MLB Player News

Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien's recent struggles at the plate continued during an 8-1 win Sunday against the Angels. Semien went hitless in five at-bats, which included three strikeouts.

Semien is batting just .184 (7 for 38) with one double, no RBI, four walks, one run and 12 strikeouts in 11 June games. 

Unfortunately, Semien's hitting woes have lasted nearly a month. In his last 25 games, he has just a .189/.247/.233/.481 slash line. He has one triple, two doubles and one RBI in that span.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is not starting for the second consecutive game due to a hamstring injury. 

Altuve sustained the tweak on Friday, though it's not a serious injury. Altuve is expected to be back in the Astros lineup this week. This season, Altuve is hitting .290 with 27 RBI. 

"He'll be day to day for the next couple days until he feels back to 100 percent," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday, via MLB.com. "But I know he and our trainer were encouraged by how he was evaluated today. We avoided a worse injury."

As expected, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Mariners. Altuve left Friday's game after one inning due to discomfort in his left hamstring.

Though Altuve reported improvement in his hamstring on Saturday, manager A.J. Hinch was non-committal on whether Altuve would be available for the remainder of the weekend series.

"He'll be day to day for the next couple days until he feels back to 100 percent," Hinch said, per MLB.com "But I know he and our trainer were encouraged by how he was evaluated today. We avoided a worse injury."

For his part, Altuve does not mind having time off to completely heal.

"I'd rather lose one or two games than lose a month. I have to be smart about this and it's not going to be easy for me to sit on the bench, but I have to support my team from here," Altuve said.

White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham will be in the starting lineup on Saturday against the Rays.

Beckham is hitting .236 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 110 at-bats this season.

Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe is not in Saturday's starting lineup. Forsythe, who has started 40 games this season, including the last 10, will be replaced by Nick Franklin. 

Franklin is starting at second base for the seventh time this year and first since June 1. He's started games at shortstop and first base since then. He'll bat eighth in the lineup. 

The Astros will put a shuffled lineup up against the Mariners on Saturday, the team announced.

Right fielder George Springer will return to the leadoff role after teammate Jose Altuve, who hit leadoff in Friday's game, hurt his hamstring. Rookie shortstop Carlos Correa will bat second, despite not hitting any higher than fifth in the lineup since being called up to the majors.

Jake Marisnik will make his first start in left field, giving Preston Tucker a day off. He will bat sixth in the lineup.

First baseman Chris Carter, who hit a home run out of the ninth spot on Friday, will bat in the cleanup spot on Saturday.

Marwin Gonzalez will fill Altuve's void at second base and bat eighth.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus hit a two-run home run to wipe out a one-run deficit in the seventh inning of Friday's win over Minnesota. 

Andrus went 2 for 4 and drove in four runs. 

Andrus now has three home runs and 24 RBI on the season. 

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left Friday's game after the first inning with discomfort in his right hamstring. Altuve had a hit and scored a run in two at-bats during the Astros' eight-run first inning, but did not come back out for the top of the second.

Marwin Gonzalez entered the game to play second base in place of Altuve. Manager A.J. Hinch said after the game that Altuve is day-to-day and will not play on Saturday.

The Yankees have announced that infielder Gregorio Petit has been reinstated from the disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre.

Petit had been sidelined for six weeks with a right hand contusion. He began the season in the big leagues but managed just seven hits in 35 at-bats before going down.

Angels second baseman Johnny Giavotella had two hits in his previous five games prior to Thursday's 6-2 win over the Rays.

Giavotella went 3 for 5 in the game, boosting his batting average to .276 on the season with two home runs and 21 RBI in 185 at-bats.