MLB Player News

Duffy is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy will get a scheduled day off, as the Rays go with Tim Beckham at shortstop and Brad Miller as the DH on Wednesday. Duffy is hitting .270 with three RBI in 63 at-bats since coming over from San Francisco.

Machado went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer Tuesday against Toronto.

Machado's 444-foot bomb in the fifth inning was one of three long balls for a homer-happy Orioles offense. The 24-year-old is now just three shy of last season's career-high 35 home runs, and has made up for a lack of steals with a .306/.357/.563 line. He has left the yard 10 times in August after doing so just nine times in the previous two months combined.

Longoria hit an eighth-inning solo blast off Boston reliever Clay Buchholtz that broke a 3-3 tie and proved to be the game-winner Tuesday.

The big fly was Longoria's 31st of the year and flew an impressive 434 feet to left-center field. It also came after catcher Luke Maile tied the game with a two-run home run the inning prior, driving an emotional dagger into a Red Sox team that is fighting for a playoff spot. The Rays are just 56-75 this season, but Longoria has been great, hitting .287/.337/.549. The .549 slugging mark is a career best for Longoria, who turned 30 years old last October.

Donaldson went 1-for-3 with a solo homer in Monday's game against the Orioles.

Donaldson extended his hitting streak to eight games with his fourth-inning blast. The third baseman's 34th home run of the year put him on pace to surpass last season's career-high total of 41 homers. The reigning AL MVP has been heating up as he makes a last ditch effort to win the award again in 2016. Over Donaldson's last five games, he has eight hits, including six home runs, five walks, 11 RBI and eight runs scored.

Donaldson went 3-for-4 with a walk, three home runs and four RBI in Sunday's win over the Twins.

It was his first career three home run game and the 10th multi-homer game of Donaldson's career. The reigning AL MVP has been overshadowed a little by teammate Edwin Encarnacion this season but Donaldson still has a fantastic .294/.407/.578 slash line with 33 homers, 91 RBI and 105 runs scored on the year with plenty of baseball left to play. He may not repeat as MVP, but his 2016 campaign may end up being just as valuable as last year's.

Machado went 3-for-5 with a run scored in Sunday's win over the Yankees.

He's racked up four multi-hit performances in his last five games with three home runs, seven RBI and six runs scored, pushing Machado's slash line on the season to .309/.360/.564. Expect him to once again be a big part of the conversation when it comes to the AL MVP at the end of the year.

Muncy is out of the lineup Sunday against the Cardinals, MLB.com's Jane Lee reports.

Lefty Jaime Garcia will be taking the mound for St. Louis on Sunday, so the A's will use a lineup almost entirely void of left-handed bats. Muncy will head to the bench as a result, giving way to Chad Pinder after making five straight starts.

Escobar is out of the lineup Sunday against the Blue Jays.

Escobar will return to the bench after drawing four straight starts in the Minnesota infield. In his place, Trevor Plouffe will start at third base, while Jorge Polanco gets the nod at shortstop.

Alvarez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Yankees, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Alvarez will take a seat for a regular day off Sunday, as left-hander CC Sabathia is set to take the mound for the opposing Yankees. Mark Trumbo will take over as the designated hitter for the afternoon matchup.

Bregman went 2-for-4 with an RBI single, two run homer, walk and two runs in Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Rays.

The rookie extended the Astros' lead to 4-0 in the third with a 341-foot shot to left that drove home George Springer, and followed with a run-scoring hit to center in the next frame that brought in Marwin Gonzalez. Bregman now has hits in five straight and 10 of his last 11, bringing his improving season line up to .242/.301/.435 after a slow start.