Buxton went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, two additional runs scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's 9-3 win over the Royals.

He took Zack Greinke deep in the fifth inning, giving Buxton 15 homers on the year, while his seventh-inning steal was his eighth. The 29-year-old has eight hits in his last six games, including two separate contests with a home run and a stolen base, and while his .216/306/.457 slash line on the season remains disappointing, he's showing signs of turning things around in the second half.

Ohtani was removed from Tuesday's start against the Padres due to a blister on his right middle finger.

The Angels specified Ohtani was removed as the pitcher, so he's still able to serve as the team's designated hitter Tuesday. Ohtani had been dealing with a cracked fingernail on the same finger during his previous start, but he was able to continue hitting between mound appearances. He's not scheduled to make another start until after the All-Star break, so it's possible his playing time as both a hitter and pitcher don't take much of a hit.

Ohtani was pulled from his start Tuesday against the Padres with an apparent injury, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

After Ohtani gave up back-to-back homers to Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth in the sixth inning, Angels trainers came out to take a look at his cracked fingernail -- the same thing that caused Ohtani to leave his previous start June 27. More updates on his status will come shortly, but fantasy managers should consider Ohtani day-to-day in the meantime.

Brantley has been shut down from baseball activities due to continued issues with his surgically repaired right shoulder, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday that Brantley's recovery had plateaued and now the club has made the decision to shut him down for a while. The 36-year-old had shoulder labrum surgery last August and has experienced numerous setbacks on his road to recovery. His timetable to return is open-ended.

Ford went 2-for-3 with a walk in a win over the Giants on Monday.

While Ford didn't connect for anything more impactful than a single, his performance is noteworthy in that it extends what has been a torrid stretch at the plate for the journeyman. Factoring in Monday's production, the slugger owns a .391 average, 1.114 OPS, two home runs, six RBI, three walks and three runs over his last eight games, a stretch during which he's also produced three multi-hit efforts and a refreshingly modest 19.2 percent strikeout rate.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday that Brantley's (shoulder) progress has "plateaued somewhat," Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Brantley had been ramping up his activities as he works his way back from a setback with his surgically repaired right shoulder, but he's now encountered another bump in the road. Baker didn't go into specifics regarding how significant Brantley's setback might be, but the 36-year-old at least no longer looks like he'll be an option to return from the 60-day injured list coming out of the All-Star break.

Rooker entered Sunday's loss to the White Sox as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning and remained in the game in right field, going 1-for-2 with a two-run home run.

Named to his first All-Star Game earlier in the day, Rooker struck out looking during his official pinch-hit plate appearance before putting some much-needed good wood on the ball and sending a Bryan Shaw cutter 441 feet over the center field fence with Shea Langeliers aboard in the eighth. Rooker had been mired in a 3-for-34 slump over the prior 11 contests coming into the game, but he's now got a modest three-game hitting streak going that also includes his first career triple.

Belt went 2-for-4 with two solo homers in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Red Sox.

Belt took advantage of a less than 100 percent version of Garrett Whitlock, taking him yard in Whitlock's only inning of work. Belt found the grandstands once again in the sixth inning, this time launching a solo home run off Nick Pivetta. The multi-homer effort was his first of the campaign and boosted his season total to six long balls through 215 plate appearances. The lefty is slashing .267/.374/.473 against right-handed pitching and has hit all six of his homers off righties.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

After clobbering 15 home runs over 27 games in June, Ohtani began July with an 0-for-4 effort. He was right back to his slugging ways in his second game of the month, tacking on an insurance run with his eighth-inning blast. He leads the majors with 31 long balls while maintaining a stellar .306/.390/.670 slash line with 68 RBI, 61 runs scored and 11 stolen bases through 84 contests. While he's dealt with a cracked fingernail over the last week, the two-way star is expected to take his next turn on the mound Tuesday versus the Padres.

Alvarez (oblique) took batting practice in the cage Sunday and swung at 60 percent intensity, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

It's the first time the 26-year-old has taken batting practice since he suffered the oblique strain June 8, but he still has significant work to do in his rehab program before returning from the injured list. Alvarez is without a clear timetable for his return, but an activation in mid-July seems feasible if he can avoid any setbacks.