MLB Player News

Rice went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Rays.

It was the first career four-hit effort by Rice, whose two-run single in the sixth inning put the Yankees on top 6-3. Despite struggling against southpaws with a .182 average in 23 plate appearances, the lefty-hitting Rice is slashing .317/.414/.650 with five home runs, three doubles, one triple and 10 RBI through 17 games while operating as New York's primary designated hitter versus right-handed pitching.

Rooker went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and an additional run scored in Thursday's 8-0 win over the White Sox.

Rooker put the finishing touches on a convincing A's victory, launching a 415-foot homer off Bryse Wilson in the ninth inning for his fifth long ball this season. It's the first homer in 10 games for Rooker, who'd gone 7-for-37 (.189) in his previous nine contests. He's now slashing .232/.276/.451 with 10 RBI and 12 runs scored through 87 plate appearances this year. Thursday's contest was also Rooker's third this season playing in the outfield, as the A's consider ways to make room in the lineup for top prospect Nick Kurtz.

Smith went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double, a homer, two RBI and a stolen base during Thursday's 6-4 win against the Marlins.

It was the third straight two-hit performance for Smith and his second consecutive game with a home run. The 29-year-old has yet to make a start against a left-handed pitcher this season, but he's batted in the heart of the lineup every time Arizona has faced a righty and has a .404/.491/.745 slash line with seven doubles, three long balls, seven RBI and 10 runs through 18 games.

Manzardo is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Baltimore.

Manzardo is just 1-for-14 at the dish over his last five games, so he'll get a day off to regroup. Jose Ramirez is handling designated-hitter duties for the Guardians on Thursday, while Gabriel Arias plays third base and Daniel Schneemann covers second.

Winker is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cardinals, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Winker had started two of the last three games against righties, but he'll take a seat Thursday versus right-hander Andre Pallante, who has reverse splits. Starling Marte will be at designated hitter and bat sixth.

Flores is out of the lineup for Thursday's game versus Philadelphia, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Flores will get a chance to rest Thursday after going 2-for-11 with four RBI and three runs scored across the first three games of the series. His absence will move Willy Adames into the DH spot, opening up shortstop for Christian Koss.

Maton is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

The left-handed-hitting Maton will retreat to the bench while the Athletics send southpaw JP Sears to the hill for the series finale. Though Maton has logged 42 of his 43 plate appearances against opposite-handed pitching, he's batting just .139 with a pair of home runs and a 27.9 percent strikeout rate. The White Sox have been using Maton as their primary option at designated hitter versus righties this season, but his lack of production thus far could inspire manager Will Venable to use a rotation of players at the DH spot.

Bell is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.

With Thursday's game beginning at 12:35 p.m. ET, Bell will get some rest after he had started at designated hitter or at first base in each of Washington's last seven contests while going 3-for-27 with a home run and three walks over that stretch. Bell's absence from the lineup will allow the Nationals to give James Wood a day out of the outfield and deploy him as their DH.

Reynolds (triceps) will start in right field and bat second in Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Reynolds will be making his first start in the outfield since March 30, as he had been limited exclusively to designated-hitter duties over the past two and a half weeks while managing right triceps soreness. The 30-year-old was apparently able to resume a throwing program without issue in recent days, and the Pirates are now comfortable enough with his health to have him play defense again. Pittsburgh had been getting by with a committee of Andrew McCutchen, Jack Suwinski and Alexander Canario in right field, but assuming Reynolds is ready to play in the outfield on a regular basis moving forward, McCutchen will likely end up seeing the bulk of the starts at DH.

Steer is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.

Steer has been limited to designated-hitter duties thus far as he works his way back from a right shoulder injury, but manager Terry Francona said that the 27-year-old is ramping up his throwing and is almost ready to play first base, according to Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News. It's not clear when Steer might be ready to play additional positions, however. Austin Hays will get a start at DH on Thursday while Steer rests.