MLB Player News

Leon went 1-for-3 with an RBI single in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Rays.

Leon slashed a well-placed single to left field in the eighth inning to plate J.D. Martinez with the go-ahead run, his second RBI of the season. It was a rare bright moment for Leon's bat, as the 1-for-3 performance raised his batting average to .129. While both of Boston's catchers have underwhelmed offensively, there are no plans to make a change at this point. That's because Leon and Christian Vazquez are superior to Blake Swihart in the non-hitting aspects of the position. Leon, for example, has been catching on days when Rick Porcello pitches and that's worked out well, as Porcello has allowed just one home run over 40.1 innings and carries a 2.23 ERA into his next start Friday at Texas.

Sanchez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's win over the Angels.

He also struck out twice, but the homer proved to be the difference in the 2-1 win. Sanchez is still struggling to hit for average (.208), but he's not lacking in the power department. The 25-year-old leads all catchers with his seven home runs and 24 RBI.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's matchup against the Yankees.

Over the last seven games, Maldonado has gone 0-for-14, bringing his batting average down to .156 for the year. He'll get the day off while Rene Rivera fills in behind the dish.

McCann is out of the lineup Sunday against the Orioles, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

It looks to be little more than a routine off day for McCann, who rapped out a season-high three hits in Saturday's contest. With McCann on the bench for the first time in four games, John Hicks will handle the catching duties for Detroit.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rays, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez was well overdue for a rest after serving behind the plate for the previous four contests. He'll give way Sunday to Sandy Leon, who will work as the batterymate for Rick Porcello in the series finale.

Garver went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo homer in Saturday's win over the Reds.

The long ball was the second of Garver's career (and second this season). With the two-hit day, Garver raised his average 48 points to .250, which goes to show just how little he's played so far. He's made seven starts compared to Jason Castro's 15.

Gomes is out of the lineup Saturday against the Mariners.

He started the last three games but will take a seat for the afternoon affair against righty Mike Leake. Roberto Perez is starting behind the dish and hitting seventh.

McCann is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Pirates.

McCann will get the night off after catching all nine innings in Game 1 and going 2-for-6 with a solo homer. In his place, John Hicks will start behind the dish and bat sixth.

Maldonado is not in the lineup against the Astros on Wednesday.

Maldonado will get a standard day off for maintenance purposes after starting the past three games behind the plate. In his absence, Rene Rivera will catch Nick Tropeano and bat ninth.

Thaiss went 4-for-5 with three runs Tuesday for Double-A Mobile against Mississippi.

The four-hit night upped his average from .250 to .290, and his overall slash line (.290/.333/.464) now looks closer to what we would expect from Thaiss in a return trip to the Southern League. His current .174 ISO is his highest mark since rookie ball, which is important because hitting for notable power was the one thing he needed to improve on this season. He will likely be promoted to Triple-A in the coming months, and may even earn a September call-up to the majors.