White Sox slugger Adam Dunn has been suffering with a muscle strain. (John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE)
Baltimore: OF/1B Chris Davis will see plenty of playing time in right field as the Orioles try to fill the void left by Nick Markakis (broken left thumb). Davis could split time with Lew Ford, among others. OF Endy Chavez is likely to be added to the roster Tuesday. … RHP Jake Arrieta’s first major league relief appearance was a mixed bag Sunday. He entered with the bases loaded and one out, and he struck out the next two batters, but he wound up charged with three runs in three innings.
Boston: OF Daniel Nava was activated from the disabled list Sunday after missing six weeks with a sprained left wrist, but he may not be through dealing with the injury. Nava has been diagnosed with a ganglion cyst in the wrist, and he may need surgery after the season ends. … RHP Alfredo Aceves is being stretched out for a start before the end of the season. With RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka struggling again, manager Bobby Valentine allowed for the possibility that Aceves could take Matsuzaka’s spot in the rotation.
Chicago: DH Adam Dunn was out of the starting lineup for a fourth consecutive game, as a right side muscle strain was making it too hard for him to take a full cut with a bat in his hand. According to manager Robin Ventura, Dunn remains day-to-day. … 3B Kevin Youkilis returned to the starting lineup after he missed the weekend series with the Royals for the birth of a child. SS Alexei Ramirez also started again after being held out of the lineup Sunday following a late arrival to the ballpark.
Cleveland: SS Asdrubal Cabrera, who came out of Sunday’s game in the seventh inning due to a sore right wrist, was out of the starting lineup the next day. Cabrera missed two starts earlier this month with the same injury. … The Twins went 4-for-4 on stolen-base attempts Sunday against C Lou Marson, leaving Marson with an 11 percent success rate (7-for-56) on catching base-stealers this year. Marson threw out 38 percent in both 2010 and 2011.
Detroit: LF Ryan Raburn started and batted second despite a .168 average and a .221 on-base percentage. The White Sox were starting a left-handed pitcher, and the right-handed-hitting Raburn had experienced success at U.S. Cellular Field, where he was a lifetime .308 hitter with eight home runs and 30 RBI in 46 career games. … Manager Jim Leyland, heading into the key series in Chicago: “If I’ve got to go out there and remind these guys that we’re in a pennant race and the stakes are big right now, we’ve got a problem.”
Kansas City: LHP Will Smith, who was skipped a start, will pitch Tuesday’s series opener at Minnesota. With an off day Monday and Smith’s return Tuesday, RHP Luke Hochevar will get an extra day of rest before his Wednesday start. Hochevar is winless in seven starts since July 31. … LH reliever Francisley Bueno will complete his two-game suspension Tuesday. The penalty stems from a 2008 incident when Bueno, then with the Braves, threw a ball over the head of Cubs OF Alfonso Soriano. Bueno finally returned to the majors this year.
Los Angeles: RHP Jerome Williams will make his first start since July 19 tonight when he faces the A’s. RHP Ervin Santana will pitch Wednesday, and RHP Jered Weaver is penciled in to start Thursday’s series finale. Weaver missed his previous turn in the rotation due to right biceps tendinitis. … Entering the Oakland series, DH Albert Pujols had hit safely in 16 of his past 17 games. His past 44 hits (over 33 games) included 14 doubles and 11 homers.
Minnesota: RF Chris Parmelee was scratched from the lineup due to right groin soreness. In 10 games since returning from the minors Aug. 29, Parmelee had hit .359 (14-for-39) with three homers and nine RBI. … CF Denard Span remained hopeful of coming off the disabled list Wednesday after going through another round of batting practice before Sunday’s game. Span, out with a collarbone injury, has played only a handful of games since being injured while trying to make a sliding catch Aug. 12.
New York: 1B Mark Teixeira had an MRI on his injured left calf, and it revealed irritation of the strain he sustained Aug. 27. The Yankees announced that Teixeira would be unavailable to play for 10 to 14 days. Teixeira returned to action Saturday, and he aggravated the injury on the final play of the game. … RHP Ivan Nova (shoulder) has not been inserted into the rotation yet despite being activated from the disabled list Saturday. Manager Joe Girardi was debating whether to have him replace RHP David Phelps on Wednesday in Boston or RHP Freddy Garcia on Friday vs. the Rays.
Oakland: 2B Jemile Weeks, 1B Daric Barton and RH reliever Jesse Chavez were recalled when Class AAA Sacramento (West Sacramento, Calif.) concluded its run in the Pacific Coast League playoffs. Weeks batted .333 with 10 RBI in 10 regular-season games with Sacramento and .143 with a homer and an RBI in five playoff games. … LHP Tommy Milone tied Oakland’s record for wins by a rookie, 12, by beating Seattle on Sunday. He also matched Gil Heredia’s 1999 Oakland record of 14 starts in a row of allowing no more than one walk.
Seattle: Today in Toronto, RHP Erasmo Ramirez will get his first start since being recalled from Class AAA Tacoma (Wash.). Ramirez was 6-3 with a 3.72 ERA in 15 starts with Tacoma after a four-start stretch with Seattle (0-2, 4.58) that ended when he hurt his right elbow in late June. … 3B Alex Liddi has received some praise from manager Eric Wedge in the first week since his recall from the minors. “He has looked a little bit better in BP,” Wedge said. “He’s swing is a little more together.”
Tampa Bay: With his two-hitter Sunday, RHP James Shields has six shutouts over the past two seasons, tied with Phillies LHP Cliff Lee for the major league lead. Shields has thrown 13 complete games since the start of 2011, which is also the most in the majors over that span. … LHP Matt Moore said he is aware that he sometimes taps his glove before throwing fastballs, as ESPN showed last week, but he isn’t concerned it is a major problem. “It’s something I really just have to stay conscious of,” he said.
Texas: RH reliever Alexi Ogando has been dealing with a sore biceps, manager Ron Washington revealed. Ogando had pitched just once in the past week, allowing two run in one inning at Kansas City on Wednesday. … An 0-for-11 stretch through the weekend left 2B Ian Kinsler with a .263 average, the lowest it has been all season. Through his first eight September games, Kinsler was 6-for-33 (.182). Washington said Kinsler was “out of rhythm.”
Toronto: IF Omar Vizquel, 45, is three hits away from tying Babe Ruth’s career total of 2,873. “It would something amazing,” said Vizquel, who plans to retire after the season. … OF Anthony Gose is 6-for-12 with a triple, a home run, five RBI and four stolen bases in five games since being recalled from Class AAA Las Vegas. “It hasn’t been a matter of feeling comfortable. It’s been a matter of making contact,” he said.
