MLB Player News

Urshela (back) is starting at first base Thursday against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Back soreness kept Urshela out of the Angels' last two games, but the issue appears to have subsided ahead of Thursday's contest. Urshela holds just a .400 OPS over the past seven days, but he will fill in at first base for Jared Walsh, who hasn't recorded a hit since June 2.

Muncy said Thursday on Foul Territory that his left hamstring strain is of the low-grade variety.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Wednesday that it was a Grade 2 hamstring strain, but the diagnosis isn't quite that drastic. "If it was a Grade 2, you're looking at a month, two months," Muncy said. "Thankfully that's not what I'm looking at right now." He's yet to be placed on the injured list and could perhaps return to action this weekend against the rival Giants.

Jung isn't in the Rangers' lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels.

Jung will get a day off Thursday after slashing .234/.321/.362 over the past two weeks. He'll be replaced at third base by Josh Smith, who will bat ninth.

Moncada will be placed on the injured list Thursday due to his nagging back injury, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Moncada has dealt with a herniated disc in his back since spring training and already spent more than a month on the IL with the issue earlier this season. He's struggled at the plate of late and will head back to the shelf after playing through the injury for the past month. It's not clear how much time he'll miss, but it certainly could be an extended absence. Jake Burger is in line for everyday third base duties.

Bride is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Rays.

Bride has been the Athletics' primary third baseman since being called up in late May, but he'll begin this one on the bench. Jace Peterson will be at third base and Tony Kemp will cover second.

Walls went 1-for-4 with a stolen base Wednesday against the Athletics.

Walls has only four hits across 41 at-bats in June, limiting his chances to steal bases. Despite the slow stretch, he's maintained a consistent role -- he's benefitted from the absence of Brandon Lowe (back) -- and has been out of the lineup only twice in the team's last 15 games. Walls should remain a decent source of stolen bases and runs if he can get back on track at the plate, though he's now hitting only .209 across 198 plate appearances for the season.

Peterson went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in a loss to the Rays on Wednesday.

Peterson put together the only multi-hit effort of the night for the A's and pulled within one stolen base of his third consecutive season with double-digit swipes. The veteran's recent hot streak at the plate continued as well, as he now has four multi-hit efforts in the last eight games, a stretch during which he's reached safely 16 times across 28 plate appearances.

Burger went 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI in Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Dodgers.

Burger has gone yard four times and added 10 RBI despite going just 6-for-32 (.188) over his last eight games. He's also struck out 14 times in that span, which puts him at a 31.6 percent strikeout rate on the season. He's made do with solid power production -- 15 homers and nine doubles over 50 contests. Burger is slashing .250/.299/.600 with 35 RBI, 26 runs scored and a stolen base, but a little more plate discipline could go a long way to making him a fixture in the lineup.

Machado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-0 win over the Guardians.

Machado has five multi-hit efforts over his last eight games, but he's logged just four extra-base hits in that span. He's homered twice over the last five contests, bringing him up to seven long balls on the campaign. The third baseman is at a .249/.295/.398 slash line with 22 RBI, 26 runs scored, two stolen bases and nine doubles through 51 games in what's been a down year for him across the board.

Anderson went 1-for-3 with a solo homer in Wednesday's loss against the Twins.

Anderson got the Brewers on the board with a solo shot off Bailey Ober in the second inning, the first of back-to-back homers against the right-hander, with the latter coming off the bat of Luis Urias. It was Anderson's first home run since May 24 against the Astros and only his second extra-base hit in the month of June, where he's hitting just .200 through 12 games.