MLB Player News

Crawford went 2-for-4 with a two-run double and a run in a win over the Blue Jays on Saturday.

Crawford's seventh-inning two-bagger plated Dylan Moore and Kolten Wong to knot the score at 7-7. The 28-year-old mustered just a single in his first nine post-All-Star-break plate appearances, but he's caught fire since that point by going 10-for-26 with a trio of two-baggers, two RBI, three walks and four runs in his subsequent seven games.

Volpe went 1-for-3 with a double, a run and a stolen base Saturday in a 5-2 win over Kansas City.

Volpe was instrumental in breaking a 1-1 tie in the third inning, beginning the frame with a ground-rule double, stealing third and coming home on a sacrifice fly. The theft was the rookie's first since June 29, a span of 19 games. Volpe leads the Yankees with 17 steals on the campaign, though he's slowed down in that area after a hot start, with only four of his thefts coming over his past 58 contests.

Abrams went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run in a 10-1 victory versus the Giants on Saturday.

Abrams punctuated a big second inning for Washington with a two-run homer that gave the Nationals a 6-0 lead and resulted in San Francisco starter Logan Webb getting the hook. The long ball was the second in as many days for Abrams, and the multi-hit performance was his eighth over his past 10 contests. Over that span, the shortstop is batting .419 (18-for-43) with three homers, five RBI, 13 runs and seven stolen bases.

Neto (back) isn't expected to return to the Angels lineup until Tuesday in Detroit, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Neto was scratched from Saturday's game against the Pirates due to lower-back tightness and will also be held out of Sunday's series finale, but the young shortstop should be ready to rock following Monday's scheduled team off day. Andrew Velazquez got the start at short in Saturday's loss to Pittsburgh and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.

Anderson went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Twins.

Anderson opened the scoring when he stole home in the third inning, which came as part of a double steal that saw Luis Robert swipe second base. Over the last six games, Anderson's bat has come to life a bit -- he has four multi-hit efforts and three RBI in that span. The shortstop is up to 10 thefts on the year, his seventh straight full-length season with double-digit steals. He's added a lackluster .239/.279/.278 slash line with no home runs, 16 RBI, 33 runs scored, 10 doubles and a triple, though his recent hitting suggests he may be turning things around in the second half.

Story (elbow) went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in his second rehab game Saturday at Double-A Portland, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Story began his rehab assignment with a bang Friday, slugging a three-run homer and drawing a walk while scoring two runs. It has been 10 months since he last played regularly in live games, though, so some rust should be expected. The 30-year-old infielder remains on track to make his 2023 debut with the Red Sox around the beginning of August.

Kessinger is starting at second base and batting leadoff Saturday versus Oakland.

Kessinger has made a nice impression in limited action since being called up by the Astros in early June, boasting an .890 OPS through his first 24 major-league plate appearances. Mauricio Dubon is on the bench Saturday and Jose Altuve (oblique) is likely to be on the injured list for another week.

Neto was scratched from the lineup Saturday against the Pirates due to lower-back tightness, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

It sounds like a day-to-day type of issue for Neto, who slugged a solo homer in the Angels' defeat of Pittsburgh on Friday. The 22-year-old shortstop is batting .252/.328/.432 with eight home runs and five stolen bases through his first 62 major-league games.

Seager was placed on the injured list Saturday with a sprained right thumb.

Seager is having an excellent season at the plate, with his .350/.413/.631 slash line representing career highs in all three categories. He hasn't been able to escape the injury bug that has nagged him throughout his career, however, as he's now on his second trip to the injured list of the year, having missed a month with a hamstring strain early in the year. The good news is that Seager himself believes this absence won't last more than two weeks, per Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com, as he's avoided structural damage. Ezequiel Duran is expected to be the primary shortstop until Seager returns.

Velazquez hasn't started a game since prior to the All-Star break, though he's gotten into seven second-half contests as a pinch runner and/or defensive replacement.

Velazquez was starting at shortstop fairly frequently in the week leading up to the break, but that opportunity dried up when Zach Neto returned from the injured list. Velazquez has subsequently served exclusively in a reserve role, primarily as a pinch runner. Though he's seen action in seven games since the start of the second half, he's logged only three plate appearances, going 0-for-2 with a walk. The Angels have been taking advantage of his speed, however, as Velazquez has tallied three stolen bases in three attempts during the seven-game span. Given his career .192/.247/.290 slash line, it's not a surprise that Velazquez hasn't been able to nail down a starting role.