MLB Player News

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford remains sidelined Friday night against St. Louis with a left oblique strain. It's his third straight absence.

"It's not something you want to rush," Bruce Bochy told Associated Press.

Crawford was on a 2-for-19 skid before going down.

The banged-up Giants still have two starting position players missing from their lineup for the Thursday game against the visiting Cubs.

Shortstop Brandon Crawford (side) and outfielder Gregor Blanco (left hip strain) remain sidelined.

The absences are the second straight both both players.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, who left Tuesday night's game with tightness in his left side, is out of the starting lineup Wednesday against the Cubs. 

Replacing him in the lineup is Ehire Adrianza, who will hit eighth. Crawford is having a fantastic season for the Giants, hitting .265 with 19 homers and 75 RBIs. 

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford left Tuesday's game against the Cubs in the eighth inning after experiencing tightness in his side. Crawford will have his injury checked out on Wednesday before determining if he will be available to play.

He was 0 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts before being removed from the game at the start of the eighth inning. Crawford said his side tightened up on him during his last at-bat.

The Braves got a boost from the bottom of the order as shortstop Pedro Ciriaco drove in four runs from the No. 9 hole, but it wasn't enough in a 9-6 loss to the Rays. 

The normally light-hitting Ciriaco drove in two runs with a second-inning single and then connected for his first home run of the season in the fifth. His seventh inning sacrifice fly put Atlanta ahead 5-3, though the Braves would squander that advantage. 

Ciriaco's big night gives him 15 RBIs on the season. 

The Braves have demoted left fielder Todd Cunningham and middle infielder Daniel Castro to Triple-A Gwinnett to make room on the roster for newcomers Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn.

Cunningham had just been brought up Friday. Castro managed nine hits in 30 at-bats in his short stint with the team.

The Blue Jays have announced that they have acquired infielder Cliff Pennington from the Diamondbacks. They are receiving minor league shortstop Dawel Lugo in return. Toronto will receive cash in the deal as well.

Pennington, who would provide depth for Toronto, owns a slash line of .237/.314/.281 with one home run in 135 at-bats. He spent his first five seasons in the American League with Oakland.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford had a big game at the plate in Monday's 8-7 loss to the Braves. Crawford went 2 for 5 with a pair of home runs off starter Mike Foltynewicz. 

Crawford slugged a solo shot in the second inning, and then added a two-run blast in the fourth. This was the second two-home run game of Crawford's career, and he now has four big flies in his past seven games.

Shorstop Nick Ahmed got the Diamondbacks on the board early, as he belted a solo home run in the third inning of Monday's 6-4 win over the Nationals. Ahemed, who went 4 for 4 and scored twice, cranked out his seventh home run of the season.

Ahmed had been struggling at the plate, as the four hits on Monday matches the total from his previous seven games. The four-hit game was the first of his young career.

Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon is catching his first break since coming off the disabled list on Tuesday. He is out of the lineup Sunday against San Diego. Miguel Rojas is set to man the position instead.

Gordon is in a 1-for-15 slump that has shrunk his average to .330, its lowest point since April 11.