MLB Player News

Kirk went 1-for-4 with two walks and two RBI in Friday's win over the A's.

The 26-year-old catcher hasn't produced an extra-base hit since May 14, but he's done an excellent job getting on base in the meantime. Over his last 12 games, Kirk is batting .387 (12-for-31) with nine walks against only one strikeout, giving him an eye-popping .500 OBP during that stretch.

Stephenson went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 6-2 win over the Cubs.

Stephenson's two-run blast in the fourth inning turned out to be the game-winning hit. He's gone deep in three of the last four games, going 8-for-16 during that stretch, and has reached base safely in seven consecutive contests.

Dingler went 3-for-3 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Friday's 7-5 win over the Royals.

The backstop ended an 18-game homer drought by turning on a Seth Lugo fastball in the second inning, driving it into the left-field bullpen for a two-run shot. Dingler's kept collecting hits even when they weren't leaving the park, and through 79 plate appearances in May he's slashing .338/.380/.473 with nine runs and 10 RBI. Even with Jake Rogers healthy, Dingler is firmly entrenched as the Tigers' No. 1 catcher as he puts together a breakout campaign.

Wells went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 8-5 loss to the Dodgers.

Wells has been decent at the plate lately, going 6-for-27 (.222) with three extra-base hits and four RBI over his last eight games. The catcher continues to see a majority of the playing time behind the plate. His homer Friday was his first since May 12 in Seattle, and he's up to nine long balls on the year. Wells has added a .209/.276/.449 slash line, 32 RBI, 19 runs scored, three stolen bases, nine doubles and a triple across 181 plate appearances.

Raleigh went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and five RBI in Friday's 12-6 extra-inning loss to the Twins.

Raleigh became the first catcher to reach the 20-homer mark before the end of May in major-league history when he swatted a three-run blast in the first inning. He added a two-run homer in the eighth to get to 21 on the year, two ahead of Aaron Judge for the American League lead. Raleigh has hit safely in nine of the last 10 games, going 14-for-38 (.368) with six homers and 10 RBI in that span. He's at a .265/.381/.623 slash line with 42 RBI, 37 runs scored, six stolen bases and 10 doubles through 56 games this year.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Friday against the Rays.

Diaz took Garrett Cleavinger deep in the ninth inning to provide Houston with a walk-off win. It was Diaz's seventh home run of the season, and his second in as many days. After a slow start to the year, he's hit .295 with five home runs, 12 RBI and 12 runs scored across 25 games in May.

Higashioka went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a walk in Friday's 11-1 win over St. Louis.

It was Higashioka's first multi-hit game in 11 outings this month, and he scored a season-high three runs as part of the Rangers' offensive outburst. The veteran backstop remains a without a home run in his last 17 contests (51 at-bats), during which he's batting just .216 with two doubles, five RBI and six runs scored. Even so, Higashioka has a clearer pathway to action as the designated hitter while Joc Pederson nurses a broken hand, as the former has started four of Texas' past five games since the latter went down.

Langeliers went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Friday's 11-7 loss to the Blue Jays.

Langeliers cut the Athletics' deficit to three runs in the fourth inning when he took Chris Bassitt deep to left-center field for a 417-foot solo home run. It was Langeliers' 10th home run of the season, which is third most among major-league catchers behind Cal Raleigh (20) and Logan O'Hoppe (14).

Ruiz isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Diamondbacks, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.

Ruiz will get a chance to clear his head Friday after going 1-for-13 during Washington's most recent series against the Mariners. Riley Adams will catch for starter Jake Irvin and bat seventh.

The Marlins selected Hernandez's contract from Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday.

Hernandez has a .220/.319/.454 slash line with nine home runs and six steals through 41 games with Jacksonville this season, and he'll now receive his first taste of the big leagues. The 25-year-old was once viewed as a top prospect, but his contact skills haven't held up in the upper minors, as evidenced by the low batting average and 35 percent strikeout rate at Triple-A this year.