MLB Player News

France went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and two runs scored Sunday against the Angels.

France broke the game open with his three-run blast in the fifth inning, taking Los Angeles starter Patrick Sandoval deep to give the Mariners a 6-0 lead. It was the ninth homer of the year for France, who's hitting a crisp .351 over his last 15 contests, including a 7-of-for-12 (.583) clip across his last three.

Guerrero went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a 10-0 victory over Texas in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday.

Guerrero tagged Texas starter Mike Foltynewicz for a solo shot to ignite a four-run second inning, though he failed to add anything additional offensively. The homer brought Guerrero to within two of Shohei Ohtani's league-leading count and padded his leading RBI (78), slugging (.677) and OPS (1.107) marks.

Gittens will start at first base and bat fifth Sunday against the Red Sox.

While all of Luke Voit (knee), Gio Urshela (COVID-19) and Miguel Andujar (wrist) are on the shelf, Gittens should be in store for a full run of playing time at first base. He'll stick in the lineup for the third straight game after going 1-for-4 with a pair of walks between the first two contests of the series.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said prior to Sunday's game against the Yankees that Dalbec will primarily start against left-handed pitching moving forward, with Christian Arroyo filling the large side of a platoon at first base, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

With Dalbec having submitted a lowly .484 OPS in June and slashing a feeble .187/.246/.342 versus right-handed pitching for the season, the Red Sox's decision to pull the plug on him as the everyday first baseman isn't overly surprising. While Dalbec has been an above-average hitter against lefties (110 wRC+ on the season), the lack of regular reps will render him more of a streaming option rather than someone who can be relied upon in weekly leagues.

Lowe is out of the lineup for the second half of Sunday's doubleheader with the Blue Jays.

Andy Ibanez will fill in at first base for Lowe, who gets a breather after going 1-for-2 with a double and a walk in the Rangers' 5-0 loss in the first game of the day.

Mountcastle is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

After heading into the All-Star break nursing a forearm injury, Mountcastle was cleared to start the Orioles' first two games of the second half. He went 1-for-8 with two RBI and a run scored between those contests, and more importantly, Mountcastle doesn't seem to have experienced a setback. His absence from the lineup Sunday is likely just a pre-planned maintenance day.

Abreu went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Saturday's 10-1 win over the Astros.

Abreu's three-run blast in the sixth inning was the third of five on the day for the White Sox. It was his 214th home run as a member of the franchise, tying him for fourth on the organization's all-time list with Carlton Fisk. The first baseman has driven in 15 RBI over the last 12 games.

France went 2-for-3 with an RBI single in a win over the Angels on Friday.

France's timely third-inning single plated Mitch Haniger, snapping a 1-1 tie in the process. France has been trending upward for some time, as he now sports a .313/.352/.417 slash line and nine RBI over the 54 plate appearances covering his last 13 games.

Gurriel went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double and two RBI in Friday's 7-1 win over the White Sox.

Gurriel gave Houston a lead it would never relinquish with a two-run double that plated Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley. He's been consistent over the past month, never going more than one game without a hit over the last 24 contests.

Guerrero went 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI in Friday's 10-2 rout of the Rangers.

The young slugger led a five-homer barrage for the Jays, taking Jordan Lyles deep for a solo shot in the first inning before crushing a three-run blast off Dennis Santana in the sixth that left Sahlen Field entirely. Guerrero is up to 30 homers on the year, three back of Shohei Ohtani for the major-league lead, and his .335 batting average and 77 RBI also lead MLB.