MLB Player News

Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon homered for the third time in eight games Wednesday against the Phillies, as he continues to get more comfortable at the major-league level.

Rendon went 2 for 4 in the game with a double and a home run, his second game with multiple extra-base hits. He drove in one run with his solo homer, while scoring twice in a 5-1 win.

Rendon is now back over .300 on the season, at .303 to be exact. He has four home runs and 13 RBI in 152 at-bats, while posting an .814 OPS. 

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has enjoyed hitting against Texas this series. He's recorded seven hits over the first three games of the four-game set. 

Machado went 3 for 5 with an RBI triple Wednesday and scored a run in the win. He's gone 7 for 14 (.500) in the series with two runs scored, a homer, a triple and three RBI. He's batting .318 with seven homers, 39 doubles and 45 RBI. 

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday that he doesn't believe third baseman Evan Longoria's hitting struggles have anything to do with his foot injury, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Maddon thinks it is more about Longoria expanding the strike zone.

Batting .285 on the season with 17 home runs and 50 RBI, Longoria has gone just 12 for 64 (.188) over his last 20 games with eight RBI and 19 strikeouts. 

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado homered in a loss to the Rangers Tuesday. Machado had a solo shot off starter Martin Perez in the third inning for his seventh home run. 

Machado finished 1 for 4 and is batting .315. He has hits in eight of his last 10 games, including two homers, two doubles and three RBI. He's among the top 10 in the American League in doubles, batting average and runs scored. 

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria has made progress with his injured foot and should be able to play the field regularly, according to the Tampa Bay Times. 

Manager Joe Maddon said Longoria's foot has improved and he'll likely play third the rest of the week. The team had occasionally been using him as a designated hitter when his foot acted up. Longoria is hitting .288/.365/.521 in 326 at-bats. 

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado recorded yet another three-hit game Monday during an 8-5 loss at home against the Rangers. Machado leads the majors in three-hit games.

He went 3 for 5 with his 43rd RBI of the season and is now batting .315. The 21-year-old has hits in eight of his last 10 games and has dropped his average slightly over that span. Machado was named an American League All-Star reserve.

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura went 3 for 3 with one run, one RBI and his 27th stolen base in his team's 4-3 win over the Reds Monday. While he's slowed down since a fantastic start, Segura has a .323/.358/.491 line with 11 home runs and 36 RBI in 350 at-bats.

Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon clubbed his third home run Sunday against the Padres.

In the bottom of the third inning, Rendon hit a two-run shot to left field. He also singled in the game, driving in another run. He finished 2 for 5, with two runs scored and three RBI. After struggling to hit for power early, Rendon managed to hit two home runs last week. 

He's hitting .303/.353/.444 in 142 at-bats. 

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe homered Sunday in an 11-5 loss at Toronto. Plouffe had a two-run shot in the eighth inning off Brett Cecil. 

Plouffe, who has nine HRs, finished 2 for 4 with two RBI and a run scored. He's batting .263. 

The 27-year-old had gone 0 for 8 in his previous two games. He has 33 RBI in 213 at-bats. 

The All-Star game starters were announced Saturday, with 34 of the American League's 35 roster spots officially unveiled. The final roster spot will be decided via a fan vote prior to the game.

The AL Starters -- selected by fans -- features Joe Mauer, Chris Davis, Robinson Cano, J.J. Hardy, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Adam Jones, Jose Bautista and David Ortiz.

The pitching staff is made up of Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Clay Buchholz, Brett Cecil, Justin Verlander, Justin Masterson, Chris Sale, Mariano Rivera, Bartolo Colon, Yu Darvish, Hisashi Iwakuma, Jesse Crain, Joe Nathan and Glen Perkins.

12 position players were selected as reserves: Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter, Jhonny Peralta, Dustin Pedroia, Nelson Cruz, Ben Zobrist, Jason Castro, Edwin Encarnacion, Alex Gordon, Jason Kipnis, Manny Machado and Salvador Perez.

Joaquin Benoit, Steve Delabar, David Robertson, Tanner Scheppers and Koji Uehara are the five players included in the Final Vote.