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Blaze Alexander 3B | BAL
Diamondbacks' Blaze Alexander: Delivers in pinch
Alexander entered Sunday's game as a pinch hitter and went 1-for-1 with two RBI in a 5-1 win over the Athletics.
The score was tied when manager Torey Lovullo had Alexander, who was 0-for-8 during the series and 0-for-9 on the homestand, pinch hit for Joc Pederson with the bases loaded. The A's countered with righty reliever Austin Adams, a former Diamondback with whom Lovullo is familiar, and Alexander delivered a single through a drawn-in infield to give Arizona the lead. Alexander has scuffled of late, going 3-for-33 (.091) with zero RBI over the last 12 games and is down to .259 for the season.
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Bobby Witt SS | KC
Royals' Bobby Witt: Three-hit effort in win
Witt went 3-for-4 with a triple, one RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Guardians.
Witt had gone 10 games without a multi-hit effort before Sunday's performance. The shortstop closed the month 33-for-108 (.306) with 12 extra-base hits, 12 RBI, 14 runs scored and six stolen bases over 27 contests. Through 86 games this year, Witt is slashing .312/.363/.534 with 12 home runs, 22 stolen bases, 54 RBI, 65 runs, 22 doubles and nine triples. He's made modest gains in plate discipline with a 7.3 percent walk rate (up from 5.9 percent last year) and 16.7 percent strikeout rate (down from 17.4 percent) to sustain his elite production.
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Trea Turner SS | PHI
Phillies' Trea Turner: Drives in winning runs
Turner went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two strikeouts in Sunday's 7-6 win over the Marlins.
Turner gave himself the best birthday present by driving in the go-ahead runs in Sunday's win. He hit a two-run single in the seventh to complete the Phillies comeback after trailing 6-2. Turner has had three multi-hit games over his last five and at least one hit in 10 of his last 12. The veteran has been doing very well since returning from the injured list June. 17 and is now hitting .332/.380/.453 for the season.
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Corey Seager SS | TEX
Rangers' Corey Seager: Withheld from Sunday's lineup
Seager (wrist) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.
The 30-year-old had X-rays come back negative after being struck in the left wrist by a pitch Saturday, and he'll miss at least one start. The Rangers are calling up Jonathan Ornelas for added infield depth, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, which could signify that Seager will miss some time. No IL move is coming Sunday though, as Brock Burke was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock. Josh Smith is starting at shortstop as Davis Wendzel mans the hot corner.
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Max Schuemann LF | NYY
Athletics' Max Schuemann: Taking seat Sunday
Schuemann is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Schuemann has gone 5-for-41 (.122 average) with a 32.1 percent strikeout rate in his past 13 games and will sit for Sunday's series finale in Arizona. Aledmys Diaz will take over at shortstop and bat ninth.
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Eddys Leonard LF | SF
Tigers' Eddys Leonard: Goes back on IL
Triple-A Toledo placed Leonard on its 7-day injured list Wednesday with an unspecified injury.
Leonard was placed on Toledo's IL in early April with an oblique strain and missed just under two months of action before returning to the Triple-A lineup June 4. However, he appeared in just 16 games for Toledo before getting shut down again with a new injury. Leonard -- who possesses a spot on the Tigers' 40-man roster -- is without a clear timeline for a return from the IL.
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Javier Baez SS | DET
Tigers' Javier Baez: On cusp of rehab assignment
Baez (back) is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Monday, Joe Reedy of the Associated Press reports.
Manager A.J. Hinch had previously said June 25 that Baez wasn't on track to return from the 10-day injured list before the Tigers' ongoing road trip concludes July 7, but the veteran shortstop looks like he could be an option to play during the final week before the All-Star break. The Tigers will likely wait and see how Baez responds to at least a few rehab games with Toledo this week before determining his next steps. Baez had produced a career-worst .456 OPS over 196 plate appearances before being placed on the IL on June 11 with lumbar spine inflammation.
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Zach McKinstry 2B | DET
Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Hitting bench Sunday
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.
With southpaw Tyler Anderson on the hill for the Angels, the lefty-hitting McKinstry will duck out of the lineup. Ryan Kreidler will step in for McKinstry at shortstop.
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Nick Ahmed SS | TEX
Giants' Nick Ahmed: Regains regular role
Ahmed will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
Ahmed will pick up his third consecutive start, with Sunday's assignment coming against a lefty (James Paxton) after the prior two had come versus right-handed pitching. Though he had previously been occupying a short-side platoon role at shortstop with Brett Wisely, Ahmed should have shortstop all to himself for the foreseeable future with Wisely having moved over to second base following Thairo Estrada's (wrist) placement on the injured list Friday.
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Brett Wisely 2B | ATL
Giants' Brett Wisely: Idle against lefty
Wisely is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
The lefty-hitting Wisely will take a seat in favor of the righty-hitting Tyler Fitzgerald, who will cover second base while the Giants face off against southpaw James Paxton. Though he's still holding down a strong-side platoon role in the middle infield, Wisely's run as the Giants' primary leadoff man versus right-handed pitching has come to an end in the wake of LaMonte Wade's return from the injured list Friday. Wade had actually batted second both of the previous two days against right-handed pitching, but Jorge Soler moved into the leadoff spot while Wisely dropped to eighth in the order.