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Miguel Cabrera homers in fourth-straight game

Cabrera's .391 batting average and .701 slugging percentage lead all major-league players, and his .467 on-base percentage ranks second to Joey Votto. He's been hitless just twice in his last 34 games. He's the early favorite for 2013 AL MVP.

Will Middlebrooks listed as day-to-day

Manny Machado has three doubles

Will Middlebrooks exits with back spasms

Trevor Plouffe feeling 'a lot better' Thursday

"No headaches or anything," Plouffe told the Pioneer Press. "I pretty much feel normal. As far as any timelines, it's still one step at a time."

Plouffe was scheduled to undergo a full-impact test Thursday to determine whether his injury was a concussion.

Wilson Betemit will resume baseball activities next week

Kevin Youkilis might be back next week

Miguel Cabrera gets assist on latest home run

"It's one of those freak things that happens," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said, per MLive.com. "You see it now and then. You don't see it that often."

Cabrera has hit safely in eight straight games and all but one of 19 May games. His slash line in May is .418/.489/.848/1.337. He also has seven doubles, nine home runs, 10 walks, 16 runs and 24 RBI.

Evan Longoria puts worry behind him

"I felt pretty bad after the first week of the season, like 10 games in. I was kind of scared," Longoria said, per the Tampa Bay Times. "Because in spring training, you probably don't play three-four games in a row at the most toward the end of spring. Once we got like a week, 10 days into the season, I was feeling like, man, my legs were tired. And thoughts started to creep in about how you're going to do it for 162 days."

The Rays made the decision to use Longoria as the DH in an April 10 game against Texas and the slugger said he has felt better ever since. The Rays continue to use Longoria at DH every now and then, and it seems to be the formula to ease the 27-year-old's mind and keep him fresh. Longoria extended his career-best hitting streak to 16 games Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

"I haven't felt that fatigue," he said. "I feel like my legs are getting stronger and feeling better as the season goes on. And with that worry behind me, I can be focused on other things."

Kevin Youkilis 'getting closer'

"I can't tell you," manager Joe Girardi said. "I think you have to give him a few days in a row before you evaluate to make sure that his back is healed and it doesn’t come back. The last two days have been pretty good, so he’s getting closer."

Adrian Beltre puts end to HR drought

Wilson Betemit goes to the doctor

Betemit still has not been cleared for baseball activities, though he has increased his exercises of late. 

Matt Dominguez sitting with quad tightness

The 23-year-old Dominguez is hitting .245 over 43 games this season and he's been one of the better defensive third baseman in baseball. 

Twins want to give Trevor Plouffe a 'bit of a break'

Plouffe is expected to get a few days off before taking a concussion test. 

"He took a good shot in the head. That's what this rule is for, to protect the player," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Give him a little bit of a break here and do what's right. He was a little woozy and that's why there was concern."

Miguel Cabrera having ridiculous May

Cabrera is batting .464 (13 for 28) with a 1.107 slugging percentage, three doubles, five home runs and nine RBI during his hitting streak. For the month of May, Cabrera is batting .413 with a .813 slugging percentage, 1.296 OPS, six doubles, eight home runs and 21 RBI in 18 games.

Trevor Plouffe lands on 7-day DL

Eduardo Escobar replaced Plouffe in Tuesday's game. Although no official announcement has been made, Escobar and Jamey Carroll will likely share time at third base in Plouffe's absence.

It's an unfortunate turn of events for Plouffe, who was getting on track offensively in May. He's batting .292 with a .477 slugging percentage, two home runs, six doubles and 13 RBI in 17 May games.

Trevor Plouffe leaves game after taking knee to head

Kevin Youkilis starts swinging bat

Youkilis was only tracking pitches Monday but was allowed to swing away Tuesday. He remains at least a week away from returning for the Yankees.  

Mike Moustakas remains an enigmatic hold

Moustakas is hitting .178, with a .183 BABIP (a normal BABIP is around .290-.300). He's walking more, striking out less, and he's hitting ground balls at a lower rate than any time in his career. But he's only getting hits on 14 percent of his ground balls and he's continuing to pop up at a rate of about 18 percent. In short, Moustakas has been very unlucky. 

This is why I'm holding him in all my leagues and waiting for the inevitable turnaround. Moustakas is a very good hitter (let Ned Yost fire you up about it) and it's not like he's wildly swinging at pitches outside of the zone, or failing to show patience at the plate. It's ugly now, but Moustakas will continue to play every day and is due for a major correction in his stats. If you've held on this long to the bad, you might as well continue holding for the inevitable good. 

Matt Dominguez hits fourth home run

Dominguez went 2 for 4 in the game, with a home run and a single. In the bottom of the fourth, Dominguez took a fastball from Jeremy Guthrie over the left-field wall. Dominguez finished the game with three RBI. He's hitting .239/.270/.368 in 155 at-bats. 

David Adams swats first career home run

Kevin Youkilis still at least a week away

Kyle Seager connects for third May home run

Seager is batting .246 (15 for 61) with three doubles, three home runs and nine RBI in 16 May games.

Manager raves about Evan Longoria

"It's the best baseball I've seen him play day in and day out, offensively and defensively," Rays manager Joe Maddon said, per MLB.com. "Every thing about his game has been superb, and it's been fun to watch."

Longoria is batting .393 (22 for 56) with three home runs, eight doubles and 14 RBI during his hitting streak. He's now reached base in a major-league best 43 games this season.

"I think the big thing is not chasing," Maddon said. "You talk about that all the time. Once a major-league hitter establishes his own strike zone and forces a pitcher to come to him more than he permits the pitcher to dictate, that's when he becomes really good."

Alex Rodriguez adds more work to rehab regimen

"Not bad," Rodriguez said when leaving the player's parking lot.

Time to buy low on Will Middlebrooks

Middlebrooks strikes out a lot, but he balances it with nice power (eight home runs in 160 at-bats this year) and a shot at a decent average (he hit .288 last year). With plenty of owners having been frustrated at Middlebrooks' lack of production this year, now is the time to hope his recent production has gone unnoticed and sneak in a seemingly-minor deal for the 24-year-old. The upside could be 20-plus home runs the rest of the way, with a .275-ish average. 

Reid Brignac thinks he can contribute

"Hopefully, they don’t just look at me as a defensive player and hopefully I’ll swing the bat well because I’ve been feeling really good in the box," he said. "Had a tough gig coming off the bench and pinch-hitting with Colorado but had success, and I’m in a good place mentally and physically in the box."

Brignac's Yankees' debut was rained out Sunday, but he's eager to get into the lineup.

"I know all these hitters in this division," Brignac said. "How to position myself and where to play. In the National League, I didn’t really know a lot of those guys, never faced a lot of them either. So it will be good to get in the box against some guys I’ve faced and have some history with."

Will Middlebrooks coming around

He also has two home runs, six RBI and seven doubles in his past 10 games. Since homering three times April 7, Middlebrooks is batting .193 with four home runs in his last 36 games.

Adrian Beltre returns to form in May

After batting .222 in 26 April games, Beltre is batting .382 (29 for 76) in 18 May games, raising his average to .291. Beltre also has a .420 on-base percentage, .618 slugging percentage, 1.038 OPS, four home runs, five walks, six doubles, 14 runs and 17 RBI in May.

Miguel Cabrera hits three homers in loss