MLB Player News

Cron went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in a win over the Twins on Sunday.

Cron completed a weekend decimation of Twins pitching with his third round tripper over the last two games, blasting a first-inning Phil Hughes offering into left center to give the Rays an early 2-0 lead. The 28-year-old accumulated nearly half of his 13 RBI on the season over the last pair of outings, as he also drove in four runs on the strength of two homers Saturday. Following a slow start to his Rays career over the first three games of 2018, Cron has come alive in April and has five two-hit tallies over the last six contests.

Olson is out of the lineup Sunday against the Red Sox, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Olson saw his hit streak come to an end Saturday after he had gone 8-for-19 with three extra-base knocks in the preceding four games. The first baseman's 37.8 percent strikeout rate and .432 BABIP suggest his current .272 average likely won't be sustainable throughout the season, but Olson should remain a plus source of power for fantasy owners. He's likely just getting a breather Sunday after starting in each of Oakland's first 21 games of 2018.

Gurriel is out of the lineup Sunday against the White Sox.

Gurriel has shown no ill effects since returning April 13 from the hand injury that sidelined him at the beginning of the season, batting .273 with five extra-base hits in 33 at-bats. It looks like manager A.J. Hinch is simply giving Gurriel a day off for maintenance purposes in the final game of the Astros' road trip. Marwin Gonzalez will fill in for Gurriel at first base and bat sixth.

Cron went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Saturday's 10-1 win over the Twins.

With Denard Span currently seeing more action in the outfield due to Kevin Kiermaier's thumb injury, Cron has had the DH spot mostly to himself and he's responded by going 8-for-21 (.381) over the last five games with three homers and six RBI. The 28-year-old has pushed his slash line up to .264/.316/.472 on the season, numbers right in line with his career averages, and with regular playing time in his sights for the foreseeable future, Cron's capable of providing fantasy value even in shallow formats.

Calhoun is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Giants.

Left-hander Derek Holland will take the mound for the Giants, and the Angels will again turn to Chris Young in right field. Calhoun is likely to return to Sunday's lineup, with right-hander Johnny Cueto currently slated to pitch for San Francisco.

Olson went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in a loss to the Red Sox on Friday.

He helped the Athletics get off to a good start with a first-inning single that plated Jed Lowrie, one of three runs that would come home for Oakland during the frame. Olson has been wielding a hot bat over the last four games, going 8-for-19 with two doubles, one home run, five RBI, two walks and three runs over that span.

Calhoun is out of the lineup against Boston on Thursday.

With southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez taking the hill for the Red Sox, Calhoun will occupy a seat on the pine as Chris Young draws the start in right field. Expect to see him back in the lineup for Friday's series opener against San Francisco with right-hander Jeff Samardzija (pectoral) set to pitch.

Gurriel is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against Seattle, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel will occupy a seat on the bench for the first time since returning from a hand injury Friday. Over the past week, Gurriel went 6-for-24 (.250 average) with one home run, four RBI and three doubles in six games. Marwin Gonzalez will start at first while batting sixth in his absence.

Cron went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Wednesday.

Cron's timely sixth-inning single to center plated Daniel Robertson and snapped a 1-1 tie. The 28-year-old now has an eight-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 10 straight games, bumping his season average from .167 to .270 in the process.

Olson went 4-for-6 with three RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 14-inning win over the White Sox.

Olson reached base six times in this one, as he also added a pair of walks to go along with the four singles. Strikeouts remain a bit of an issue, as he whiffed twice more Wednesday to give him 32 in just 73 at-bats on the year. After mashing 24 home runs in his 59-game stint in the majors last season, Olson has only left the yard three times in 2018, but the four-hit game provided a much-needed boost to his batting average.