MLB Player News

Lopez went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's 6-0 win over Baltimore.

The 26-year-old went deep in the first inning, and that was the only run until he added an RBI single in the eighth. Lopez is far from a power hitter, as Thursday's homer was just his second of the year. He's still been hot at the plate lately, with multiple hits in five of six games during his current hitting streak. The shortstop owns a .297/.365/.375 slash line with 38 RBI, 62 runs scored and 19 stolen bases across 469 plate appearances.

Gimenez isn't starting Thursday's game against Minnesota.

Gimenez went just 1-for-8 with four strikeouts across the last two games, and he'll head to the bench for the second time in the last four contests. Owen Miller will start at the keystone and bat seventh.

Kemp (wrist) will bat seventh and play right field Thursday against the White Sox.

Kemp left Tuesday's game with a left wrist injury and didn't participate in Wednesday's contest, but the issue has evidently cleared up. He was swinging a hot bat immediately prior to the injury, hitting .370 with a pair of homers over his last eight games.

Merrifield went 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's 9-8 loss to the Orioles.

The 32-year-old has now reached the 40-steal plateau for the second time in his career, leaving him three back of Starling Marte for the major-league lead. Merrifield is finishing up the season on a roll, slashing .315/.347/.483 over his last 20 games with two homers, six stolen bases, 11 RBI and 19 runs.

Semien went 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBI and a run Wednesday in the Blue Jays' 6-3 win over the Yankees.

Semien has been the driving force of the Blue Jays' 7-0 start to September. In those seven games, he's gone 10-for-27 (.370 average) with six home runs, 13 RBI, seven runs, a stolen base and a 5:4 BB:K. After plating a pair of runs on a base hit in the fourth inning, Semien upped his season RBI total to 90. In so doing, he joined teammate Vladimir Guerrero (99 RBI, 106 runs) as the only players with in the majors with at least 90 RBI and 90 runs.

Hernandez went 0-for-1 with two walks and a stolen base in Wednesday's 8-5 win over Arizona.

Hernandez also sacrificed in one of his four plate appearances Wednesday. He's racked up four stolen bases in his last four games, and he's up to eight thefts on the year. The 23-year-old infielder is slashing a reasonable .264/.356/.299 with five RBI, 11 runs scored and three doubles through his first 25 major-league games, but he's profiled as a contact hitter more than a power threat with just four home runs across four minor-league seasons.

Altuve went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-5 loss to Seattle.

The second baseman went yard in the fifth inning. Altuve has homered in consecutive games after failing to put a ball over the fence in all of August. He's hit safely in seven of the last eight contests and now sports a .272/.347/.481 slash line with 27 long balls, 71 RBI, 94 runs scored and four stolen bases across 582 plate appearances.

Rengifo went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-0 win over the Padres.

Rengifo provided an insurance run in the ninth inning, swatting a solo shot to right field to give the Angels a 3-0 lead. The homer was his first since June 23. He had been struggling since his last long ball, entering Tuesday with a .140 average and only two RBI over his previous 57 at-bats.

Torres remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.

Torres will be on the bench for the second straight contest and the third time in five contests while Andrew Velazquez draws another start at shortstop. Since returning from a sprained thumb last weekend, Torres has gone 3-for-13 with no extra-base hits in four games, dropping his OPS to a career-worst .672 over 103 games. Torres is still expected to move forward as the Yankees' primary shortstop, but his standing atop the depth chart looks to be shaky.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Arroyo (illness) rejoined the team for workouts Wednesday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Arroyo is back in Boston after he completed a quarantine period and regained strength after being hit particularly hard by a case of COVID-19. Since Enrique Hernandez has beaten him back from the COVID-19 IL, Arroyo looks like he'll have to settle for a depth role upon returning, so the Red Sox may not rush activating him. Expect Arroyo to complete at least a few workouts and potentially head out on a minor-league rehab assignment before being reinstated from the IL.