MLB Player News

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.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus is not in the team's starting lineup Thursday.

It's assumed to be a normal day of rest for the shortstop. He started Wednesday's game, but was tossed after arguing balls and strikes. Andrus is hitting .256/.313/.348 over 207 at-bats.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus was forced to leave Wednesday's game against the Twins, for arguing balls and strikes.

Andrus was tossed in the sixth inning by home plate umpire Pat Hoberg, after arguing on a strikeout. He finished the game 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, and was replaced by Rougned Odor.

Scuffling Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa has been receiving more frequent bench time. He is out of the lineup for the Wednesday game against Miami. Kevin Frandsen is set to start instead.

Espinosa hasn't had a hit since May 20. He is 0 for 13 since as his average has fallen to .209.

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham hit his fourth home run Tuesday against the Indians.

Beckham led off the fifth inning with a solo shot off Mark Lowe. He took an 85 mph changeup out to left on the third pitch of the at-bat. Beckham also added a double earlier in the contest. He finished 2 for 4, with one run scored and one RBI.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus went 3 for 5 with a two-run double and a run scored in Monday's 7-2 win over the Twins. Over the past three games, Andrus is 7 for 16 with five runs scored and three RBI.

He has raised his average to .260/.318/.355.

Nationals infielder Danny Espinosa entered play Monday against the Marlins continuing to struggle at the plate. After batting .288 through April, Espinosa is batting just .127 with 33 strikeouts in 20 May games.

"What I see from Danny is he is a little too aggressive at this point," manager Matt Williams said, per MASNsports.com. "So he is swinging at some balls that are out of the zone. That is human nature, though, when it is not going good. He knows that he can hit the ball. He knows he has got power. He knows that on any given pitch, it can turn, but he has gotten a little bit too aggressive. So we are trying to zone him back in and get him back on the plate a little bit.

"He is working on making some adjustments at the plate. So those off-days he is getting are good works days for him to really do a lot of work with (hitting coach) Rick Schu in the cage."

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus contributed two hits, including his 12th double, one RBI and three runs during a 12-4 win Sunday at Detroit. He's produced two hits in each of his last two games and had his first double Sunday in nine games.

Andrus is batting .278 in 22 May games. He has one home run, seven doubles, six RBI, 15 runs and three stolen bases in that span.

Looking for a sleeper hitter for Fantasy Week 9 (May 26-June 1)? You may just find one in Jason Castro, Adam LaRoche, Gordon Beckham, Trevor Plouffe, Jimmy Rollins or Curtis Granderson.

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

A sharp eye and patience at the plate and ability to put bat on ball has continued to make Yankees third baseman Yangervis Solarte one of the premier rookies in the sport this season.

Solarte has emerged from a mini-slump with five hits in his last four games. More impressive is a .387 on-base percentage fueled by 19 walks in 145 at-bats and helped by having just 19 strikeouts. Solarte is batting .310 and slugging .483 with five home runs and 24 RBI.