MLB Player News

Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon clubbed his third home run Sunday against the Padres.

In the bottom of the third inning, Rendon hit a two-run shot to left field. He also singled in the game, driving in another run. He finished 2 for 5, with two runs scored and three RBI. After struggling to hit for power early, Rendon managed to hit two home runs last week. 

He's hitting .303/.353/.444 in 142 at-bats. 

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe homered Sunday in an 11-5 loss at Toronto. Plouffe had a two-run shot in the eighth inning off Brett Cecil. 

Plouffe, who has nine HRs, finished 2 for 4 with two RBI and a run scored. He's batting .263. 

The 27-year-old had gone 0 for 8 in his previous two games. He has 33 RBI in 213 at-bats. 

The All-Star game starters were announced Saturday, with 34 of the American League's 35 roster spots officially unveiled. The final roster spot will be decided via a fan vote prior to the game.

The AL Starters -- selected by fans -- features Joe Mauer, Chris Davis, Robinson Cano, J.J. Hardy, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Adam Jones, Jose Bautista and David Ortiz.

The pitching staff is made up of Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Clay Buchholz, Brett Cecil, Justin Verlander, Justin Masterson, Chris Sale, Mariano Rivera, Bartolo Colon, Yu Darvish, Hisashi Iwakuma, Jesse Crain, Joe Nathan and Glen Perkins.

12 position players were selected as reserves: Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter, Jhonny Peralta, Dustin Pedroia, Nelson Cruz, Ben Zobrist, Jason Castro, Edwin Encarnacion, Alex Gordon, Jason Kipnis, Manny Machado and Salvador Perez.

Joaquin Benoit, Steve Delabar, David Robertson, Tanner Scheppers and Koji Uehara are the five players included in the Final Vote.

The All-Star game starters were announced Saturday,  with 34 of the National League's 35 roster spots officially unveiled. The final roster spot will be decided via a fan vote prior to the game.

The National League starting lineup features Yadier Molina, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Troy Tulowitzki, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Gonzalez and Bryce Harper.

The pitching staff is made up of Clayton Kershaw, Patrick Corbin, Matt Harvey, Adam Wainwright, Jason Grilli, Jordan Zimmermann, Craig Kimbrel, Travis Wood, Jose Fernandez, Cliff Lee, Jeff Locke and Madison Bumgarner.

12 position players were selected as reserves: Andrew McCutchen, Michael Cuddyer, Buster Posey, Pedro Alvarez, Domonic Brown, Everth Cabrera, Matt Carpenter, Allen Craig, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura and Marco Scutaro. 

Ian Desmond, Freddie Freeman, Adrian Gonzalez, Hunter Pence and Yasiel Puig are the five players included in the Final Vote. 

Rays Evan Longoria will play third base Friday for the first time since returning from a plantar fasciitis issue Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Longoria is hitting .294/.365/.537 on the season but is just 2 for 11 since his return.

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura had two hits and a pair of stolen bases in Thursday's loss to the Nationals.

Segura finished 2 for 3 with two singles, a walk and two runs scored. He has 26 steals and his batting line is .323/.359/.497.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez continued to produce Wednesday, as he slugged his 21st home run of the season in a  6-5 win over the Phillies.

Alvarez drove in three with his fifth-inning homer off John Lannan, just his third off a left-handed pitcher this season. He finished the game 2 for 4 with one run scored and three driven in, while striking out twice.

Alvarez has hit 11 of his 21 home runs since June 1, with five of them coming in his last 11 games. He ranks third in the National League in home runs and sixth in RBI, with 56. 

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said that his plantar fasciitis felt fine as he played through the pain Tuesday as the designated hitter, The Tampa Tribune reports. That said, Longoria doesn't know when he'll be able to get back in the field. 

Longoria, who started at DH again Wednesday, said he'd obviously rather play in the field, but he knows he can be more effective as the DH for the time being. 

The Orioles optioned infielder Danny Valencia to Triple-A Norfolk Wednesday, MLB.com reports. Valencia was optioned to make room for the addition of starter Scott Feldman. 

Valencia hit .230 with the Orioles with four homers and eight RBI over 61 at-bats. He could resurface with the team later in the summer. 

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson started July how he finished June -- with a home run. Donaldson homered, drove in two runs and finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored Tuesday against the Cubs.

Donaldson has homered four times in his last six games and is slugging .755 in his last 14 games. He is also batting .388 (19 for 49) with three doubles, five home runs, 12 runs, 13 RBI and seven walks in his last 14 games.