MLB Player News

Castro is starting at shortstop and batting seventh in Friday's game against the White Sox.

Zack Short started both games of the doubleheader Wednesday the last time the Tigers took the field, but he'll retreat to the bench Friday and give way to Castro. The latter is slashing .262/.320/.305 this season with a home run and 17 RBI in 46 games this season.

Short is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the White Sox, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Short started at shortstop during both games of Wednesday's doubleheader against Cleveland, but he'll begin Friday's game on the bench. Harold Castro will start at shortstop and bat seventh.

Altuve went 1-for-3 with two walks and a grand slam in Thursday's 7-2 win over Cleveland.

With Houston trailing 2-1 in the fifth inning, Altuve connected for a grand slam off J.C. Mejia to give the Astros a lead they would not relinquish. It was his second granny of the season.

Hernandez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Thursday against the Royals.

Hernandez led off the bottom of the first inning with his ninth home run of the season -- his third leadoff homer in five games. That was his lone hit of the contest, though he entered Thursday's game with multiple hits in three of his last four starts -- scoring one run on each occasion. Across 273 plate appearances this season, Hernandez is hitting .237/.304/.424 with 38 runs scored and 25 RBI.

Semien went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and another run scored during Thursday's loss to Seattle.

Semien got Toronto on the board with his first-inning blast against Yusei Kikuchi. He also swatted his 21st double of the season in the eighth and soon came around to score. After finishing off a hot June at the plate with six home runs, it looks like Semien is starting off July on the right track. Overall this season, he's slashing .291/.357/.548 with 20 long balls.

Clement will start at shortstop and bat seventh Thursday against the Astros.

The 25-year-old will remain in the starting nine for the fourth time in five games, and he looks like he could be the main beneficiary of extra opportunities following Josh Naylor's (ankle) recent placement on the injured list. Clement has gone 3-for-11 with four runs over his previous three starts.

Biggio isn't starting Thursday's game against the Mariners.

Biggio will get a breather after he went 5-for-11 with two doubles, four RBI, two walks and three strikeouts across the last three games. Santiago Espinal will start at third base and bat eighth.

Andrus went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Rangers.

Andrus notched a pair of singles in this one and ended up stealing third for his seventh stolen base of the year. The 32-year-old has hit safely in seven of his last eight games and has swiped a bag in two of his last three. Andrus isn't the same runner he was during his 12-year tenure with the Rangers during which he notched at least 20 steals 10 times. His decreased ability to steal certainly hurts his value due to the fact that his hitting averages are down in comparison to the rest of his career. Andrus is currently slashing .230/.271/.298, which is on pace to be the lowest line of his career outside of last season when he only played in 29 games.

Castro went 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs and three RBI in Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader sweep versus Cleveland.

The second baseman registered his sixth three-hit performance of the campaign in the Game 1 win, and it was his first such effort since he collected three hits in consecutive games May 18 and 19. Castro played in 17 contests overall in June, struggling to a .146/.226/.250 slash line, one homer and six RBI.

Kemp is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rangers, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Kemp started the past four games, including two against lefties, but he'll head to the bench Wednesday after going 1-for-13 during that stretch. Chad Pinder will work in left field against Texas left-hander Kolby Allard.