MLB Player News

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is not 100 percent healthy and continuing to play through a sore left quad, MLB.com reports Sunday. 

"He doesn't have that burst of speed we're used to seeing," manager Bo Porter said. "You look at the [double] last night, that probably would have been a triple if he's completely healthy. I think he scores from second base easy on that single, too. At the same time, he's not coming out of the lineup. As the manager and the training staff, we do have to monitor it and protect him from himself."

Altuve went 1 for 4 Sunday in a loss to the Rangers. He doubled and is batting .282 on the season. 

Royals infielder Johnny Giavotella is tentatively scheduled to rejoin the Triple-A Omaha lineup Sunday, the Kansas City Star reports. Giavotella, who has been out since July 23 with a hip injury, was just 1 for 6 in two games after joining Omaha before going on the disabled list.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus hit his first home run of the season in his team's 5-4 win over the Astros Saturday. The two-run homer was his only hit in five at-bats, giving him a .260/.322/.313 line with 38 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 454 at-bats.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve went 1 for 4 with one walk, one run, one RBI and his 18th double of the season in his team's 5-4 loss to the Rangers Saturday. After the loss, manager Bo Porter said that Altuve's left quad is not 100 percent but that the second baseman is "gutting it out," the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve has picked up hits in 10 of his last 11 games while missing three games during that stretch. He owns a .282/.321/.261 line with four home runs, 40 RBI and 29 stolen bases in 432 at-bats.

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham clubbed his third home run Wednesday against the Yankees.

In the bottom of the fifth, Beckham took a CC Sabathia slider out to left for a solo shot. Beckham later doubled, finishing the game 2 for 4. He drove in and scored two runs. 

Beckham is hitting .310/.348/.429 in 210 at-bats. 

The Rangers took advantage of the Angels on the basepaths Wednesday, as Elvis Andrus combined with Leonys Martin for six stolen bases.

Andrus went 3 for 4 with a walk in the game, while stealing three bases in three attempts in a 10-3 win. He also stole two bases in the previous game, pushing his total for the season to 30, while being caught just three times.

Andrus has hit safely in six of seven games in the month of August, wile raising his batting average from .252 to .261.

Mariners infielder Nick Franklin ended an 0-for-27 stretch emphatically Wednesday, as he tripled and drove in a run in his first at-bat. He ended the game 1 for 4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored, in a 9-7 win. 

"It wasn’t really relief, but it was just nice to get started in the first inning, get going and get on top," Franklin told the Seattle Times. "I think more than anything, it was only the first inning, so I had three at-bats or more to worry about and adjust."

Franklin had received a pair of days off Sunday and Monday designed to clear his head, and he said those days did help him find his swing. 

"Honestly, the two days just made me itch to get back at it, more than anything," he said. "Those two days, I got to do some work and figure some things out"

Franklin is hitting .247 on the season with a .760 OPS in 227 at-bats. 

Mariners rookie second baseman Nick Franklin returned to the starting lineup Tuesday against the Blue Jays after sitting two games. Unfortunately, the days off didn't help snap Franklin's hitting woes.

Franklin went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and is now hitless in his last five games (24 at-bats).

"You hope he comes right out of it, but you stick with him," Mariners acting manager Robby Thompson said, per The Seattle Times. "That’s part of the growing pains of a young player coming up is learning how to deal with the failure of it. You go into slumps, and you’ve got to fight your way out of it. This is where he’s got to maintain and keep grinding it out and stay positive.

"He’ll get it back soon. Until then, if he’s not getting hits, he should be out there taking hits away, or try to, anyway. You can’t just throw in the towel, which he’s not. But you still have to play the game. He’ll fight his way out of it."

Mariners second baseman Nick Franklin is slumping and getting a night off Monday against Toronto, the Seattle Times reports. That afforded Dustin Ackley his first start at second since his recall from the minors in June. 

Franklin has gone just 9 for 49 (.184) over his last 11 games with three homers, eight RBI and 17 strikeouts over that stretch. 

Mariners rookie second baseman Nick Franklin has gone into a cold spell since homering twice July 28 against the Twins. Franklin has managed one hit in his last five games (25 at-bats) and has struck out 11 times in that span.

Franklin's average has plummeted from .277 to .250 during his recent five-game slide.