MLB Player News

Indians rookie third baseman Giovanny Urshela crushed his first career home run during a 6-0 win Thursday against the Mariners. Urshela hit a two-out solo home run off Vidal Nuno in the fifth inning.

Urshela also had an RBI single in the third inning, as he finished 2 for 4 with one strikeout and two runs.

''It's very exciting, both hits,'' Urshela said, per the Associated Press. ''I was just trying to get one in one day, and I got two.''

Urshela came into Thursday's game 0 for 4 with one RBI in his first two appearances.

''You could see how happy he was,'' Indians manager Terry Francona said. ''It was genuine, pure. You don't get to see that all the time. It's once in a lifetime when you get your first major league hit, first major league home run.''

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe hit his ninth home run of the season in Wednesday night's 7-2 loss to the Royals. 

Plouffe finished the game 2 for 4 and recorded two RBI. His homer was a solo shot in the eighth inning and he also hit an RBI single in the third. This marked Plouffe's first home run since May 31. 

He now has a slash line of .250/.317/.447. 

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria took Jered Weaver deep for his sixth home run of the year in his team's 4-2 win over the Angels on Wednesday.

Longoria went 1 for 3 with the solo blast and a walk.

Longoria is hitting .272 with six home runs and 26 RBI in 202 at-bats this season.

Orioles shortstop Manny Machado has been on fire at the plate as of late, something he continued in his team's 5-2 win over the Red Sox on Wednesday.

Machado went 2 for 4 with a run scored in the game. The multi-hit performance was his third in his last four games -- he's hitting .411 with seven hits in that span.

Machado is hitting .270 with nine home runs and 25 RBI in 222 at-bats this season.

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson continued his dominance over Major League pitching in Wednesday's 7-2 victory over the Marlins. Donaldson had two hits Wednesday including his 17th home run of the season. 

Donaldson's solo shot came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to put the Jays up by five. He's now homered in two of his last three games and has hit safely in all but one of his nine games this month. 

After not starting in the last three games because of a sore wrist, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria was back in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angles, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

Longoria will bat third and play third base during the contest. He will face Jered Weaver, who he is 5 for 17 against in his career with three doubles. Over his last 11 games, Longoria is hitting .182 with no home runs and two RBI.

The Rays are favored (-115) over the Angels on Wednesday.

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas continued swinging the bat well in Tuesday's win over the Twins. Moustakas went 1 for 5 with an RBI single. He's now batting .313 (10 for 32), hitting safely in seven of eight games this month. 

The power has been quiet lately, as Moustakas hasn't gone deep since May 27 and he has five on the year. But he's reaching base on a consistent basis for the Royals lately.

Indians rookie third baseman Giovanny Urshela is set to make his major league debut Tuesday night against visiting Seattle after his promotion from Triple-A. He is batting eighth.

He will remain the starter at third for the time being, per the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

Urshela, who was batting .276 with three home runs and nine RBI in 76 at-bats at Columbus, is replacing disappointing Lonnie Chisenhall, who was sent down. Urshela is also considered a far superior defensive player.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is unable to return to the starting lineup on Tuesday against the Angels. Longoria has been bothered by a sore wrist, and did not start either of the last two games, though he was used as a pinch-runner on Sunday.

Longoria took some swings in the cage to test out his wrist on Tuesday, but the team decided to give him one more day to rest. He expects to return on Wednesday and insisted the injury is nothing serious, according to the Tama Bay Times. 

The team has not provided an update on Longoria's status, and it is not known if he will be available off the bench on Tuesday.

Blue Jays outfielder Danny Valencia drove in two runs to help the Blue Jays defeat the Marlins 11-3 on Monday.

Valencia went 2 for 5 with two RBI. He drove in the two runs when he doubled off Brad Hand in the first inning, which scored Jose Bautista and Chris Colabello.

Over his last 11 games, Valencia is 12 for 40 with one home run and seven RBI.