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Jorge Soler DH | LAA
Royals' Jorge Soler: Breaks out of slump with homer
Soler went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a walk Sunday in the Royals' 7-6 win over the Blue Jays.
Soler's fifth-inning solo shot off Nick Kingham ended a frustrating stretch for the slugger, who had gone 1-for-27 with 13 strikeouts over the preceding seven games. The slump has resulted in Soler's season average plunging to .233, but that's a fair price for fantasy managers to pay in light of the career-best power production the 27-year-old has supplied. The home run was his 22nd of the season, exceeding his previous career high by 10 with 78 games left to play. He'll be back in the lineup for Monday's series finale as the Royals' designated hitter and No. 5 batter, per Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Angels' Shohei Ohtani: Launches two solo homers
Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs during Sunday's 12-3 win over the Athletics.
Ohtani made the most of his two hits, which consisted of solo home runs to center field in the fourth and eighth innings. The slugger has been in particularly good form of late, with a .478 average, three home runs, five runs scored, and five RBI over his last seven games. Ohtani will look to keep it up in his next series on the road against Texas.
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Charlie Blackmon RF | COL
Rockies' Charlie Blackmon: Reaches 20 homers
Blackmon went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, a walk and two runs scored Sunday against the Dodgers.
Blackmon plated a run in the fifth inning on an infield single, and he clubbed a solo homer to right center in the bottom of the ninth in a 10-5 loss. The 32-year-old has now hit safely in eight of his last 11 contests, slugging four homers while driving in nine runs over that span. He'll aim to stay hot at the dish with five games remaining before the All-Star break.
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Joc Pederson DH | TEX
Dodgers' Joc Pederson: Knocks in three
Pederson went 3-for-5 with three RBI, a walk and a run scored Sunday against the Rockies.
Pederson drove home a run in the fifth inning on a single to left field, and he plated two more in the sixth on another single. The 27-year-old outfielder has pieced together a modest six-game hitting streak, registering two extra-base hits and four RBI during that stretch. He'll aim to keep it rolling heading into Tuesday's series opener with the Diamondbacks.
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J.D. Martinez DH | NYM
Red Sox's J.D. Martinez: Records another three-hit game
Martinez went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs in a 12-8 loss to the Yankees on Sunday.
The designated hitter was part of a three-homer barrage during the first inning for the Red Sox, but that didn't hold up, as again the Yankees reached double digits in runs. Martinez enjoyed hitting in London, going 6-for-9 in the two-game European set. He is batting .298 with 18 home runs, 47 RBI, 49 runs and one stolen base in 295 at-bats this season.
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Yordan Alvarez DH | HOU
Astros' Yordan Alvarez: Knocks in three
Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBI and a walk in Sunday's win over the Mariners.
Alvarez doubled home a pair of runs in the first inning, and he collected his third RBI of the afternoon in the third on a single to right field. The 22-year-old has been impressive in his first 16 big-league contests, hitting .317 with seven homers and 21 RBI, though the Astros appear likely to hold him out of the next two contests in Colorado without a designated hitter slot available.
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Yordan Alvarez DH | HOU
Astros' Yordan Alvarez: Unlikely to play in Colorado
Alvarez is "unlikely" to play in Houston's next two contests against the Rockies, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The Astros are heading to Colorado for a brief two-game series, so skipper AJ Hinch doesn't intend to use Alvarez without a designated hitter slot available. He's expected to return to action when the team returns home to face the Angels for a three-game series beginning Friday.
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Mark Canha LF | TEX
Athletics' Mark Canha: Gets fifth straight start
Canha will serve as the Athletics' designated hitter and will bat cleanup Sunday against the Angels.
Canha will be replacing Khris Davis (hand) in the series finale, marking his fifth start in a row. While Davis could rejoin the lineup as soon as Tuesday against the Twins, Canha could stick in the starting nine in the outfield. Stephen Piscotty (knee) was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday, leaving the team without one of its everyday players through at least the All-Star break.
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Alex Dickerson DH | ATL
Giants' Alex Dickerson: Benched versus lefty
Dickerson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Dickerson has emerged as the Giants' primary option in left field lately and is hitting .367 with seven extra-base hits, 12 RBI and six runs in his first nine games with the big club. While he'll be locked into a prominent spot in the lineup versus right-handers so long as he continues to wield a hot bat, Dickerson could find himself on the bench against southpaws as part of a platoon with Tyler Austin. The Giants are in line to oppose three lefties (Logan Allen, Matt Strahm and Eric Lauer) in their upcoming series in San Diego, so Dickerson's opportunities could be limited early in the week.
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Matt Carpenter DH | STL
Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Battling stomach issue
Manager Mike Shildt said on KMOQ Sports Radio that Carpenter is out of the lineup Sunday due to a stomach issue.
Carpenter is sitting out his fourth straight contest, but it's unclear if he's been experiencing the stomach problems during that entire stretch. Yairo Munoz is manning the hot corner in Sunday's series finale.