MLB Player News

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley had a very offensive game Sunday during a 9-6 win over Detroit. Brantley homered twice and added a double for good measure. 

Brantley went deep in the sixth inning off starter Doug Fister for a solo shot. He added a two-run blast in the eighth. Brantley's double in the first inning plated two other runs as he drove in five in total on the game. Brantley finished 3 for 5 with three runs scored and is batting .280. 

The 26-year-old has gone 7 for 16 over his last four games but all those hits came in two contests. He has six RBI over that span. 

Phillies slugger Darin Ruf started at first base Sunday against the Braves in his second game since being recalled Saturday after first baseman Ryan Howard (knee) went on the disabled list. Manager Charlie Manuel said he will use Ruf at first base and in the outfield.

Ruf opened the year in the minors after a disappointing spring training. He hit just .266 with a .408 slugging percentage and seven home runs in 82 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but Ruf said his poor numbers were combination of working on his swing and battling a thumb injury, which he said is 100 percent healed.

"I just put too much pressure on myself or something or other," Ruf said of his spring, per MLB.com. "I just settled in as time went on. It was still early, starting a couple of weeks earlier than I was used to. It took me a little bit longer to get back into the swing of things. I'm happy with the way I finished and the progress I made."

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper pressured his way into the lineup Saturday when manager Davey Johnson wanted to give him a day off, and he ended up making a big impact.

Harper went just 1 for 2 in the game, but he drove in three runs. He drove in one on a walk, another on a single and his third on a sacrifice fly in the seventh that tied the game. The Nationals went on to win the game, 5-4.

Harper entered the game just 1 for 19 since coming off the disabled list, which was why Johnson wanted to give him time off. Harper was voted into the All-Star game as a start Saturday, with a .263 batting average and .908 OPS on the season. 

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera launched his 27th home run of the season Saturday afternoon against the Indians.

Cabrera took starter Carlos Carrasco deep for a two-run shot in the third inning. He finished 1 for 4 with a walk, a run scored and two RBI in a 9-4 win.

Cabrera has a .360/.450/.667 line with 27 homers and 88 RBI through his first 85 games played this season. He had a .326/.384/.565 line with 19 homers and 72 RBI through 85 games last season. He leads the AL in batting average (.360), RBI (88), runs (66) and walks (52).

The All-Star game starters were announced Saturday, with 34 of the American League's 35 roster spots officially unveiled. The final roster spot will be decided via a fan vote prior to the game.

The AL Starters -- selected by fans -- features Joe Mauer, Chris Davis, Robinson Cano, J.J. Hardy, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Adam Jones, Jose Bautista and David Ortiz.

The pitching staff is made up of Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Clay Buchholz, Brett Cecil, Justin Verlander, Justin Masterson, Chris Sale, Mariano Rivera, Bartolo Colon, Yu Darvish, Hisashi Iwakuma, Jesse Crain, Joe Nathan and Glen Perkins.

12 position players were selected as reserves: Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter, Jhonny Peralta, Dustin Pedroia, Nelson Cruz, Ben Zobrist, Jason Castro, Edwin Encarnacion, Alex Gordon, Jason Kipnis, Manny Machado and Salvador Perez.

Joaquin Benoit, Steve Delabar, David Robertson, Tanner Scheppers and Koji Uehara are the five players included in the Final Vote.

The All-Star game starters were announced Saturday,  with 34 of the National League's 35 roster spots officially unveiled. The final roster spot will be decided via a fan vote prior to the game.

The National League starting lineup features Yadier Molina, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Troy Tulowitzki, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Gonzalez and Bryce Harper.

The pitching staff is made up of Clayton Kershaw, Patrick Corbin, Matt Harvey, Adam Wainwright, Jason Grilli, Jordan Zimmermann, Craig Kimbrel, Travis Wood, Jose Fernandez, Cliff Lee, Jeff Locke and Madison Bumgarner.

12 position players were selected as reserves: Andrew McCutchen, Michael Cuddyer, Buster Posey, Pedro Alvarez, Domonic Brown, Everth Cabrera, Matt Carpenter, Allen Craig, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura and Marco Scutaro. 

Ian Desmond, Freddie Freeman, Adrian Gonzalez, Hunter Pence and Yasiel Puig are the five players included in the Final Vote. 

The Phillies recalled outfielder Darin Ruf from Triple-A Lehigh Valle Saturday, to take Ryan Howard's place on the active roster.

Ruf was hitting .266 with a .752 OPS and seven home runs for Lehigh Valley prior to his call up.  

Nationals manager Davey Johnson was planning on sitting outfielder Bryce Harper for the final two games of the weekend series with the Padres, but Harper made it known that he was not pleased with this plan.

Harper sent Johnson a text message and then spoke with him prior to Saturday's game and Johnson ultimately relented, putting Harper in left field and third in the lineup. The message Harper sent Johnson, jokingly?

"Play me or trade me."

"Since a trade is out of the question, I decided to play him," Johnson told reporters with a smile.

It is not yet clear if Harper will get his way yet again if Johnson wants to give him Sunday off. 

Nationals manager Davey Johnson indicated Friday that outfielder Bryce Harper will likely be out of the starting lineup against the Padres Saturday and Sunday, MLB.com reports.

"I'll probably give Harper a couple days off," Johnson told MLB.com. "I think he's just fighting himself ... He's just … coming back from the long layoff, I think [he] hadn't had much break when he came back. I just need to back off him a little bit."

Harper went 0 for 4 against the Padres Friday, making him 0 for 15 over his last four games after hitting a home run in his return on July 1.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera made his presence felt in his first game back from a sore back Friday night against the Indians.

Cabrera singled in a run in the third inning for his only hit of the night. He finished 1 for 5 with an RBI in a 7-0 victory. He is hitting .361/.451/.663 with 26 homers and 86 RBI in 332 at-bats.