MLB Player News

The Twins demoted infielder Eduardo Escobar to Triple-A Rochester following Sunday's game against the Yankees. Escobar heads to the minors mired in a 3-for-28 slump in his last 13 games (seven starts).

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria smacked an RBI double to deep left-center field in the 5-0 win over the Astros Sunday. Longoria finished 1 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts in the game. 

Batting .278 on the season, Longoria has gone just 5 for 36 (.139) over his last 10 games. He has just one homer and one double over that span as his only hits for extra bases with just four RBI and 11 strikeouts. 

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe homered Saturday in New York during a 4-1 win. Plouffe's 10th homer came in the second inning off Phil Hughes.

He finished 1 for 4 and is batting .262. Plouffe has three homers in his last 10 games with four RBI.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria hit his 18th home run Thursday against the Twins.

Longoria hit a solo shot off Mike Pelfrey in the sixth inning. He finished 1 for 4, with an RBI. Longoria is hitting .284.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is back in the field for the second consecutive day. 

Manager Joe Maddon said Longoria would resume his duties at third, and the fact he'll start a day game directly following a night game should signal that he's feeling pretty good. Longoria is hitting .284/.363/.512 in 334 at-bats.

The Nationals are getting quality production out of Anthony Rendon and Wilson Ramos at the bottom of the lineup, and they feel it has given them an added advantage, according to MASNsports.com.

"There's no question about it," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "And that creates a lot of opportunities for the guys in the front of the lineup. They've been swinging the heck out of it and (if) we keep them healthy, we'll be fine."

The duo combined to go 4 for 8 (.500) with two home runs, two RBI and one double during Wednesday's 5-1 win at Philadelphia. Rendon is batting .317 with a .460 slugging percentage in 19 games batting seventh, while Ramos -- who hits eighth -- is batting .450 (9 for 20) with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI in six games (five starts) since coming off the disabled list.

"There's really no break one-through-eight," third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "It's hard for the opposing pitcher to get through that lineup, and just when you think you have a break, you have guys in the seven-, eight-spot who can hurt you, too."

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez made an impact without going deep Wednesday, as he extended his hitting streak to eight games in a 5-0 win over the Athletics.

Alvarez went 2 for 4 with two RBI in the game, both of which came on singles early in the game. He is now hitting .253 on the season, up from just .239 at the start of his eight-game hitting streak. He is hitting .363 during this streak, with three home runs and seven RBI.  

Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon homered for the third time in eight games Wednesday against the Phillies, as he continues to get more comfortable at the major-league level.

Rendon went 2 for 4 in the game with a double and a home run, his second game with multiple extra-base hits. He drove in one run with his solo homer, while scoring twice in a 5-1 win.

Rendon is now back over .300 on the season, at .303 to be exact. He has four home runs and 13 RBI in 152 at-bats, while posting an .814 OPS. 

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has enjoyed hitting against Texas this series. He's recorded seven hits over the first three games of the four-game set. 

Machado went 3 for 5 with an RBI triple Wednesday and scored a run in the win. He's gone 7 for 14 (.500) in the series with two runs scored, a homer, a triple and three RBI. He's batting .318 with seven homers, 39 doubles and 45 RBI. 

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday that he doesn't believe third baseman Evan Longoria's hitting struggles have anything to do with his foot injury, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Maddon thinks it is more about Longoria expanding the strike zone.

Batting .285 on the season with 17 home runs and 50 RBI, Longoria has gone just 12 for 64 (.188) over his last 20 games with eight RBI and 19 strikeouts.