MLB Player News

Moncada (ankle) returned to the lineup Thursday at Double-A Portland, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Boston's top prospect suffered a Grade 1 ankle sprain last week and missed a handful of games, but the injury has healed to the point where he's well enough to return to the lineup. Moncada has slashed .285/.359/.540 with eight home runs and eight steals since being promoted to Double-A.

Escobar is not in the lineup for game two of the doubleheader against the Astros on Thursday.

Escobar played at short for the day game, going 2-for-4 with two strikeouts, and will get the nightcap off. In his place, Jorge Polanco slides over to shortstop while batting sixth.

Rendon went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI in Wednesday's win over the Indians.

He's become a doubles machine in August, with six of his 10 hits so far on the month being two-baggers, giving Rendon a .357/.441/.571 slash line through eight games with six RBI and five runs scored. He's had a reasonably productive season so far but it looks like Rendon's saved his best work for the stretch run.

Duffy (Achilles) will be activated by the Rays on Friday, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy completed his final rehab game for Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, and after going 5-for-17 at the plate over a five-game rehab stint, the team determined the infielder is ready to join them at the big league level. During that rehab assignment, Duffy played all five games at shortstop, the spot he'll presumably take over upon his return to the majors. The Rays have a team day off Thursday, but Duffy should be on the roster by the time they open a three-game set against the Yankees on Friday.

Segura went 3-for-5 with a walk and a pair of doubles and runs scored in the Diamondbacks extra innings win over the Mets on Wednesday.

Segura had been just a bit cold of late, hitting just .254 over his previous 15 games entering Wednesday, but turned things around with the three-hit day. The solid night raised Segura's batting average to .311 on the year, and the doubles give him 41 extra-base hits, more than respectable for a leadoff hitter.

Alvarez is not in Wednesday's lineup against Oakland, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Alvarez will get the day off after three consecutive starts, with the Orioles deploying a right-handed heavy lineup against southpaw Ross Detwiler. Matt Wieters will occupy the DH spot in his absence, batting seventh.

Duffy (Achilles) will make another rehab appearance for Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The newly-acquired shortstop went 2-for-3 with a walk in his second appearance for Durham on Tuesday, following a 3-for-6 showing over two games with High-A Charlotte last Thursday and Friday. Duffy's ascension to the big league club appears imminent, with Wednesday's contest potentially serving as his final one in the minors before a call-up.

Peterson is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers.

Typically Peterson gets the nod against righties, but after notching just one hit in his last 15 at-bats he will take a seat Wednesday against righty Chase Anderson. Gordon Beckham will get the start at second base and hit seventh.

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two RBI, stole a base and scored a run in Tuesday's victory over the Nationals.

Nationals' starter Max Scherzer took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Francisco Lindor singled with one out to break it up. One batter later, locked in a scoreless tie, Ramirez roped an RBI double off the wall in right-center to open the scoring. Two pitches later, the 23-year-old swiped third for his 13th stole base of the season, and on the subsequent pitch, Ramirez scored on a single by Lonnie Chisenhall to give his team a 2-0 lead. In a matter of four pitches, the switch-hitting infielder changed the entire complexion of the game by putting his full array of talents on display. Ramirez is now riding a 13-game hitting streak in which he's logged eight multi-hit efforts en route to raising his average to .305, its highest mark since June 11.

Britton was released by the Twins on Tuesday.

The Twins released both Britton and Darin Mastroianni at Triple-A on Tuesday, helping to make room for a pair of advancements as well as the activation of Byron Buxton. In 73 Triple-A games this season, Britton hit just .194 with 25 RBI and 47 strikeouts.