MLB Player News
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Ben Rice 1B | NYY
Yankees' Ben Rice: Taking seat against southpaw
Rice is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.
The lefty-hitting Rice has been included in the starting nine for the Yankees' last two matchups with left-handed pitchers, but he'll hit the bench Sunday against Rockies southpaw Austin Gomber with platoon mate DJ LeMahieu (face) ready to return to the lineup. LeMahieu had been scheduled to start at first base Friday against Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland but was scratched as a precaution after he was hit in the face by a ball during pregame warmups.
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Joey Gallo LF | CHW
Nationals' Joey Gallo: Filling in for injured Call
Gallo will start in right field and bat seventh in Sunday's game against Atlanta, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Since returning from the injured list Tuesday, Gallo has started in four of the Nationals' ensuing six games. He'll be making his second start in a row in right field, where he'll be filling in for Alex Call (foot), who was placed on the injured list Saturday. Though Call's injury could put him at risk of missing extended time, Gallo won't necessarily have a clear path to a full-time role for the rest of the season. The Nationals are set to call up prospect Dylan Crews from Triple-A Rochester on Monday, and he could move between right field and center field while poaching starts from Gallo and Jacob Young.
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Juan Yepez 1B | TOR
Nationals' Juan Yepez: Not in Sunday's lineup
Yepez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Yepez has gone 4-for-12 with a three-run homer over the past three games but will take a seat for Sunday's series finale. Keibert Ruiz will rest his legs as the designated hitter while Drew Millas starts behind the plate.
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Michael Busch 3B | CHC
Cubs' Michael Busch: Reaches four times in romp
Busch went 3-for-5 with a walk, a double, two RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's 14-2 win over the Marlins.
Busch chipped in three of his team's 17 total hits as the offense carried the Cubs to victory. The young first baseman continues to have a productive first season in Chicago, as he's batting .258 with a .795 OPS across 123 games. With the Cubs giving Pete Crow-Armstrong an extended look in center field, Cody Bellinger has had to play elsewhere, including in right and serving as the DH, as he did Saturday. Bellinger is also an option to play at first when he's not in center, but so far, the Cubs have opted to keep Busch in the lineup as often as possible except against lefty starters.
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Josh Naylor 1B | SEA
Guardians' Josh Naylor: Homers in Saturday's win
Naylor went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, an additional RBI, one walk and two total runs scored in Saturday's 13-5 win over the Rangers.
Naylor entered Saturday stuck in an 0-for-18 slump. He extended it with a groundout in the first inning that generated a run, and then he finally put it to rest with a sixth-inning homer. The first baseman is batting .222 (18-for-81) over 22 contests in August, though he's helped offset his struggles in the average department by drawing 11 walks and driving in 17 runs in that span. For the year, Naylor has 28 homers, 91 RBI, 71 runs scored, five stolen bases and a .238/.319/.469 slash line through 121 games.
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Michael Toglia 1B | COL
Rockies' Michael Toglia: Huge performance in win
Toglia went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and three additional runs scored in Saturday's 9-2 win over the Yankees.
Toglia was on base four times, including once on catcher's interference, and crossed home plate four times for the first time in his career. While the 26-year-old's power has dipped since a nine-homer July, he has reached based safely in 20 of 21 August contests and has gone deep twice in the past week. On the year, he is hitting .225 with 21 home runs, 46 RBI, 49 runs scored and six steals across 326 plate appearances.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B | TOR
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero: Hits 27th homer in win
Guerrero went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, an RBI double, a walk and an additional run scored in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Angels.
Guerrero bookended the Blue Jays' scoring, hitting an RBI double in the first inning and adding some insurance with a 411-foot homer in the eighth. He has three multi-hit efforts and four long balls over his past 10 games and is slugging .724 in the month of August. The 25-year-old has now exceeded his 2023 home run total with 27 on the year to go along with a .318 average, 83 RBI and 77 runs scored across 559 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Goes deep in loss
Tellez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Saturday's 10-2 loss against the Reds.
Tellez took Julian Aguiar deep in the second inning for his 11th home run of the season. Tellez got off to a rough start this season, but since June he's batting .298/.340/.524 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI over 62 games. The 29-year-old is a mainstay in the middle of the Pittsburgh order against right-handed pitching and will continue to play on the strong side of the platoon at first base.
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Patrick Wisdom 3B | SEA
Cubs' Patrick Wisdom: Launches seventh homer
Wisdom hit a two-run home run, walked and scored another run in Saturday's 14-2 win against the Marlins.
Wisdom entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth, walked and scored a run. Then in the ninth, took infielder Vidal Brujan deep for his first home run since July 28. Wisdom has been an afterthought in the Cubs' lineup the whole second half of the season, as he's started just three of their last 20 games. The 32-year-old has struggled with a .203/.272/.447 slash line through 58 games.
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Jake Cronenworth 1B | SD
Padres' Jake Cronenworth: On bench against LHP
Cronenworth is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.
Cronenworth will avoid a matchup with southpaw David Peterson on Saturday, giving way to Luis Arraez at first base while Donovan Solano slots in at DH. It'll be Cronenworth's first time out of the lineup since Aug. 7