MLB Player News

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe is just 8 for 40 with no home runs in 11 games over the last two weeks.

Plouffe has managed a few extra-base hits and drawn five walks to post a .200/.289/.300 line over that stretch. The recent cool-down has the third baseman hitting .254/.336/.423 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 130 at-bats. He's set to open a two-game series in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

The Blue Jays are using third baseman Josh Donaldson as the leadoff hitter on Monday while slotting designated hitter Jose Bautista second.

Regular leadoff hitter Devon Travis is out of the lineup for a second straight day Monday, but rather than plug a replacement atop the lineup and leave most of the team's batters in their normal spots, Donaldson and Bautista will bat one-two for the second time this season, followed by first baseman Edwin Encarnacion in the No. 3 spot and catcher Russell Martin batting cleanup. It's the same configuration the team used on May 1 with both Travis and Jose Reyes out of the lineup.

The Blue Jays are home underdogs (+113) on Monday, per VegasInsider.com.

Athletics first baseman Max Muncy went 1 for 4 at the plate in Oakland's 7-3 loss to the White Sox on Sunday. 

Muncy did his damage in the fourth inning when he crushed an 0-2 pitch from Jeff Samardzija over the center field wall for a two-run shot, the first of his career.

"It's probably still sitting out there beyond the wall right now," Muncy said to MLB.com.

Muncy is now hitting .227 with three RBI in 22 at-bats this season.

"It probably does set me up nicely," Muncy said. "Obviously, I want to be playing. But I hate to see people go down, especially people like Ike who I have lot of respect for."

With regular Athletics first baseman Ike Davis on the 15-day DL, Mark Canha and Max Muncy are expected to split time at first base, manager Bob Melvin said per CSN Bay Area.

Canha is hitting .226/.293/.396 with five home runs in 106 at-bats this season. Muncy is also considered the top backup role at third base and is hitting .222 with one RBI in 18 at-bats. 

Max Muncy will get his second start of the season at first base for the Athletics in Sunday's game.

Muncy started on Tuesday, the first game that Ike Davis missed. With Davis on the disabled list, as of Sunday, Muncy will likely have more opportunities in the near future.

Muncy is hitting eighth in the order. 

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado hit his seventh home run of the season in Saturday's 7-5 victory over the Dodgers. Arenado's two-run shot came in the top of the eighth inning, and snapped an eight-game homerless streak for the Gold Glove third baseman.

The home run was his only hit in four at-bats on Saturday as his batting average dropped to .289 on the season. He has hit safely in four straight games, however. 

Twins shortstop Eduardo Escobar went 4 for 4 with two doubles against the Rays on Saturday.

The four-hit peformance was Escobar's first of the season.

Braves leadoff hitter Jace Peterson doesn't remember ever hitting a grand slam. Apparently, not even in little league, according to 680 The Fan.

Now he has one to remember forever. He sent one flying over the fence in right with the bases loaded in the second inning of his team's Saturday victory in Miami.

"Any time you can get the first one out of the way and it be a grand slam, it's awesome," Peterson said, per MLB.com.

The second baseman broke an 0-for-9 slide with the blast and added a single to improve his slash line to .276/.339/.333.

"He's a steady baseball player," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He just keeps getting better the more you run him out there."

Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez will not be the first baseman Saturday. He is out of the lineup against Cubs left-hander Jon Lester.

Corey Hart is set to man the position instead.

Alvarez has just one hit in 12 at-bats against lefties this season. But Hart is 1-for-13 against them in 2015.

Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez went 3 for 6 in Friday's 12-inning loss to the Cubs. 

Alvarez lifted his average to .218. He hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, his sixth of the year, producing his 16th RBI.