MLB Player News

Center fielder Adam Eaton and third baseman Conor Gillaspie were both out of the White Sox lineup for Sunday's game. 

Eaton will be replaced by J.B. Shuck, who starts for just the fourth time this season. He'll bat ninth. 

Replacing Eaton at leadoff is second baseman Emilio Bonifacio, who leads off for the first time this year. 

Conor Gillaspie will be replaced at third by Gordon Beckham for the second straight game. 

Rays first baseman James Loney is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against Texas. 

Logan Forsythe replaces Loney at first and bats cleanup for the third time in four games.

The Rays are -156 money line favorites over Texas. 

For a guy who plays infrequently, White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham sure swung the bat Saturday night against Cincinnati like he was in the groove.

Beckham singled in a run in the fourth, ripped a solo homer in the sixth and put the cherry on top with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. He nearly doubled his season RBI output in the process.

The fine game ended a 1-for-13 slump.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve went 1 for 3 at the plate in Houston's 6-5 win over the Angels on Saturday.

Altuve did his damage in the first inning when he crushed a solo home run over the left field wall off of Matt Shoemaker, his fourth of the season. Altuve is now hitting .349 with 21 RBI in 129 at-bats this season.

White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham and catcher Geovany Soto are in the starting lineup for Chicago's second game against the Reds on Saturday.

Beckham replaces Conor Gillaspie and Soto replaces Tyler Flowers, who both started in game 1. 

Astros center fielder Jake Marisnick has been bumped up to lead off in Houston's batting order for Saturday's game against the Angels, moving Jose Altuve to second, the team announced.

It's the first time all season someone other than Altuve will lead off for Houston. Marisnick, who has hit in the bottom third of the lineup all year, is hitting .325 with three home runs in 83 at-bats this season. However, Marisnick is hitting .121 in 33 at-bats from the lead off role. 

"I'm excited," Altuve said. 'It's fun. … I'm kind of hoping we feed off each other and get rolling and get this offense going a little bit. We've been a little bit sluggish here the last couple of games. It would be nice to get it rolling."

For just the second time this season, someone not named Evan Longoria will start at third base for the Rays on Thursday. Longoria will be the designated hitter for manager Kevin Cash as the Rays start a four-game series against the Rangers.

Longoria has been hitting the ball well lately, batting over .300 in his last 10 games, including a two-homer night on Wednesday. He'll cede third base duties to Logan Forsythe on Thursday.

Never mind the five-game hitting streak - Athletics second baseman Marcus Semien is out of the Thursday lineup in Minnesota for the first time this season.

Semien has started every game at that position in 2015. He is also on a fine run with seven hits in the last five games to improve his slash line to .283/.331/.434.

Angels infielder Johnny Giavotella has never had more than 181 at-bats in any single season. So far in 2015, he has 84, and is likely in line for many more this season. 

Giavotella has become the starting second baseman for manager Mike Scioscia, as he has started all but two of the team's 28 games this season. And he has rewarded his skipper's faith by hitting a clean .286 with 12 RBI, including a walk-off double in Wednesday's 4-3 victory over the Mariners. It was his fifth game-winning RBI of the season.

"He's just a tough out," Scioscia said, per MLB.com. "He's been a tough out his whole life, at every level in the Minor Leagues. Now he's getting an opportunity in the big leagues, and he's shown that he gives a tough at-bat every time. It's important to our club. We talk about the guys that we need to get into their game, but Johnny Giavotella has been one of the bright spots."

As long as he stays healthy and productive, Giavotella should easily surpass his career-high of 181 at-bats, among other offensive categories.

Rays infielder Nick Franklin played in his second rehab game on Wednesday, going 0 for 2 with two walks. He was checked out by a trainer after taking a swing, but was able to stay in the game. The Rays are looking to get Franklin 20-30 at-bats in his rehab before activiating him from the disabled list, according to the Tampa Bay Times.