MLB Player News

Kirk went 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and two total RBI in Monday's 5-4, extra-inning win against St. Louis.

Kirk's nine total bases were a season high, and he tied a campaign-best mark with four hits. Among the knocks was an eighth-inning solo homer and a 10th-inning double that plated the winning run. Kirk is slashing a cool .316/.361/.421 on the campaign, and those marks have been buoyed by a hot nine-game stretch during which the backstop is batting .457 (16-for-35) with five extra-base hits, 10 RBI and just three strikeouts.

Smith went 1-for-4 with a two-run home and an additional RBI in Monday's 8-7 extra-inning win over the Padres.

Smith did his damage early, supplying a sacrifice fly in the first inning before his homer in the third. The catcher opened June in an 0-for-9 skid, but he's since gone 5-for-17 with three extra-base hits over his last four contests. For the season, he's maintained a .320/.423/.503 slash line with six homers, 36 RBI, 29 runs scored and two stolen bases over 53 games.

Triple-A St. Paul placed Winkel on its 7-day injured list Monday due to a right wrist tendon injury.

The injury is poor timing for Winkel, who appeared to be heating up at the dish after delivering home runs in both of his previous two appearances. The 25-year-old is slashing .279/.319/.559 over 72 plate appearances on the season for St. Paul.

O'Hoppe is absent from the lineup for Monday's contest against the Athletics.

It's a routine day off for O'Hoppe, who started at catcher each of the previous two days. Travis d'Arnaud will do the catching and bat fifth for the Angels on Monday.

The Athletics optioned Pereda to Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday.

Pereda is clearing out to make room for Austin Wynns, who was officially added to the active roster Monday. Willie MacIver will share catching duties with Wynns.

Moreno (hand) is not in the Diamondbacks' starting lineup against the Mariners on Monday.

It's the third straight game that Moreno has been absent from the lineup after being struck on the right hand by a wild pitch in Friday's contest against the Reds. The good news for Moreno is that X-rays on his hand came back negative, but he'll begin Monday's game on the bench while Jose Herrera serves behind home plate and bats ninth.

Maldonado is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the Dodgers on Monday.

Maldonado and Elias Diaz have been splitting backstop duties this season, but the former appears to be the de facto No. 1 option at the moment. Maldonado will be on the bench for Monday's series opener, however, while Diaz serves behind home plate and bats ninth.

Kelly is starting at catcher and batting seventh in Monday's game against the Phillies.

Kelly had been batting cleanup some recently but will slide down in the order Monday as he tries to break out of a slump. Over his last 10 games, the veteran backstop is batting just .138 with a .435 OPS. Kelly's season-long numbers still look pretty good due to a hot start, and he should be in no risk of losing playing time in the short term, though the eventual return of Miguel Amaya (oblique) could squeeze Kelly if he continues to struggle at the plate.

Narvaez is absent from the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.

Narvaez had started at catcher in each of the previous four tilts, so he'll get a breather in Monday's series opener. Connor Wong will do the catching for the Red Sox.

Alvarez went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in Sunday's win over the Rockies.

The 23-year-old backstop took advantage of a road trip to Coors Field, slugging a solo shot in the ninth inning off Zach Agnos. The long ball was the second of the season for Alvarez, snapping a 26-game homer drought during which he'd slashed a tepid .236/.327/.270 with just six RBI. He's been showing signs of life at the plate however, batting .303 (10-for-33) over his last nine contests.