MLB Player News

Mountcastle (neck) will start at first base Friday against the Red Sox, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Orioles have yet to release their full lineup for Friday, but Mountcastle will be included after sitting out the past two games with neck stiffness. The 25-year-old has endured some offensive struggles early in 2022 and has a .232/.264/.290 slash line with one home run, seven RBI, six runs and a stolen base in 72 plate appearances.

Vaughn is starting in left field and batting second Friday against the Angels, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Although Luis Robert is back in the lineup Friday, manager Tony La Russa said Vaughn has earned the right to stay in the No. 2 spot for now after he hit .286 with two homers, two doubles, six RBI and two runs over the last six games. As long as Vaughn remains effective, he's the favorite to stick in the second spot in the lineup.

Walker will not start Friday's game against the Cardinals.

Walker sits for just the second time this season, with the Diamondbacks electing to bench all their right-handed bats against Adam Wainwright. Walker hasn't done much to deserve as many opportunities as he's received, as he's hitting just .157/.244/.371 on the year. Seth Beer will start at first base, with David Peralta resting his legs as the designated hitter.

Guerrero (foot) is starting at first base and batting third Friday against the Astros.

The 23-year-old sat out Thursday's series opener after fouling a pitch off his right foot Wednesday against the Red Sox, but his absence will be limited to just one game, as expected. Guerrero initially played through the injury and had X-rays come back negative, so there shouldn't be any lingering concern now that he's retaking the field.

Cooper is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Mariners, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Cooper started the past four games and will take a seat after going 6-for-15 with three doubles, two RBI and three runs during that stretch. Jorge Soler will serve as the designated hitter while Brian Anderson starts in left field.

Santana went 0-for-2 with three walks and a run scored in Thursday's 5-2 extra-inning win over the White Sox.

One of Santana's walks came in the Royals' three-run 10th inning. The first baseman's bat is cold to start the season with a .106 batting average, but he's partially offset that by posting a 22.6 percent walk rate through 15 games. He's added a home run, five RBI, six runs scored and a double in 62 plate appearances while regularly hitting in the middle of the order.

Harris went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI for Double-A Frisco on Thursday.

Batting third in the order, Harris hit the second of his team's two homers in the ninth inning, when the RoughRiders plated all of their runs in a 6-1 win. The outfield prospect has moved beyond a slow start at Double-A and is slashing .316/.369/.474 with two long balls, 13 RBI, nine runs and three steals in 15 games.

Calhoun batted leadoff and went 0-for-4 in Thursday's 3-2 loss to Houston.

Calhoun slotted into the leadoff spot for the second consecutive game, with both coming against right-handers. That had been Brad Miller's job, but a 4-for-31 stretch sent Miller tumbling down the lineup. Calhoun, who has gone 2-for-9 atop the order, is hitting .184/.204/.420 through 51 plate appearances. Against lefties, Marcus Semien leads off while the lefty-hitting Calhoun is typically on the bench.

Goldschmidt went 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI in Thursday's 8-3 victory versus the Diamondbacks.

All three of Goldschmidt's hits were singles, but they were productive as they resulted in three runs batted in. The veteran first baseman extended his hitting streak to seven games with the performance, and he has collected multiple hits in six of those contests. During the streak, Goldschmidt is batting an even .500 (15-for-30) with eight RBI.

Bohm went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI on Thursday against the Rockies.

Bohm began his productive afternoon with an RBI groundout in the second inning. However, the highlight of his performance came two frames later, when he delivered a solo shot to record his second homer of the season. Bohm owns a modest three-game hitting streak, and he's driven in four and scored three runs in that span. Importantly, Bohm also appears to have a clear claim to the starting job at third base as he's now started nine consecutive matchups.