MLB Player News

Smith served as the designated hitter and went 0-for-4 in Tuesday's 8-1 loss to St. Louis.

Smith moved to DH as the Rangers welcomed back third baseman Josh Jung after a long recovery from a wrist injury. Smith made the most of his opportunity filling in at third while Jung was unavailable, and manager Bruce Bochy is expected to now use Smith as the team's primary DH.

Jung went 1-for-3 in Tuesday's 8-1 loss to the Cardinals.

Jung made his return to the majors after missing 102 games with a wrist injury. He slotted in seventh in the batting order, which could be a temporary placement in a low-pressure slot as he acclimates to MLB pitching. When healthy and firing on all cylinders, Jung is expected to bat third, fourth or fifth.

Sears (8-8) secured the win over the Giants on Tuesday, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out nine over seven scoreless innings.

Sears racked up a career-high nine strikeouts and went seven innings for just the second time this season. He's been much better over the last month after struggling over his first 16 starts of the year, during which he had a 5.04 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and only 56 strikeouts in 84 innings. The 28-year-old lefty also already has three more wins than he did all of last season despite having a nearly identical ERA (4.53). He'll look to continue his success in a great matchup against the White Sox to begin next week.

Bleday went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Giants.

Bleday entered the game as a pinch hitter in the fifth and came through with a solo blast to right in the eighth to extend the Oakland lead. It was just his second home run in July and his first RBI in just over a week, as he's struggled to get going at the dish for most of the month. The 2019 first-round pick is slashing .236/.316/.437 with 13 homers, 37 RBI, 48 runs, zero stolen bases and a 44:80 BB:K in 428 plate appearances. He's also tied for second in the American League with 30 doubles for the year.

Rooker went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Giants.

Rooker hit the third home run of the night against Robbie Ray with a two-run blast in the fifth to push the A's out to a 4-0 lead. His home run put an exclamation point on what's been an incredible month for the 29-year-old slugger. Rooker leads all of the majors with 11 homers, 30 RBI and 24 runs scored in July and is second in average (.410) and OPS (1.347). He's now slashing .297/.372/.593 with 26 homers, 77 RBI, 53 runs, seven steals and a 40:118 BB:K in 390 plate appearances this season. He currently sits seventh in all of baseball with a .965 OPS for the year.

Butler went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs scored in Tuesday's win over the Giants.

Butler's big hit of the night came in the third inning with a 402-foot blast to center off Robbie Ray. He's now hit 10 home runs in July and has upped his OPS to .817 after entering the month with just two homers in 150 plate appearances while batting .179 with a .529 OPS. Over his last 24 games, Butler is slashing .382/.427/.831 with 27 RBI, 23 runs, five steals and a 7:19 BB:K.

Cameron went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Giants.

Cameron got the A's on the board with a solo blast in the second inning off Robbie Ray for his second homer over his last three games. Cameron's only made six starts in July and has reached safely in all of them. He's posted five hits with his two home runs being the only ones going for extra bases and the only times he's knocked in runs. The 27-year-old is slashing .188/.281/.388 with five homers, nine RBI, 13 runs, two steals and a 10:21 BB:K in 96 plate appearances this year.

Mullins went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Mullins has hit safely in four straight games for the first time since mid-June. The outfielder started July poorly but is now hitting .237 (14-for-59) over 22 games this month. He's holding onto a starting job in center field, but it's a loose grip after the Orioles traded for Eloy Jimenez, Cristian Pache and Austin Slater over the last few days. Slater would be a natural platoon partner for Mullins, but it's possible Colton Cowser moves over from left field on a more regular basis if Mullins slumps at any point down the stretch. For the year, Mullins is slashing .221/.271/.396 with 11 home runs, 38 RBI, 44 runs scored and 18 thefts through 98 contests.

Freeman went 2-for-2 with a double, a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base and one run scored in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Tigers.

Freeman had gone 0-for-11 over his last five contests before getting on base multiple times Tuesday. His playing time has been inconsistent since Angel Martinez took over center field for the Guardians. Freeman is at a .224/.319/.352 slash line with seven home runs, 10 steals, 32 RBI and 45 runs scored over 94 contests this season. He had been seeing some time in center field versus left-handed pitchers, but trade-deadline acquisition Lane Thomas figures to take on that role moving forward.

Rocchio hit a solo home run in his lone at-bat in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Tigers.

Rocchio went yard in the ninth inning to produce the Guardians' last run of the contest. The shortstop has seen a reduced role in July, with Daniel Schneemann picking up playing time, but Schneemann has just three hits over eight games since the All-Star break. Rocchio hasn't been much better, going 3-for-22 with three RBI over 12 contests in the same span. For the year, Rocchio is at a .204/.295/.300 slash line with four homers, 20 RBI, 36 runs scored and seven stolen bases across 300 plate appearances. Cleveland didn't do anything to bolster its infield at the trade deadline, though Angel Martinez -- who has played primarily in the outfield -- or Tyler Freeman could be options at shortstop if the platoon of Schneemann and Rocchio continues to struggle.