MLB Player News

Maldonado went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Monday's 11-8 loss to the Mariners.

Houston values Maldonado primarily for his ability to control the run game and shepherd the pitching staff, but he provided a rare impact at the plate in the series opener. Though Maldonado's seventh home run of the season helped stake Houston to a 7-0 lead after three and a half innings, the Seattle bats suddenly erupted midway through the contest and allowed the Mariners to complete a come-from-behind victory.

Raleigh went 1-for-4 with a double and three RBI in Monday's 11-8 win over the Astros.

The rookie backstop struck out three times on the night, but he made his lone hit count, as he cleared the bases with a two-bagger in the fourth inning to put the Mariners on the board. Raleigh is now slashing .148/.207/.333 with a 37.9 percent strikeout rate through the first eight games of his big-league career, but the Mariners will likely give him more opportunities to right the ship after his dominating performance in Triple-A (.324/.377/.608 with a 12.6 percent strikeout rate) earlier this season.

Haase went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Twins.

The backstop has a seven-game hitting streak going, although he doesn't have a multi-hit performance during that stretch. Haase continues to put a charge in the ball -- seven of his 16 homers on the year have come in July, including three in his last five starts.

Collins will remain on the bench Monday against the Royals.

Collins started three games in a row behind the plate last week but now finds himself on the bench for the second game in a row. Seby Zavala will catch Dallas Keuchel in his absence.

Kirk is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox.

Kirk and Reese McGuire have alternated starts behind the dish since Kirk joined the roster Friday. McGuire will take his turn Monday, but Kirk has gone 3-for-7 with a double in the two games since his return, raising his season OPS to .829 through 19 games, so he's likely to keep earning opportunities.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers.

Mitch Garver is back with the Twins after a three-game absence due to a stint on the paternity list, so Jeffers will settle back in as Minnesota's No. 2 catcher. Jeffers drew five consecutive starts to close out last week, going 4-for-17 with two doubles and an RBI in those contests.

Murphy went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, a walk and an RBI in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Athletics.

Murphy finished off the Mariners' four-run third inning with a Texas Leaguer that fell in just in front of a diving Ramon Laureano for an RBI single. The 30-year-old backstop was productive in both of his starts during the series with Oakland, as he also mashed his eighth home run of the season Thursday. Rookie Cal Raleigh still appears to top the depth chart at catcher ahead of Murphy, who likely can't be counted on to receive more than two or three starts per week.

Perez went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 6-1 win over Detroit.

The catcher opened the scoring with his first-inning blast off Detroit starter Tarik Skubal. Perez has homered in back-to-back games for the fourth time this season. He's up to 23 long balls, 62 RBI, 45 runs scored and a stolen base while maintaining a .279/.309/.505 slash line through 398 plate appearances.

Stassi went 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and three RBI in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Twins.

Stassi slammed a solo home run in the fifth inning off Bailey Ober. Prior to Sunday, Stassi was batting just .167 over his last seven days. He nearly doubled his weekly hit total, reaching base safely three times. The catcher is slashing .299/.377/.526 with eight long balls, 20 RBI and 28 runs scored in 154 plate appearances.

Sanchez (back) went 1-for-4 with a triple and a run scored in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Red Sox.

In the eighth inning, Sanchez hit just the second triple of his major-league career before he scored on a Gleyber Torres single. Sanchez ended up missing just one game after dealing with back spasms. The catcher is slashing .219/.333/.470 with 17 home runs, 37 RBI, 40 runs scored and 10 doubles in 294 plate appearances.