MLB Player News

Rivera is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.

After Josh Rojas was demoted to Triple-A Reno on June 19, Rivera looked as though he might be a candidate to pick up everyday playing time, but he's now started just six times in 13 games since that date. Instead, Evan Longoria appears to have the edge on playing time at the hot corner for the time being.

Castro is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

Castro is on the bench for a fourth straight game, and he doesn't look as though he'll be a major beneficiary of Ji Hwan Bae's (ankle) move to the injured list Sunday. Though Castro has the ability to play three infield spots, the Pirates appear to have at least temporarily settled on Nick Gonzales, Tucupita Marcano and Jared Triolo as their primary options at second base, shortstop and third base, respectivey.

Machado went 2-for-5 with two homers and three RBI in Saturday's win over Cincinnati.

Machado went hitless in his first two at-bats before going back-to-back with Juan Soto in the top of the sixth for the third baseman's 10th home run of the season. But Machado wasn't done there, as he came up once again in the seventh and mashed a two-run shot to left center, giving the Padres a very commanding 10-1 lead. He had not recorded an RBI in six straight games coming in while it marked his first home run since June 22 against the Giants. It was Machado's second multi-homer game this season.

McMahon went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a walk Saturday against the Tigers.

McMahon entered the game with a five-game hitting streak, during which he went 6-for-18. However, he had no extra-base knocks, no RBI and only one run scored in that span. After a slow start to the campaign, McMahon has posted consecutive months with a wOBA of .375 or better and wRC+ marks greater than 120.

Arenado is not in the lineup for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Yankees.

Arenado went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk in the first game of the day. He returned from a brief absence caused by back tightness Thursday, which may have encouraged the team to lessen his workload a bit in the short term. Nolan Gorman will slide over to third base while Alec Burleson enters the lineup as the designated hitter.

Longoria is not in Saturday's lineup against the Angels.

Longoria had started four of the team's last five games and has a three-game hitting streak. However, he'll hit the bench Saturday, with Kyle Lewis entering the lineup while hitting second and serving as the designated hitter.

Muncy will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Royals.

Since returning from a hamstring injury Tuesday, Muncy has started against three righties while sitting against two lefties, including Saturday's starter Daniel Lynch. That's likely due more to the Dodgers' desire to ease him back into a full workload than a decision to shift him into a platoon role, though his .141/.253/.375 line against lefties this season doesn't make a great case for him to face many southpaws. Yonny Hernandez will handle the hot corner Saturday.

Madrigal went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 10-1 victory over Cleveland.

Madrigal's solo shot in the sixth marked his first home run as a Cub and third of his career. The undersized infielder made the transition to third base this year but got off to a slow start offensively and was sent to Triple-A at the end of May to get right, which appears to have worked out as he's slashing .375/.444/.521 over his last 15 games. Patrick Wisdom (wrist) is currently on a rehab assignment at Triple-A, and his impending return would presumably steal at-bats away from Madrigal, but it may be difficult for manager David Ross to keep Madrigal's contact bat out of the lineup moving forward, especially if he's still producing at a high level.

Riley went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, three runs scored and three RBI in Friday's win against Miami.

Riley's solo shot in the third inning was his 15th home run of the season. The 26-year-old slugger hasn't looked like himself for most of the year, but he's starting to catch fire; over his last 12 games in June, Riley slashed .320/.404/.600 with four home runs and a 6:6 BB:K. His season line is up to .270/.337/.459 through 359 plate appearances.

Longoria started at third base and went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 6-2 win over the Angels.

Longoria started for the fourth time in the last five games and has experienced an uptick in playing time since Arizona demoted Josh Rojas to Triple-A Reno. For a time, it looked like Emmanuel Rivera moved ahead of him on the depth chart, but the 37-year-old Longoria has been one of the team's hottest hitters of late, posting a 1.178 OPS since June 12.