MLB Player News

Lowe went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk and three total runs in Saturday's 16-3 romp over the Astros.

Lowe's homer was a two-run shot in the seventh inning, and he added two singles for his second three-hit performance of the campaign. The veteran outfielder extended his on-base streak to eight games, and during that stretch he's batting .387 with two homers, three RBI, 10 runs and two stolen bases. Lowe's slash line is up to .327/.393/.545 on the season, though it's a relatively small sample size (61 plate appearances) since he missed about six weeks earlier in the campaign due to an oblique injury.

Mangum went 2-for-5 with a home run and three total RBI against the Astros in a 16-3 victory Saturday.

Mangum notched an RBI single in the sixth inning and added a two-run homer in the seventh. The long ball was the first of the 29-year-old's big-league career in his 23rd game. Mangum probably isn't going to become a sudden power source for the Rays -- he's never hit more than nine home runs in a professional season -- but he is slashing a cool .329/.370/.421 with eight stolen bases and just eight strikeouts through 81 plate appearances in his rookie campaign.

Diaz went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, a walk, two total runs and three total RBI in Saturday's 16-3 rout of the Astros.

Diaz gave the Rays their first lead with a two-run blast in the third inning and added a run-scoring double to cap the scoring in the ninth. Diaz's three-hit performance was his fifth of the season and his first since May 4. He finished May on a strong note but batted just .224 (22-for-98) during the month, though he added five long balls and 21 RBI over 24 games.

Caminero went 4-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles, four total runs and five total RBI in a 16-3 win against the Astros on Saturday.

Caminero put the Rays ahead for good with a 355-foot solo shot in the fourth inning and finished his big day at the plate with a three-run blast in the eighth. The talented young third baseman has been on quite a roll to end the month, racking up four home runs and 13 RBI while going 9-for-18 over his past four games. Caminero now has 13 long balls, 37 RBI, 30 runs and three stolen bases while slashing .265/.291/.512 over 223 plate appearances on the campaign.

Pena went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI in a loss to the Rays on Saturday.

Pena kept Houston close early, with his second home run off Zack Littell tying the game 3-3 in the third inning. However, the Rays went on to score the next 13 runs, and Pena was subbed out after logging just one more plate appearance. The multi-homer game was the second of Pena's career, and he's up to nine long balls and 30 RBI through 58 games this season after posting 15 homers and 70 RBI over 157 regular-season contests last year.

Gordon (0-1) took the loss against Tampa Bay on Saturday, allowing four runs on five hits and one walk while striking out six batters over five innings.

Gordon got through two scoreless frames before giving up three runs in the third, two of which came on a Yandy Diaz homer. Another long ball -- this time a solo shot by Junior Caminero -- in the fourth inning put Houston behind 4-3 and led to Gordon's first MLB loss. Despite the defeat, Gordon did show some positive traits, as he threw an efficient 53 of 75 pitches for strikes and racked up 12 whiffs along with six punchouts. The southpaw has a nice 20:3 K:BB over his first 19.2 big-league innings, but his ERA and WHIP are less impressive at 5.95 and 1.37, respectively.

Littell (5-5) earned the win over Houston on Saturday, allowing three runs on 10 hits and one walk while striking out six batters over nine innings.

Littell allowed two homers to Jeremy Pena in his first three innings, with the second tying the score at 3-3. The Rays poured on the offense from there, and manager Kevin Cash elected to give the bullpen a break and let Littell finish off the contest, which he did without allowing another run. The right-hander threw 117 pitches -- the most by any major-league pitcher in a game this season -- en route to his first career complete game. Since giving up seven runs in four innings against the Angels on April 10, Littell has yielded three runs or fewer in each of his subsequent nine outings, compiling seven quality starts, five wins and a 2.97 ERA in that span.

The Blue Jays are expected to recall Schneider from Triple-A Buffalo ahead of Sunday's game against the Athletics, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Daulton Varsho exited Saturday's game due to a left hamstring injury, and Schneider appears to be the man coming up to provide outfield depth. Schneider appeared in 10 games for Toronto earlier in the season but logged a .400 OPS across 21 trips to the plate. At Triple-A, Schneider has slashed .226/.346/.391 with four home runs, 18 RBI, 17 runs scored and three stolen bases.

Mateo went 1-for-1 with two walks, a two-run home run and two stolen bases in Saturday's 4-2 win over the White Sox.

Getting the start in center field and batting ninth, Mateo looked like he might be the latest Baltimore outfielder to land on the injured list when he appeared to hurt his arm in a collision with Heston Kjerstad in the eighth inning. Mateo stayed in the game, however, and proved he was OK by swiping his second bag of the game in the bottom of the frame. That capped a huge performance from the utility player that included his first long ball of the campaign, a fifth-inning shot off Davis Martin, and his first game with multiple walks in over a year. Mateo has started five of the Orioles' last nine games -- three in center field, one in left and one at shortstop -- and he's gone 5-for-17 (.294) over that stretch with seven of his 14 stolen bases on the season.

Manager Bruce Bochy said after Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Cardinals that the Rangers have developed a plan for Garcia and will give the 32-year-old slugger as many days off as needed to get back in form, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Saturday marked the second game in a row in which Garcia was not in the Rangers' starting lineup. The veteran outfielder has struggled at the plate this season, and since the beginning of May he's slashed .189/.224/.333 with one steal, three home runs, 12 RBI and a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 98 plate appearances. Sam Haggerty would likely start in right field again if Garcia is held out of Sunday's series finale.