MLB Player News

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson was forced out of Thursday's marathon game against the Yankees in the 16th inning with a right hamstring injury.

Donaldson finished 0 for 6 with two strikeouts and was replaced by Nate Freiman. He has started all but one of 68 games this season. His status for Friday is still up in the air.

Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu went 1 for 4 and stolen his seventh base of the season in Thursday's game aginast the Nationals.

LeMahieu has put a slow start to June behind him to collect seven hits in 19 at-bats over his last seven games, giving him a .266 batting average in 79 at-bats this season.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria made it three straight games with a home run Wednesday during a 2-1 loss to the Red Sox. Longoria hit his 13th off Alfredo Aceves in the sixth inning. 

Longoria finished 1 for 3 with a walk and is batting .305. He's gone 7 for 20 over a five-game hitting streak with the three homers, a double and four RBI. 

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who is on the disabled list retroactive to May 28 due to his calf injury, is nearing a return to the team, MLB.com reports Wednesday. 

Plouffe went 2 for 4 with a homer in his second rehab game Tuesday. He'll play all nine innings for the Red Wings Thursday. He could be back by the weekend.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado extended his hitting streak to 10 games Wednesday against the Angels, and he did so with his first multi-hit game of the streak. 

Machado went 2 for 5 for his 25th multi-hit game of the season. He scored once and struck out once, while hitting his 28th double of the season. 

Machado is hitting .317 on the season, but he has just a .244 average in June despite having at least one hit in all but the first game. 

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit his 14th home run as part of a huge game in Tuesday's win over San Francisco.

Alvarez finished 3 for 3 with two runs and three RBI. The hulking third baseman has been hot for a solid 25 games now -- since he broke out of an 0-for-14 slump May 9, Alvarez owns a .277/.344/.639 line with nine home runs (a pace of 59 over 162 games).

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura stole two bases in the club's loss Tuesday against Miami.

Segura finished 2 for 4 with a pair of singles and a run scored. Segura is up to 19 stolen bases, good for second in the National League but still 10 behind league leader Everth Cabrera. If Segura can keep anything near his .373 OBP over the rest of the season, he'll get plenty of opportunities to keep stealing bases on a regular basis.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria struck out three times Tuesday during a win over the Red Sox. He also hit his 12th home run in the game.

Longoria went deep off Jon Lester in the fourth inning for a solo shot. He finished 1 for 4 with a walk and is batting .304.

Longoria has hit in four straight games and is 6 for 17 over that span with two homers and three RBI. He's homered in back-to-back games for the Rays.

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe (calf) began a rehab assignment Monday night with Triple-A Rochester. Playing in a game against Toledo that featured Austin Jackson of the Tigers, Plouffe went 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. 

Starting as the designated hitter, Plouffe also struck out as the No. 6 hitter. He has not played for the Twins since May 21 but hopes to rejoin the club when he's eligible June 13.

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson has started all but one of 65 games this season. Manager Bob Melvin said it's been tough to take Donaldson out of the lineup.

"You can't give him a day off; he doesn't want one," Melvin said. "I keep going to him to ask if he needs a break, and he just says no."

Donaldson has earned the right to play every day by producing a .324/.521/.914 slash line through 64 games.

"I don't want days off and I don't need days off," Donaldson said. "Bob has come to me a few times now asked about me taking a day off, but I've said I'd rather not."