MLB Player News

Indians outfielder Zach Walters was held out of the starting lineup Thursday night against the Astros, as he continues to nurse an intercostal strain. Walters suffered the injury on Monday and has not been able to return this week. He is hitting .172 with nine homers and 15 RBI over 122 at-bats.

Indians outfielders Ryan Raburn (knee) and Zach Walters (intercostal) remain out of the lineup Wednesday.

Raburn is expected to undergo an MRI on his injured knee Wednesday. An MRI on Walters' ribcage revealed no structural damage. Both players are questionable to make it back before the end of the regular season.

Red-hot Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon will cool his heels Wednesday afternoon in Colorado. He is out of the lineup in favor of Darwin Barney, who will also assume his leadoff spot.

Gordon owns a 10-game hitting streak with seven multi-hit games. He is 18 of 41 during that stretch with 14 runs scored and four stolen bases.

An MRI on the ribcage of Indians outfielder Zach Walters has revealed no structural damage, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The injury is believed to be of the soft-tissue variety, and Walters may be able to make it back on the field before the end of the season. He's just 2 for 20 in September.

Indians infielder Zach Walters (intercostal) and outfielder Ryan Raburn (knee) are both out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Astros as a result of their injuries. Both players are day to day as a result of injuries suffered over the last two days. 

Indians shortstop Zach Walters left Monday's game against the Astros in sixth inning with a right intercostal strain, the team announced. He went 0 for 2 before leaving the game. He will likely be re-evaluated before Tuesday's game against Houston.

Diamondbacks recalled shortstop Nick Ahmed and pitcher Andrew Chafin from Triple-A Reno prior to Monday's game against San Francisco. 

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who homered again Sunday at Kansas City to give him four home runs along with a .359 (23 for 64) batting average in 16 games since returning from an eight-day absence for a concussion in late August, thinks that break may have contributed to this surge, according to the Boston Herald.

"When I went down for a few days helped me out a lot," he said. "So, I feel good."

Bogaerts suggested he also benefited from the All-Star break, and the numbers back it up. In the 11 games immediately after the break, he hit .317 (13 for 41) with two home runs compared to .103 (11 for 107) with one home run in the 29 games immediately before it.

Manager John Farrell chooses to focus on the mechanical difference he sees from Bogaerts when the rookie is, in his own mind, well rested.

"Since coming back from the concussion he's been more balanced, and what it's allowed him to do is see the ball a little more clearly," said Farrell. "He's not lunging as violently to his front side and he's staying behind some swings. He's been able to carry it now for quite a while."

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Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford went 2 for 3 with a walk, a double, a home run and three RBI in his team's 9-0 win over the Dodgers Friday.

The Giants closed the gap with the division-leading Dodgers to one game thanks in part to Crawford, who doubled home the final run in a four-run first inning before slugging a two-run home run in the fifth. He has hit .238/.320/.381 with nine home runs and 62 RBI in 446 at-bats.