MLB Player News

Kurtz went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and three walks in Saturday's 7-6 extra-innings win over the White Sox.

With the Athletics trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh, Kurtz took Jordan Leasure deep for a two-run shot to tie the game. It was just Kurtz's second homer of the season, and he's now driven in six runs over the last three contests. After batting .083 over the first seven games of the season, Kurtz has five multi-hit games over his last 13 contests and is now slashing .235/.429/.368 with two long balls, nine RBI, nine runs scored, two stolen bases and a 23:30 BB:K across 91 plate appearances.

Rice went 1-for-3 with two walks and a solo home run in Saturday's 13-4 win over the Royals.

Kansas City tried to pitch around the red-hot slugger, but Rice got ahold of a Noah Cameron fastball in the third inning and drove it 398 feet into the second deck in right field. Rice has gone yard in three straight games, and on the season he's slashing .339/.468/.774 with six doubles, seven homers, 17 RBI and 19 runs in 20 contests.

The Astros claimed Harris off waivers from the White Sox on Saturday.

Harris was designated for assignment by the White Sox on Wednesday, but he'll now be a part of the Astros organization after being claimed Saturday. The veteran outfielder has no minor-league options remaining, so he'll be added to the Astros' 26-man active roster and could join the club as soon as Sunday. Prior to being DFA'd, Harris appeared in six games for the White Sox, going 3-for-12 with two steals, one RBI and two runs scored.

The Astros designated France for assignment Saturday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

The move makes room on the Astros' 40-man roster for outfielder Dustin Harris, who was claimed off waivers from the White Sox in a corresponding move. France struggled out of the bullpen across three outings with Houston, allowing six runs on six hits and five walks while striking out four in 6.2 innings.

Guerrero picked up a minor finger injury in Friday's loss to the Brewers, but Blue Jays manager John Schneider indicated after the game that the first baseman is expected to be in the lineup Saturday, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Guerrero's left index finger clipped Jorge Barrosa on a play at first base, but he remained in the game Friday and doesn't look like he'll miss any time. Toronto can ill afford to lose Guerrero given all their other injuries, and through 19 games he's slashing .319/.427/.420 with one homer and eight RBI.

Schanuel went 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored in Friday's 8-0 win over the Padres.

Schanuel's three hits were a season high, and it's just his fourth multi-hit effort of the year. The first baseman is regarded for his contact skills, so this has been an unusually quiet start to the campaign for him. He's batting .227 with a .631 OPS, two home runs, 12 RBI, five runs scored, two doubles and no stolen bases over 18 games. His plate discipline (8:12 BB:K) is in line with his norms, so it's just a matter of Schanuel getting the bat to the ball at an acceptable rate.

Murakami went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and two runs scored in Friday's 9-2 win over the Athletics.

Murakami singled and scored in the third inning and then busted the game open with a grand slam off Elvis Alvarado in the top of the seventh to give Chicago a 9-1 lead. After going just 1-for-23 at the plate from April 5 to April 12, Murakami has hits in three of his last four games, including two homers and six RBI. Murakami is slashing .200/.361/.477 with six home runs, 13 RBI, 14 runs scored and a 17:28 BB:K across 83 plate appearances. He's homered, walked or struck out in 61.4 percent of his trips to the plate.

Rice went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and an additional run scored in Friday's 4-2 win over the Royals.

Rice gave the Yankees an early lead with a two-run blast in the fourth inning before adding a single and scoring a run in the eighth. It marked his second straight game with a homer and his sixth overall this season. While he's sitting against most lefties to open the campaign, the 27-year-old is slashing an impressive .339/.459/.746 with 12 extra-base hits, 16 RBI, 18 runs scored and one steal across 74 plate appearances.

Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Yankees.

Pasquantino provided the only offense for the Royals, driving in a run on a groundout in the sixth inning before tying the game with a solo shot in the eighth. After a slow start, the first baseman has recorded hits in three straight contests, highlighted by back-to-back games with home runs. For the year, he's slashing .173/.256/.293 with four extra-base hits, 10 RBI and six runs scored across 86 plate appearances.

Pasquantino went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Thursday's 10-9 loss against the Tigers.

Pasquantino was held hitless through his first four at-bats before breaking through in the ninth inning with a 412-foot solo shot off Connor Seabold to extend the lead. The homer was Pasquantino's first of the season and provided a small bright spot amid a difficult start to the year. The 28-year-old is now slashing .155/.244/.239 with nine RBI and five runs scored across 82 plate appearances.