MLB Player News

Alvarez (neck) isn't in the Astros' lineup for Saturday's game against the Orioles, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Neck discomfort prevented Alvarez from playing in Friday's contest, and he'll need at least one more day off to recover. Mauricio Dubon, Jake Meyers and Ben Gamel will make up the Astros' outfield while Victor Caratini serves as the DH.

Whitcomb isn't in Housotn's lineup Saturday against Baltimore, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Whitcomb has gone 6-for-21 with two RBI through the first seven games of his MLB career, and he'll get a chance to rest Saturday while Alex Bregman starts at the hot corner.

Contreras (2-3) took the loss and blew a save against the Blue Jays on Friday, allowing two runs on two hits without retiring a batter.

With the Angels up by a run in the eighth inning, manager Ron Washington turned to Ben Joyce -- who has been closing of late -- to face the heart of Toronto's order. Joyce got the job done, leaving Contreras to try to follow suit in the ninth. The latter couldn't close things out, however, as he gave up back-to-back solo homers to Joey Loperfido and Addison Barger to take the defeat. Contreras had been pitching well coming into Friday, allowing just one earned run and posting a 16:4 K:BB over his prior 14 frames.

Moniak (elbow) isn't in the Angels' lineup for Saturday's game against Toronto, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

An elbow injury caused Moniak to make an early exit from Thursday's game, and he'll be missing a second consecutive start Saturday. Taylor Ward, Kevin Pillar and Jo Adell will start across the outfield while Moniak rests.

Schanuel isn't in the Angels' lineup for Saturday's game against the Blue Jays, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Schanuel has gone 11-for-29 over the course of his eight-game hitting streak, and he'll now take a seat Saturday while Niko Kavadas starts at first base.

Witt went 1-for-5 with a stolen base in Friday's 7-4 win over the Phillies.

Witt had a quiet game by his standards, but he was able to record his first steal since Aug. 2. He also extended his current hitting streak to 11 games, a span in which he's batting .372 (16-for-43) with three home runs, eight RBI and 11 runs scored. He's now at a .350/.400/.614 slash line with 26 steals, 25 homers, 92 RBI, 110 runs scored, 38 doubles and 11 triples through 128 contests. He's already set career highs in multiple areas, and he's got a good chance of producing personal bests in everything but steals by the end of the campaign.

The Astros optioned Dubin to Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Dubin fired 8.1 scoreless frames and struck out nine batters after returning to the Astros' bullpen July 30. However, he will be forced back to the minors following the return of Kaleb Ort, who returned from the paternity list Saturday. If Dubin is able to keep his hot streak alive in the minors, he figures to have a good chance of returning to Houston before the end of the year.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an RBI double in Friday's 7-4 win over the Phillies.

Perez did his damage early, opening the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning before his two-run blast in the third. Since Aug. 5, the catcher is batting a modest .255, but he has seven extra-base hits and 13 RBI over 15 contests in that span. He's matched his homer total from the last two years with 23 while adding 88 RBI, 51 runs scored, 23 doubles and a .276/.334/.474 slash line through 125 games this season.

The Astros reinstated Ort from the paternity list Saturday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

After spending the three-day maximum away from the team following the birth of his child, Ort will now return to the Astros' bullpen. In order to make room on the roster, Shawn Dubin was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land.

Schneemann went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one stolen base in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Rangers.

Schneemann has been a part-time player over the last couple of weeks, but he's posted multiple hits in his last two games. Prior to that, he went just 5-for-26 over a 13-game stretch. The utility man is slashing .226/.314/.390 with four home runs, three steals, 19 RBI and 14 runs scored over 169 plate appearances this year. A left-handed hitter, Schneemann is most likely to play versus right-handed pitchers, but he's seeing less work than a regular strong-side platoon player would.