MLB Player News

Athletics left fielder Mark Canha will hit second in Friday night's game against the Mariners, according to MLB.com. 

A day before in the series-finale against the Rangers, Canha hit seventh. This season, Canha is already 4 of 9 with two double and four RBI. Catcher Stephen Vogt will move down the lineup and bat seventh. 

Shortstop Marcus Semien and second baseman Eric Sogard also switched places from Thursday's lineup. Semien will hit eighth and Sogard ninth. 

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was left out of the starting lineup Friday against the Nationals for the first time in four games this season. Darin Ruf drew the start at first base with left-hander Gio Gonzalez on the hill.

Howard, who is batting .083 (1 for 12) through three games, is a career .224 hitter against lefties. 

Ruf, who made a third straight start Friday (started in left field previous two days), has no hits in seven at-bats this season.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley returned to the starting lineup and is batting third, behind Jason Kipnis and ahead of Carlos Santana on Friday against the Tigers, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Brantley was sidelined the previous two games with lower back stiffness. He has been held without a hit in four at-bats this season.

Manager Terry Francona told reporters he may sprinkle in some off days for Brantley in the near future after the outfielder acknowledged he's still experiencing some lower back discomfort, per MLB.com.

"We'll keep an eye on him," Francona said. "If he needs a day off or something, we can certainly do that. But we don't ever want to turn something that could be a day or two into two weeks. But it's nice having him in the lineup, that's for sure."

Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau and center fielder Charlie Blackmon were not in the starting lineup Friday against the Cubs. Chicago started left-hander Travis Wood.

Drew Stubbs replaced Blackmon in center field, while Wilin Rosario started at first base for Colorado. 

Blackmon, who bats left-handed, is batting .143 (2 for 14) with one double and no RBI in three games. He also has one run, one walk and six strikeouts.

Morneau, who also bats left-handed, is batting .077 (1 for 13) with one double and no RBI in three games. He has no walks and one strikeout.

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez went 2 for 5 at the plate in Thursday's win over the Twins. Martinez hit a home run and a single, driving in a game-high three runs. He is now hitting .286 on the season. 

Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt will become the third different player to hit third in the batting on Thursday against the Rangers, per MLB.com. Manager Bob Melvin went with Sam Fuld in the opener, followed by Eric Sogard in Game 2 and newcomer Cody Ross in Game 3.

"Somebody's got to hit there," Vogt said, per the San Francisco Chronicle. "That's a spot where we're trying to find who the right guy will be."

Mark Canha will hit No. 7 in Vogt's place.

Oakland will face right-hander Nick Martinez on Thursday. Vogt is hitting .429 (3 for 7) with a double, a home run and an RBI to start the season.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt, who is hoping to avoid a stint on the disabled list, took 25 swings in the cage on Wednesday, and could be used as a pinch-hitter on Thursday against San Diego, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters, per the San Francisco Chronicle.

Belt has been sidelined since Tuesday with a groin strain.

"I think we got it at the right time," Bochy said. "We did the best thing that could be done (Tuesday) night and pulled him out. Hopefully we'll be able to throw him out there in the next few days."

Mariners shortstop Brad Miller collected his second multihit game in three appearances during Wednesday's game against the Angels. Miller went 2 for 4 with a solo home run off Matt Shoemaker in the third inning.

Miller is batting .400 (4 for 10) with one home run, one RBI and two runs.

Athletics rookie Mark Canha had a big performance in his major-league debut Wednesday against the Rangers. He totaled three hits, including two doubles, and four RBI. He also had one run.

Canha almost had his first career home run in the bottom of the third inning, but the baseball hit the top of the right-center-field wall, so Canha had to settle for a three-run double.

"From the angle that I was running it looked like it might have hit off the wall then hit off one of those beams that's in the background there," Canha said, per MLB.com. "I really wanted the first one to be a grand slam. I thought that would have been cool. Just missed it."

Indians All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley missed a second straight start Thursday against the Astros due to a back injury. David Murphy started in left field Thursday after Mike Aviles drew the start in Brantley's absence Wednesday.

Brantley, who was hitless in four at-bats during his season debut Monday, will be evaluated by the doctors in Cleveland on Friday.

"He's a little stiff," Francona said, per Cleveland.com. "We'll try to stay away from him [Thursday] and get him looked at [Friday] morning, just to get a little more clarity. The doctors who have all looked at him think they have a bead on it, but it just keeps acting up on him. Hopefully the more information we get, the better feel we have and we can get him back out there playing."

Brantley has been plagued by back issues since arriving for spring training in mid-February. He was excused from some drills early in camp and missed some spring games due to his back problems.

Francona added Brantley "felt great" Wednesday before his back tightened up on him.