MLB Player News

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley went 2 for 4 in a victory Sunday against Detroit.

Brantley had a run, RBI and a walk. His two hits were singles. He has lacked power this year, with a .388 slugging percentage, but his .306 average and .365 on-base percentage have set the table for the rest off the Indians' lineup.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has had some problems putting his bat on the ball. Cespedes had struck out in six of his previous eight at-bats entering Saturday's contest against the Mariners and he has whiffed 30 times over his 89 at-bats, meaning he is striking out 33.7 percent of the time.

He struck out at a 20.9 percent rate last year, fanning 102 times over 487 at-bats.

"It's probably him trying to do a little too much, and then there are times during the season where you don't see the ball as well as you normally would, and those sometimes end up in some strikeouts," manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com. "Look, he's not the only one that's not swinging the bat well right now. You're just more aware of when he's not swinging the bat well than the group around him."

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley collected his ninth multi-hit game since April 20 Thursday against the Athletics. Brantley finished 2 for 5 with one run.

Since April 20, Brantley is batting .342 (25 for 73) with one triple, one home run, four doubles, nine RBI and 10 runs in his last 17 games.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes hit third for just the second time this season Thursday against the Indians, and it had everything to do with left-handed hurler Scott Kazmir being on the mound.

Cespedes entered play Thursday batting .316 (6 for 19) with three home runs and a .789 slugging percentage in 13 games against lefties this season.

"Just more of a lefty thing -- get him up there, make sure he gets up in the first inning, too. Scoot everybody up a little bit," manager Bob Melvin said, per MLB.com. "So you want to get those guys up sooner rather than later -- the guys you expect to do a little more damage off the left-handed pitcher."

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera appeared to tweak his back after grounding out in the sixth inning Wednesday against the Nationals. Cabrera, however, wasn't concerned, MLive.com reports.

"My lower back was a little sore," he said. "But it's no big deal. I was able to play nine innings. Hopefully tomorrow they will work it out, I'll get a good stretch and be ready to play."

Cabrera, who went 1 for 4 with an RBI single, looked OK in the field as he finished the game.

"He's OK," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes had two of the A's three runs Monday in a 7-3 loss at Cleveland. Cespedes homered in the fourth inning and added a sac fly in the sixth. 

Cespedes went 1 for 3 with his sixth homer of the year. He's batting .243 with 18 RBI over 74 at-bats. He's hit in seven of eight games with three homers and 11 RBI since coming off the disabled list. 

J.D. Martinez is likely headed back to the Astros Monday, and even though he has a .244 average on the season, he could be a nice surprise going forward.  

Martinez had two home runs and a steal in 32 at-bats this season, and most of his production came in the nine games before he went on the DL. Martinez has a stellar minor-league track record, with a .333 average and .928 OPS in 1,228 at-bats. In each of his three minor-league seasons before starting 2012 with the Astros, Martinez hit double-digits in home runs and averaged 30 doubles despite getting more than 350 at-bats just once. 

While his major-league career so far has been somewhat nondescript, Martinez has the skill to make an impact in batting average, with a double-digit flirtation in home runs. Owned in 4 percent of leagues, he should at least be considered for a fourth or fifth outfield spot in AL-only format. 

Astros outfielder J.D. Martinez is headed back to Houston.

Martinez was slated to start Monday's Double-A game in Corpus Christi, but was scratched about 30 minutes prior to the game. In 45 at-bats this season, Martinez is hitting .244/.271/.444.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has been ridiculously productive with runners in scoring position in 2013. In 25 games where Cabrera has batted with runners in scoring position, he's batting .535 (23 for 43) with one double, four home runs and 32 RBI in those situations.

Cabrera's career slash line with RISP is .335/.428/.553/.981. He hit .356 with a .580 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position last season.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera notched his third four-hit performance of the year on Saturday night against the Astros. He went 4 for 4 with two home runs and six RBI. The 30-year-old also walked once and scored three times in the 17-2 win.

Cabrera drove in a run with a single in his first at-bat before hitting a two-run homer off starter Lucas Harrell in the second inning. His walk in the fourth forced in another run, then he led off the sixth with a solo homer.

He capped off his evening with an RBI single in the seventh

Cabrera is batting .390 through 29 games with six home runs and 36 RBI.