MLB Player News

Alvarez went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double, and three RBI in a 5-0 win Thursday in Minnesota.

Alvarez took Josh Winder deep with a two-run shot in the third inning and gave Houston an insurance run with his ninth-inning solo blast. The designated hitter had been hitless in his previous four ball games, going 0-for-11 with five walks. As impressive as his 10 home runs and .992 OPS are, Alvarez's 17:20 BB:K ratio through 109 plate appearances represents a dramatic improvement over his career rates.

Brantley is out of the lineup for Thursday's regularly scheduled game against the Twins, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 34-year-old finished out the suspended game from Wednesday, going 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs, but he'll take a seat for Thursday's regularly scheduled contest. Chas McCormick will shift to left field in Brantley's place while Jose Siri starts in center.

Ford was acquired by the Mariners from the Giants on Thursday in exchange for cash considerations.

Ford was designated for assignment Wednesday and will now head back to Seattle, which traded him to San Francisco in late April. He appeared in only one game with the Giants and went 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Ohtani didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 4-2 extra-inning loss to the Rays, allowing one run on two hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out five.

His only real mistake resulted in a Kevin Kiermaier solo shot in the second inning, but Ohtani still found himself on the hook for his third loss of the year until the Angels tied things up in the eighth. He also went 1-for-4 with his fifth stolen base of the season to go along with his second straight quality start, as the two-way superstar continues to display a skill set like no other.

Miller went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-2 loss to the Royals.

As is custom, Miller did not start against a left-hander, Gabe Speier, but equally customary he entered as a pinch hitter when a righty entered the game. He pinch hit for Charlie Culberson and remained in the game at third base. Miller corner outfielder/infielder has hits in six of the last 10 games, going 7-for-27 with two home runs and eight RBI during that stretch as he fights out of a slump. While the 32-year-old's line of .217/.236/.406 is unappealing, his situational hitting is another story. He's 4-for-9 with two homers as a pinch hitter and is batting .471 with runners in scoring position, placing him second on the club with 16 RBI.

Cabrera went 3-for-4 in Wednesday's 9-0 loss to the Athletics.

Five Detroit players went hitless, and the team as a whole only recorded seven hits, so Cabrera couldn't produce any offense with his three base knocks. The veteran is batting a respectable .268, though he only has four extra-base hits this season, which caps his fantasy value.

Buxton (hip) will be in the lineup Wednesday against the Astros, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The Twins have yet to release their full lineup Wednesday, but Buxton will be included after sitting out the past couple games since suffering a low-level hip strain Saturday. The 28-year-old continues to crush when available this season with nine home runs and a .278/.342/.722 slash line over 19 games.

Torrens went 2-for-4 with two runs in a win over the Phillies on Tuesday.

The previously struggling backstop snapped out of a multi-game slump with his first multi-hit effort of the season. Torrens had hit just .087 (2-for-23) with nine strikeouts over the previous seven games, so Tuesday's productive outing only served to lift his season slash line to .191/.220/.213.

Miller isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Royals.

Miller went 2-for-3 with an RBI in Tuesday's series opener against Kansas City, and he'll get a day off Wednesday. Nick Solak will start in left field while Charlie Culberson enters the lineup at third base.

Ramirez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Ramirez will head to the bench after he saw a five-game hitting streak come to an end with an 0-for-3 performance in Tuesday's 12-0 loss to the Angels. The 27-year-old had started in five of the Rays' last six games, but he'll likely be deployed a short-side platoon player for Tampa Bay moving forward as long as Manuel Margot (hamstring) isn't forced to the injured list.