MLB Player News

Mariners shortstop Brad Miller went 2 for 4 with a double and a two-run home run in the 9-5 win over the A's on Friday. Miller's home run came in the eighth inning and put the Mariners up 9-3.

It was Miller's eighth home run of the season, and he's batting .379 with two homers and five RBI over his last eight contests.

Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez stayed hot at the plate in Friday's 8-6 win over the Blue Jays. Martinez went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI.

Martinez drove in the Tigers' seventh and eighth runs with a double in the fifth inning, and a single two innings later. Martinez has driven in 19 runs over his last 11 games for Detroit.

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera was forced to exit Friday's contest against the Blue Jays in the fourth inning with what appeared to be a leg injury. Cabrera rounded first base on a base hit and came up hobbling. He had to be helped off the field by the trainer.

Cabrera was 2 for 2 with an RBI before the injury. The Tigers revealed Cabrera left with a left calf strain, and he will undergo an MRI. A trip to the disabled list is a likely possibility.

"I'm not optimistic he's gonna avoid the DL at this point," manager Brad Ausmus said after Friday's game, per MLB.com. "But we'll know more tomorrow."

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus decided to shake up his lineup Friday against the Blue Jays, as catcher Alex Avila returned from the disabled list and with Detroit also looking to end a three-game losing streak.

Second baseman Ian Kinsler moved into the leadoff spot for just the second time this season and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes hit second for the first time. 

Anthony Gose, who has hit leadoff a team-high 48 times this season, moved down to the eighth spot in the lineup.

Avila hit sixth upon his activation from the disabled list.

Giants first baseman/outfielder Brandon Belt was held out of the starting lineup Friday against the Nationals for the second time in six games. It was just the sixth time since May 1 he did not start.

Belt's absence likely had to do with Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez pitching. Belt is 1 for 6 against Gonzalez in his career and is batting just .133 against lefties in 2015.

Belt is batting just .206 since June 1. His batting average has declined from .306 to .268 in that span.

Although Chris Taylor started at shortstop Thursday immediately following his recall from the minors, Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said Brad Miller will remain the starting shortstop, per MLB.com.

"Brad is in a pretty good groove right now," McClendon said. "There's still a lot of room for improvement, but he is improving every day. He has his moments [defensively], but most of the time it's just a mechanical thing where he doesn't move through the ball or he stands straight up. I would say the last 12-15 days, he's been a lot better at that."

Taylor will serve as a backup middle infielder and could get some playing time at other positions as well.

"It's still a progression, but I'm feeling a lot more comfortable and a lot better [at the plate]," Taylor said. "It was good to go down there and take some of the pressure off. I was able to stop pressing and just worry about going out there and having some fun again. I'm feeling a lot better now and I'm ready to go."

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen drove in two runs during an 8-4 win Thursday against the Tigers via a sac fly in the fifth inning and an RBI double in the ninth inning. It was his 15th multi-RBI game this season.

McCutchen has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games. He is batting .364 (12 for 33) with one home run, five doubles, five RBI, six runs, nine walks, seven strikeouts and two stolen bases.

The former NL MVP has been locked in at the plate for several weeks. Since May 20, he has a .364/.449/.593/1.042 slash line in his last 38 games.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter went 2 for 4 with two walks and a RBI in Thursday's loss to the Padres.

Carpenter entered the game with just two hits over his last 12 at-bats.

Mariners shortstop Brad Miller was held out of the starting lineup Thursday against the Athletics for the first time in 18 games and just the fourth time since May 24. Chris Taylor, who was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday, replaced Miller in the starting lineup at shortstop.

Since June 1, Miller is batting .256 with one triple, two home runs, three doubles, eight RBI, eight runs, 10 walks, 19 strikeouts and three stolen bases in his last 27 games.

Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez slugged a three-run home run on Thursday, but it wasn't enough to avoid the 8-4 loss to the Pirates. Martinez's eighth-inning blast, his 21st of the season, cut the Pirates' lead to 4-3. But Pittsburgh would put up a four-spot in the ninth inning, keeping the Tigers at bay.

Martinez now has eight home runs in his last nine games, and he is batting .359 with 16 RBI over that stretch.