MLB Player News

Escobar is absent from the lineup Friday against the Pirates.

Luis Rengifo will handle second base and Mike Moustakas is playing third versus the Pirates and right-hander Johan Oviedo. Escobar has slashed just .250/.283/.286 in 16 games (60 plate appearances) since the Angels acquired him from the Mets in late June.

Davis (illness) feels much better and is in Friday's lineup against the Nationals, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

He was held out of the last two games due to a stomach bug, but Davis is ready for a weekend in Washington. Davis is hitting .191 with one home run and 15 strikeouts in 13 games this month, and he has a .268/.348/.431 slash line on the season.

Senzel is starting in center field and batting second Friday versus the Diamondbacks.

With left-hander Tommy Henry on the hill for Arizona, Senzel is starting over TJ Friedl and also occupying a key spot in the batting order. Senzel's sporting a .993 OPS versus left-handed pitching this season.

Riley went 2-for-4 with a home run, a triple, three RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Riley led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a triple before coming around to score on a Matt Olson home run in the next at-bat. But the third baseman wasn't done there, launching a three-run homer in the very next inning to put Atlanta on top 6-5. Riley is riding a nice hot streak at the plate and he's now homered in three consecutive games, driving in 11 runs over that stretch.

Rivera went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Thursday's 7-5 loss to Atlanta.

Rivera's blast was the second of back-to-back homers in the seventh inning that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead before the bullpen let it slip away. The home run was the second in as many starts for Rivera, who had entered the All-Star break in a slump but is 4-for-13 with three extra-base hits to begin the second half. He continues to have an edge in playing time at third base over Evan Longoria.

Bregman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 3-1 win against Oakland on Thursday.

Bregman gave the Astros an insurance run in the ninth inning with his 397-foot solo shot. The long ball was his second of the second half, and he's hit well overall since the All-Star break with a .333/.379/.630 slash line, four extra-base hits and four RBI through six games. Bregman is still batting a modest .247 on the campaign, but he's walked just one fewer time than he's struck out and ranks second on the team with 60 RBI.

Bernabel (back) was activated from the injured list July 14 and returned to the active roster for Double-A Hartford.

Bernabel had been sidelined for nearly two months with the back issue. He's struggled across his first 141 plate appearances with Hartford, managing just a .635 OPS. However, he's shown decent plate discipline with a 17.7 percent strikeout rate and 6.6 percent walk rate, so it's possible he sees better results moving forward.

Madrigal (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Since landing on the injured list July 4 with a strained right hamstring, Madrigal has recently began making progress toward a return. He resumed hitting and fielding Monday, ran the bases Wednesday and is now slated to get back into game action. It's unlikely Madrigal returns before the end of Chicago's weekend series against the Cardinals, but he could return ahead of the Cubs' upcoming series with the White Sox.

Donaldson (calf) was transferred Thursday from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.

This move frees up a 40-man roster spot for reliever Matt Bowman, who was re-signed Thursday to a major-league contract. Donaldson was diagnosed earlier this week with a high-grade right calf strain and might struggle to make it back to the Yankees before the end of the regular season.

Oakland recalled Bride from Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

This is the corresponding move for Ryan Noda, who went on the injured list Wednesday due to a fractured jaw. Bride has posted excellent offensive numbers at Triple-A over the last two seasons, but the 27-year-old infielder owns a weak .202/.306/.239 career batting line through his first 250 major-league plate appearances.