MLB Player News

Heim went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and another run scored during Thursday's win over the Twins.

With the Rangers trailing by one in the seventh frame, Heim stepped up to the plate with two outs and evened the score with a long ball against Hansel Robles. The Rangers eventually pulled ahead with an extra-innings victory in the 10th. Across 12 games, the 25-year-old backstop has hit two homers while batting .125/.182/.325.

Mejia isn't in the lineup Thursday against the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mejia will be out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games after he went hitless with a strikeout in three at-bats Wednesday. Mike Zunino will start behind the plate and bat seventh.

Leon isn't starting Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks, Joe Frisaro of ManOnSecondBaseball.com reports.

Leon had started each of the last three games and went 1-for-11 with a run and a strikeout. Chad Wallach will start behind the plate and bat seventh.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a run-scoring double in a loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Murphy filled the designated hitter role in Wednesday's contest and certainly did his part with the bat, driving in half of the Athletics' runs on the night. The 26-year-old is still sporting a lackluster .213 average, but that figure's actually been climbing of late; factoring in Wednesday's production, Murphy is hitting .320 (8-for-25) with a double, two home runs, four RBI, three walks, two hit by pitches and four runs over his last eight games.

Caratini went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's win over Pittsburgh.

The backstop put the Padres on the board with 401-foot blast in the third inning. The homer was Caratini's second this season and accounted for his 12th RBI. He is slashing .217/.313/.333 overall.

Kirk (hip) is expected to return in four weeks, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Previous reports indicated that Kirk could miss as much as six weeks with his strained left hip flexor, but it looks as though his timeline has been revised to be slightly more optimistic. The young catcher's injury was poorly timed, as he was just starting to heat up at the plate, going 5-for-13 with a pair of homers in his last five games after hitting just .148 in his first 12 contests.

Vazquez isn't starting Thursday's game against the Tigers.

Vaquez had started each of the last two games and went 4-for-9 with a double, two RBI, a run, a walk and three strikeouts during that time. Kevin Plawecki will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Contreras isn't starting Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Contreras had started each of the last three games and went 4-for-10 with a home run, three RBI, two walks and three runs during that time. Jeff Mathis will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Garver isn't starting Thursday's game against the Rangers.

Garver had gone 3-for-7 with a solo home run, a walk and a strikeout in the last two games. Ben Rortvedt will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Realmuto will not start Thursday against the Brewers.

Realmuto has handled his usual heavy workload behind the plate this season. His 24 starts at catcher rank third among all backstops, and that's even with a brief absence last week due to a sore hand. Andrew Knapp will get the nod Thursday.