MLB Player News

After going three weeks without a home run, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu homered for the second time in as many days Sunday against the Twins, finishing 2 for 4 with two RBI. The solo shot in the ninth inning gave him 35 on the season, tying the White Sox rookie record set by Ron Kittle in 1983.

"He's a good hitter so this isn't a surprise that he hit a home run,” manager Robin Ventura told ESPN.com. "He's been pretty consistent just as a hitter. The power's going to be there. He went through a little stretch where he wasn't hitting many home runs, but it's there."

In addition to the home runs, Abreu is also batting .322 on the season, including .354 since the beginning of June -- a span of 89 games.

"He's a better hitter than he is a power hitter and he's a heck of a power hitter too, so that’s the way I look at him," teammate Paul Konerko said. "He's not just a slugger."

So much for the power outage of White Sox slugger Jose Abreu. Abreu slammed a solo home run in the ninth inning Sunday that went for naught in a loss to Minnesota. It was his first since Aug. 22.

Abreu had already ripped a run-scoring single in the fourth inning as his stat line improved to .322/.384/.604 on the season.

Angels designated hitter C.J. Cron made his return to the starting lineup Friday night against Houston. Cron was not in the lineup since Monday because of a forearm injury, though he did make a appearance Thursday as a defensive substitute. He has five hits over his first 11 at-bats since being called up in September.

Angels designated hitter C.J. Cron has been unavailable since Monday because of a sore wrist, the Los Angeles Times reports. Cron has five hits over his first 11 at-bats since being called up in September. He is expected to return this weekend against the Astros. 

The power surge continued Thursday for Indians first baseman Carlos Santana.

Santana cranked out a 442-foot blast into the second deck in the first inning of the rout of Minnesota. He has four home runs in his last nine games and has improved his stat line to .233/.368/.443. He has 26 homers on the season - one short of his career-high.

Robin Ventura has expressed wonderment as to why White Sox slugger Jose Abreu is no longer slugging. But Ventura has also voiced confidence that the power outage is temporary.

"I'll take my chances with him of still being able to have the power," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Why it's not there right now? I don't know."

Abreu hasn't homered since Aug. 22, which covers a span of 16 games. But he has still hit safely in 14 of those games.

Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun clubbed his 16th home run Wednesday against the Rangers.

Calhoun struck in the ninth inning. With the bases empty, Calhoun drove an 88 mph slider out to right for the solo shot. Calhoun also doubled during the contest. He finished 2 for 6, with one run scored and one RBI. 

Outfielder Kole Calhoun was out of the Angels' starting lineup for Sunday's series finale at the Twins. Calhoun, a left-handed batter, was rested in favor of Collin Cowgill, as the Angels will oppose Twins lefty Logan Darnell with Josh Hamilton as the only left-handed hitter in the lineup.

Calhoun had made starts in each of the last three games in which the Angels faced a left-handed starting pitcher.

Indians infielder Carlos Santana hit his 24th home run Wednesday against the Tigers.

Santana struck almost immediately. With a man on in the first inning, Santana took an 85 mph changeup from Justin Verlander out to right for the two-run shot. With the hit, Santana has homered in two consecutives games. He finished 1 for 4, with one run scored and two RBI. 

Astros first baseman Chris Carter belted two home runs Wednesday against the Angels.

Carter first struck in the second inning. He led off the inning by working a six-pitch at-bat against Jered Weaver. On the final pitch of the at-bat, Carter belted an 87 mph cutter out to left for the solo shot. He added a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning. This time, Carter took a 91 mph fastball out to right.

Carter finished 3 for 4, with two runs scored and three RBI.