MLB Player News

Plouffe (knee) is out of the lineup Sunday against the Mariners, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It's Plouffe's second straight absence due to the right knee injury. While he's said to be dealing with only a bruise, Plouffe isn't expected to require a stint on the DL, and may be ready to return to full-time duties at third base at some point during the Twins' series with the Athletics that begins Monday.

Sparks homered twice for High-A Daytona Beach, giving him his first three-hit day of the season.

Sparks is repeating High-A after posting a .703 OPS at Daytona Beach last year, and is posting worse numbers this year (.194/.250/.300). The 2014 second-round pick struck out 162 times last season in 446 at-bats, and while the contact rate has improved, not much else has.

Suarez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Brewers, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports.

Suarez has been dreadful of late, to say the least. He hasn't recorded a base hit since May 19, and has dropped his batting average more than 30 points over that span. What initially appeared to be one of the surprises of the 2016 season, Suarez has now spiraled back down to earth. Manager Bryan Price will give him a day off to hopefully right the ship, giving Adam Duvall his first start of the season at third base.

Suarez went 0-for-3 on Saturday and then was lifted in a double-switch. He's hitless in his last 27 at-bats.

Suarez at least didn't strike out in this game, as he's done 15 times during this slump.

Rendon is back in the lineup Sunday against the Cardinals, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

Rendon was given the day off Saturday, but will return to action Sunday to start at the hot corner and bat sixth in the order. After a slow start to the year, he's batted .281 in May to bring his season average up to .262. Prior to Saturday's day off, he had recorded multi-hit efforts on back-to-back days.

Arenado went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 10-5 loss to the Giants.

The 25-year-old slugger now has four RBI over the last three games, with at least one in each contest. He's also hit safely in three of his last four, but has cooled off in the long-ball department. After starting the season with 10 homers in April, Arenado has tallied a modest four this month, with the most recent coming on May 20 versus the Pirates.

Duffy went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Saturday's 10-5 victory over the Rockies.

After seeing a modest six-game hitting streak snapped Friday, the 25-year-old was right back at it again Saturday, tallying his third multi-hit outing in the last five games. Despite the recent success, Duffy has been somewhat lacking in the hard contact department, as he's yet to hit a homer in May and only has five extra-base hits (all doubles) during the month.

Valencia went 3-for-4 with a solo homer, walk and three runs scored in Saturday's 12-3 victory over the Tigers.

The 31-year-old launched a solo shot, his seventh, off Tigers starter Matt Boyd in the fourth, his first such clout since May 17. Valencia continues to punish left-handed pitching in particular, amassing a .371 average and five homers on the season against southpaws. He's hit well against all comers, however, as he's now slashing .311/.341/.521 on the season, while frequently operating out of the cleanup spot.

An MRI taken on Plouffe's right knee revealed only a bruise, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Plouffe's injury kept him out of Saturday's lineup and may prevent him from playing Sunday as well, but manager Paul Molitor does not believe he will require a stint on the disabled list, and indicated that Plouffe could return at some point during the Twins' upcoming series with the A's.

Longoria went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and four RBI against the Yankees on Saturday.

Longoria drove in a season-high mark in RBI in this game, and he looked locked in at the plate. The veteran third baseman has 12 extra-base hits during May, and he's slugging .511 over that span.