MLB Player News

Diaz went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Friday's win over the Yankees.

After spending most of his recent games batting in the bottom third of the order, Diaz was moved up to fifth in the lineup and delivered early, as his first inning shot off of struggling Yankees starter Luis Severino gave the Astros a lead they would not relinquish. The 24-year-old catcher is now up to 14 home runs on the season and has blasted four of those homers since the All-Star break. He continues to split time behind the plate with Martin Maldonado, but his superior offensive production could continue to lead to more at-bats as the Astros battle for the AL West crown.

Sanchez isn't in the Padres' lineup Friday against the Dodgers.

Sanchez will catch a breather Friday after going 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBI during Wednesday's blowout win over Colorado. Luis Campusano will fill in behind the dish and bat eighth.

Jeffers went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 5-3 victory over the Cardinals.

Jeffers opened the scoring Thursday with a two-run blast off Matthew Liberatore in the second inning. The 26-year-old backstop has been swinging the bat well, going 10-for-25 (.400) with two homers and a 1.144 OPS over his last eight games. Jeffers' hot stretch has granted him an increased role in Minnesota -- he's started over Christian Vazquez at catcher in three of the Twins' last six contests. Overall, Jeffers is slashing an impressive .281/.385/.455 with six homers, 26 runs scored, 18 RBI and three steals across 199 plate appearances this season.

Realmuto went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Thursday's victory over the Marlins.

Realmuto took Johnny Cueto deep for a solo shot in his first trip to the plate to give the Phillies an early 2-0 lead. The catcher later tacked on a single to give him his first multi-hit game since July 7 against these same Marlins. He's now hit safely in five of his last six games, slightly raising his batting average to .246 on the season.

Garver started at catcher and went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Thursday's 5-3 win over the White Sox.

Garver's fourth-inning home run traveled 457 feet at a rate of 111 mph, as the Rangers fought back after falling into a 3-0 hole in the first inning. It was the longest homer of his career and the longest blast by any Ranger this season, per Jose Sanchez Cordova of the Dallas Morning News. It was also the catcher's second long ball of the series -- he hit a tie-breaking homer Tuesday. Garver, who owns a modest five-game hit streak, has caught four of the six games since Jonah Heim (wrist) landed on the injured list.

Soderstrom went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Thursday in a loss to the Dodgers.

Though his eighth-inning solo shot didn't have much of an impact on the final score, it was certainly a big moment for Soderstrom since it was the first homer of his major-league career. In fact, it was the first extra-base hit of any sort for the rookie, who came into the contest with just eight singles over 47 plate appearances. Soderstrom has seen his playing time fluctuate but appears to be getting into a groove at the plate, as he's batting .300 (6-for-20) over his past six games.

Diaz is out of the lineup Thursday against the Yankees.

Martin Maldonado will start at catcher and bat ninth as the Astros open a big four-game series at Yankee Stadium. Diaz should start at least two of the games, whether behind the plate or as Houston's designated hitter.

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.

Stephenson has a .547 OPS in 14 games since the All-Star break and will head to the bench Thursday after starting the previous two contests. Luke Maile will work behind the plate and bat ninth in the series finale at Chicago.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Contreras started the first two games of the series versus Minnesota and went 2-for-4 with a stolen base Wednesday, but he'll take a seat for Thursday's finale. Andrew Knizner will step in behind the plate to catch for Matthew Liberatore.

Higashioka is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Astros.

Ben Rortvedt will get a second straight start at catcher for the Yankees after recording his first major-league hit since May 20 in Wednesday's win over the Rays. Higashioka should still be in line for the bulk of playing time down the stretch.