MLB Player News

Twins infielder Trevor Plouffe was the team's only batter to make an impact Friday, in a 6-2 loss to the Rays.

Plouffe had just one hit in the game, as he slugged a third-inning two-run home run post the team's first and only runs on the board. He finished the game 1 for 4 overall with a run scored and a strikeout.

Plouffe has seven home runs and 44 RBI on the season, while hitting .245/.317/.417 in 78 games.  

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson didn't get his first hit until the ninth inning Friday, but made it count in a 5-4 win over the Orioles.

Donaldson went 1 for 4 in the game, but his lone hit won the game for the A's. He slugged a three-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning, erasing a two-run deficit with one swing.

Donaldson has 21 home runs in 93 games, and is just a few long balls away from his career-high mark of 24, set in 158 games a year ago. Donaldson is hitting .238/.316/.455 in 369 at-bats this season. 

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado continued his resurgence Friday, as he clubbed a late home run in a 5-4 loss to the Athletics.

Machado drove in two runs with his seventh-inning homer, to put the Orioles up, 4-2. Unfortunately, the bullpen could not make that lead stand up, as Machado's blast went to waste. He finished the game 2 for 4 with two runs driven in and one scored in the loss.

Machado has been red-hot in the month of July, hitting .486/.514/.829 with three home runs and five RBI in nine games since returning from a suspension. 

Rays infielder Evan Longoria drove in three runs Friday against the Twins.

With the bases loaded in the third inning, Longoria cleared the bases with a double to center. He also singled later in the game. Longoria finished 2 for 4, with no runs scored and three RBI. 

Brewers infielder Jean Segura is back in the starting lineup Friday against the Nationals, after he was reinstated from the bereavement list earlier in the day.  

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura was reinstated from the bereavement list Friday, after he spent nearly a week away from the team dealing with a death in the family. The Brewers open a series against the Nationals Friday, though it is not yet clear if he will be in the lineup for that evening's game, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

Orioles infielder Manny Machado doesn't expect any issues in Oakland, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Machado drew a five game suspension the last time the two teams played each other, but doesn't anticipate any bad blood this time around. "I’m past it already," Machado said. "We’re just going to go out there and take it like it’s another day. I’m going to go out there and play my game."

Machado said he hasn't even thought about playing the Athletics again, he just wants to start the second half on the right foot. Machado is hitting .270/.319/.422 over 244 at-bats. 

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday shortstop Jean Segura rejoined the team Wednesday one week after Segura’s 9-month-old son passed away in the Dominican Republic, and added Segura will be activated off the bereavement list for the weekend series against the Nationals, per MLB.com.

"He’s back in town. He got back last night and I talked to him, and he’s ready to go," Roenicke told 620-AM WTMJ’s Greg Matzek on Thursday. "He needs to do this, he feels, to keep his mind off of some things. So he’ll be back with us. I don’t know that he’ll be playing every day at the beginning. It’s kind of up to him and how he feels. But he wants to do this, so he’ll meet us there tomorrow."

Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu entered the All-Star break with a six-game hitting streak intact after going 2 for 4 with a double in Sunday's first-half finale against the Twins.

LeMahieu never posted a batting average lower than .314 over a full minor-league season, and while he has yet to reach that level in the big leagues, he has posted batting averages of .280 or better in each of his first three seasons with at least 200 at-bats. That ability to scratch out hits doesn't come with much power though, as is evidenced by LeMahieu's .283/.339/.352 line at the break. His stolen-base success rate has fallen this season, as he's managed to record just eight steals in 15 attempts after successfully nabbing 18 bases in 25 attempts last season.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Wednesday shortstop Jean Segura remains on the bereavement list, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Segura has been in the Dominican Republic since last week after learning his 9-month-old son, Janniel, had passed away after a brief illness.

"I've made phone calls today to try to make contact with him," Melvin said. "I haven't been able to make contact at this time. I'm hoping to find out today. We've left messages but we haven't heard back. We just don't know right now.

"There are a lot of unknowns here. Whatever Jean decides, we will support him. And we know his teammates will be there for him, too."