MLB Player News

Altuve went 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's win over Seattle.

The diminutive dynamo came out of the gates after the All-Star break relatively slow by his standards, with two hits in seven at-bats, but he exploded Sunday and ultimately decided the game with a two-run bomb to left in the third inning. The four hits raised his batting average to .346, and he continues to serve as one of the most valuable fantasy assets available.

Semien went 1-for-4 with a solo homer Sunday against the Blue Jays.

Semien cranked out his 20th homer of the year to get the Athletics on the board in the sixth inning of a home loss. He's now blasted four long balls in 13 July games and is slugging .475 on the season.

Marte, who was injured Friday for the second time this season while sliding into a base, will begin a training plan to learn a better sliding technique, the Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Marte suffered a sprained right ankle sliding into third base. He missed 13 games earlier this season because of a sprained left thumb suffered on a slide at second base. The Mariners plan to work with him so he can slide more effectively. "We've got to tighten up Ketel's sliding," manager Scott Servais said. "It's an issue. His technique is poor. That's where the injuries have come from. If you're going to play every day in this league, you have to be able to do the fundamental things the game requires. Sliding is one of them." Marte's latest injury was mild, and he returned Sunday.

Marte (ankle) is in the lineup at shortstop and batting ninth Sunday against the Astros.

Marte suffered a mild ankle sprain in Friday's series opener and was forced to miss Saturday's game, but after testing out the injury in the field and during batting practice Sunday, he's been cleared to return. The fact that the Mariners are using Marte at his usual shortstop post rather than at DH suggests that the injury isn't compromising his lateral quickness too much. He'll likely be on tap for a full slate of starts this week.

Giavotella is out of the lineup Sunday against the White Sox, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Though he recently had the benefit of extended time off due to the All-Star break, Giavotella hasn't been a high-performing lineup regular for the Angels, so he'll still be subjected to a day off or two every week. Gregorio Petit will fill in for Giavotella at second base Sunday.

Merrifield is out of the lineup Sunday against the Tigers, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

With Merrifield stuck in an 8-for-40 slump in July, manager Ned Yost will turn the keystone over to Christian Colon for the second straight day. It's likely that Merrifield has built up enough goodwill over the course of his breakthrough season to retain the top spot on the depth chart, but with his BABIP beginning to normalize, the 27-year-old's batting line is starting to become less appealing.

Andrus went 1-for-3 with an RBI infield single in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Cubs.

The veteran shortstop broke open the scoring with a second-inning infield single that plated Ryan Rua, which would turn out to be the only run the Rangers managed on the afternoon. Andrus has now hit safely in five of six games, and is slashing .333/.378/.564 over 39 at-bats in July.

Merrifield is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Tigers, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

The 27-year-old has remained a fixture atop the lineup for Kansas City despite his slow start to July (8-for-40), but the Royals have been struggling to score runs consistently and manager Ned Yost may be inclined turn back to Alcides Escobar in the leadoff spot more regularly. A move down in the order would obviously hurt Merrifield, as his run-scoring chances would likely decrease significantly.

Marte (ankle) is not in the lineup for Saturday's matchup with Houston, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Marte exited Friday's game with an ankle sprain caused by a slide at third base and appears to need some time off to return to full health. It's unclear at this point whether he'll need a stay on the DL, but in the meantime, Shawn O'Malley figures to see some fill-in starts at shortstop.

Forsythe went 2-for-5 with an RBI single and a run in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Orioles.

The 29-year-old brought in the returning Kevin Kiermaier with an RBI single in the second and has hit safely in three of the last four contests. Forsythe is still struggling in July despite the multi-hit effort Friday, slashing just .200/.250/.333 over his first 45 at-bats of the month.