MLB Player News

Burger went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Friday's 5-4 win over Seattle.

Burger stood out on offense for the Rangers, who began a critical three-game set against the team chasing them in the AL West. He twice delivered go-ahead runs for Texas. His two-run homer in the fourth inning gave the team a 3-1 lead, before a run-scoring single in the sixth put them up 4-3. Burger leads the club with 18 homers and 64 RBI.

Olson went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in Friday's extra-inning win over the Orioles.

The star first baseman played hero in the top of the 10th inning, taking Andrew Kittredge deep to give Atlanta a 7-3 lead in an eventual 7-6 win. Olson is up to 27 homers on the season, and seven of them have come over 20 games in July -- a stretch in which he's produced a .241/.341/.544 slash line with 11 RBI and 15 runs.

Baldwin went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's extra-inning win over the Orioles.

His eighth-inning shot off Rico Garcia tied the game at 3-3 and set the stage for a wild 10th inning that saw seven runs cross the plate in total. Baldwin has gone yard in back-to-back games and five times in eight contests since the All-Star break, with the power surge carrying him to his first career 20-homer campaign.

Merryweather (hamstring) allowed one hit and no walks over a scoreless inning of relief Wednesday after being reinstated from Triple-A St. Paul's 7-day injured list Tuesday.

Merryweather was placed on St. Paul's IL coming out of spring training after suffering a Grade 1 hamstring strain in late February, and he then suffered a setback shortly after beginning a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Florida Complex League in early May. The veteran righty restarted his rehab assignment July 4 and compiled a 2.84 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 10:1 K:BB in 6.1 innings over six appearances between the FCL and Single-A Fort Myers before St. Paul brought him back from the IL.

Smith-Shawver (elbow) is expected to make one more rehab start before being activated from the injured list, Ian Quillen of MLB.com reports.

Over four innings and 86 pitches (54 strikes) for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday, the 23-year-old right-hander allowed just one unearned run on two hits and one walk while striking out five. Smith-Shawver has a 12:5 K:BB in 10.2 rehab innings for Gwinnett with a 1.69 ERA, but it's not yet clear if Atlanta will immediately add him to the big-league rotation once his IL stint is done -- the team is actively shopping for starting pitching at the trade deadline, and Smith-Shawver has a minor-league option remaining. If Atlanta doesn't bring in outside reinforcements, however, he could be an option to replace the struggling Reynaldo Lopez (nine runs allowed in 9.1 innings over his last two outings).

Bradford (elbow) struck out four and allowed three hits and no walks across three innings in a rehab start Friday with Double-A Frisco.

Since resuming his rehab assignment July 12, Bradford has now tacked on an inning to his workload in his subsequent two starts. Overall, the southpaw has yielded one earned run on four hits and two walks while striking out nine across six innings. He built up to 48 pitches (39 strikes) in Friday's outing, so Bradford will likely need to push his pitch count up to the 70-to-80 range over the course of two more rehab starts before coming back from the 60-day injured list and slotting into the Texas rotation. Bradford has been on the shelf all season while recovering from the internal brace surgery he underwent last June and a setback that cropped up during his initial rehab assignment back in April.

Martinez started in right field and went 0-for-4 in Friday's 11-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

Martinez was activated from the injured list Friday and played his first MLB game since June 13. He missed six weeks due to a fractured left foot.

Acuna (hamstring) isn't expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list until at least Sunday, Ian Quillen of MLB.com reports.

Acuna had been scheduled to play a rehab game at Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday, but a rainout muddles Atlanta's plans for activating the star right fielder. Gwinnett has a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday, and MLB manager Walt Weiss didn't rule out Acuna playing both ends of it before rejoining the big club. Atlanta planned to have the 28-year-old back in its lineup this weekend, so a Sunday activation remains possible. Acuna has been sidelined since June 9, and over 53 games for Atlanta this season he's managed a .794 OPS with seven home runs and 15 steals.

Montgomery (elbow) will make the seventh start of his rehab assignment Saturday in the first game of Triple-A Round Rock's doubleheader with Albuquerque, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

After turning in a 2.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 11:0 K:BB in 12 innings across his first five rehab starts between Round Rock and Double-A Frisco, Montgomery was roughed up for six earned runs on seven hits over 2.2 innings in his most recent outing with the Triple-A club last weekend. Montgomery was still able to reach 53 pitches in that appearance, and if he's able to build on that workload Saturday, he could be cleared to return from the 60-day injured list during the upcoming week. Montgomery has been on the shelf all season while recovering from UCL surgery, which he underwent last March.

Santillan (oblique) threw out to 75 feet Friday and experienced no discomfort, MLB.com reports.

Santillan is scheduled for additional imaging on his left obique next Friday. He's been on the injured list since late June.