MLB Player News

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez returned to the starting lineup Sunday against the Rockies after missing three straight starts with a knee injury. Alvarez is batting .222 with two doubles, two home runs and five RBI in 18 July games.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado responded positively to his benching Friday for lack of hustle by going 3 for 5 with a home run and two RBI during an 8-1 win Saturday against Pittsburgh.

Arenado gave Colorado a 3-0 lead with an RBI single in the fifth inning. He then put Colorado up 5-0 with a solo home run in the seventh -- his eighth home run this season.

''Nolan had a great game. We've all seen him do those things before,'' manager Walt Weiss said. ''He was impressive tonight to go back out there and have the game that he did. He's a special player.''

Arenado is batting .310 (13 for 42) with one triple, two home runs, four doubles, seven RBI and seven runs in his last 11 games.

''Obviously, it's hard to end on a day like yesterday,'' he said. ''Today was a good day. I was able to make my plays, get a couple of knocks and help the team win, because yesterday I showed I wasn't a team player. I'm happy today I was able to help them out.''

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson connected for his 22nd home run during a 5-1 win Saturday at Texas. Donaldson led off the seventh inning with a home run off Nate Adcock to give Oakland a 4-1 lead.

Donaldson has homered four times in July and three times in his last 12 games. He is batting .295 with a .545 slugging percentage, .930 OPS, two doubles, 10 RBI and 10 runs in his last 12 games.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is back in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Pirates, after he was pulled from Friday's for a lack of hustle in the fourth inning. 

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is back in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Mariners, after he missed four due to a back injury. This is the first game Machado has appeared in since Monday. 

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was pulled for lack of hustle Friday, according to the Denver Post. 

Arenado hit a weak grounder in the fourth inning, but failed to run out the pitch. He was pulled by manager Walt Weiss before the next inning. Weiss said he pulled Arenado because he "didn't meet the standard." Arenado finished 0 for 2 prior to getting pulled. 

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado left Friday's game early, according to MLB.com.

Arenado was pulled from the game in the fifth inning. The team has not announced whether it was due to an injury. Arenado was involved in an infield groundout where he didn't hustle in the previous inning, and it's unclear if he was benched for his lack of hustle. Arenado is hitting .283/.308/.458 over 251 at-bats.

Orioles infielder Manny Machado was not in the team's starting lineup Friday against the Mariners.

Machado has missed four games due to a back injury. Over 258 at-bats, Machado is hitting .267/.317/.422.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez missed his second game in a row Friday against the Rockies, due to discomfort in his left knee. He remains day to day moving forward as a result of this injury, which has kept him out since he left Wednesday's game.

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe is catching a break Friday against the visiting White Sox. Eduardo Nunez is set to man the position instead.

Plouffe has been steady but far from spectacular lately. He has one hit in six of his last seven games and owns a .243/.314/.409 stat line on the year.