MLB Player News

Maldonado went 2-for-5 with a home run, five RBI and two total runs scored in Friday's 13-1 win over Toronto.

In the sixth inning, the catcher blew the game wide open with a grand slam to put Houston ahead 7-0. Maldonado added an RBI single in the eighth. Friday was his third multi-hit game in 43 contests this year, all of which have come since May 14. The 34-year-old is slashing .164/.245/.286 with four homers, 14 RBI and 14 runs scored across 155 plate appearances.

Godoy isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels.

Godoy will retreat to the bench for the third time in the last four games after he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Thursday. Tom Murphy will start at catcher and bat seventh.

Stassi isn't starting Friday's game against the Mariners, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Stassi had started each of the last two games, and he went 2-for-6 with a double, an RBI, a run and two walks. Kurt Suzuki will start behind the plate and bat fifth.

Rogers is not in the starting lineup for Friday's matchup with the White Sox, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Rogers will get a breather Friday as Eric Haase takes over behind the dish to catch Spencer Turnbull.

Jeffers is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Royals.

Jeffers started both of the Twins' first two games after being recalled Wednesday. The backstop will get a rest Friday, with Ben Rortvedt set to work behind the plate.

Grandal went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Thursday against the Tigers.

Grandal made his lone hit of the contest count, as he launched his seventh home run of the season off Casey Mize in the seventh inning. The performance snapped a three-game hitless streak for Grandal, though he's still hitting only .137 for the season. Even so, he's maintained a .384 on-base percentage thanks to a 29.2 BB% with 23 runs scored and 19 RBI across 147 plate appearances.

Perez went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Twins.

Perez took J.A. Happ deep during the first and fifth innings to post his second consecutive two-homer game. He leads all catchers with 14 homers and 38 RBI this season. In addition, he has at least one hit in 12 of his last 13 contests. The 31-year-old is slashing .284/.312/.536 in 221 plate appearances.

Bemboom was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

Bemboom served as a third option behind the dish recently and went 1-for-8 with a run, an RBI and four strikeouts across two games during his stint with the major-league club. He'll head back to the minors after right-hander Chris Rodriguez (shoulder) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Murphy, who went 1-for-3 in a loss to the Athletics on Wednesday, is hitting .333 (8-for-24) with two doubles, two home runs, five RBI, three walks and five runs across his last nine games.

The surge has boosted Murphy's slash line from .127/.179/.304 to a still-abysmal-but-ascending .175/.232/.388. The veteran catcher has typically been a solid offensive contributor throughout his career, but he's split more playing time behind the dish than originally planned with the since-demoted Luis Torrens and Jose Godoy due to his struggles.

Vazquez will sit Thursday against the Astros, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez has handled a very heavy workload behind the plate this season, with his 42 starts ranking second among all backstops. He'll get a rest during Thursday's afternoon contest, with Kevin Plawecki taking over in his absence.