MLB Player News

Valdez started at second base and went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in Friday's 3-1 win over the White Sox.

Valdez walked and scored on Ceddanne Rafaela's home run in the seventh inning. Valdez, who's started three of the last four games, may begin losing opportunities going forward. The Red Sox plan to reinstate Trevor Story (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list Saturday, and Story will start at shortstop while Rafaela moves to second base.

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI in Friday's 8-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

The slugger connected for a three-run shot off Brandon Pfaadt in the fifth inning before launching another one off Jordan Montgomery just one frame later. The multi-homer performance was Alvarez's seventh of the season, tying the Astros' franchise record set by Chris Carter in 2014. Three of those power displays have come in the last nine games, a stretch in which Alvarez is batting .382 (13-for-34) with seven homers and 12 RBI.

Valdez (14-6) picked up the win in Friday's 8-0 rout of the Diamondbacks, allowing two hits and three walks over seven scoreless innings. He struck out seven.

Valdez has now held the opposition scoreless three times in his last four trips to the mound. The southpaw has been nearly untouchable since the beginning of August, giving up only 15 hits in 41 innings over his last six starts en route to a 1.32 ERA, 0.66 WHIP and 45:12 K:BB. Valdez will look to stay dominant in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home next week against the Athletics.

Rafaela is expected to move to second base Saturday, when shortstop Trevor Story (shoulder) will be activated off the 60-day injured list, MLB.com reports.

Second base has been a revolving door all season for the Red Sox, whose second basemen have combined for league lows in batting average (.196) and OPS (.535). The position had been designated for Vaughn Grissom, but his injuries, setbacks and performance in the minors prevented that plan from being executed. Rafaela, whose two-run home run was the winning blow Friday, has slumped of late, going 5-for-36 (.139) with 14 strikeouts over the last 11 contests.

Bido isn't in line to make a turn through the rotation during this weekend's series versus the Tigers, as Brady Basso and J.T. Ginn have been confirmed to start Saturday and Sunday, respectively, Jessica Kleinschmidt of the Oakland Athletics Radio Network reports.

Bido looked on track for a two-start week after he gave up four runs over 5.1 innings in his outing against the Mariners on Monday, but he'll instead have his next start pushed bak until at least next week following the Athletics' call-up of Basso, who was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday. Manager Mark Kotsay didn't shed much light on why Bido was bypassed for a start Saturday or Sunday, but given how well the right-hander has performed of late, his absence from the rotation this weekend could point to him dealing with a yet-to-be-disclosed injury. Dating back to the beginning of August, Bido had gone 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 32:10 K:BB in 34.1 innings.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said that Basso will start Saturday's game against the Tigers, Jessica Kleinschmidt of the Oakland Athletics Radio Network reports.

Osvaldo Bido would have been lined up to pitch Saturday, but the Athletics look set to skip his turn through the rotation, as Basso will take the hill for the penultimate game of the series, while J.T. Ginn starts Sunday's finale. Basso's previous three appearances with the Athletics came as a reliever from late May through mid-June, but he had been working out of the rotation at Triple-A Las Vegas prior to his call-up Thursday and looks set to operate as a traditional starter Saturday. He covered at least five innings in four of his last five outings with Las Vegas, compiling a 2.84 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 27:4 K:BB in 25.1 innings during that stretch.

Taveras was not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Angels. It was his second straight absence against a left-hander.

Sandro Fabian started in the outfield Friday while Ezequiel Duran filled in Tuesday. It's unclear if sitting Taveras against lefties is the plan going forward, but more should be known Saturday when the Angels have another lefty scheduled. The switch-hitting Taveras is batting .202/.287/.262 over 96 plate appearances against southpaws this season.

Brieske (2-4) allowed two unearned runs on two hits across 1.1 innings of relief to take the loss Friday against the Athletics. He walked one and struck out one.

Brieske was tasked with extending the game beyond the 13th inning after giving up a game-tying sacrifice fly in the 12th, but he allowed Seth Brown to deliver the walk-off single. The righty reliever snapped a streak of three straight scoreless appearances, though with the runs being unearned, he lowered his ERA since the beginning of August to 2.45. For the season, Brieske has a 4.14 ERA and 56 strikeouts across 54.1 innings.

Fabian started in left field and went 0-for-2 in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Angels.

Fabian, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday, made his MLB debut Friday, slotting in against a left-hander. He was eventually removed for a pinch hitter once a right-handed reliever entered the game. This was the second straight game in which Leody Taveras was held out of the starting lineup against a left-handed starter, so Fabian could be in line for opportunities against southpaws going forward. That includes Saturday, when the Angels have lefty Tyler Anderson scheduled to start.

Meadows went 2-for-7 with a double, a run scored and two RBI in Friday's 7-6, extra-innings loss to the Athletics.

Meadows now has consecutive multi-hit efforts as he continues to receive opportunities to pace Detroit's offense from the leadoff spot. The 24-year-old is batting an even .300 since the beginning of August with 14 extra-base hits and an .849 OPS. Meadows is locked in as a regular for the Tigers in center field, which should allow him to build on his recent success.