MLB Player News

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve had two hits in four at bats in Saturday's 6-2 loss to Texas. 

Altuve drove in one of Houston's two runs on the day, on a bases-loaded walk. 

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus drove in two runs in a 6-2 win over Houston on Saturday. 

Andrus went one for four, raising his average for the season to .167. His two-run single in the fifth helped give the Rangers some breathing room. 

Padres infielder Yangervis Solarte is in the starting lineup Saturday against the Giants, batting second and playing first base.

Solarte has started just once this season, playing second base and batting seventh Wednesday. His start Saturday sends Yonder Alonso to the bench. Solarte is 2 for 7 with an RBI in four games this season.

"This is an infielder by trade," Padres manager Bud Black said before the game to U-T San Diego. "He's got good hands, good feet, good arm. Now it's different angles and different responsibilities at first, but I think he had enough repetitions during spring training to give us a level of comfort. We feel good about it, and each day he plays there, he's going to get better. He's fine."

Infielder Danny Espinosa is the only Nationals position player not to appear in a game yet this season. 

Manager Matt Williams knows and plans to remedy that situation over the weekend. 

"It's a tough situation sometimes with the lineup out there that you feel good about winning games, certainly depending on matchups and all the information that we got," Williams said, per MLB.com. "We try to balance it. It's not easy."

Espinosa will likely play in Saturday's game. 

"We want to get in there more than once a week. That's for sure," Williams said. 

Athletics left fielder Mark Canha will hit second in Friday night's game against the Mariners, according to MLB.com. 

A day before in the series-finale against the Rangers, Canha hit seventh. This season, Canha is already 4 of 9 with two double and four RBI. Catcher Stephen Vogt will move down the lineup and bat seventh. 

Shortstop Marcus Semien and second baseman Eric Sogard also switched places from Thursday's lineup. Semien will hit eighth and Sogard ninth. 

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus hit seventh for a second straight game Friday against the Astros. Andrus, who hit second in the first three games, is not complaining about batting seventh after Thursday's 10-1 win against the A's.

“In the end, it's all about winning," he said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Andrus is batting .125 (2 for 16) with no extra-base hits and no RBI in four games. He has one run, one strikeout and no walks.

Angels second baseman Johnny Giavotella is hoping to make a better impression with his new club than he did with the Royals, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Giavotella, who was acquired by the Angels from the Royals in exchange for right-hander Brian Broderick this offseason, beat out Grant Green and Josh Rutledge for the second base job. He is hitting .444/.500/.444 through three games. He entered 2015 with a .238 average in 125 big-league games.

"Any time you're called up to the big leagues, it's an opportunity to show them what you can do at this level," Giavotella said. "If it's 10 at-bats or 100 at-bats, you have to utilize that to your advantage.

"Unfortunately, in Kansas City, I don't think I made a big enough impression for them to feel confident enough to put me in the lineup every day at second base, so they chose to go with other guys."

Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien had an RBI in three of the four games against the Rangers, including an RBI double during Thursday's 10-1 loss. It was his first extra-base hit of the season.

Semien is batting .308 (4 for 13) with one run, one walk, three RBI and four strikeouts in four games, after batting .288 (19 for 66) with three home runs, five doubles, 11 RBI and 14 runs in 24 games during spring training.

Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius is expected to take a scheduled day of rest Friday against the Red Sox, manager Joe Girardi said, per MLB.com. The Yankees will face a left-handed starter for the second straight night, in Boston's Wade Miley, and it may open the door for Gregorio Petit to start. 

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday's batting order against the Orioles will be the standard lineup for when a left-handed starter is on the mound, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The Orioles are starting Wei-Yin Chen on Tuesday.

The Rays lineup Tuesday was Brandon Guyer (LF), Steven Souza (RF), Asdrubal Cabrera (SS), Evan Longoria (3B), Desmond Jennings (CF), Logan Forsythe (DH), James Loney (1B), Rene Rivera (C) and Tim Beckham (2B).