Pena went 0-for-1 with a walk and a stolen base Friday against the Tigers.

Pena had an unconventional but still productive game, as he reached base on catcher interference and an error in addition to his walk. That gave him the opportunity to swipe his 11th base of the season, matching his total from 2022. Pena has maintained a .299 batting average across 22 games in August, but he has only five extra-base hits and no home runs in that span.

Crawford went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and three total runs scored in Friday's 7-5 win over the Royals.

Crawford launched Brady Singer's first pitch of the game 432 feet to right field to open the scoring. Over four games since returning from a concussion, Crawford has gone 4-for-16 with six walks, three RBI and seven runs scored while returning to his usual spot atop the lineup. He's now at a .265/.382/.413 slash line with 11 homers, 40 RBI, 70 runs scored and one stolen base through 111 contests this season.

Story went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Friday's loss to the Dodgers.

Story's blast in the second inning was his first home run since Sept. 4 of last season. He's produced back-to-back multi-hit games after posting a .517 OPS through his first 13 contests after making his return from elbow surgery. Story improved his slash line to .232/.271/.375 with six extra-base hits through 59 plate appearances.

Baez (illness) is starting at shortstop and batting eighth Friday against Houston.

Baez missed the Tigers' last two games due to illness, but the issue appears to have subsided ahead of Friday's contest. The 30-year-old shortstop has started to heat up at the plate recently, going 4-for-14 with a home run and three RBI across his last four games.

Seager went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's loss to Minnesota.

Seager swatted a solo shot in the third inning for one of three Texas homers in the contest. The star shortstop added a single in the fourth frame for his third multi-hit performance over his past four games. Seager also drew a walk in the loss, marking the seventh straight contest he has taken at least one free pass. In the month of August, he's reached base at a .417 clip while hitting nine homers and driving in 19 runs over 18 games.

The Guardians optioned Rocchio to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Rocchio was recalled from Columbus on Aug. 2 and slashed .271/.308/.354 through 52 plate appearances during his latest stint in the majors. He'll be replaced on the active roster by Cam Gallagher (concussion), who returned from the 7-day injured list Thursday, but Rocchio could make a quick return to the majors once rosters expand in September.

Story is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Houston, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Story had started each of the last four contests but will sit out Thursday's afternoon game. Pablo Reyes is covering shortstop and Luis Urias is at second base.

Anderson went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored Wednesday against the Mariners.

Anderson returned from a five-game suspension and immediately slotted back into the leadoff spot. His power production remains disappointing, though he's maintained a .287 batting average with 10 runs scored, nine RBI and two stolen bases across 27 contests since the All-Star break.

Witt went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Athletics.

Over his last 12 games, Witt has put up seven multi-hit efforts with six homers, 13 RBI and three stolen bases. The shortstop's fifth-inning blast provided the last run of the game Wednesday. He's up to 26 homers, 81 RBI, 37 stolen bases, 73 runs scored and a .280/.320/.506 slash line through 126 contests. All of those except his run total are improvements on his numbers from 150 games as a rookie last year.

Story went 2-for-5 with a double, one RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 7-5 extra-inning win over the Astros.

Story had hit a skid over the last week, going 2-for-28 with 10 strikeouts over his previous seven games. He still struck out three times Wednesday, but he was a little more productive at the plate. The shortstop is batting .212 with no home runs, four steals, five doubles and three runs scored over 13 contests this year, with his RBI in this game being his first of the campaign. He missed over four months to begin the season while recovering from elbow surgery, so it's not a surprise for him to be struggling a bit.