MLB Player News

Astros manager A.J. Hinch chose to roll with Jonathan Villar at third base and Robbie Grossman in left field Friday night against left-hander Derek Holland and the Rangers, per MLB.com. Luis Valbuena and Colby Rasmus received a day off against the southpaw.

Hinch also flip-flopped struggling DH Evan Gattis and Chris Carter in the batting order. Gattis has started his stint with the Astros 0 for 11 with eighth strikeouts. He will hit fifth, while Carter will move to the cleanup spot.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley returned to the starting lineup and is batting third, behind Jason Kipnis and ahead of Carlos Santana on Friday against the Tigers, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Brantley was sidelined the previous two games with lower back stiffness. He has been held without a hit in four at-bats this season.

Manager Terry Francona told reporters he may sprinkle in some off days for Brantley in the near future after the outfielder acknowledged he's still experiencing some lower back discomfort, per MLB.com.

"We'll keep an eye on him," Francona said. "If he needs a day off or something, we can certainly do that. But we don't ever want to turn something that could be a day or two into two weeks. But it's nice having him in the lineup, that's for sure."

Astros slugger Chris Carter started all three games in the season-opening series against the Indians. Unfortunately, Carter didn't have a whole lot of luck offensively.

Carter, who hit 37 home runs in 2014, was hitless in 11 at-bats against the Indians. He struck out four times, including three strikeouts Thursday. 

Slow starts are nothing new for Carter, who has a career .181 average during the first month of the baseball season. In 2014, he hit .153 with three home runs, six doubles, eight RBI and 37 strikeouts in 26 games in April.

Indians first baseman Carlos Santana connected for his first home run Wednesday against the Astros. While hitting a home run isn't big news for Santana, who has 99 career home runs, hitting one Wednesday was significant because it was his birthday.

"This is not new for me," Santana said, per MLB.com. "Every year I try to get a home run for my birthday."

Santana has a knack for stepping up offensively on his birthday. Dating back to 2009 when he was with Double-A Akron, Santana has hit .444 (12 for 27) with six home runs and 14 RBI on his birthday, per MLB.com. 

"This is a special day for me," Santana said.

Indians first baseman Carlos Santana went 1 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 2-0 win over the Astros Wednesday.

Santana broke a scoreless tie with his fourth-inning homer, and it was all the offense the Indians would end up needing on the back of starter Carlos Carrasco. Santana is 2 for 7 in his first two games after hitting .231/.365/.427 with 27 home runs in 541 at-bats last season.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday's batting order against the Orioles will be the standard lineup for when a left-handed starter is on the mound, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The Orioles are starting Wei-Yin Chen on Tuesday.

The Rays lineup Tuesday was Brandon Guyer (LF), Steven Souza (RF), Asdrubal Cabrera (SS), Evan Longoria (3B), Desmond Jennings (CF), Logan Forsythe (DH), James Loney (1B), Rene Rivera (C) and Tim Beckham (2B).

Angels first baseman C.J. Cron, who started at DH on Monday against the Mariners, will be given the chance to play regularly, even against elite right-handed starters, manager Mike Scioscia said.

“The plan is to get C.J. in for a lot of at-bats,” Scioscia said, per The Orange County Register. “No doubt in the spring he was swinging the bat better than he was last year. I want to give him a chance to see if he can come out and contribute.”

Jose Abreu's solo home run accounted for the White Sox only scoring in a 10-1 loss to the Royals on Opening Day. 

Abreu led off the seventh inning by hitting a 2-0 pitch to left center for a home run off of winning pitcher Yordano Ventura. 

Abreu went one for three with a walk and grounded into a double play. 

First-year Rays manager Kevin Cash opted to bat Asdrubal Cabrera -- who is also in his first year with Tampa Bay -- third in Monday's season opener against Orioles right-hander pitcher Chris Tillman. Cabrera is batting .333 (3 for 9) with one double and four RBI in his career against Tillman.

Cabrera entered play Monday batting .276 with a .350 on-base percentage, .436 slugging percentage, .786 OPS, 20 home runs, 50 doubles and 101 RBI in 185 games batting third.

The White Sox posted their Opening Day lineup for Monday against the Royals. 

The Sox will start: Adam Eaton CF, Melky Cabrera LF, Jose Abreu 1B, Adam LaRoche DH, Leury Garcia RF, Conor Gillaspie 3B, Alexei Ramirez SS. Tyler Flowers C, Micah Johnson 2B. Jeff Samardzija will be the starting pitcher.