MLB Player News

McLain is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Cincinnati will go with Elly De La Cruz and Edwin Arroyo as its starters in the middle infield for the second day in a row while McLain is relegated to the bench. Arroyo has generated a modest .644 OPS since his call-up from Triple-A Louisville on June 1 and may need to improve his production to seize control of the everyday job at second base, but McLain hasn't done much to earn himself a larger share of the playing time. After going hitless in eight at-bats over his last three starts, his batting average has dropped to .198 on the season.

Arroyo will start at second base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Since Elly De La Cruz returned from the 10-day injured list Tuesday and pushed Matt McLain off shortstop, Arroyo and McLain have been splitting time at the keystone. Arroyo has held a slight edge in playing time between the two, as he's started three games to McLain's two and will be in the lineup for a second straight day against a righty (Mitch Keller). Since being called up from Triple-A Louisville on June 1, Arroyo has produced a pedestrian .263/.328/.316 over 65 plate appearances, so he likely has more work to do to take firmer control of the second base gig.

Altuve is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

The veteran second baseman will get the afternoon off after he slashed .245/.275/.408 with two home runs, no stolen bases, six RBI and five runs over the last 12 games. Raynel Delgado will replace Altuve at the keystone and bat ninth.

Nunez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

The Nationals will go with Jorbit Vivas at the keystone Sunday while Nunez heads to the bench for the first time since June 12. Nunez started the last 14 games, slashing .386/.460/.500 with seven runs and seven RBI over that stretch. He also contributed seven stolen bases during that time, bringing his season total to an MLB-leading 32.

The Orioles optioned Jackson to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday.

The 26-year-old opened the campaign as a lineup regular while Jackson Holliday was on the injured list, and Jackson took advantage of those early opportunities with six homers and an .800 OPS in his first 28 games. He's received more sporadic playing time of late and has a .244/.261/.333 slash line in his past 19 contests, so the Orioles will send him down to make room on the roster for the activation of Dylan Beavers (oblique).

Lowe went 1-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Saturday's 9-7 loss to the Reds.

Lowe gave the Pirates an early lead with a three-run blast in the third inning before adding a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The 30-year-old has hit safely in 10 of his past 11 contests, tallying six extra-base hits, 10 RBI and eight runs scored during that stretch. On the year, he's slashing .246/.320/.515 with 20 homers, 56 RBI and 51 runs scored across 341 plate appearances.

Seigler went 1-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Yankees.

Getting another start at second base, this time batting seventh against future Hall of Famer Gerrit Cole, Seigler got good wood on a 97.3-mph fastball in the second inning and lofted it the other way over the Green Monster. It was the first career homer for the 27-year-old in his 44th big-league game, and over eight straight starts for an injury-ravaged Red Sox infield, Siegler is batting .333 (9-for-27) with two doubles, two RBI and five runs in addition to Saturday's long ball.

Julien isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Minnesota.

Julien will grab a seat on the bench Saturday after going 1-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored during Friday's series opener. Tyler Freeman will shift to second base while Julien sits, opening up right field for Troy Johnston.

McLain isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Pittsburgh.

McLain has gone just 1-for-16 with eight strikeouts over his last five starts, and he'll now move to the bench to begin Saturday's contest. Edwin Arroyo will start at the keystone and bat ninth.

Interim manager Chad Tracy said that Gonzalez (shoulder) won't be activated off the injured list before Saturday's game against the Yankees, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Gonzalez said earlier this week that he was aiming to return to the active roster Saturday. He'll ultimately fall short of his goal, though Tracy noted that the 29-year-old infielder still has a chance to return for Sunday's series finale, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. Gonzalez has gone 2-for-18 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored since beginning his rehab assignment June 16.