MLB Player News

Nationals infielder Zach Walters will be the odd man out when Adam LaRoche returns to action. Walters will be sent back down to Triple-A Syracuse prior to Sunday's game against the Pirates, MLB.com reports.

Walters batted .182 with three homers and four RBI in 33 at-bats for the Nationals.

Red Sox infielder Xander Bogaerts expects to play Sunday after exiting Saturday's game with a hamstring cramp, MassLive.com reports.

Bogaerts said that the trainers worked out his cramp after he was removed from Saturday's game, so he should be good to go for Sunday provided it doesn't return. He has hit .279/.370/.406 with three home runs and nine RBI in 165 at-bats.

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts was removed from Saturday's game against the Rays due to a cramp in his right hamstring, the team announced.

Bogaerts was 2 for 5 and scored a run before being removed in the bottom of the 11th. He appeared to injure the hamstring in the top of the 11th inning while striking out. Bogaerts has hit .279/.370/.406 with three home runs and nine RBI in 165 at-bats.

Dodgers infielder Dee Gordon has been slowed on the bases recently, but he snapped out of it with a three-steal game Friday against the Phillies.

Gordon reached base twice in the game, going 1 for 4 with a walk and a run scored, while stealing three bases fourth time this season. He leads the National League with 28 steals in 45 games, despite having just one in his previous nine games. 

John Farrell defended his scrambled lineup Friday for his Red Sox team that owns the longest losing streak in baseball at seven games.

The starting nine features Brock Holt and Xander Bogaerts in the first two spots with Dustin Pedroia batting third and David Ortiz fourth.

"(I'm) looking for added length," he told the team website. "We haven't been able to gain continuity."

Farrell also cited quality at-bats from Holt and Bogaerts recently. The former has five hits in his last nine at-bats while the latter has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games to raise his batting average from .252 to .282.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford extended his team's lead to 4-0 Wednesday against the Rockies with a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning off Matt Belisle. The Giants would win 5-1, as Crawford hit his sixth home run and fifth in his last 17 games.

Crawford is batting just .242 in his last 17 games, but he has a .532 slugging percentage and .812 OPS in that span. Crawford has three doubles, 11 RBI, nine runs and one stolen base in his last 17 games.

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts tied a season-high with three hits Wednesday against the Blue Jays. He had two doubles, one RBI and one run.

Bogaerts has hit safely in eight of his last nine games. He's batting .394 (13 for 33) with one triple, one home run, three doubles and three RBI in that span.

“I have been hitting the ball pretty well lately but with no results,” Bogaerts said, per the Boston Herald. "Hard hit line outs, hard hit ground balls and deep fly balls and I’ve been driving the ball. I came in here today pretty excited to be in the lineup and just try and help my team."

Bogaerts has raised his average from .252 to .283 during his latest hot streak.

"It’s just some little stuff because I had been fouling off too many balls," Bogaerts said. "I kind talked to the hitting coach like what I was feeling and we kind of agreed on what it was. It was something that needed fixing and I fixed it. Guys are throwing me a lot of first-pitch strikes and I’m changing my approach sometimes."

Though the Red Sox signed Stephen Drew Tuesday to be their primary shortstop, Xander Bogaerts' playing time isn't in jeopardy. He already has experience at third base, having played there down the stretch last season, and the Red Sox are without starting third baseman Will Middlebrooks at the moment.

And the truth is they weren't missing much with Middlebrooks sidelined by a broken finger. For the second straight season, his batting average has hovered around the Mendoza line. Considering his swing-at-anything approach doesn't exactly mesh with the organizational philosophy, he needs to perform to stay in the Red Sox's good graces.

Bogaerts hasn't set the world on fire himself, but at least he's reached base at a .369 clip. As important as he is to the Red Sox's future, he'd have to fall into a deep slump between now and Middlebrooks' return to be the odd man out.

Red Sox infielder Xander Bogaerts will see time at both third and short, according to the Providence Journal.

With Stephen Drew rejoining the club, Bogaerts will move around the diamond. Bogaerts will play third base against righties, and will move to short against some lefties. He may be in a bit of a platoon role at both third and short once Will Middlebrooks returns, though that's not 100 percent clear at this time. 

Bogaerts is hitting .269 through 145 at-bats.

Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings hit his second home run Saturday against the Dodgers.

Owings led off the fourth inning belting the first pitch he saw from Jamey Wright out to left center for the solo shot. He also belted a triple and a double in the game, finishing a single away from the cycle. Owings finished 3 for 5, with four runs and two RBI.