MLB Player News

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez, who left Wednesday with a back injury, returned to the starting lineup, but as a designated hitter Thursday afternoon against the Twins. Yoenis Cespedes will play left field, with Rajai Davis in right and Anthony Gose in center.

Martinez is hitting .236 (29 for 123) with seven homers and 16 RBI in 33 games.

Detroit is favored (-157) at home against Minnesota, per VegasInsider.com.

Mariners designated hitter Brad Miller went 2 for 4 with a walk, a double, a home run and two RBI in his team's 4-2 loss to the Padres Wednesday.

Miller wouldn't be denied Wednesday, smacking a solo home run in the fifth inning to cut his team's deficit to 2-1 and adding an RBI double in the ninth to make the game 4-2. However, the rest of the team was unable to find any scoring magic, leaving the Mariners with the loss.

Miller has hit .250/.318/.427 with two home runs, 11 RBI and three stolen bases in 96 at-bats, but he's 4 for 7 with three doubles and one home run in a pair of games against the Padres.

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez left Wednesday's game against the Twins with an injury, according to MLB.com. 

Martinez was spotted grabbing his back in the dugout. Rajai Davis pinch-hit for Martinez in the sixth inning. 

The Twins gave slugger Kennys Vargas the night off Wednesday night against the Tigers, per MLB.com.

With Vargas out of the lineup for the second time since Sunday, the club moved Eddie Rosario to left field, Aaron Hicks to center and moved Eduardo Escobar to designated hitter.

Minnesota is considered an underdog (+121) against left-hander Kyle Lobstein and the Tigers. The current Twins roster is hitting .348 (8 for 23) against the Southpaw.

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez hit his seventh home run of the season in Tuesday night's 2-1 win over the Twins. 

Martinez hit his homer in the fourth inning off of Kyle Gibson. Martinez went 1 for 4 of the night and struck out once. This is Martinez's third consecutive game with a hit. 

Martinez is now hitting .235/.331/.294 this season. 

Indians center fielder Michael Brantley went 2 for 4 in Tuesday's loss to St. Louis. He doubled, walked once, scored and drove in a run. 

Brantley is now hitting .347, and is carrying an 11-game hit streak. He hit his ninth double and drove in his 17th run. 

Mariners shorstop Chris Taylor is back in the starting lineup on Tuesday after missing Monday's game with a finger injury, the team announced.

Taylor will replace Brad Miller, who moves to designated hitter and pushes Rickie Weeks to the bench. Taylor is hitting .167 in 18 at-bats this season.

The Mariners are currently the favorites (-145) against San Diego.

Twins slugger Kennys Vargas is in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Tigers. Vargas was given the day off on Sunday, though he is starting to emerge from his season-long slump at the plate.

Vargas, who will be the designated hitter and bat sixth in the order, owns a batting line of .414/.452/.621 in eight games this month. The hot streak has brought his season batting average to .247, to go along with his three home runs and 10 RBI. 

Torii Hunter, who was the DH on Sunday, is back in right field on Tuesday, while youngster Eddie Rosario gets the day off. 

Tigers outfielders J.D. Martinez and Yoenis Cespedes have swapped lineup spots for the second time in a week.

Martinez was dropped to sixth for the first time this season Wednesday and stayed in that spot for the team's last five games while Cespedes batted fifth. The Tigers have revered to the lineup they featured through most of April, with Martinez fifth and Cespedes sixth.

The Tigers are favorites (-129) against the Twins at home Tuesday.

Indians center fielder Michael Bourn is not in the starting lineup on Tuesday. There is no mention of an injury or other issue here, so it looks like manager Terry Francona is just giving the struggling Bourn a day off. Bourn has actually seen his batting average rise to .218, as he is currently riding a very modest three-game hit streak.

Michael Brantley is moving over to center field, while David Murphy handles left field. Brandon Moss returns to the starting lineup after being rested on Sunday. He will bat fourth and play right field.