• Resting for day game
    Alvarez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.

    Advice: Alvarez will get a breather for the day game Sunday after he started behind the plate Friday and Saturday. Luis Torrens will step in as the Mets' starting catcher in place of Alvarez, who has gone 2-for-14 with two RBI through his first four starts since returning from the 10-day injured list Tuesday. Rotowire.com 51 minutes ago
  • Cranks three-run homer
    Riley went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run and two walks in Saturday's 9-2 victory against the Rays.

    Advice: Riley broke the game open in the seventh frame with his three-run shot to center field that gave Atlanta an 8-1 lead. It was the second straight contest with a long ball for the third baseman following a 23-game homerless stretch (and a 45-game span during which he went deep only once). Riley may finally be getting his power on track, but with just five long balls through 233 plate appearances, he'll be hard-pressed to reach 30 homers for the fourth straight season. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 9:50 pm
     
  • Lifts seventh homer
    Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 7-5 win over the Rangers.

    Advice: Rodriguez has two homers over his last three games and three of his seven long balls this year have come in June. The outfielder is batting .278 (15-for-54) over 14 contests this month, though Saturday was the first game since June 4 in which he didn't strike out. Over 73 games this season, Rodriguez is slashing .267/.317/.361 with 29 RBI, 36 runs scored and 16 stolen bases. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 9:16 pm
  • Austin Riley homers against in win
    Austin Riley went 1-for-2 with a home run and two walks in a win over the Rays on Saturday.

    Advice: That’s now homers in back-to-back games for Riley, who might be starting to wake up a bit. There wasn’t much under the hood that looked “off” with Riley this year, but he was being pitched differently and not being given much he could turn on, which had hurt his pull power. Perhaps it took him a while to adjust his approach to combat that, or perhaps it’s just two good games. Only time will tell, but it seems smart to bet on Riley. Rotoworld Yesterday, 7:17 pm
     
  • J-Rod swats two-run homer in victory over Rangers
    Julio Rodríguez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to help the Mariners to a 7-5 win over the Rangers on Saturday.

    Advice: The man they call J-Rod clobbered a cutter that didn’t cut from Nathan Eovaldi into the left-field bleachers to make it 3-0 in the third inning. It’s just the seventh homer of the season for the 23-year-old, but it’s worth noting he’s gone deep in two of the last three games. It’s not a foregone conclusion that Rodríguez shows elite power in the second half of the year, but it seems pretty likely based on his first two seasons. Rotoworld Yesterday, 7:05 pm
  • Remains out Saturday
    Smith (undisclosed) is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus the Mariners, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

    Advice: Smith will miss a second straight game as he nurses "general tightness." Ezequiel Duran will draw the start at third base while Robbie Grossman enters the lineup at designated hitter and bats seventh against Seattle. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 1:35 pm
    Josh SmithTEX - 3B,SS,OF
    L, 2-3 @MIN
     
  • Sitting versus southpaw
    Hamilton is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's matchup with the Yankees, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

    Advice: Hamilton will get a breather as Boston squares off against southpaw Carlos Rodon. The 26-year-old Hamilton saw his five-game hit streak come to an end Friday, but he's still batting .308 with two home runs, five RBI, six runs scored and five stolen bases over his last nine games. Ceddanne Rafaela will draw the start at shortstop and bat ninth against New York. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 12:32 pm
  • Fans six in Friday's loss
    Gausman (5-5) took the loss Friday as the Blue Jays fell 3-1 to the Guardians, giving up three runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings. He struck out six without walking a batter.

    Advice: The right-hander's velocity was erratic all night -- his very first fastball to Steven Kwan to lead off the game clocked at only 89 mph, but one batter later he popped 94.4 mph against Andres Gimenez. Without consistent stuff, Gausman wound up getting tagged for five extra-base hits, including a Will Brennan solo shot in the fourth inning. He was able to minimize the damage, however, and Gausman's now given up three runs or fewer in five of his last six starts, producing a 3.26 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 38:6 K:BB through 38.2 innings over that stretch. He'll try to get back in the win column in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home next week against the Red Sox. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 7:33 am
     
  • Experiencing general tightness
    Smith was not in the starting lineup Friday due to what manager Bruce Bochy referred to as "general tightness," Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

    Advice: It's the same condition that led to Smith being held out of Tuesday's starting lineup. He eventually entered Friday's game as a pinch hitter, popping out in the ninth inning. With Corey Seager not playing the field yet as he battles a hamstring issue, Ezequiel Duran started at shortstop. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 6:04 am
    Josh SmithTEX - 3B,SS,OF
    L, 2-3 @MIN