MLB Player News

Kemp started in center field and went 1-for-2 with a walk and two stolen bases Sunday against the White Sox.

Kemp swiped both of his bases against Lucas Giolito, bringing his season total to six. He's had a busy weekend on the basepaths, as he stole three bases across his past two games. With Kyle Tucker called up from Triple-A Fresno over the weekend, Kemp will lose playing time as a corner outfielder but will be the primary backup to center fielder George Springer, and his versatility should help him find part-time at-bats.

Altuve went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Sunday against the White Sox.

Altuve recorded his ninth home run of the season, taking Lucas Giolito deep in the fourth inning. He is riding a five-game hit streak, during which he has gone 8-for-20 with two home runs, six runs scored, a stolen base and three RBI. Though he's unlikely to match last season's home run or stolen base outputs, Altuve remains among the league leaders in batting average and runs scored.

Polanco will start at shortstop and bat leadoff Sunday against the Orioles.

Polanco has been included in the lineup in each of the Twins' six games since he was reinstated from suspension July 2, going 6-for-21 with two doubles and a stolen base over that stretch. He'll move to the top of the order with Joe Mauer receiving a breather in the series finale, but Polanco projects to hit in the lower half of the lineup on most occasions.

Andrus is out of the lineup Sunday against the Tigers, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Andrus will take a seat on getaway day as manager Jeff Banister makes room in the lineup at shortstop for Jurickson Profar, who will serve as the Rangers' No. 2 hitter. Since returning from the disabled list June 18, Andrus is hitting .205 with no home runs and no steals in 16 games, rendering him a major disappointment for fantasy owners who had stashed him while he was sidelined for just over two months.

Chavis went 0-for-4, striking out all four times, as the designated hitter for Double-A Portland on Saturday.

Chavis returned to action after serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a form of anabolic steroid. He spent four games at short-season Lowell before moving up to Portland.

Drury will start at second base and bat seventh Sunday against the Blue Jays, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

With Gleyber Torres (hip) on the disabled list, the Yankees have been breaking Drury in at second base after the latter served exclusively as a corner-infield option during his stints with the big club and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. Drury will pick up his second straight start at the position Sunday, but since both assignments have come against lefty pitchers, it appears he could be stuck in the short end of a platoon at the keystone with Neil Walker. Neither player has performed especially well for the Yankees this season, with Drury hitting .189 over 42 plate appearances and Walker batting .185 over 194.

Altuve went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a run and a stolen base against the White Sox on Saturday.

Altuve was relatively quiet given that the Astros scored 12 runs, though he did manage to steal his 13th base of the season. While it will be difficult for him to record his fourth constitutive 30-steal season, he has recorded 11 of his 13 stolen bases since May 20.

Chavis was promoted to Double-A Portland on Saturday.

Chavis had been with short-season Lowell for a tuneup after he was suspended for the first 80 games of the season for using a performance-enhancing substance. He'll look to conquer the Double-A level after posting a .250/.310/.492 line in 67 games for Portland last season.

Semien went 2-for-4 with a run in a loss to the Indians on Friday.

Semien has now compiled four multi-hit efforts over his last seven games, although all nine hits have been singles. Nevertheless, it's a welcome stretch of offensive success for the shortstop, who saw his season average drop 19 points to .248 during June. A boost in power numbers would ideally be the next step in Semien's resurgence, as he hasn't tallied an extra-base hit since June 20.

Altuve went 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored in Friday's 11-4 win over the White Sox.

Altuve had been slumping, hitting just .154 over his last 26-at-bats, when he delivered the first of his three singles in the third inning Friday. The multi-hit night, his second in his last 14 games, pushed him back atop the major-league lead in batting average at .337.