MLB Player News

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson started his second straight All Star Game on Tuesday. 

Donaldson walked in both of his plate appearances before leaving for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning.

Donaldson also committed a throwing error. 

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe closed out the first half of the season on a high note, hitting .348 over his last 10 games to raise his average by 12 points, to .259. 

Plouffe went 8-for-23 over the stretch, with six runs scored and three RBIs. In addition, he hit his first home run since June 26 in the Twins' final game of the first half last Sunday, giving him 11 on the season. 

Plouffe remains locked in at third base thanks to his stellar defense, moving top prospect Miguel Sano to the DH spot for now. 

The National League released its starting lineup for the 2015 All-Star game on Monday.

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen will bat leadoff and play center. He will be followed by Reds 3B Todd Frazier at third, Nationals OF Bryce Harper in right field, Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt at first, Giants catcher Buster Posey will be behind the plate, Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo will DH, Cardinals infielder Jhonny Peralta will play shortstop, Dodgers OF Joc Pederson will be in left with Rockies infielder DJ LeMahieu at second.

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke will be the starting pitcher and face Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel.

Angels sluggers Mike Trout and Albert Pujols lead a powerful American League lineup for Tuesday's All-Star Game, which was announced Monday by AL manager Ned Yost. 

Trout will play center field and bat leadoff, while Pujols will hit third and play first base. Together, the pair of Los Angeles teammates have combined for 52 home runs and 111 RBIs to rally the Angels into first place at the break. 

Here's the full AL lineup:

1. Mike Trout, CF, Angels
2. Josh Donaldson, 3B, Blue Jays
3. Albert Pujols, 1B, Angels
4. Nelson Cruz, DH, Mariners
5. Lorenzo Cain, RF, Royals
6. Adam Jones, LF, Orioles
7. Salvador Perez, C, Royals
8. Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros
9. Alcides Escobar, SS, Royals 

Blue Jays outfielder Danny Valencia got the nod at third base Sunday and responded with two hits and two RBIs as Toronto nearly rallied from a seven-run deficit in its 11-10 loss to the Royals.

Valencia laced a two-run double in the sixth inning to help the Blue Jays trim the deficit to 7-5 and then came around to score to make it 7-6. 

Valencia capped a solid first half by finishing at .299 with six homers and 27 RBIs. 

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

Donaldson left Saturday's matchup in the sixth inning because he was suffering from flu-like symptoms.

Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis gets a break from the field on Sunday. Kipnis will lead off and play designated hitter for Sunday's game. 

Kipnis had started the last 20 games at second base and has started 85 of the team's 87 games there this season. The only other time he DHed this season was June 20. 

Jose Ramirez, called up from Triple-A on Saturday, gets his first start of the season at second base. 

Phillies left fielder Cody Asche became the first Phillies player to hit a home run into McCovey Cove on Saturday. Asche blasted a sixth-inning two-run home run that made into to the water beyond the right-field stands.

It was Asche's fifth home run of the year, but it wasn't enough to aviod the 8-5 loss to the Giants on Saturday. 

Giants third baseman Matt Duffy stuffed the box score once again on Saturday. Duffy fell a home run shy of the cycle, as he went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple, two RBI and a run scored in the 8-5 win over the Phillies. 

Duffy hit a go-ahead triple in the sixth, giving the Giants a 5-4 lead. The 24-year-old rookie is batting .344 with four doubles and three triples in his last 15 games.

National League All-Star manager Bruce Bochy indicated that Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu will replace Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon in the starting lineup of this year's All-Star game.

LeMahieu has had a solid first half for the Rockies, as he owns a .310 batting average following his 1-for-3 day at the plate on Saturday. LeMahieu, who was selected to his first All-Star game last weekend, was the winner of the players' vote, which is why Bochy elected to have him start the game, according to CSN Bay Area.

Gordon, who had been voted by the fans to start, was forced out of the Midsummer Classic after dislocating his thumb on Saturday.