MLB Player News

Scuffling Phillies third baseman Cody Asche has been given the night off Saturday against the Marlins. He has been replaced in the lineup by Freddy Galvis.

Ashe is hitless in his last seven at-bats and has not produced a multi-hit game since opening day. He is 4 for 26 since then and has fanned 11 times in 30 at-bats.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, who is working back from knee surgery, is expected to have two at-bats in a simulated game Saturday in Sarasota, the Baltimore Sun reports. His at-bats will come against Johan Santana, however, he won't be allowed to run the bases.

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson started the season mired in a 2-for-22 slump, but his struggles at the plate appear to be a thing of the past.

Donaldson collected his third straight multi-hit game and extended his hitting streak to four games during a 6-1 win Thursday against the Twins.

Donaldson homered for the first time this season -- connecting for a two-run homer off Mike Pelfrey in the third inning to give Oakland a 3-1 lead. Donaldson added an RBI single in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 6-1.

Donaldson is batting .368 (7 for 19) over his last four games, raising his season average from .091 to .220. He has five RBI in nine games -- all coming in his last four games.

A hamstring ailment will not keep Phillies third baseman Cody Asche out of the starting lineup again. He was out Wednesday, but is set to start and bat eighth Thursday against Milwaukee.

Asche, who smacked a double in a pinch-hitting role Wednesday, is batting .304 in 23 at-bats this season.

The power decline Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe experienced from 2012 to 2013 has continued to start this season, but that falls into the category of nitpicking. He has remained on a tear from opening day.

Plouffe has opened the year on an eight-game hitting streak and is tied for ninth in the American League with a .364 batting average. Though 12 of his 15 hits have been singles and he has yet to homer, he owns six walks and a .475 on-base percentage. His improved patience at the plate is apparent. He has never boasted an OBP higher than .309.

Cubs infielder Mike Olt snapped out of a season-opening slump Wednesday, clubbing his second home run of the season in a 7-5 win over the Pirates.

Olt doubled his hit total for the season with one game, going 2 for 5 in the win, with both hits driving in runs. He hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning to give the Cubs their first lead, and then provided the ultimate winning margin with a sixth-inning RBI single.

Olt is hitting just .158 through the first eight games of the season, but has two home runs and four RBI.  

The Pirates managed to score five runs on just five hits Wednesday against the Cubs, and they all came on solo home runs.

Third baseman Pedro Alvarez got the scoring started with his fifth-inning shot, and he followed that up with one more in the ninth. The Pirates also got a two home-run game out of catcher Russell Martin, while Travis Snider added his own longball in the 7-5 loss.

Alvarez now has four home runs on the season, while Snider and Martin both went deep for the first time in Wednesday's game. 

Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu went 3 for 4 with two runs, three RBI and his first stolen base of the season in his team's 10-4 win over the White Sox Wednesday.

LeMahieu smacked an RBI double in the sixth inning and drove two more home with a single in the eighth. He has hit .286/.364/.321 with six RBI in 28 at-bats.

Phillies third baseman Cody Asche is not in Wednesday's starting lineup due to a minor hamstring injury, MLB.com reports.

Manager Ryne Sandberg says the injury isn't serious, so Asche should be ready to return to the lineup within a day or two. He has hit .273/.360/.455 with one home run and three RBI in 22 at-bats.

The Nationals got a boost from infielder Anthony Rendon Tuesday, who accounted for most of the team's offense in a 5-0 win over the Marlins.

Rendon drove in three runs in the game, though all ended up being just insurance runs late. He drove in one in the sixth inning on a single, and then brought two more around with a double in the eighth.

Rendon raised his batting average to .407 with his 2-for-4 performance, while upping his RBI total to eight through seven games.