MLB Player News

Ford went 1-for-3 with a double and a run in a loss to the Royals on Monday.

Ford entered the night mired in an 0-for-13 slump over his previous five games, and Monday's two-bagger was his first extra-base hit since July 23. The journeyman slugger had been surging at the plate at that point, but he's subsequently experienced a 43-point drop in batting average to .221 thanks in large part to a mammoth 47.1 percent strikeout rate over the following 11 contests.

Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Sunday's win over the Astros.

Ohtani absolutely smoked a slider that wound up traveling 448 feet at 110.2 mph and put the Angels up 2-0 in the sixth. It wound up being the difference in the ballgame. He also swiped his 17th bag of the year and his fifth in 12 games in August. Ohtani leads the American League with 41 home runs now and trails only the surging Matt Olson for the MLB lead (43). Ohtani has been scorching hot at the plate over the last few weeks. In 17 games since July 27, he's slashing .368/.500/.702 with five homers, seven RBI and 14 runs.

Ohtani won't make his next scheduled start Wednesday against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani isn't dealing with an injury, but he told manager Phil Nevin that he was experiencing some fatigue and will therefore have his next start postponed to Aug. 23 against Cincinnati. It's unclear who will start Wednesday in Ohtani's place, though the recently activated Griffin Canning seems like a possible candidate.

Rooker went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 3-2 loss to Washington.

Rooker tagged starter Jake Irvin for a solo homer in the sixth inning and pushed his season total to 19. The outfielder has been slumping lately, batting 3-for-23 (.130) across his last eight games, but still owns a .240/.327/.467 slash line on the year (96 games).

Cabrera will sit Saturday against Boston.

Cabrera finds himself on the bench for the second time in three games, with Riley Greene again serving as the designated hitter. Cabrera's final MLB season hasn't seen him go out on a high note, as he's hitting .259/.332/.332 with just one home run.

Turner (heel) is back in the lineup Saturday against the Tigers, batting third and serving as the designated hitter.

Turner has been dealing with a bone bruise in his left heel throughout August, appearing in just three games and none since Monday. The injury typically requires an absence of at least a month, but the veteran has elected to play through the problem down the stretch. Whether or not the issue leads to increased absences and decreased performance remains to be seen.

Belt will sit Saturday against the Cubs.

The Cubs are sending out lefty Justin Steele, so it's no surprise to see Belt hit the bench. He's started just five times against a southpaw all season. George Springer will rest his legs as the designated hitter Saturday, with Cavan Biggio stepping into Springer's usual spot in right field.

Belt went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Cubs.

His eighth-inning shot off Michael Fulmer was too little, too late for Toronto. Belt has hit safely in six straight games and eight of nine to begin August, batting .353 (12-for-34) on the month with three of his 11 homers on the season along with four doubles, five RBI and nine runs.

Jimenez went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored in Friday's 7-6 loss to the Brewers.

Jimenez' third-inning blast off Corbin Burnes was his 13th of the season and first since July 23. His two RBI represent twice as many as he had accumulated to that point in August. Jimenez has played in 81 of the White Sox' 123 games and is on pace to play over 100 games for just the second time in his career. He currently has a .283 batting average with 50 RBI and 34 runs scored to go along with his 13 home runs.

Rooker is not in the lineup Friday against the Nationals.

Lawrence Butler will patrol right field and bat eighth in his MLB debut, while Esteury Ruiz is in center and hitting leadoff. Rooker has enjoyed a solid overall season with Oakland, but he stands 3-for-23 (.130) with no walks and nine strikeouts through eight games in August.