MLB Player News

Duffy left Sunday's game in the seventh inning for an undisclosed reason, Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Duffy must have tweaked something while on the basepaths, as he did not re-enter the game after recording a single in the top of the seventh inning. Consider the infielder day-to-day heading into Monday's series opener in Pittsburgh.

Escobar is starting at shortstop and batting sixth in the order Sunday against the Yankees, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

With five hits, including two homers over the last two games, Escobar will earn another starting nod Sunday. The return of Danny Santana from the DL will hurt Escobar's chances of remaining a regular in the lineup, but so long as he's hitting well, Escobar could be guaranteed frequent at-bats.

Segura is out of the lineup Sunday against the Phillies, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

With five multi-hit efforts in his last eight starts, Segura's fantasy value is on the rise again, but he'll get the afternoon off for rest Sunday. Phil Gosselin will cover the keystone at hit leadoff in Segura's stead.

Escobar went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBI in Saturday's 7-6 loss to the Yankees.

The 27-year-old put together his second straight multi-hit game, and homered for the second consecutive contest as well. Escobar took closer Arnoldis Chapman deep in the ninth, raising his monthly average to .375 (9-for-24). His standout June has raised his season average 28 points to .272.

Machado dropped his appeal and will begin serving his four-game suspension Sunday, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports.

With J.J. Hardy (foot) now back in the lineup, the Orioles will likely look to Pedro Alvarez and Ryan Flaherty to man third base during Machado's absence. Baltimore is off Thursday, so Machado won't return until Friday against the Rays.

Plouffe is not in the lineup Saturday against the Yankees, LaVelle Neal of the Star Tribune reports.

Plouffe will get a rare day off Saturday as the Twins go with Eduardo Nunez at third base in his stead. Expect Plouffe, who started the previous 11 games, to return to the field Sunday as Minnesota closes out the four-game set.

Donaldson went 3-for-4 with a triple, solo homer, three RBI, a walk and three runs in Friday's 13-3 victory over the Orioles.

Although he was naturally overshadowed by teammate Michael Saunders' three-homer night, Donaldson is stroking a bat as hot as the latter's. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his fourth consecutive multi-hit effort, and is just one homer short of matching his total for all of May. The 30-year-old slugger now has round-trippers in three of his last four games, and is hitting .373 (19-for-51) with four doubles, three triples, four homers and 17 RBI over 47 at-bats in June.

Escobar started at shortstop and went 3-for-4 with his first home run of the season in Friday's loss to the Yankees.

Escobar is hitting .326 (15-for-46) since returning from the disabled list May 23. However, he's having a hard time finding consistent playing time due to Eduardo Nunez's hot season. Escobar has started just four of the last 15 games.

Suarez went 1-for-4 with a double, a run, an RBI and a walk Friday at the Astros.

Suarez's double broke up a tie game in the 11th inning, which led to the Reds picking up the victory. Despite the heroics, he now has just six hits in his last 40 at-bats, and his batting average is at .227.

Alvarez is in the lineup, batting sixth at DH against Toronto on Friday.

Alvarez is retuning to the Orioles' lineup after sitting the last three games, making his 33rd start at DH this season. The 29-year-old is swinging a hot bat right now, homering twice in his last two starts while collecting three runs and three RBI.