MLB Player News

Semien went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Rays.

Semien took Corey Kluber yard in the sixth inning to record his second home run of the season. Though he's still slugging just .281 across 217 plate appearances for the campaign, Semien has three extra-base hits -- including both of his long balls -- across his last six starts. Semien's performance hasn't met expectations, but he has still managed to chip in 22 runs scored and six stolen bases despite hitting just .194.

Gorman (back) is feeling "fine" and was held out of the lineup Thursday against the Cubs in hopes of being able to return at full strength Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Gorman went through batting practice but was held out of the lineup and was not used as a pinch hitter Thursday. However, manager Oliver Marmol said that decision was made with the hopes that Gorman would be able to play second base -- rather than only serve as the designated hitter -- for Friday afternoon's game against the Cubs. Gorman has been sidelined by back stiffness for the Cardinals' last three contests.

Espinal went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI in an 8-3 win Thursday over the White Sox.

Espinal hit leadoff for the second straight game and delivered for Toronto, recording hits in his final three plate appearances. The infielder plated a run with a fifth-inning double and drove in two more in the eighth on a single. After a 2-for-23 slump to end May, the 27-year-old has come alive in June, going 4-for-9 with a double, a homer, and four RBI. In his last seven starts, he's hit either leadoff or second in the order for the Blue Jays.

Kim is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Kim started the past eight games and will head to the bench after posting a .570 OPS during that stretch. Sergio Alcantara will start at shortstop and bat ninth in his place for the series opener in Milwaukee.

Estrada was added to the lineup for Thursday's game against the Marlins, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Estrada was slated to take a seat for the fifth time in the last seven games Thursday, but he'll start at second base and bat sixth after Brandon Crawford (illness) was a late scratch. Although Estrada will draw the start Thursday, he's recently lost out on playing time to Donovan Walton.

Gorman (back) isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Gorman will take a seat for a third consecutive game due to lower-back tightness. Whether he's available off the bench remains to be seen, but Gorman was listed among the Cardinals' participants in batting practice Thursday, according to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. St. Louis also hasn't added an infielder to its taxi squad for its current road trip as of Thursday, implying that Gorman isn't considered a candidate to land on the injured list.

Estrada is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Marlins, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The righty-hitting Estrada finds himself on the bench against a right-handed starter (Sandy Alcantara) and appears to have moved into the short side of a platoon at second base with the lefty-hitting Donovan Walton, who starts for the seventh time in the last eight games. Estrada's decreased role comes as a surprise following a solid month of May in which he slashed .322/.358/.414.

Double-A Altoona placed Gonzales (heel) on its 7-day injured list Thursday, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The Pirates initially believed Gonzales was dealing with a minor contusion on his heel, but the issue has since proven to be a little more serious than the organization anticipated. That being said, a long-term absence doesn't seem to be in the forecast for Gonzales, who is also expected to change his cleats with the hope of mitigating any potential heel problems moving forward. Gonzales is hitting .247 with four home runs and four stolen bases across 186 plate appearances at Altoona this season.

Andrus went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI doubles and a run in a loss to the Astros on Wednesday.

Andrus continued his recent tear at the plate with his fourth and fifth doubles in the last four games Wednesday. The hot-hitting veteran's 16 extra-base hits for the season now give him just less than half of last year's total (30) in 98 fewer games.

Mendick is out of the lineup for Thursday's game in Toronto, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Mendick filled in at shortstop for the first two games of the series following Tim Anderson's (groin) placement on the injured list and produced four hits and two RBI over seven at-bats, but he'll head to the bench in favor of Leury Garcia in the series finale. Garcia had been tending to a bruised side before returning to the lineup Wednesday as Chicago's second baseman in place of a resting Josh Harrison, but Garcia and Mendick are likely to split work at shortstop while Anderson is on the mend.