored in Wednesday's 11-9 win over the Pirates.

Paredes had gone eight games without a multi-hit effort prior to Wednesday. The third baseman helped cut into the deficit with his seventh-inning homer, his second long ball in six contests. For the season, he's hitting .238 with a .720 OPS, seven homers, 27 RBI, 23 runs scored, 10 doubles and no stolen bases over 57 games. Carlos Correa's season-ending ankle injury has provided Paredes a path to everyday starts at third base.

Lewis is slashing .341/.413/.927 with seven home runs and a 3:10 BB:K in 10 games for Triple-A St. Paul since the Twins demoted him May 19.

After Lewis posted a career-worst .540 OPS over 119 plate appearances with the big club to begin the season, the Twins sent him to Triple-A so that he could implement changes to his swing in a low-pressure setting. Over the past two weeks, Lewis has done his part to prove that he's deserving of another look in the majors. Along with tapping into more power with St. Paul, Lewis is making contact at a steady rate; he's struck out at a manageable 20.8 percent clip in the minors, down over 10 percentage points from his mark with the Twins. Minnesota also plans to give Lewis exposure to some different positions during his time at Triple-A. Lewis will start at second base Thursday, and Twins manager Derek Shelton added that the 26-year-old will also get some work at first base at some point, per Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com.