MLB Player News

Semien went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk Wednesday in the Athletics' 6-4 win over the Yankees.

The home run was Semien's third of the homestand and 22nd of the season, putting him just five away from matching a personal best in the category. Semien has seen a major dropoff in his efficiency on the bases this season, but he's otherwise trending toward matching or surpassing his previous career-best marks in batting average, home runs, runs and RBI.

Merrifield went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday against the Orioles.

Merrifield hit his 15th homer of the season in the third inning off Aaron Brooks. The effort extended his hitting streak to a modest four games, though he recorded at least one hit in nine consecutive starts earlier in the month. Though his 16 stolen bases are a bit disappointing, Merrifield has put together a strong .298/.350/.478 line with 85 runs scored across 582 plate appearances for the season.

Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Astros.

Detroit mustered just two hits against Houston ace Justin Verlander, but Rodriguez made his count, launching his ninth home run of the season in the fifth inning to put the Tigers up 1-0. The 27-year-old utility player homered twice during the three games in Houston, and he showed earlier this year that he's capable of hot streaks with a little power, though a slump is often not far behind.

Marte went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday against the Rockies.

Marte took Tim Melville deep in the sixth inning for his 27th homer of the season. He's in the midst of a five-game hit streak, but more impressively, he has at least one hit in 14 of 16 games in August. That's helped him maintain his strong results, as he's now slashing .319/.381/.571 across 538 plate appearances for the season.

Lowe (lower leg) was removed from Tuesday's rehab appearance at Triple-A Durham with a left quadriceps strain, Josh Tolentino of The Athletic reports.

Lowe seemed to be trending towards his return to the majors from a right lower leg bruise that sidelined him over a month, but he suffered the quad strain running out a groundball Wednesday. The 25-year-old will return from the rehab assignment while the extent of the new injury is determined.

Joseph is not starting Wednesday against the Yankees.

Joseph, who has gone 5-for-23 (.217) in six games since earning a promotion, will take a seat Wednesday as the Athletics look to stack right-handed hitters against lefty J.A. Happ. In his place, Jurickson Profar is starting at the keystone and hitting eighth.

Hernandez is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Blue Jays, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

He started in his first game off the injured list Tuesday against a righty, but he will head to the bench against a righty (Wilmer Font opening, Zack Godley primary reliever) in this one. As the Dodgers continue to get healthy and inevitably add reinforcements in September, Hernandez will likely start around half the games down the stretch. He will start against most lefties and against some righties. Matt Beaty is starting in left field and hitting eighth.

McNeil (hamstring) took batting practice Wednesday, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

He is on the shelf with a left hamstring injury, but presumably remains on track to come off the injured list later this week. Juan Lagares has been getting extra playing time in the short term.

Frazier is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Nationals.

Frazier has struggled since the start of August, slashing .193/.258/.281 with one home run in 16 games. As such, he'll take a seat against lefty Patrick Corbin, as Kevin Newman shifts to second base and Erik Gonzalez picks up a start at shortstop.

Lowe (lower leg) went 0-for-4 while playing all nine innings at second base in Triple-A Durham's loss to Charlotte on Tuesday.

Lowe came up empty at the plate, but he encouragingly was able to log a full game in the field for the first time during his rehab assignment. That's a notable development for the rookie, whose recovery from his lower-leg injury has taken much longer than expected. Having reached this important benchmark, Lowe will look to string together consecutive full games before being deemed ready for activation.