MLB Player News

France went 4-for-4 with three doubles, four runs scored and an RBI in Wednesday's win over the Rockies.

The Blue Jays wrapped up a record-setting series with a 20-1 rout, and France was right in the thick of the fireworks. The 31-year-old has three multi-hit performances in 14 games since the All-Star break, with the first two coming as a member of the Twins, and France is slashing .311/.415/.444 over that stretch with six doubles, three RBI and nine runs. Based on his usage since being traded to the Blue Jays, his main role over the final weeks of the season will be to handle first base against left-handed pitchers while Vladimir Guerrero slides over to designated hitter.

Butler is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.

The Athletics appear to be treating the left-handed-hitting Butler as a strong-side platoon player at this point; he'll be on the bench for the third time in four games, with all of his absences coming against southpaw starters. With Butler bowing out of the lineup, Colby Thomas will step in as the Athletics' starting center fielder.

Urshela is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Urshela had started four of the previous five games, but he'll begin Thursday's matinee on the bench. Max Schuemann will handle third base and bat ninth for the Athletics.

Urias (back) will start at second base and bat eighth in Thursday's game versus the Nationals.

Urias missed the last two games while dealing with a back issue, but he feels well enough to give it a go in Thursday's series finale. The veteran infielder will bring a .677 OPS into play Thursday.

Trout went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Rays.

Trout tied the game in the third inning with a 433-foot blast off Shane Baz, his 20th of the year. The blast marked the 10th time in Trout's 15-year career that he's reached the 20-homer mark. The 34-year-old veteran also extended his hit streak to six games. Overall, Trout is slashing .240/.364/.471 with 50 RBI and 48 runs scored through 376 plate appearances this season.

Taylor went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in a loss to the Mariners on Wednesday.

Taylor gave the White Sox some hope when he began the ninth inning with a solo shot off All-Star closer Andres Munoz to narrow his team's deficit to two runs. It was the veteran outfielder's sixth long ball of the campaign and just his second over his past 29 games. Taylor certainly needed to wake up his bat -- he's played sparingly of late and entered Wednesday in a 2-for-22 slump.

Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run, an additional run and a walk Wednesday in an 8-6 win against the White Sox.

Rodriguez contributed to Chicago starter Jonathan Cannon's rough outing by clubbing a 434-foot, three-run homer in the second inning. The talented young outfielder has really perked up in the power department of late, going deep seven times over his past 13 contests. Rodriguez is at 21 long balls and 21 thefts on the season, making him one of just five big-leaguers to reach the 20-20 mark thus far.

Naylor went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and two stolen bases in an 8-6 win against the White Sox on Wednesday.

Naylor set the tone for a big offensive performance by Seattle with a 450-foot, two-run wallop to right field in the first inning. His other hit was a seventh-inning single that he followed with swipes of both second and third base. Naylor's final stat line was nearly a mirror image of what he posted the previous day in the series opener, when he also went 2-for-3 with a two-run blast and two thefts. His work on the basepaths has been especially impressive of late; over his past 11 contests, Naylor has gone 10-for-10 in stolen-base attempts. He's already more than doubled his previous career-high mark with 21 steals on the campaign.

Cannon (4-9) allowed seven runs on four hits and three walks over 1.2 innings to take the loss against Seattle on Wednesday. He struck out three batters.

Cannon fell behind quickly, giving up a two-run home run to Josh Naylor in the first inning. Things got even worse for the hurler in the second, as the Mariners put five more runs on the board, the final three of which came on a Julio Rodriguez three-run homer. The seven total runs Cannon allowed were his most so far this season, and he's now given up a total of 19 runs (18 earned) across 12 innings over his past three starts. The rough stretch has ballooned his season ERA from 4.18 to 5.34.

May (6-8) took the loss Wednesday against the Royals, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk in 3.2 innings. He struck out four.

Kansas City made May work, as the hurler was unable to make it through four innings despite throwing 91 pitches. Wednesday represented the shortest outing of the season for May, who has worked at least five frames on just two occasions over his last six starts. The 27-year-old right-hander holds a lackluster 4.93 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 101:44 K:BB across a career-high 107.2 innings, and he'll likely remain a volatile fantasy option in Houston against the first-place Astros his next time out.