MLB Player News

Kemp went 2-for-3 while hitting leadoff in a loss to the Yankees on Friday.

Mark Canha's demotion from the top of the order opened up an opportunity for Kemp to make his 13th appearance in the leadoff spot this season. The veteran has shown some signs of life at the plate recently with a .333 average over his last five games, and his modest 16.5 percent strikeout rate makes him a solid candidate to remain in the role against right-handed pitching the rest of the way.

Andrus is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Yankees, Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Andrus has four hits in his last three games but still owns a poor .231/.276/.308 line on the season. Josh Harrison will start at shortstop in his absence.

Lopez went 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 8-7 extra-innings win over Seattle.

The 26-year-old opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning. Lopez was also on base when Salvador Perez hit a game-tying grand slam in the fourth. Through 24 games in August, Lopez has batted a solid .280 with a home run, 11 RBI, 11 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. That's right in line with his season triple-slash of .282/.353/.354. The shortstop can't be counted on for much power, but he's been a solid contact hitter even after moving up to the No. 2 spot in the order earlier in the month.

Merrifield went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, a walk and a stolen base in Friday's 8-7 victory versus the Mariners.

Merrifield led off the game with a double and quickly stole third base before scoring the Royals' first run. The theft was his 38th of the campaign, moving him two behind Starling Marte for the league lead. Merrifield has been red hot at the plate of late, registering five multi-hit efforts over his past seven games. Over that span, he is slashing .419/.457/.710 with a home run, nine RBI, eight runs and two stolen bases.

Gimenez stole a base after pinch running for Franmil Reyes during Friday's 4-3 loss to Boston.

Gimenez picked up his seventh theft of the year to get into scoring position in the the ninth inning. Boston reliever Adam Ottavino retired Wilson Ramos, Bradley Zimmer and Owen Miller to leave Gimenez stranded. The versatile infielder will mainly see starts versus right-handed pitching as he competes with Owen Miller and Yu Chang for playing time around the infield.

Ibanez went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-4 loss to Houston.

The infielder continues to rake, as his hitting streak is up to 11 games, including multiple hits in each of the last seven. In that span, Ibanez has gone 21-for-43 (.488) with two home runs, six RBI, six runs scored and six doubles. He toiled around the Mendoza Line for much of the first half of the season, but he's surged since the All-Star break and now owns a .263/.303/.419 slash line through 212 plate appearances overall.

Arauz went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run in a win over Cleveland on Friday.

Recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Friday, Arauz provided the winning runs for Boston with a clutch three-run eighth-inning home run off Indians reliever James Karinchak. Drawing the start Friday batting ninth and playing second-base, the 23-year-old infielder has slashed .226/.314/.355 at the big league level this season.

Mayfield isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Padres.

Mayfield has gone hitless with two strikeouts in his last eight at-bats, and he'll retreat to the bench for the third time in the last four games. Phil Gosselin will start at the hot corner and bat third.

Wong was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.

Wong rejoined the major-league club Wednesday and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout as a pinch hitter Thursday. He'll return to the minors, where he's slashed .330/.377/.470 with four homers, 31 runs, 22 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 45 games this year.

Arraez isn't starting Friday's game against the Brewers.

Arraez will ride the pine after he went 0-for-4 with a walk across the last two games. Willians Astudillo will start at the hot corner and bat eighth.