MLB Player News

Abreu went 3-for-6 with three RBI in a 11-4 victory over the Twins on Friday.

This was the second straight night the first baseman had three hits. He has a modest five-game hitting streak, going 11-for-23 (.478) with three extra-base hits, including two homers during that stretch. Abreu is hitting .293 with 20 homers, 79 RBI and 53 runs in 518 at-bats.

Gurriel is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers.

Gurriel started the Astros' last game Wednesday in left field, but he will come off the bench Friday night. Gurriel has been held out of the lineup two of the last three games, but he did start four games in a row prior to that.

The A's recalled McBride from Triple-A Nashville on Friday, MLB.com's Jane Lee reports.

McBride posted a .781 OPS over 70 games with Nashville this season. He appeared in 15 games for the A's earlier in 2016 but posted just a .558 OPS in those contests. He will provide some catching depth behind starter Stephen Vogt, and could see some time in the outfield as well.

Abreu went 3-for-5 with his 20th homer and two RBI in a loss to Minnesota on Thursday.

If you gave up on Abreu and dumped him in early July with just 11 homers and a .263 average to show for his first 83 games, it's been hard to suffer looking at his batting lines since. That's particularly been the case recently, as Abreu's hit six homers in his last 12 games to go with a neat .400 batting average.

Cron went 2-for-4 with two RBI and scored a run in Wednesday's 3-0 win over the Reds.

Cron extended his hitting streak to eight games with his fourth straight multi-hit effort Wednesday. Since being activated from the DL with a hand injury, Cron has hit safely in nine of 11 games. He's 16-for-44 (.364) with three home runs, 10 RBI and six runs since Aug. 20.

Abreu went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in a loss to the Tigers on Wednesday.

It was his 19th bomb of the season and fourth since Aug. 21. During that stretch, he has hits in nine of his last 10 games, going 13-for-37 (.351). Abreu closes out the month slashing .362/.414/.648 with seven bombs, 17 RBI and 16 runs. If he keeps this up, Abreu has a chance to finish with a .300 batting average, 25 home runs and 90 RBI.

Gurriel is starting in left field Wednesday against the A's.

After getting the day off Tuesday, Gurriel will return to action, making his first major league start in the outfield. Gurriel has worked primarily at third base, though he made one start in left field while at Triple-A Fresno.

Cron blasted two home runs in a 2-for-4 game with three RBI in Tuesday's win over the Reds.

Cron extended his hitting streak to seven games with the effort and now has three home runs over his past two games. He's now up to 14 home runs in just 87 games and should have no problem blowing past his career high of 16 home runs set last year (in 113 games) if he gets regular playing time down the stretch. Cron posted a .439 slugging percentage last year, a mark that clearly wouldn't pass muster given his lack of other tools. He's up to .498 this season, and even though he has shown lackluster plate discipline (5.5 percent walk rate, .337 OBP), his power is looking like it will be enough to make him a productive major leaguer.

Gurriel is out of Tuesday's lineup against Oakland, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gurriel had been starting to find his rhythm at the plate recently, as he's gone 6-for-14 over the last four games. The 32-year-old rookie will get the night off as Alex Bregman starts at third base and Evan Gattis serves as the DH.

Cron went 3-for-4 with a double, a homer, two runs and two RBI in Monday's 9-2 win over the Reds.

Cron was one of four Angels to leave the yard against Reds starter Dan Straily. The 26-year-old has strung together consecutive three-hit games, and is beginning to solidify himself as the clean-up hitter in Los Angeles. That's a valuable role with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols occupying the two preceding lineup spots.