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Jose Abreu 1B | HOU
White Sox's Jose Abreu: Launches eighth homer Saturday
Abreu went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Rangers.
The first baseman extended his hitting streak to 10 games while launching his eighth home run of the year and first since May 4. Abreu's hot streak has pushed his slash line on the season up to .306/.374/.531, and despite the struggles of the team as a whole, the veteran slugger's numbers are right in line with his usual performance.
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Paul Goldschmidt 1B | NYY
Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt: Homers for first time in May
Goldschmidt went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday against the Mets.
Goldschmidt connected on his fifth home run of the season, this one coming off Steven Matz in the fourth inning. It was his first home run since April 15 and his first extra-base hit since May 8. The majority of his struggles have come at home -- he is slugging .528 for the season on the road, relatively close to the baseline he has set for himself in past seasons. While his sluggish start at home may be related to the humidor, his continued ability to hit well on the road suggests that his skills are still intact and that his results should improve as the season progresses.
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Freddie Freeman 1B | LAD
Braves' Freddie Freeman: Launches ninth homer Saturday
Freeman went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 8-1 win over the Marlins.
The homer was his ninth of the year and fifth in May, and the first baseman is hitting .323 (20-for-62) on the month with 15 RBI in 17 games. With a quarter of the season in the books, Freeman is on pace for career-best numbers pretty much across the board.
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Paul Goldschmidt 1B | NYY
Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt: Strikes out four times in loss
Goldschmidt went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts Friday in a 3-1 loss to the Mets.
After Goldschmidt recorded just three hits in 26 at-bats during the Diamondbacks' seven-game homestand to drop his season line in Phoenix to .140/.321/.209, there was some hope that his production might pick up while leaving the humidor-controlled confines of Chase Field. At least for one game, Goldschmidt was unable to snap out of his funk, as the four strikeouts represented a season high. Goldschmidt now owns a 31.6 percent strikeout rate -- a nine-point uptick from 2017 -- across 187 plate appearances on the campaign, tempering some optimism about his batting average recovering dramatically even if his .295 BABIP begins veering closer to his .352 career mark.
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Jose Abreu 1B | HOU
White Sox's Jose Abreu: Drives in two against Rangers
Abreu went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's loss to the Rangers.
Abreu slashed RBI doubles off starter Matt Moore in the first and second innings. He now has 11 doubles on the season to go along with seven home runs and 23 RBI. The 31-year-old's .293 batting average ranks fourth among all MLB first basemen, while his .360 on-base percentage ranks ninth at the position.
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Anthony Rizzo 1B | NYY
Cubs' Anthony Rizzo: Drives in two Friday
Rizzo went 2-for-6 with two runs scored and two RBI in Friday's 8-1 win over the Reds.
The performance snapped an 0-for-11 skid over his prior four games. Rizzo's .202/.302/.357 slash line on the season remains ugly, but he is hitting a more palatable .273 (15-for-55) in May with five homers, 12 runs and 16 RBI in 14 games.
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Kole Calhoun 1B | CLE
Angels' Kole Calhoun: Out of lineup against southpaw
Calhoun is not in the lineup against the Rays on Friday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Calhoun will take a seat following eight straight starts as the recently promoted Michael Hermosillo will get the nod in right field while batting ninth during his big-league debut. Look for Calhoun to return to the lineup Saturday.
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Chris Shaw 1B | CHW
Giants' Chris Shaw: Dealing with groin strain
Shaw was placed on the minor-league disabled list Friday with a groin strain, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
The injury isn't expected to be serious but require a stint on the disabled list for Shaw nonetheless. It's unclear at this point if the 24-year-old will miss more than the minimum seven days, but given that it's a muscle injury it wouldn't be surprising if he were held out a bit longer.
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Christian Walker 1B | HOU
Diamondbacks' Christian Walker: Returns to Triple-A
The Diamondbacks optioned Walker to Triple-A Reno on Friday.
Walker was recalled from Reno on Tuesday with the placement of A.J. Pollock on the disabled list, but the return of Jake Lamb (shoulder) made it a short stay in the majors. The 27-year-old is 2-for-16 with 10 strikeouts with the Diamondbacks this season, but has not seen a legitimate opportunity, given he has made only one start.
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Josh Bell DH | MIN
Pirates' Josh Bell: Finding his mark
Bell went 2-for-4 with an RBI single against the Padres on Thursday.
The window to buy low on Bell may have closed. After hitting just .217 in April, the first baseman has lifted his season slash line to .269/.345/.410, courtesy of a .364 batting average (16-for-44) in May. The 25-year-old has hit exclusively from the cleanup spot, driving in 26 runs -- second on the team behind Corey Dickerson (28 RBI).