MLB Player News

Hayes went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored in Thursday's 8-2 win over St. Louis.

He's posted consecutive multi-hit efforts for the first time since early June. Although Hayes saw his batting average fall to a season-low .258 by Tuesday, the third baseman still featured a respectable .347 on-base percentage. He holds a 7:2 BB:K over his last eight games as he looks to take advantage of hitting between the hot-hitting Adam Frazier and Bryan Reynolds.

Donaldson (calf) is starting at third base and batting second Thursday versus Cleveland, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The veteran third baseman sat out the last five games while managing a calf issue, but he'll return to the lineup coming off Wednesday's scheduled off day. Donaldson is 2-for-16 with seven strikeouts over his past seven games and will attempt to get back on track now that he's feeling better.

Senzel (knee) played catch Thursday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The 25-year-old isn't expected to return to major-league games until after the All-Star break since he continues to recover from left knee surgery, but it was encouraging to see him participate in some baseball activity Thursday. Jonathan India should continue to serve as the primary second baseman while Senzel is sidelined.

The Rays placed Walls on the 10-day injured list Thursday with right wrist tendinitis, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Walls was scratched prior to Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Red Sox with the wrist issue, which was believed to be only a minor concern before he surprisingly landed on the IL a day later. His move off the active roster at least temporarily clears up the logjam in the Rays infield that was created when top prospect Wander Franco was promoted to the big leagues earlier this week. While Walls is on the shelf, Franco should see most of the starts at shortstop, freeing up second base and third base for Brandon Lowe and Joey Wendle, respectively.

Urshela (shin) will remain on the bench for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Urshela was struck in the shin by a pitch Tuesday and did not appear in Wednesday's contest. He'll sit for at least one more day, with DJ LeMahieu again sliding over to the hot corner and Rougned Odor starting at second base.

Toro went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and an additional RBI in a 13-0 victory versus Baltimore on Wednesday.

When Toro came up to the plate in the seventh inning, Houston was already ahead by eight runs. He padded that lead with a 417-foot three-run homer, then capped the scoring on the night with an RBI single in the eighth. Toro has hit safely in all but one game since being recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land on June 17, going 10-for-24 with two homers and nine RBI over that span.

Muncy went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and a strikeout in a 5-3 loss to the Padres on Wednesday.

Playing in only his second game since returning from injury, Muncy doubled and scored in both the fourth and eighth innings to assist in two of Los Angeles' three runs on the game. The infielder is now slashing a robust .266/.421/.533 and leads the team in both on-base percentage and slugging.

Machado went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional run and a strikeout as the Padres beat the Dodgers, 5-3 on Wednesday.

Machado went back-to-back with Jake Cronenworth in the first against Los Angeles starter Trevor Bauer and later added a key insurance run after scoring on a sacrifice fly in the eighth. The performance was a nice rebound from Tuesday's four-strikeout showing. Machado is now slashing .258/.338/.464.

Escobar (quadriceps) hit a solo home run in his only at-bat in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to Milwaukee.

The 32-year-old went deep in the eighth inning to pull Arizona within a run. Escobar remained in the game as a defensive replacement for Josh VanMeter at second base. With a day off Thursday, Escobar may be rested enough to return to the starting nine Friday versus San Diego. He's slashing .242/.290/.466 with 16 homers, 46 RBI, 38 runs scored and a stolen base through 297 plate appearances.

Arenado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-2 loss to Detroit.

The third baseman opened the scoring by taking Detroit starter Matt Manning deep in the second inning. Arenado is now 4-for-14 in his last four games after ending an 0-for-18 skid. For the season, he's slashing .267/.314/.502 with 14 homers, 48 RBI and 35 runs scored across 299 plate appearances.