MLB Player News

Rendon has remained in Thursday's game against the Rangers despite suffering a hand injury, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Rendon was hit in the hand by a pitch in the first inning and has been unable to swing the bat since, as he's attempted only to bunt in his next two plate appearances. With Brandon Drury (suspension), Gio Urshela (lower body) and Zach Neto (oblique) unavailable, the Angels have Hunter Renfroe and Matt Thaiss as their only healthy bench bats -- forcing Rendon to stay in the game. It's unclear if he'll be forced to miss any time, though we should get a clearer picture ahead of Friday's series opener in Kansas City.

Urshela exited Thursday's game against the Rangers with an apparent lower-body injury, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Urshela stumbled over first base while trying to beat out a double play in the first inning. He remained in the contest briefly but was ultimately pulled before having to field his position in the second inning. There are no additional details about the nature of the injury, but Jared Walsh entered the game at first base.

Urshela (back) is starting at first base Thursday against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Back soreness kept Urshela out of the Angels' last two games, but the issue appears to have subsided ahead of Thursday's contest. Urshela holds just a .400 OPS over the past seven days, but he will fill in at first base for Jared Walsh, who hasn't recorded a hit since June 2.

Jung isn't in the Rangers' lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels.

Jung will get a day off Thursday after slashing .234/.321/.362 over the past two weeks. He'll be replaced at third base by Josh Smith, who will bat ninth.

Moncada will be placed on the injured list Thursday due to his nagging back injury, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Moncada has dealt with a herniated disc in his back since spring training and already spent more than a month on the IL with the issue earlier this season. He's struggled at the plate of late and will head back to the shelf after playing through the injury for the past month. It's not clear how much time he'll miss, but it certainly could be an extended absence. Jake Burger is in line for everyday third base duties.

Bride is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Rays.

Bride has been the Athletics' primary third baseman since being called up in late May, but he'll begin this one on the bench. Jace Peterson will be at third base and Tony Kemp will cover second.

Walls went 1-for-4 with a stolen base Wednesday against the Athletics.

Walls has only four hits across 41 at-bats in June, limiting his chances to steal bases. Despite the slow stretch, he's maintained a consistent role -- he's benefitted from the absence of Brandon Lowe (back) -- and has been out of the lineup only twice in the team's last 15 games. Walls should remain a decent source of stolen bases and runs if he can get back on track at the plate, though he's now hitting only .209 across 198 plate appearances for the season.

Peterson went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in a loss to the Rays on Wednesday.

Peterson put together the only multi-hit effort of the night for the A's and pulled within one stolen base of his third consecutive season with double-digit swipes. The veteran's recent hot streak at the plate continued as well, as he now has four multi-hit efforts in the last eight games, a stretch during which he's reached safely 16 times across 28 plate appearances.

Burger went 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI in Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Dodgers.

Burger has gone yard four times and added 10 RBI despite going just 6-for-32 (.188) over his last eight games. He's also struck out 14 times in that span, which puts him at a 31.6 percent strikeout rate on the season. He's made do with solid power production -- 15 homers and nine doubles over 50 contests. Burger is slashing .250/.299/.600 with 35 RBI, 26 runs scored and a stolen base, but a little more plate discipline could go a long way to making him a fixture in the lineup.

Moncada is not in the starting lineup versus the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Moncada has struggled mightily as of late with a slash of .139/.162/.250 over 36 at-bats in the month of June and no multi-hit games since May 16 versus Cleveland. Jake Burger is hitting fifth and playing third base while Moncada takes a seat.