MLB Player News

If I wasn't already president of the Brad Miller Fan Club, the rookie's two-homer game Tuesday at Tampa Bay clinched it.

It was his second two-homer game since coming up from the minors June 28. Granted, he has only the four home runs total, but he's done plenty more as the Mariners' starting shortstop. Most notably, he's collected multiple hits in 15 of his 39 games, including five of his last nine for a .333 batting average during that stretch. Granted, he's had a few 0-fers mixed in, making his overall batting average an uninspiring .261, but in Head-to-Head leagues, his steady play makes it seem like it should be higher.

And it probably will be given his knack for hitting the ball where it's pitched. He hit .334 over his minor-league career. Favorable park or not, that's impressive. He also takes walks, splits gaps, steals bases ... he's a jack-of-all-trades type of player. And at shortstop, that can add up to some serious production.

He's now ahead of Starlin Castro and Asdrubal Cabrera at the position in my rest-of-season rankings, and I'd be comfortable starting him there even in shallower leagues.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes hit his 19th home run in Tuesday's loss to Houston.

Cespedes finished 3 for 4 with the two-run blast. It was Cespedes's fourth home run in his last 13 games, and he owns a sharp .545 slugging percentage over that span. However, he still has 14 strikeouts in those 13 games and an on-base percentage of just .293.

Mariners infielder Brad Miller was a part of history Tuesday against the Rays, but he needed a little help from his counterpart in a Rays' uniform.

Miller opened the game with a home run and then added another in the fifth, joining forced with Ben Zobrist to become the first pair of leadoff hitters to home twice in the same game since 1994, and just the second since 1916.

"I was just trying to get things going and I hit a ball I was hoping had enough to get out of there, and it did," Miller told MLB.com after the game. "I was just flying around the bases. I don't know, just kind of blacking out a little. But it felt really good."  

Miller finished the game 2 for 5 with two runs and two RBI in a 5-4 win. He has four home runs and 20 RBI in 39 games, while hitting .261/.329/.439. 

Mariners rookie shortstop Brad Miller has been red hot of late for Seattle. Miller has collected multiple-hit games in seven of his last 14 contests. 

Miller, who has gone 0 for 7 in his last two games, has gone 12 for 43 (.279) thus far in August over 10 games. He's hitting .300 over that 14-game span. 

The 23-year-old has four triples in 152 at-bats this season to go with eight doubles, 21 runs scored, 18 RBI and three stolen bases. 

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera made it four straight games with a home run. Cabrera has homered in five of his last six contests and is up to 37 on the year.

Cabrera went 2 for 4 in the loss at the White Sox Monday. He homered in each game of the previous series against the Yankees.

Cabrera, who has 111 RBI and also leads the American League in average at .366, trails just Chris Davis of the Orioles for the HR lead.

Cabrera has hit in nine straight games for the Tigers.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera homered in the ninth inning of his team's 5-4 loss to the Yankees Sunday, giving him home runs in three consecutive games and four of the last five games.

Cabrera has picked up at least one hit in each of his eight games in August, going 13 for 29 with two doubles, four home runs and 11 RBI. He owns a .365/.459/.686 line with 36 home runs and 110 RBI in 411 at-bats.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera belted his 34th home run of the season Friday during a 4-3 extra-inning loss at the Yankees.

Cabrera hit a two-run shot with two outs off closer Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning to tie the score at three runs apiece. He finished 2 for 5 in the game with three RBI and is batting .360 for the year.

The slugger has gone 9 for 25 (.360) over a seven-game hitting streak with two homers and nine RBI. He's up to 108 driven in on the year, one shy of tying for the major league lead with Chris Davis of the Orioles.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera is not 100 percent, according to mlive.com.

Cabrera was removed from Wednesday's game after hitting a go-ahead home run, which raised some eyebrows among fans and reporters. Manager Jim Leyland admitted after the game that he would not have removed Cabrera if he was fully healthy. "He's not 100 percent by any means. He's not moving real good. We can see that. We just felt like, in talking with him, that it was the thing to do," Leyland said. 

Cabrera is hitting .359/.453/.668 in 395 at-bats. 

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley reached base four times Wednesday against the Tigers.

Brantley picked up two doubles and a single, going 3 for 5 during the game. Brantley also walked. Despite being on base four times, Brantley only scored one run. Brantley is hitting .283/.336/.394 in 396 at-bats. 

After knocking in his 100th run Tuesday against the Indians, Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera became just one of six players in baseball history with 100 RBI in 10 straight seasons, according to Elias.

The other five to accomplish the feat dating back to 1901 are Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Alex Rodriguez, Al Simmons and Albert Pujols.

"Nothing surprises me that that guy does," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said, per MLive.com. "I hate to say that I take him for granted, but we've been together quite a while now. He's awful good. Everybody knows that."