MLB Player News

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa went 3 for 5 at the plate during Tuesday's 6-1 win over the Braves.

Espinosa scored two runs and also had one RBI. Prior to his three-hit game Tuesday, Espinosa was hitting .179 with one double and four RBI in his last 11 games.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve smacked his seventh home run of the season Monday to send the Astros to a 6-1 win over the Royals.

Altuve hit the solo shot off Joe Blanton in the third inning. It was his only hit in three at-bats during the contest. He also walked once.

Prior to Monday's contest, Altuve was hitting .250 with one home run and three RBI in his last 12 games.

Shortstop Elvis Andrus had a nice day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI, but it wasn't enough to keep the Rangers from dropping a series to the Blue Jays. 

Andrus got Texas on the board with his sixth-inning RBI single, and also added a double and stolen base, to continue a nice run in which he's hit in five of his last six games. 

Andrus, who also had a three-hit game earlier in the week, has seen his average rise from .237 to .251 over the past 10 contests. 

The Yankees sent second baseman Gregorio Petit down to the minor leagues Sunday, the team announed.

Petit is hitting .184 with five RBI in 18 games this season. With Petit moving down, the team will promote pitcher Esmil Rogers. Rogers has a 6.27 ERA over 33 innings this season. 

Padres infielder Yangervis Solarte went 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks. Solarte drove in the final San Diego run in the sixth inning, putting the game well out of reach for Arizona.

This makes back-to-back multi-hit games for Solarte, but he is still hitting just .242 over his last 10 games.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve broke a 32-game homerless drought with a sixth-inning solo blast on Saturday. His sixth home run of the season tied the game at 6-6, but the Astros would suffer a 9-6 loss to the Yankees.

Altuve is now riding a modest six-game hitting streak, during which he is hitting at a .320 clip. He seems to be showing no ill-effects from the hamstring issue that cost him a few games recently.

Rays first baseman Jake Elmore broke a scoreless tie with a two-run home run in the fifth inning of Saturday's win over Boston. 

Elmore hit his second homer of the year and first since April 22, his first Rays gave of the season. 

"He seems to get some really big hits at important times," Rays manager Kevin Cash said, per MLB.com.

Elmore went 1 for 3 and reached 15 RBI on the season. 

"You know what? When I hit it, I didn't even think home run," Elmore said. "I just thought, 'Please stay fair,' because I knew it was at least getting down. Then I was like, 'Oh, man, that might get out of here.' ... I was just worried about it staying fair."

Nationals third baseman Yunel Escobar is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game. 

Escobar left Friday's game after being hit by a pitch. Escobar suffered a hand injury, and while X-rays were negative, he was still suffering from swelling on Saturday. 

Escobar will be replaced at third by Danny Espinosa, who moves over from second. Dan Uggla fills in at second base for the first time since May 27. 

Enrique Hernandez will start in left field for the Dodgers on Saturday, for the first time in 26 games. 

Alex Guerrero sits after starting the last three games in left. Hernandez gets his third start of the year there and will bat seventh in the lineup. 

Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe went 3 for 5 with a run scored in Friday's loss to Boston. 

Forsythe has hit in five straight with 10 hits in the last 18 at bats. 

Forsythe was also caught stealing for the second time this year.