MLB Player News

Pena will not play Sunday against the Orioles after leaving Saturday's game, but he cleared concussion protocol, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Abrasions to the face aside, the rookie seems to be doing OK after he landed hard on a dive into home plate. The team will continue to monitor Pena on Sunday to be sure. Aledmys Diaz figures to take over at shortstop in the series finale ahead of Monday's off day.

Pena left Saturday's game against the Orioles with a facial abrasion and is considered day-to-day, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pena appeared to land hard on his face after diving into home plate on an Alex Bregman sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning. While it would seem Pena avoided a serious injury, the Astros could always hold him out through Monday's team off day as a precaution with the division already wrapped up.

Barrero isn't in the lineup Saturday against Milwaukee.

Barrero went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Friday and will be out of the lineup for the third time in the last four games. Kyle Farmer is starting at shortstop and batting third.

Cruz will be on the bench Saturday against the Cubs.

Cruz will get to rest his legs for the second straight day, as he served as the designated hitter Friday. His recent numbers suggest he could use a rest, as he's gone 5-for-46 with 24 strikeouts over his last 12 games. In typical Cruz fashion, however, he at least managed three homers and two steals over that stretch, preserving some amount of fantasy value. Kevin Newman will start at shortstop Saturday.

Crawford went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Crawford's homer was his ninth of the year and his first since Sept. 6. The shortstop has started to sit versus left-handed pitchers with some regularity, as his sharp defense hasn't been enough to overcome his poor hitting. The 35-year-old is slashing .227/.307/.348 with 48 RBI, 45 runs scored and a stolen base in 109 contests overall.

Cruz went 0-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base Friday against the Cubs.

Cruz led off the first inning with a walk and proceeded to steal second base before coming around to score. He's hitless in his last four games, but he has worked five free passes and scored two runs in that span. Cruz has maintained an improved .237/.307/.550 line across 80 at-bats in September, also chipping in six home runs, two steals, 10 runs scored and 16 RBI.

Berti went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's 5-2 win over the Nationals.

The veteran utility player is healthy and running again, and Berti's stolen five bases on six attempts over the last nine games. The surge has extended his major-league lead in that category, giving him 37 on the season, and he stands a good chance of being the only player to reach 40 this season -- with 1961 being the last time in MLB history multiple players failed to reach that mark.

Tovar went 2-for-4 with a run scored Friday against the Padres.

Tovar made his big-league debut Friday and hit eighth while playing shortstop. He collected singles in each of his first two plate appearances and also came around to score in the fourth inning. Tovar should continue to have a clear path to playing time with Jose Iglesias (thumb) and Brendan Rodgers (hamstring) both sidelined.

Adrianza (quadriceps) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Saturday.

Adrianza missed the last week and a half due to a left quadriceps strain but will rejoin Atlanta after a minimal stay on the injured list. He's unlikely to see significant playing time as a utility man now that he's healthy.

Mateo went 1-for-2 with two steals in Friday's 6-0 win over Houston.

Mateo swiped second and third base after singling in the sixth inning. He was also caught stealing once and has now stolen an American League-leading 33 bags in 42 attempts. The 27-year-old is slashing .220/.266/.385 with 42 extra-base hits and 57 runs this season. However, Mateo is hitting just .136 (6-for-44) over 15 games since his last multi-hit performance Sept. 3.