MLB Player News

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley knocked in four runs as part of a 2 for 4 game in Sunday's win over Seattle.

Brantley finished with two runs scored and his second home run in the process. Brantley continues to be a force in Cleveland's revamped lineup, as his batting line is at a robust .301/.357/.392.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley, batting third, singled home Michael Bourn in the first and added a three-run homer in the second, all off Mariners starter Felix Hernandez Sunday.

Brantley, batting .301, went 2 for 4 and scored twice. He has 19 RBI and two homers over 153 at-bats. 

Astros outfielder J.D. Martinez homered in the club's 7-5 victory Wednesday against Detroit.

It was Martinez's first home run since returning from the minor leagues May 7. Martinez is struggling with strikeouts -- he has eight in 24 at-bats since the return -- but the power has been there. He has four doubles to go with the home run.

Martinez is hitting .246/.274/.478 this season.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera homered and doubled in Tuesday's win over Houston.

Cabrera finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored, a walk and an RBI. Cabrera now owns a sharp 1.060 OPS, second in the league to Chris Davis' 1.072 mark. The RBI was his 41st, extending his league-leading total to 41, with Davis' 37 checking in second.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes may still have felt a bit sluggish from his recent illness Tuesday against the Rangers. He went 0 for 5 in the extra-inning game.

Cespedes is batting just .202. 

Cespedes, who has three homers over his last 10 games and seven this season, has just two hits over his last seven games. He's struggling right now, but he's managed to keep his strikeouts down.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was in the starting lineup Tuesday against Texas despite leaving Monday's game with an illness, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Cespedes, who has just two hits in his previous six games, was not expected to miss any playing time and slotted third in the batting order.

Astros manager Bo Porter said J.D. Martinez, Robbie Grossman and Jimmy Paredes will be the team's regular three starters in the outfield, MLB.com reports. Porter had been rotating Trevor Crowe and Brandon Barnes in the outfield over the past few weeks.

"They're going to get the bulk of the playing time," Porter said, "so that I, as a manager, can make a definitive decision as a manager to answer the question: Can this guy or can that guy play every day at the Major League level?"

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley went 2 for 4 in a victory Sunday against Detroit.

Brantley had a run, RBI and a walk. His two hits were singles. He has lacked power this year, with a .388 slugging percentage, but his .306 average and .365 on-base percentage have set the table for the rest off the Indians' lineup.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has had some problems putting his bat on the ball. Cespedes had struck out in six of his previous eight at-bats entering Saturday's contest against the Mariners and he has whiffed 30 times over his 89 at-bats, meaning he is striking out 33.7 percent of the time.

He struck out at a 20.9 percent rate last year, fanning 102 times over 487 at-bats.

"It's probably him trying to do a little too much, and then there are times during the season where you don't see the ball as well as you normally would, and those sometimes end up in some strikeouts," manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com. "Look, he's not the only one that's not swinging the bat well right now. You're just more aware of when he's not swinging the bat well than the group around him."

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley collected his ninth multi-hit game since April 20 Thursday against the Athletics. Brantley finished 2 for 5 with one run.

Since April 20, Brantley is batting .342 (25 for 73) with one triple, one home run, four doubles, nine RBI and 10 runs in his last 17 games.