MLB Player News

Rutschman (hamstring) will start at designated hitter and bat third in Thursday's game versus the Mariners.

Rutschman has missed each of the last three games with left hamstring tightness, but he feels well enough to at least hit in Thursday's contest. The switch hitter has been better against righties (.876 OPS) than lefties (.760 OPS) this season and will take on Seattle righty Bryan Woo in the series finale.

Higashioka is not in the lineup for Thursday's tilt in Kansas City.

Higashioka started the first two games of the series at catcher, so he'll get a break during Thursday's afternoon tilt. Elias Diaz will be behind the dish and bat eighth for the Rangers.

Perez is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers.

Perez was in the lineup the last two days after missing the previous two contests with a thumb injury. He will take a seat for Thursday's afternoon tilt in what looks to be a routine day off. Carter Jensen is catching and Jac Caglianone is getting a day at designated hitter for the Royals.

Diaz went 1-for-1 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-4 extra-inning win over the Royals.

Diaz entered the game in the eighth inning after starter Kyle Higashioka was removed for a pinch runner and played a vital role in the win. He went the other way on a 3-2 pitch low and away in the zone to drive in the game-winning run before scoring the insurance run. He also threw out a would-be base stealer in the eighth. Diaz was recently signed by the Rangers when the club placed Danny Jansen (forearm) on the 10-day injured list. He's appeared in two games since joining the organization while serving as the backup to Higashioka.

O'Hoppe went 2-for-2 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 3-2 extra-inning win over the Astros.

O'Hoppe was the only player from either team to log a multi-hit effort in the game. That included his fifth-inning blast, which briefly put the Angels ahead 2-0. The catcher is batting .255 with two homers and eight RBI over his last 15 contests. For the season, he's hitting just .212 with a .606 OPS, three long balls, 16 RBI, 16 runs scored and five doubles over 155 plate appearances.

Jensen is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro will send Jensen and fellow left-handed hitter Michael Massey to the bench Wednesday while southpaw MacKenzie Gore takes the hill for the Rangers. With Jensen sitting, Salvador Perez will handle the catching duties, while Starling Marte serves as Kansas City's designated hitter.

The Angels selected Porter's contract from Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old backstop will join the big club to replace Sebastian Rivero, who landed on the injured list Wednesday with a hamate fracture. Porter has slashed .241/.292/.362 with 10 RBI and nine runs in 65 plate appearances at Triple-A this season, though he hasn't played since signing a minor-league deal with the Angels last week. He isn't likely to see much playing time with the big club either behind regular starter Logan O'Hoppe.

Romo is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta.

Edgar Quero will handle catching duties Wednesday while Romo receives a breather. Romo had started each of the last three games behind the dish, going 0-for-9 with a walk and an RBI.

The Angels placed Rivero on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left hamate fracture.

Rivero injured himself while fouling off a pitch in Tuesday's game, forcing him to make an early exit. He's scheduled to undergo surgery to repair the fracture in the near future and is expected to miss roughly four weeks, per Jack Janes of TheSportingTribune.com. Logan Porter was selected from Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move and will act as the Halos' backup catcher while Rivero and Travis d'Arnaud (foot) are both on the shelf.

Pereda is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

After making three consecutive starts at catcher, Pereda now finds himself on the bench for the second straight day while the Mariners go with Mitch Garver behind the plate. Pereda has produced a .750 OPS over 14 games since being called up from Triple-A Tacoma on May 14, but his run as Seattle's preferred option at catcher will soon come to an end with Cal Raleigh (oblique) in the midst of a rehab assignment and likely to be activated from the injured list at the beginning of next week.