MLB Player News

Albies went 2-for-4 with a double, a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

The second baseman has a slow start to the season, but Albies may be coming out of his funk. Over his last nine games he's gone just 7-for-31 (.226), but six of his hits (three doubles and all three of his homers on the year) have gone for extra bases.

Merrifield went 2-for-5 with an RBI single, a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 6-2 win over the Tigers.

Merrifield plated Michael Taylor with a single and came around to score on Jorge Soler's two-run double in the fifth inning. In the ninth, Merrifield and Carlos Santana executed a double-steal, but neither of them scored. The speedy Merrifield has six stolen bases, three home runs, 13 RBI, 13 runs scored and a .292/.333/.472 slash line through 81 plate appearances atop the Royals' order.

Haggerty, who entered Thursday's extra-inning win over the Red Sox as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, laced a go-ahead RBI double, stole a base and scored in his one plate appearance.

The utility man's run-scoring two-bagger snapped a 3-3 tie in the 10th inning and gave Haggerty his fourth hit in his last 11 plate appearances. The 27-year-old has been in the batter's box on only 27 occasions through his first 11 games, but he's picked things up after going 1-for-8 with one strikeout in his first three games this season.

Altuve (illness) has been cleared to work out with his teammates but is not yet ready to return to game action, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Altuve has been away from the team for over a week while on the COVID-19 injured list. He worked out on the field prior to Friday's game against the Angels but needs a few more days to get back in game shape before being activated.

Lowe is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Lowe hit a home run in each of the past two games but will head to the bench Friday with southpaw Steven Matz pitching for Toronto. Mike Brosseau will start at the keystone and bat cleanup for the Rays.

Torres went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run in a victory over Cleveland on Thursday.

Torres came into the contest having collected just three hits over his past 23 at-bats, but he matched that hit total with a trio of singles Thursday. The multi-hit effort was his first of the season, and the RBI was his first since April 11. The shortstop is off to a slow start to the campaign, slashing .219/.315/.250 with no home runs and only two RBI.

Gimenez went 1-for-3 with a stolen base in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Yankees.

Gimenez singled and stole second in the second inning. The infielder has three steals, two home runs, four RBI and six runs scored in 13 games. He's slashing .243/.300/.486 through 41 plate appearances and often hits near the bottom of the order when he plays.

Urias (calf) is starting at shortstop and batting eighth Friday against the Cubs, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

The 23-year-old missed the past two games with right calf cramps after exiting Monday's contest in San Diego, but he'll rejoin the starting nine after Thursday's scheduled off day. Urias is 5-for-13 with two homers, two doubles, six walks, eight RBI and four runs over his past six games.

Frazier went 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and two runs scored Thursday against the Tigers.

Frazier was a driving force behind the Pirates' offensive output Thursday. He led the game off with his sixth double of the season and came around to score in the same inning. Frazier also tallied his second stolen base of the campaign, though he shouldn't be counted on to contribute significantly in that category. He doesn't have much power to showcase, but Frazier is hitting .329/.415/.471 across 82 plate appearances.

Rojas went 2-for-4 with his first stolen base of the season in Thursday's extra-inning win over the Reds.

Rojas had been on the bench since Sunday before getting the start in right field in the series finale in Cincinnati. This was Rojas' second multi-hit game in his last two starts; the full-time experiment did not last long, but perhaps manager Torey Lovullo will ride the hot hand this weekend in Atlanta.