MLB Player News

France (wrist) is starting at first base Thursday against Oakland.

France took a pitch to the wrist Tuesday, which forced him to miss Wednesday's game. He will return to Seattle's lineup looking to build on his recent success, as he is 3-for-6 with a homer and three runs scored over his last two games.

Manager Bud Black said Thursday that Cron (back) is expected to begin taking swings soon, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.

Cron has moved along more slowly than expected in his recovery from a bout of lower-back spasms, which sent him to the 10-day IL exactly 10 days ago. A return in early June is the best-case scenario. Michael Toglia and Mike Moustakas have been sharing starts at first base in Cron's absence.

Pasquantino went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a walk in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Tigers.

Pasquantino had gone 11 games without a multi-hit effort entering Wednesday, a span in which he hit an awful .095 (4-for-42) with two home runs and a 3:9 BB:K. In terms of breaking out of a slump, Wednesday was a solid first step for Pasquantino, who was one of the Royals' most consistent hitters early in the season. He's still slashing .262/.347/.481 with nine homers, 24 RBI, 22 runs scored and 14 doubles through 50 contests.

Cooper is out of the lineup Thursday afternoon at Colorado.

Cooper went 0-for-5 with a strikeout Wednesday and is slashing just .233/.275/.376 in 142 plate appearances for the year. Yuli Gurriel will play first base Thursday and Jorge Soler will serve as the Marlins' designated hitter.

Diaz (personal) returned to the Rays on Thursday but is not in the starting lineup for their series finale against the Blue Jays, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Diaz was excused from the club Wednesday for a private family matter. The hot-hitting 31-year-old should be available off the bench Thursday and be back in a starting role this weekend against the Dodgers. Luke Raley is playing first base and batting seventh in Thursday's matinee.

Bohm went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Bohm got the Phillies on the board with a two-out RBI single off Kevin Ginkel in the sixth inning before ending the game with a walk-off base hit off Jose Ruiz in the 10th. It's Bohm's first multi-hit game since May 15 -- he'd gone 4-for-26 over his last seven contests. Overall, the 26-year-old has been solid this season, slashing .264/.320/.390 with five home runs and 35 RBI through 200 plate appearances, and he's taken over as the Phillies' regular first baseman with Rhys Hoskins (knee) out for the year.

Goldschmidt is absent from the lineup Thursday in Cincinnati, 101 ESPN St. Louis reports.

Goldschmidt had served as the designated hitter the previous two days and now is out of the lineup entirely for Thursday's series finale. The Cardinals are resting several regulars for the afternoon tilt.

Moiuntcastle went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Wednesday's 9-6 win over the Yankees.

His solo shot off Nestor Cortes in the fourth inning got the Orioles on the board. Mountcastle has 11 homers on the season, including three in the last eight games, but after a hot start to May he's batting only .146 (6-for-41) over the last 11 contests.

Steer went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI in Wednesday's 10-3 win over the Cardinals.

All four knocks were singles, but Steer still paced a Cincy attack that stung St. Louis pitching for a season-high 18 hits. The 25-year-old extended his hitting streak to seven games with the performance, and through 21 contests in May he's slashing .294/.355/.506 with four homers, 12 runs and 13 RBI.

Lowe went 2-for-4 with a walk, double and run scored in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Pirates.

Lowe extended a hit streak to six games with a first-inning single. He later doubled and now is 12-for-23 (.522) with four walks, three doubles and seven runs scored during that stretch. The 27-year-old is putting together another fine season and ranks fifth in MLB among first basemen with 1.4 fWAR.