MLB Player News

Martinez went 1-for-4 with a home run and four RBI on Sunday against the Astros.

Martinez launched a three-run homer against Dallas Keuchel in the fifth inning to record his 40th home run of the season. He has now reached the 40-home-run plateau for the second consecutive season and remains one of the premier power hitters in the game.

Ohtani (thigh) is in the lineup Sunday against the White Sox, acting as the designated hitter and batting fourth, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Japanese import came away from a home-plate collision with a thigh bruise, though it appears the issue is fairly minor. Ohtani will continue to act as the main designated hitter for the Angels in September barring further issues with his injured UCL.

Choi is not in the lineup Sunday against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi has largely been shielded from lefties this season, logging just 13 at-bats against southpaws to date. As is typically the case, he'll head to the bench to avoid a lefty-on-lefty matchup with Baltimore starter Josh Rogers. Tommy Pham will slide into the designated hitter spot to replace him, allowing Carlos Gomez to join the starting nine.

McCutchen went 1-for-3 with a walk and solo home run Saturday against the Mariners.

McCutchen took Felix Hernandez deep to lead off the game with his 17th home run of the season. Though he started slowly with the Yankees, McCutchen has now homered in consecutive games. He's led off and batted third most recently, which should allow him to rack up counting stats to close the season, especially if he continues his power resurgence.

Brantley went 2-for-4 with a two walks and a two-run homer in Saturday's win over the Blue Jays.

Brantley delivered in his return to the lineup after missing a pair of games with a foot injury. The outfielder put the Indians up 4-3 with his home run off Sean Reid-Foley in what ended up being a seven-run fifth inning. The 31-year-old is now hitting a solid .304/.359/.468 with 15 homers and 10 stolen bases over 127 games.

Ohtani was diagnosed with a right thigh contusion and is day-to-day, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani suffered the injury during a collision at home plate in Saturday's 12-3 win over the White Sox, though he said he was fine afterwards and added he'll be able to play Sunday should manager Mike Scioscia include him in the lineup. Prior to suffering the injury, Ohtani was 2-for-4 with a walk, a three-run triple, two runs scored and a stolen base.

Brantley (foot) will start in left field and bat second against the Blue Jays on Saturday, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Brantley was withheld from the starting lineup the past two games due to a bruised left foot, though he was able to enter Friday's contest as a pinch hitter. Expect to see him remain a regular fixture in the Indians' lineup moving forward.

Vogelbach, who was one of the players called up from Triple-A Tacoma upon roster expansion earlier this month, is currently limited to pinch-hit duty due to a hamstring injury, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Manager Scott Servais is on record as stating that it's highly unlikely Vogelbach sees any action in the field until he's regained full health. The 25-year-old slashed .293/.437/.552 over 378 plate appearances with the Rainiers in 2018, a line that included 37 extra-base hits (17 doubles, 20 home runs) and 61 RBI.

Choi went 1-for-2 with a grand slam, three walks and two runs in a 14-2 win over the Orioles on Friday.

Choi was one of four Rays to go deep on the night, with his bases-clearing long ball in the sixth inning breaking the game open. The 27-year-old has supplied a .272/.361/.510 batting line (137 wRC+) across 169 plate appearances in the majors this season and has seemingly unseated C.J. Cron as the Rays' preferred option at designated hitter.

McCutchen went 1-for-3 with a home run, a walk and two RBI in Friday's victory over the Mariners.

Hitting from the leadoff spot, McCutchen connected on his first home run as a Yankee with a two-run shot in the third inning. It was only his second hit in six starts with his new club, and he now owns a .250/.355/.409 slash line to go with 16 home runs and 57 RBI over 592 plate appearances this season.