MLB Player News

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado extended his hitting streak to seven games with a big performance on Sunday against the A's. He went 4 for 5 with two RBI and a run scored.

Machado singled twice before plating Nate McLouth with another base hit in the seventh inning. In the ninth, he doubled home another run.

The 20-year-old is batting .433 (13 for 30) during his streak with five RBI, five runs scored and two stolen bases.

Twins infielder Eduardo Escobar started a second straight game for the first time this season Sunday against the Rangers. Manager Ron Gardenhire wanted to find Escobar more playing time since he's batting .483 (14 for 29) through 14 games.

"He's doing great," Gardenhire said, per MLB.com. "That's why I ran him back out there again today to find another spot for him. He's swinging it really good. You never know how long you're going to stay on that surfboard before someone knocks you off. So you just ride it and go from there."

Gardenhire has been pleasantly surprised with Escobar's power. Escobar has a .690 slugging percentage.

"He's got some pop," Gardenhire said. "It's surprising. And he has a cannon for an arm. He's a nice player. There's a reason why we got him in that trade, and he's showing us why."

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura rejoined the starting lineup Sunday against the Dodgers after being scratched Saturday with a split nail on the index finger on his right hand. Segura did appear as a pinch hitter Saturday, striking out in his only at-bat.

Segura is batting .354 (28 for 79) through 11 games. He also has a .393 on-base percentage, .481 slugging percentage and .874 OPS.

Rockies prospect Nolan Arenado will make his major-league debut Sunday at Arizona after being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs following his fast start in the minors. Arenado, viewed as the club's second-best overall prospect by MLB.com, served as the starting third baseman and hit seventh in the batting order.

Rockies third base prospect Nolan Arenado is expected to be promoted to the major leagues Sunday after third baseman Chris Nelson was designated for assignment following Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks, according to multiple sources.

Arenado is one of the top prospects in baseball, ranked as a top 100 prospect by Baseball America (No. 52) and MLB.com (No. 62). Arenado is off to a stellar start at Triple-A Colorado Springs, batting .364 with three home runs, 11 doubles and 21 RBI in 18 games.

Arenado is expected to play regularly for the Rockies.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria got his average back over the .300 mark for the first time since April 16 on Saturday night against the White Sox. He went 4 for 6 with an RBI and two runs scored in the 10-4 win.

The 27-year-old doubled in the third inning before collecting three singles, including one that drove in Matt Joyce in the ninth.

Longoria saw his average rise from .277 to .303 in the victory.

Athletics third basemen Josh Donaldson turned in another impressive hitting performance Saturday against the Orioles. Donaldson matched his career high with four hits, including two doubles, in the 7-3 loss.

He also drove in two of Oakland's three runs, doubling home Brandon Moss in the second inning before driving home Seth Smith on a single in the third.

Donaldson finished 4 for 4 and has hit safely in six of his last eight games (.500). He has also eight RBI over that span.

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura was scratched from the starting lineup Saturday against the Dodgers with a split nail on his second right finger. Segura, who suffered the injury fielding ground balls during batting practice, is considered day-to-day.

He was replaced in the lineup by Blake Lalli, who started at first base while Alex Gonzalez moved to shortstop.

Segura entered Saturday's contest hitting .359/.398/.487 with a home run and six RBI over his first 78-at-bats.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire used Eduardo Escobar at third base Saturday against the Rangers instead of Trevor Plouffe, despite left-handed Derek Holland starting for the Rangers, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Gardenhire said Plouffe "is not attacking enough right now."

"He's stepping back a lot," Gardenhire said. "I've talked to Scott [Ullger, who coaches the infielders] about that -- we've got to go back to our drills and get him attacking again. He's going back too much. I know it took a bad hop, but it was after the fact, after he wasn't aggressive on it. It kind of ate him up, and that shouldn't happen."

Plouffe has actually hit in the last three games but is 4 for 23 (.174) over his last six contests with five strikeouts.

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon returned to the starting lineup Saturday against Cincinnati after sitting the previous two games. Rendon, who has two hits in his first 15 at-bats with the parent club, was benched in favor of Stephen Lombardozzi as Washington attempted to kick-start its offense.