MLB Player News

Ruf will start at first base and bat third Sunday against the Brewers.

Though Ruf will crack the lineup for the series finale, he's lost hold of an everyday role at first base following Brandon Belt's return from the injured list Thursday. The lefty-hitting Belt started each of the past three games, though he'll take a seat Sunday to make room for the righty-hitting Ruf while the Brewers bring southpaw Brett Anderson to the hill.

Ramirez is out of the lineup Sunday versus Detroit.

Ramirez started the past three games and will head to the bench after going 2-for-12 with a double. Oscar Mercado will start in left field Sunday for Cleveland.

Martinez (illness) was activated from the COVID-19 injured list and is batting fifth as the designated hitter Sunday against the Blue Jays, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

The veteran slugger landed on the COVID list Saturday while feeling under the weather, but he tested negative for the virus and will rejoin the team for the series finale. Martinez is 6-for-41 with a .386 OPS over his past 10 games.

Torrens is out of the lineup Sunday against the Yankees, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Torrens started the past four contests and will take a seat Sunday after going 1-for-12 with a walk, a run and five strikeouts during that span. Mitch Haniger will serve as the designated hitter while Jake Bauers starts in right field.

Cabrera is out of the lineup Sunday versus Cleveland.

Cabrera will take a seat after starting the past nine games, and he went 2-for-14 with three walks during the last four contests of that stretch. Eric Haase will serve as the designated hitter while Grayson Greiner works behinds the plate.

Miller went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Mets.

He took Tylor Megill deep to lead off the fifth inning for the game's first run, then drove a Yennsy Diaz changeup over the fence in left field in the eighth to cap the scoring for the Phillies. Miller stumbled into a 1-for-19 stretch coming out of the All-Star break but has started to turn things around, going 7-for-28 over his last eight games with three of his 12 homers on the season.

Belt went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs, three RBI and three runs scored Saturday against the Brewers.

Belt went yard off of Brandon Woodruff in the fourth inning and Sal Romano in the 11th, the latter a two-run shot that gave the Giants an 8-5 cushion. The 33-year-old Belt has been scorching the ball since returning from the injured list, going 4-for-12 with three homers, five RBI and a pair of walks in three games. He's now hitting .258/.367/.549 with 13 homers and 33 RBI in 215 plate appearances this season.

Soler went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in Saturday's loss to the Nationals.

The veteran gave Atlanta an early lead with a 424-foot solo shot to center field in the first inning. He got aboard three more times in the contest and has now reached base safely in each of his seven games since joining the Braves on July 31. Over that stretch, Soler is batting .360 (9-for-25) with three homers, six RBI and five walks.

Winker went 3-for-5 with a home run and six RBI on Saturday against the Pirates.

Winker got the Reds on the board with an RBI double in the third inning, drove in two more runs with a single in the sixth, then capped off his performance with a three-run homer in the eighth. His day actually could have been more prolific had he not flied out with the bases loaded in the fourth. Winker is off to a scorching start to August, hitting .421 (8-for-19) with six extra-base hits in six games. For the season, he's slashing .307/.390/.57 with 23 homers and 67 RBI.

Alvarez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Twins.

Alvarez slammed a solo home run off Michael Pineda in the fourth inning to give the Astros a two-run lead. He was the only player to hit a homer in the game. The 24-year-old has homered three times in his last five games. On the season, he is slashing .284/.348/.525 with 22 long balls, 65 runs and a team-leading 73 RBI in 396 plate appearances.