MLB Player News
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Gio Urshela 3B | MIN
Yankees' Gio Urshela: Returns to lineup
Urshela (hand) is back in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers.
Urshela left Tuesday's game after getting hit in the hand by a pitch, but the injury evidently wasn't a particularly serious one. He'll bat seventh and play third base Friday.
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Jose Ramirez 3B | CLE
Indians' Jose Ramirez: On bench Friday
Ramirez is not in the lineup for Friday's game in Washington.
Ramirez returned faster than expected from a broken hand, returning from the injured list Tuesday. He's gone 3-for-9 with three homers and eight RBI since his return, though he's evidently not ready to play every day just yet. Cleveland sits two games out of a Wild Card spot with three left to play, so there's a chance he ends up shut down for the season if a loss Friday eliminates them from contention. Ryan Flaherty starts at the hot corner in his absence.
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Matt Chapman 3B | SF
Athletics' Matt Chapman: Slugs 36th homer
Chapman went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Thursday's win over Seattle.
Chapman accounted for the winning margin in the 3-1 contest with a two-run shot to center field in the second inning. The homer was his second in as many days and fifth overall in September. Despite hitting only .247 this season, the 26-year-old has set career highs in homers (36), RBI (91), runs scored (101) and walks (73).
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Willians Astudillo 3B | MIA
Twins' Willians Astudillo: Scores four times
Astudillo went 4-for-5 with a solo home run, two RBI and four runs scored Thursday against the Tigers.
Astudillo reached base four times and came around to score on each occasion. The highlight came in the eighth inning, when he smacked his fourth home run of the campaign. He's played only sparingly down the stretch, as Thursday's start was his third in the team's past eight games.
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Matt Chapman 3B | SF
Athletics' Matt Chapman: Socks key blast
Chapman went 2-for-5 with a go-ahead two-run home run in a win over the Angels on Wednesday.
Chapman erased a 2-1 deficit and set the Athletics up for a key victory by slugging a 436-foot shot to center in the ninth inning with Marcus Semien aboard. The power-hitting third baseman has parlayed just 11 hits in September into 14 RBI, with his five homers during the month playing a pivotal part. Chapman's month could be even bigger were it not for his significant troubles making consistent contact otherwise, as he's struck out on 30 occasions and has only gone without a strikeout in three of 21 games this month.
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Matt Duffy 3B | TEX
Rays' Matt Duffy: Hot at plate in September
Duffy, who went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in a win over the Yankees on Wednesday, is hitting .316 (12-for-38) with six extra-base hits (three doubles, three home runs) over 46 plate appearances in September.
Some of his teammates have been grabbing the headlines recently with their game-winning hits, yet Duffy has rather quietly hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games. The veteran's .248/.340/.305 line for the season leaves something to be desired in terms of both batting average and slugging percentage, but his current stretch of hitting is a particularly welcome sight considering it's come during the Rays' playoff push and the fact he hit just .189 in August.
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Jeimer Candelario 3B | LAA
Tigers' Jeimer Candelario: Out of Thursday's lineup
Candelario is not in Thursday's lineup against the Twins.
He is 5-for-27 (.185) with one home run over his last 10 games. John Hicks will start at first base and hit sixth.
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Rafael Devers 1B | SF
Red Sox's Rafael Devers: Expected to sit Thursday
Devers will not be in the lineup Thursday against the Rangers, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Devers, who is starting at third base and hitting second Wednesday, will head to the bench for Thursday's series finale as the Red Sox -- which are eliminated from the playoffs -- look to rest some of their regulars over the final week of the season.
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Gio Urshela 3B | MIN
Yankees' Gio Urshela: Not in Wednesday's lineup
Urshela (hand) will sit Wednesday against the Rays.
Urshela left Tuesday's game after getting hit by a pitch in the hand. His X-rays were negative, and although manager Aaron Boone suggested he may not have to miss any time, that was apparently overly optimistic. He'll sit for at least one game and will get another rest with the Yankees' scheduled off day coming up Thursday. According to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, he's expected to rejoin the lineup Friday against the Rangers.
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Gio Urshela 3B | MIN
Yankees' Gio Urshela: Little concern about injury
Manager Aaron Boone said that Urshela may not miss any further games after exiting Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Rays in the seventh inning with a bruised left hand, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports. "Not necessarily," Boone said, when asked if Urshela would miss the Yankees' final four games with the injury. "Certainly, if he has an issue with it [Wednesday], then yes, but I don't necessarily at this point look at it as he's automatically down."
Urshela took a 95-mile-per-hour pitch off the hand during a fifth-inning plate appearance, prompting the Yankees to pull him before his next turn through the lineup came up. Fortunately, X-rays conducted later in the night cleared Urshela of any structural damage, but he'll be re-evaluated Wednesday before the Yankees assess his availability for the series finale in Tampa Bay. The Yankees aren't planning on sending Urshela in for further tests, so he seemingly has a good shot at playing this weekend in Texas even if he's not in the lineup Wednesday.