MLB Player News
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Mark Vientos DH | NYM
Mets' Mark Vientos: Not in lineup Friday
Vientos isn't in the starting lineup Friday versus San Francisco.
Vientos isn't starting for the first time in the campaign's second half. Since the All-Star break, he's logged starts at DH, third base and first base and has batted .238 over six games. With Vientos out of the lineup, Jeff McNeil is starting at designated hitter, while Ronny Mauricio is getting the nod at the hot corner.
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Matt Chapman 3B | SF
Giants' Matt Chapman: In Friday's lineup
Chapman (elbow) is starting at third base and batting out of the cleanup spot against the Mets on Friday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
Chapman was lifted from Wednesday's game against Atlanta after being hit by a pitch in the left elbow. The good news for the Giants and the veteran third baseman is that X-rays came back negative, and he has been given the green light to play in Friday's series opener. Chapman has gone 7-for-22 (.318) with one triple, two home runs and seven RBI since the All-Star break.
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Matt Shaw SS | CHC
Cubs' Matt Shaw: On bench Friday
Shaw isn't part of the starting lineup for Friday's game against the White Sox.
Shaw has been red hot coming out of the All-Star break, posting a six-game hit streak and going 9-for-19 (.474) with three homers. He'll get what appears to be a night off Friday to start off a three-game set against the White Sox. Vidal Brujan will play third base instead.
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Nacho Alvarez Jr. 3B | ATL
Braves' Nacho Alvarez: Returns to Triple-A
Atlanta optioned Alvarez to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.
The 22-year-old has been up in the big leagues for the past couple weeks but will head back to Gwinnett due to Austin Riley (abdomen) returning from the injured list Friday. Alvarez received regular playing time at third base while Riley was out and went 6-for-30 (.200 average) with a double, two runs and nine strikeouts in eight games.
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Austin Riley 3B | ATL
Braves' Austin Riley: Back from injured list
Atlanta reinstated Riley (abdomen) from the 10-day injured list Friday.
The third baseman was still feeling some discomfort in his lower abdomen earlier this week, but he's ready to rejoin the big-league roster Friday after spending two weeks on the injured list. Riley had a hot start to July prior to the injury, going 13-for-41 (.317 average) with five doubles, two homers, six RBI and five runs in 10 games.
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Matt Shaw SS | CHC
Cubs' Matt Shaw: Post-break surge continues
Shaw went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-4 loss to the Royals.
The rookie took Steven Cruz deep in the seventh inning, Shaw's fifth homer of the season and third in the last five games. He's batting .474 (9-for-19) since the All-Star break, adding two steals, four runs and six RBI to his long balls, but he still has a lot of work to do to climb out of the hole he dug prior to the Midsummer Classic -- over his last 25 games before the break, Shaw slashed a woeful .107/.198/.147.
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Matt Chapman 3B | SF
Giants' Matt Chapman: X-rays on elbow come back clean
Chapman was lifted for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning of Wednesday's 9-3 win over Atlanta after he was hit by a pitch in the left elbow earlier in the contest, but X-rays returned negative, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports. He went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional run prior to departing.
Chapman looked to be in pain when he was struck by an 89-mile-per-hour sinker in the top of the seventh, but he was able to stay in the game and then played an inning in the field before he was removed from the contest. The Giants held a six-run lead at the time of his departure, so Chapman may have just been pulled from the game as a precaution. With a team off day on tap Thursday, Chapman will have some extra time to heal before the Giants return to action Friday against the Mets.
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Max Muncy 3B | LAD
Dodgers' Max Muncy: Rehab games around the corner
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Muncy (knee) will travel to the team's spring training complex in Arizona on Thursday to take live at-bats for a few days, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
If Muncy comes out of the workout without any hiccups, he could be cleared to begin a rehab assignment. The veteran third baseman has recovered from a left knee bone bruise more quickly than expected and is tracking toward a return from the 10-day injured list in early August if all continues to go well in his recovery process.
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Austin Riley 3B | ATL
Braves' Austin Riley: Still feeling symptoms
Riley indicated Tuesday that he still felt some discomfort in his lower abdomen, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports. Atlanta is targeting Friday for the third baseman to return from the injured list.
"Not sore, but I think there's still a shadow of something in there, from talking to him," manager Brian Snitker said Tuesday. "And we started thinking about it -- using the next two days with the off day is probably the smart thing." Atlanta's place in the standings doesn't give the team much incentive to rush Riley back into the lineup, but the schedule also worked against his earlier return, as a Tuesday night activation would have been followed by a quick turnaround before a Wednesday afternoon contest. Atlanta begins a nine-game road trip Friday against the Rangers, but Snitker wouldn't commit to Riley suiting up for that contest. "We'll see how he feels when he wakes up Friday," the manager said.