MLB Player News

Bo Porter expressed confidence that Astros second baseman Jose Altuve will return to the lineup Thursday. A left oblique issue has Altuve sidelined for the first time this season Wednesday night.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was not in the lineup Wednesday for the first time all season after tweaking his left oblique while swinging Tuesday, reports MLB.com. In 66 games, Altuve has hit .315 with two homers, 22 RBI, 33 runs scored and 24 steals.

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham cranked out three hits in his team's 6-5 win over the Tigers on Monday.

Beckham singled in a run in the first, and doubled in the third and fifth innings, respectively. He finished 3 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI. He is hitting .298 with four homers and 13 RBI in 168 at-bats.

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa has a six-game hitting streak after going 3 for 4 with two RBI in Sunday's 6-0 win over the Padres. Espinosa is 10 for 22 in the streak, with five RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.

He has upped his average to .232/.292/.395.

Yankees infielder Yangervis Solarte put together a solid game Saturday against the Royals, in an 8-4 loss.

Solarte went 2 for 3 in the game and drove in his first runs of the month. He brought two runners around to score in the sixth inning with his single, and later scored in the ninth inning as well.

Solarte has slowed down recently, but is still hitting .294/.366/.452 in 197 at-bats on the season.  

The Mariners optioned shortstop Nick Franklin to Triple-A Tacoma, reports MLB.com. Franklin was sent down to make room for Erasmo Ramirez, who'll start Tuesday at Atlanta.

White Sox infielder Marcus Semien has been optioned to Triple-A Sunday.

Semien had his moments with the club, but was hitting just .222 over 162 at-bats. With Gordon Beckham performing well since his return, Semien was no longer needed on the major-league roster. 

One run made a big difference in a taut game Saturday and Yankees third baseman Yangervis Solarte provided one.

Solarte blasted a 396-foot homer in the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1. He added two singles to raise his batting average to .299 on the year.

Some hitters to sit in Fantasy Week 10 (June 2-8) include A.J. Pierzynski, Adam Dunn, Yangervis Solarte, Andrelton Simmons, Marcell Ozuna and, yes, even Dee Gordon (at least at second base in certain formats).

Find out why in my latest Start and Sit Hitters column.

Astros infielder Jose Altuve picked up three hits Thursday against the Orioles.

Altuve grounded out his first time up, but reached base in each of his last three plate appearances. Altuve doubled in the third, singled in the fifth and singled again in the seventh. Despite being on base three times, Altuve did not score any runs. He finished 3 for 4, with zero runs scored and no RBI. 

Altuve is hitting .325/.368/.440 in 234 at-bats.