MLB Player News

Alvarez launched a pinch-hit, three-run home run in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Royals.

While he didn't get the start, Alvarez still had an impact, breaking open a 2-1 game with his eighth-inning blast. He already holds the Astros' franchise rookie record for homers in a season with 25 (and counting), and he needs just two more in Houston's final 12 games to reach 50 on the season between his exploits at Triple-A and in the majors.

Cabrera left Saturday's game against the Orioles with right knee soreness, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Cabrera has been playing through chronic issues in his right knee, so it's no surprise to see the problem pop up again. He isn't expected to start Sunday, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports, though he was due for a scheduled off day regardless of the injury. He's considered day-to-day.

Alvarez is not in Saturday's lineup against the Royals, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

He is hitting .302/.400/.605 with three home runs in 11 games this month. Michael Brantley will be the designated hitter while Kyle Tucker gets a start in left field.

Vogelbach entered Friday's loss to the White Sox as a pinch hitter and laced a two-run double in his one at-bat.

The burly slugger plated Tim Lopes and Tom Murphy with his timely two-bagger, bringing the Mariners to within 8-7 at the time. As impressive as his power numbers have been -- Vogelbach has a career-high 30 home runs to go along with 17 doubles -- the 26-year-old has nevertheless been in a near-three-month slump at the plate. Vogelbach entered July with a .244/.379/.519 line, but he's slashed just .169/.293/.373 across the 208 plate appearances he's logged over his last 55 games.

Jimenez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, another run scored and a walk in Friday's 9-7 win over the Mariners.

Jimenez's solo shot came in the ninth inning to produce the eventual final score after the Mariners came within a run in the eighth. Jimenez also scored on a Yoan Moncada triple in the third after getting aboard with a walk. The outfielder has gone 7-for-20 with five runs scored and 10 RBI in his last five games. For the year, he's hitting .254/.306/.487 with 27 homers, 68 RBI and 58 runs scored.

Ohtani underwent successful surgery Friday to address a bipartite patella in his left knee, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The condition, in which a kneecap is composed of two separate bones rather than fusing together as normally occurs during early childhood, was identified in February. Ohtani elected to have surgery now rather than wait until the offseason because it was bothering him while throwing bullpen sessions as part of his rehab from Tommy John surgery, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Ohtani is expected to resume mound work in about 10 weeks and should be able to reprise his role as a two-way player by the time spring training begins in 2020.

Vogelbach isn't in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the White Sox, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Vogelbach went 0-for-3 in Thursday's series finale against Cincinnati, so he'll take a seat for Friday's clash. Omar Narvaez draws the start behind the dish and will hit sixth.

Choi is not in the lineup Friday against the Angels.

Choi hits the bench against lefty Andrew Heaney. Jesus Aguilar gets the nod at first base in his absence.

Brantley will not start Friday against the Royals, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley owns a career-high .899 OPS and a career-best 21 homers. He'll get a rest Friday, with Kyle Tucker starting in left field.

Choi, who went 1-for-1 with four walks in a loss to the Rangers on Thursday, has now reached safely in 10 straight plate appearances, a new franchise record, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi's ninth-inning walk, his fourth free pass of the game, snapped a four-way tie he'd been in with B.J. Upton, Logan Forsythe and Tim Beckham for the record. Choi is actually scuffling at the plate overall in September in terms of hitting safely, as he's just 6-for-27 during the month. However, four of those six hits have gone for extra bases, with the 28-year-old posting a double, a triple and two home runs since the calendar flipped.