MLB Player News
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Oneil Cruz CF | PIT
Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Stolen base in return to lineup
Cruz went 1-for-4 with a stolen base Sunday against the Giants.
Cruz was held out of Saturday's lineup after tweaking his ankle in the series opener against the Giants. He notably moved up the order to hit third in his return Sunday and seemed to put the injury issue behind him as he swiped his third base of the season. Cruz is off to a slow start to the campaign, but he's shown some improvement of late by going 8-for-22 with a 25 percent strikeout rate across his last seven games.
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Tyler Fitzgerald CF | LAD
Giants' Tyler Fitzgerald: Three-hit effort in win
Fitzgerald went 3-for-3 with a double and one run scored in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Pirates.
Fitzgerald has recorded three multi-hit games this season, and he's batting .313 with a .915 OPS over 34 plate appearances. He remains in a utility role, but he's done well when in the lineup, posting one home run, three RBI, six runs scored, two doubles, a triple and four stolen bases. Fitzgerald's lack of an everyday role limits his fantasy viability, and his best chance at playing time is at shortstop, though Nick Ahmed has held his own there by batting .262 over 27 contests. Fitzgerald has also played in center field occasionally versus southpaws when Jung Hoo Lee is out of the lineup, though that has not been a strict platoon situation.
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Jeremy Pena SS | HOU
Astros' Jeremy Pena: Connects for third homer
Pena went 1-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and two runs scored Sunday against the Rockies.
Pena had a productive weekend series in Mexico City, racking up a total of four runs scored in a pair of games. He also chipped in his third home run of the campaign Sunday, his first long ball since April 3. Pena has remained a subpar power contributor, though he also has four stolen bases and is hitting .321 across 115 plate appearances early this season.
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Francisco Lindor SS | NYM
Mets' Francisco Lindor: Showcases power, speed
Lindor went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two stolen bases during Sunday's 4-2 win over the Cardinals.
Lindor notched his fourth homer over the last nine games, tagging Lance Lynn for a solo shot in the sixth frame. The shortstop also notched the 14th multi-steal game of his career, marking his second and third pilfers of the campaign. During his last nine appearances, Lindor is batting .306 with nine RBI and six runs scored.
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Brayan Rocchio SS | CLE
Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Swipes two more bases
Rocchio went 2-for-3 with two runs scored during Sunday's extra-inning loss to Atlanta.
Rocchio provided two of the Guardians' three runs, picking up his first multi-hit game since April 6 (a span of 16 games). The 23-year-old has stolen four bases this season and has scored 12 times in 90 plate appearances. However, Rocchio is still chasing his first big-league homer through 48 games and is slashing .215/.292/.304.
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Nick Ahmed SS | TEX
Giants' Nick Ahmed: On bench Sunday
Ahmed is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Ahmed started the previous 12 games but will take a seat Sunday after he posted a .616 OPS during that stretch. Tyler Fitzgerald will receive a start at shortstop and bat ninth.
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Blaze Alexander 3B | BAL
Diamondbacks' Blaze Alexander: Takes seat Sunday
Alexander is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.
Alexander has gone 9-for-24 with five doubles, a homer, nine RBI and four runs over his past seven games, but he'll head to the bench Sunday. Kevin Newman will start at shortstop in the series finale at Seattle.
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Oneil Cruz CF | PIT
Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Returns to lineup Sunday
Cruz (ankle) is starting at shortstop and batting third Sunday against the Giants, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Cruz was held out of the lineup Saturday after he tweaked his ankle in Friday's series opener, but he's back in the starting nine Sunday. The 25-year-old is without a home run since April 13 and has a .205/.286/.250 slash line and 38.8 percent strikeout rate during that 13-game stretch.
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Jose Caballero SS | NYY
Rays' Jose Caballero: Out of Sunday's lineup
Caballero is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Caballero will head to the bench Sunday after he posted a .217/.250/.370 slash line and 26.5 percent strikeout rate while starting the previous 12 games. Amed Rosario will shift to shortstop and bat third.
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Paul DeJong SS | DET
White Sox's Paul DeJong: Out of Sunday's lineup
DeJong is not in the lineup for Sunday's game versus Tampa Bay.
DeJong started the previous six contests but will take a seat Sunday after he went 3-for-22 with 11 strikeouts during that stretch. Braden Shewmake will start at shortstop and bat ninth.