MLB Player News

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley improved his batting average with runners in scoring position to .357 (20 for 56) with a two-run single in the sixth inning Monday against the Orioles. 

"He doesn’t change his approach," Indians manager Terry Francona said, per MLB.com. "He doesn’t try to do too much. He just stays with his same approach and he’s a good hitter. If anything, maybe his concentration is unbelievable. You don’t see him over-swing very often."

Heading into Monday's game, Brantley led the AL with a 91 percent contact rate. Brantley was also putting balls in play at a 79 percent rate, which was eighth-best in the AL, and his 11.6 percent strikeout rate was 10th-best in the league.

"He’s done everything that we’ve asked him to do, man," outfielder Nick Swisher said. "He’s hit in every slot from one through nine. And he’s such a pro hitter, man. To be able to have a guy like that, that Tito can bounce up and down the lineup to protect certain guys, obviously he’s shown his worth on this squad for sure."

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley had another big game against the Orioles Monday night in a 5-2 win.

Brantley drove in a career-high-tying four runs in the game. He's done that three times in his career.

Brantley hit his fifth home run of the season in the eighth inning for a two-run shot off Darren O'Day. He finished 2 for 4 and is batting .278 on the year.

The speedy outfielder, who stole two bases in his last game, has hit in four of his last five appearances. He's up to 37 RBI with 32 runs scored and seven steals.

After going 0 for 5 in Saturday's game against Minnesota, Cleveland manager Terry Francona kept outfielder Michael Brantley on the bench Sunday for the Indians. 

Brantley dropped his average down to .271 in his last last game. In fact, he's gone just 4 for 30 (.133) over his last eight contests for the Tribe. He does have two homers and six RBI over that span, however. 

Astros outfielder J.D. Martinez hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning Saturday against the Cubs, bringing his team back from a 3-0 deficit in what would be a 4-3 win.

Martinez's home run was his second in June. He is hitting .251 in 191 at-bats.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes played in the outfield for the first time in more than a week Friday, and his return to the field seemed to spark him. Batting just .162 with no home runs in his previous 10 games, Cespedes broke out with his third multi-home run game of June.

Cespedes bookended the game with two-run home runs, one in the first inning and another in the ninth. He went hitless between those shots, finishing the game 2 for 4 with a strikeout and four RBI, in a 6-3 win.

Cespedes has six home runs in the month of June, all of them coming as part of two-homer games. He has 15 home runs and 40 RBI on the season in 236 at-bats. Cespedes is hitting .233 with a .781 OPS on the year. 

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera was stuck in something of a slump entering Friday's game, with just two RBI in his previous nine games. He more than doubled that total with one swing of the bat against the Red Sox, as he clubbed a three-run home run to put the Tigers up briefly in a 10-6 loss.

Cabrera added three more hits to finish 4 for 4 with three RBI and a run scored, while adding a walk. Cabrera leads the American League with a .368 batting average and 74 RBI, while also ranking second in home runs with 20. 

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley homered twice Wednesday in a win over the Royals. Brantley, who has four homers on the season, had solo shots in the fifth and eighth innings. 

He was 2 for 3 with two runs scored and a sacrifice fly RBI in the sixth inning of a 6-3 win. 

Brantley is batting .277 and was 0 for 10 in his previous three games before Wednesday. 

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes got the start for the sixth consecutive game as the designated hitter Wednesday in Texas, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Cespedes is back in the DH spot upon the recommendation of A's trainers, according to manager Bob Melvin.

Cespedes' left hamstring is still not 100 percent, though Melvin doesn't believe the issue is hindering his performance. That said, Cespedes has gone 3 for 20 over five starts as the DH. It could be that he hits better when he's playing the field.

"He always wants to play in the field," Melvin said of Cespedes. "Is he getting antsy? I don’t know. … When you’re in the field, you’re always doing stuff, you have a feel for the game. When you DH, you feel like you’re pinch hitting four times."

Melvin said, hitting well or not, he's going to continue penciling Cespedes' name into the lineup. "Regardless, when he’s in the lineup, we’re a better team whether he’s swinging the bat well or not,” Melvin said.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes will continue to be the team's designated hitter until he can run without limitations, according to MLB.com.

Cespedes has started four games at DH after his hamstring gave him some trouble last Tuesday. Cespedes will return to the outfield once he recovers. Cespedes is hitting .235/.298/.471 in 221 at-bats. 

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera put Detroit on the board early Monday against the Orioles and the team never looked back. 

Cabrera hit his 19th home run of the season in the first inning off starter Jake Arrieta for a two-run shot. The Tigers won 5-1. 

Cabrera finished 3 for 4 in the game with two RBI and is batting .358 for the Tigers. The three-hit game was his first multi-hit contest since picking up three hits against Tampa Bay back on June 6. That said, Cabrera still leads the American League in batting and RBI.