MLB Player News

Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien has committed four errors in his last 18 games. That might not seem like a positive development, but it is considering his previous struggles.

Semien made 12 errors in May and leads the majors this season with 22. But new infield instructor and former Rangers manager Ron Washington sees vast improvement during daily drills he runs with Semien that take precedence over work in the batting cage.

"I'm with him every day and I see the progress he makes," Washington told csnbayarea.com. "I'm sitting up there wanted balls to go to him because I want him to play the ball."

Semien appears more relaxed in the field and has been more adept converting routine plays. His throws are more forceful and accurate. Bob Melvin has noticed.

"We all know he has the ability to do it, and he's showing more consistency," Melvin said. "He just looked more confident, and I think success breeds confidence."

The improvement would be impossible if Semien allowed the errors to wreck that confidence. But that has not been the case.

"You pay attention to it, everybody does," he said. "But you just have to move on, be mentally tough and want the next ball hit to you no matter what. ... That's the professional mindset. That's what we're here to do, is bounce back from mistakes."

Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe apparently doesn't like one-hit games. It's either multiple hits or forget it.

At least that's his recent trend. Forsythe has more than one hit in five of his last seven games and is hitless in the other two. It all adds up to a hot streak in which he is batting .481 (13-for-27).

Most of those hits, however, have gone to waste. He has scored just one run during that stretch and has only one RBI over his last six games.

Forsythe has been a pleasant surprise for a team that has also been a pleasant surprise. His .288 average is at its highest point since June 2.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve missed his fourth straight game on Sunday, with a hamstring injury. However, Altuve did a second straight day of pregame drills, and the hamstring passed all tests. 

Manager A.J. Hinch is confident that Altuve will be able to play in Monday's game. 

Altuve did striding drills on Saturday and side-to-side movement on Sunday.

“I think he’s answered probably every test,” Hinch said, per the Houston Chronicle. “There’s certain stuff we can’t do until you get into a game. But he’s making steady progress and we’re going to get him on the field pretty soon. He had his helmet on last night. Was going to pinch hit at one point. So he’s available. But I’m going to hold off staring him until at least tomorrow.”

Altuve reported no pain in the hamstring on Sunday. 

White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift his team past the Rangers on Sunday.

Beckham entered the game as a pinch-hitter and went 1 for 1 with the game-clinching blast, which was his fourth of the season.

Beckham is hitting .220 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 127 at-bats this season.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is out of the starting lineup again on Sunday.

Altuve has been bothered by a sore hamstring and has started just two of the last nine games. 

Marwin Gonzalez replaces Altuve in the lineup. He's started eight games at second this season, seven of them in the last week and a half. 

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, who has struggled with the bat and the glove recently, will get a chance to clear his head Sunday. He is out of the lineup against the host White Sox.

Andrus has been hitless in three of his last six games. He has also committed a whopping 14 errors this season, including two Saturday.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve remains out of the starting lineup on Saturday against the Mariners. Altuve has been bothered by a sore hamstring for about a week now, which has caused him to miss a good chunk of playting time, including three straight games.

Altuve was said to be feeling better, but it seemed unlikely he would return for Saturday's game, and his status for Sunday remains unclear at this point.

"They [talk] like I’m ready but like I say yesterday, it’s their call, so whenever they decide," he said, per MLB.com. "I don’t want to do anything stupid. But I feel like I’m great but like I said I’m going to be patient."

Jake Elmore is not in the Rays lineup on Saturday. Elmore had started the previous eight games at first base. 

Nick Franklin gets the start ahead of Elmore. It's his fifth start of the year and the first since June 11. 

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is not ready to rejoin the lineup, as he is on the bench for Friday's game against the Mariners. Altuve has started just three of the last seven games, playing a full nine innings in just one of those starts.

He is surffering from a sore hamstring that has been bothering him since last week, and there's currently no timetable for his return to the lineup.

Angels second baseman Johnny Giavotella hit his third home run of the season against the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Giavotella went 2 for 5 with a solo home run in the third inning.

Giavotella boosted his batting average to .271 with the performance. He has three home runs and 22 RBI in 207 at-bats this season.