MLB Player News

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Saturday that catcher James McCann will see the bulk of the starts behind the plate in the wake of the injury to Alex Avila, the Detroit Free Press reports.

McCann has served as the team's starter at catcher against left-handed pitchers but will now see regular action against righties with Avila sidelined. McCann has hit .295/.311/.432 with one home run and five RBI in 44 at-bats this season but has posted a .600 OPS against righties while delivering a .929 OPS against lefties.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez is out of the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Tigers.

It's just the second time this season that Perez hasn't been behind the plate for the Royals. He has hit .306/.316/.459 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 111 at-bats. Drew Butera, who was acquired by the Royals Thursday, is getting the start and batting ninth.

The Royals are underdogs (+140) in Detroit Saturday, per VegasInsider.com.

The Tigers made a late change to their lineup for Friday's game. Alex Avila was scratched from the lineup, and James McCann will take his place at catcher, per MLive. 

Avila suffered a right forearm contusion in the eighth inning of Thursday's game, which will keep him out of the lineup, the team announced. 

If recent lineups are any indication, the starting job could be slipping away from scuffling Angels catcher Chris Iannetta.

Iannetta has been benched for the third time in four games for the Friday night game against Houston. Carlos Perez is set to start instead.

Iannetta did himself no favors with another hitless performance Thursday. He is 1-for-25 over his last eight games and owns a .091/.197/.106 slash line on the year.

Devin Mesoraco is back in the Reds' starting lineup on Friday against the White Sox. Mesoraco, who hasn't started a game since April 11 due to a hip injury, is listed as the designated hitter and cleanup hitter for manager Bryan Price. 

Mesoraco has been able to pinch hit over the last few weeks, but has not recorded a hit since his last start. He has just two hits on the season overall. 

Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch went 3 for 4 with four RBI during Thursday's 11-0 win over the Padres.

Gosewisch entered the game without any extra-base hits on the season, but he hit three doubles Thursday. Gosewisch now has back-to-back three-hit games after only having one multi-hit game prior to Wednesday's game. The last two games has raised his batting average from .176 to .237.

"It felt great," Gosewisch said, per MLB.com. "First one, got lucky and it fell in and relaxed a little after that and got some pitches to hit. But as a whole I think the whole team had a great approach. We just continued to get hits throughout the game."

Pirates catcher Chris Stewart drove in two runs to help lead the Pirates to a 7-2 win over the Reds on Thursday.

Stewart went 2 for 4 in the game. The two RBI came when he hit a single off Kevin Gregg to drive in Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte in the seventh inning. Stewart has now hit safely in his last four games. During the hitting streak, Stewart has six hits in his last 15 at-bats.

Catcher Chris Iannetta is back in the starting lineup for the Angels on Thursday. Iannetta sat out the last two games while rookie Carlos Perez drew the start. The veteran Iannetta is hitting an ugly .094 on the year, and has gone 0 for 5 lifetime against Astros' starter Collin McHugh.

Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal haunted the Brewers pitching staff during a 14-4 rout Thursday. Grandal had a career-high eight RBI in Thursday's win.

"You're on a new team, and you just want to do good, you want to belong here and turn it around at some point," Grandal said, per MLB.com "[Manager Don Mattingly] just said, you know the numbers will be there. Just relax and play."

Grandal started his afternoon with a one-out single in the first inning, which produced no runs. He then walked in the third and fifth innings before driving home two runs with a single in the sixth inning. He added a three-run homer in the eighth inning before hitting another three-run homer in the ninth inning.

"Yaz has got a really good eye, and he sees the ball good," Mattingly said. "He's got to use that and attack. He's a little like Joc. He's got to use the whole field."

He finished the afternoon 4 for 4 with three runs and two walks. Grandal's previous career high was five RBI. He has had just three multiple home run games in his career.

Grandal's eight RBI are the most for a Dodger since James Loney had nine in 2006. He entered play Thursday with just two home runs and four RBI in his first 22 games.

Two key Reds players remain out of the lineup for the Thursday game in Pittsburgh. Both shortstop Zack Cozart (finger) and catcher Devin Mesoraco (hip) are sidelined.

Cozart was removed from the Sunday game and has yet to return. He was able to take batting practice Thursday and made 40 throws Wednesday, reports MLB.com.

"There is still inflammation in there right now, but it just feels way better. I swung, took soft toss, and did my normal routine and it felt really good," Cozart said. "Swinging was obviously my biggest concern and [Thursday] was a good day, so far at least."

Manager Bryan Price did not rule out Cozart playing in Friday's game, reports MLB.com.

"I think it's more realistic to look and see where he is [Friday] as far as a potential start," Price said.

Mesoraco has played sparingly since April 11 and is considering surgery, which would take him away from the Reds for about a month.