MLB Player News

Indians left fielder Michael Brantley went 2 for 5 with a two-run home run in Friday night's victory over the Blue Jays. Brantley also singled and scored twice on the evening. Brantley's fourth-inning bomb broke a 4-4 tie, and the Indians went on to win 9-4.

This was Brantley's first home run of the year, after hitting 20 last season. However, Brantley is still hitting well, with a slash line of .455/.486/.697 over his last eight games. 

With Jose Reyes on the disabled list and Devon Travis getting his second day off this season, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons decided to shake up his lineup Friday against the Indians.

Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion all moved up one spot in the lineup, which meant Donaldson moved into the leadoff spot. It was the first time in Donaldson's career he hit leadoff.

Russell Martin moved into the cleanup spot, which is usually where Encarnacion bats. He was followed by Kevin Pillar, Michael Saunders, Dalton Pompey, Ryan Goins (who started for Travis) and Jonathan Diaz.

Mariners shortstop Brad Miller committed two errors earlier this week on wild throws and was perhaps saved by first baseman Logan Morrison by one or two more, but neither he nor manager Lloyd McClendon are too worried about the shortstop's shaky throws, the Tacoma News Tribune reports.

"I just had two throws that were a little shaky," Miller said, "but that’s how it works. You’re not going to be perfect every time. It’s nothing too extreme. Obviously, you want to make accurate throws, but you’ve just go to keep making plays. I made every play the next day. You just kind of keep going. You can’t get too worked up."

McClendon didn't dismiss Miller's issues completely but didn't see any major reasons for concern.

"It’s just footwork," McClendon said. "He’s got a good arm. I think, at times, he just forgets his footwork. He’s got to continue to work on it. I think he’s going to be fine because everything is correctable."

Miller was able to make a fine defensive play in the seventh inning of Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Astros. He went 0 for 1 with two walks at the plate and has hit .277/.333/.400 with one home run, seven RBI and three stolen bases in 65 at-bats.

Athletics left fielder Mark Canha went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBI in his team's 6-5 loss to the Angels Thursday.

Cahna's two-run homer in the seventh inning was his team's only extra-base hit of the game and started Oakland's climb back from a 6-0 deficit. They were able to rally for three runs in the ninth, including one on an RBI single by Canha, but saw the game end on a leaping play by Angels center field Mike Trout with the bases loaded.

Canha has slowed down considerably after a hot first week, but Thursday's performance was a big step back in the right direction. He has hit .279/.329/.412 with two home runs, 10 RBI and two stolen bases in 68 at-bats.

Perhaps unsurpisingly, Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar was not in the starting lineup on Thursday against the Tigers. Escobar left Wednesday's game against the Indians after being hit by a pitch in the face and has been diagnosed with a left cheek contusion.

Christian Colon made the start at shortstop on Thursday. Colon has had limited playing time in 2015 and is hitting .269 (7 for 26) with a double and a stolen base.

Left fielder Alex Gordon will move up to the leadoff spot in the lineup for the first time this season. Escobar has been the Royals' leadoff hitter in all but two games in 2015. Gordon is currently ranked ninth in the American League with a .413 on-base percentage. 

Escobar is hoping to return to the Royals lineup on Friday or Saturday, according to the Kansas City Star

Athletics left fielder Mark Canha will return to the starting lineup and bat seventh Thursday afternoon against the Angels. Canha was sidelined since Friday after he was held without a hit over his last nine at-bats. He is hitting .250 (16 for 64) with one home run and seven RBI in 16 games.

Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez only contributed one hit to the slugfest Wednesday in Minnesota. But it was one heck of a hit.

Martinez smashed one of four Detroit home runs in the victory. His solo blast in a four-run sixth that tied the game landed over the fence in left.

He has six home runs and 15 RBI on the year and a fine .545 slugging percentage.

If it was just about anyone else, it would be a ridiculous day at the plate. But what Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera did Wednesday has become practically mundane for him.

Cabrera went 3-for-4 (yawn). What made his afternoon in Minnesota exceptional was that he slammed two home runs to give him five on the season and three in the last four games.

His explosion started slowly with a mere run-scoring double in the fourth inning. He then rocketed a 446-foot blast to center in the sixth and a 430-foot shot to center in the ninth. By the time the dust settled, his slash line stood at .370/.453/.630.

Cabrera has 17 RBI on the year.

Twins' Kennys Vargas returned to the starting lineup at first base Wednesday afternoon against Detroit. Vargas is mired in a 2-for-28 slump and was held out of the lineup the past three games. He is hitting just .161 with a home run in 56 at-bats this season.

Twins designated hitter Kennys Vargas is expected to be back in the lineup Wednesday after getting a third day off Tuesday, according to 1500 ESPN.

Vargas has been out of the lineup since Sunday, with Eduardo Nunez taking over the DH role. Vargas has been in a bit of a slump and manager Paul Molitor has been pushing for Vargas to work on his pitch recognition. He is hitting just .161 with a home run in 56 at-bats this season.