MLB Player News

Torkelson went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 2-1 win over the White Sox.

Torkelson delivered the key blast in the game as he smashed a home run off the left field foul pole in the top of the ninth inning to break a 1-1 tie. The homer came against Chicago lefty Brandon Eisert, and Torkelson now has a stellar .942 OPS against southpaws this season. The slugging first baseman is up to 26 long balls, putting him within one of Riley Greene for the team lead. Torkelson has gone deep three times across his last five games.

Tellez will start at first base and bat sixth in Monday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Jake Burger's return from the injured list over the weekend doesn't appear to have resulted in Tellez losing hold of a strong-side platoon role at first base. Though the left-handed-hitting Tellez has now started in each of the Rangers' last seven matchups with right-handed pitchers, he'll be the most likely player to lose out on at-bats when Evan Carter (back) returns from the injured list. Once he's activated, Carter should take over as the Rangers' primary center fielder, which will likely result in Wyatt Langford shifting to left field and Josh Smith moving back to first base.

Across nine games this month, Busch is slashing just .133/.161/.267 with a 32 percent strikeout rate.

Outside of a nice game Saturday where Busch went 2-for-5 with a double and a home run, the first baseman has gone just 2-for-25 with nine strikeouts in August. Busch's overall slash line is a much healthier .263/.348/.500, and the 27-year-old should receive ample opportunities to turn things around as Chicago's primary leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching. He has a robust .921 OPS against righties this season.

Burger is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Diamondbacks.

The right-handed-hitting Burger was in the lineup against lefties in each of his first two games after being activated from the injured list Friday. However, he has now retreated to the bench in two straight contests versus righties. Lefty swinger Rowdy Tellez will receive a second straight start at first base Monday.

Horwitz is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Brewers.

Horwitz batted leadoff in each of the last four games and got on base at a .389 clip while scoring two runs and driving in two more, but the Pirates haven't yet committed to using him regularly against left-handed pitching. With southpaw Jose Quintana on the hill for Milwaukee, the left-handed-hitting Horwitz will give way to the right-handed-hitting Liover Peguero at first base.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Valdez (shoulder) has resumed playing catch out to 90 feet, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Valdez is at about the midway point in his recovery from May surgery to address a dislocated left shoulder. Though the 26-year-old isn't on track to return from the 60-day injured list before the end of the season, the Pirates are optimistic that Valdez will be available to play winter ball.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Hernandez (elbow) is pain-free and could be ready to return from the 10-day injured list in early September, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

Less than a week ago, Roberts expressed some uncertainty whether Hernandez would be ready to return from the IL before season's end, but the 33-year-old utility player has evidently made some significant strides in his recovery from left elbow inflammation in recent days. According to MLB.com, Roberts said that Hernandez has reached a point in his rehab that he's able to ramp up his involvement in baseball activities. Hernandez has already done some throwing, running and fielding grounders, but swinging the bat without discomfort will be the major hurdle that he'll need to clear before heading out on a rehab assignment.

Walker went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored Sunday against the Yankees.

Walker played a key role in a few of Houston's rallies Sunday, beginning with an RBI double in the third inning. The performance marked his fourth mult-hit game in his last 11 starts, during which he's gone 11-for-42 with three homers, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored.

Horwitz went 2-for-5 with a double, one run scored and one RBI on Sunday against the Reds.

Horwitz has had an inconsistent season as Pittsburgh's primary first baseman, but he's delivered throughout the early portions of August. He has gone 12-for-35 with two homers, nine RBI and eight runs scored across 10 starts in the month. Horwitz is now hitting .266 for the season, though he's provided very little pop with only a .124 ISO.

Schanuel went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 9-5 loss to the Tigers.

Schanuel got the Angels on the board with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. It was an encouraging effort for the 23-year-old, who had been just 6-for-32 with one extra-base hit through eight August contests. For the year, he's slashing .272/.358/.396 with 10 home runs, 48 RBI, 57 runs scored and five stolen bases across 492 plate appearances.