MLB Player News

Tucker is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Tucker made five consecutive starts at third base from May 5 through 9, but with the Angels having since acquired Luis Guillorme and returned Luis Rengifo from the injured list, Tucker's playing time has become more sparse. He's on the bench for the ninth time in the Angels' last 12 games, with two of his starts during that stretch coming in left field.

The Rays activated Pepiot (lower leg) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday versus the Red Sox in Tampa.

Pepiot will rejoin the rotation Wednesday after missing the previous two weeks with a lower left leg contusion. The right-hander didn't make a rehab start, so it's possible he will be relatively limited from a pitch-count perspective versus Boston. Pepiot will bring a 3.68 ERA and nifty 41:11 K:BB over 36.2 innings into Wednesday's proceedings.

Loperfido is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.

With Jake Meyers and Jon Singleton having seemingly settled into full-time roles at center field and first base, respectively, and with left fielder Chas McCormick returning from the injured list Tuesday, Loperfido's time with the big club could soon come to an end now that his avenues to regular at-bats are starting to become more closed off. Loperfido has started just once in the Astros' last five games.

McCormick is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.

McCormick returned from the 10-day injured list Tuesday and started in left field in the Astros' 6-5 victory over the Angels, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. The Astros haven't indicated that McCormick suffered a setback with his hamstring in his return to the lineup Tuesday, so his absence Wednesday is likely just for maintenance purposes. Mauricio Dubon will get the nod in left field in the series finale.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.

He'll be getting a breather for the series finale after starting behind the dish Monday and Tuesday while going 3-for-8 with a pair of doubles, two runs and an RBI. Victor Caratini will handle the catching duties Wednesday.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday that Abreu will play for the Astros' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate Wednesday and Thursday before joining Triple-A Sugar Land this weekend, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

The Astros previously hadn't ruled out recalling Abreu from the minors ahead of Friday's series opener in Oakland, but they've ultimately decided to keep the veteran in the FCL for a little longer before having him compete at a higher level. Espada didn't rule out Abreu rejoining the big club before the end of the weekend, although nothing official has been decided on that front. Whether Abreu will immediately reclaim his starting first base job from Jon Singleton isn't yet clear.

Ruiz entered Tuesday's win over the Rockies in the eighth inning as a pinch runner and remained in the game in left field. He did not log a plate appearance but recorded a stolen base.

Abraham Toro opened the eighth inning with a go-ahead solo home run for Oakland and Brent Rooker got aboard with a single two batters later, setting up Ruiz's entry into the game in a pinch-running capacity. The fleet-footed outfielder advanced to second on a Shea Langeliers walk before swiping third, but he was stranded at the hot corner after Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof each struck out to end the inning. Ruiz has seen only sporadic playing time after drawing starts in four of the first seven games in May, with JJ Bleday earning the bulk of playing time in center field thanks to a productive stretch at the plate over his last 10 contests.

Brown went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Rockies.

Brown took Justin Lawrence deep in the seventh to knot the game up at four. He's now homered in two of his last three games and has a hit in three straight, but is still struggling to get going overall at the plate. He's slashing just .185/.236/.336 with five homers, 13 RBI, seven runs and an 8:42 BB:K in 127 plate appearances. Strikeouts have become a noticeable issue for the 31-year-old, as he's currently striking out at a 33.1 percent clip.

Erceg (2-2) got the win against the Rockies on Tuesday, firing a perfect eighth inning.

Erceg's blink-and-you-missed-it frame was done in a tidy 11 pitches, seven of which he located for strikes. The 29-year-old right-hander has had a couple of hiccups along the way, but he sports a pair of saves and seven holds alongside his two wins. Erceg, who's now averaging 98.6 mph on his fastball this season, has the stuff to form a gnarly 1-2 punch with dominant closer Mason Miller in the late innings, and he lowered his ERA and WHIP to 3.32 and 1.05, respectively, with what was his third scoreless effort in the last four appearances.

Toro went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Rockies.

Toro's bat was silent until the eighth inning when he sent out a home run to right field to give the A's their first lead of the night. He's racked up seven hits over his last five games and leads the majors with 28 hits in the month of May. Since April 26, Toro is slashing .362/.406/.553 with three homers, 10 RBI, 17 runs and a 4:16 BB:K in 101 plate appearances.