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Edouard Julien 2B | COL
Twins' Edouard Julien: On bench for third straight
Julien is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.
The Twins have now left Julien out of the lineup for three consecutive contests, which follows a stretch of four straight starts in which he went 2-for-13 with a double and three walks. Julien has produced a poor .545 OPS since getting called up from Triple-A St. Paul on Aug. 1 and may play second fiddle to Kody Clemens at first base in September.
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Trevor Larnach LF | MIN
Twins' Trevor Larnach: Resting Sunday
Larnach is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.
The Padres are having right-hander David Morgan open the contest, but since lefty Kyle Hart is projected to work in bulk relief, Larnach will take a seat. His absence will open up the DH spot for Byron Buxton.
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Michael Wacha SP | KC
Royals' Michael Wacha: Activated for Sunday's start
The Royals reinstated Wacha (personal) from the paternity list to start Sunday's game against the Tigers.
The right-hander has been away from the team for the past couple days to be with his growing family, but he's back with the Royals for his usual turn through the rotation Sunday versus Detroit. Wacha will look to maintain his strong form through five August starts, as he has a 2.87 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 18:3 K:BB over 31.1 innings this month.
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Tyler Holton RP | DET
Tigers' Tyler Holton: Takes loss in relief
Holton (5-4) allowed two runs on a hit and a walk in two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Saturday against the Royals.
Holton served up the key hit Saturday, a two-run home run by Bobby Witt in the bottom of the eighth inning that proved to be decisive in a 3-1 Kansas City victory. It wasn't a great matchup for the lefty reliever, as he has better numbers against same-handed hitters, and Witt crushes southpaws to the tune of a .934 OPS. Despite the setback, Holton still has a serviceable 3.84 ERA across 65.2 innings this season, and he remains part of Detroit's high-leverage crew.
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Samuel Basallo C | BAL
Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Slugs first big-league homer
Basallo went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional run and a walk Saturday in an 11-1 victory versus San Francisco.
Basallo achieved a personal milestone when he swatted a 376-foot shot in the fourth inning for his first major-league homer. The long ball also snapped a seven-game stretch without an RBI for the rookie backstop. Basallo hasn't exactly hit the ground running since being called up Aug. 17, but he's at least been moderately productive with six RBI through 11 games while striking out a tolerable seven times in 42 plate appearances.
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Jeremiah Jackson 2B | BAL
Orioles' Jeremiah Jackson: Plates four runs in victory
Jackson went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, two total runs and four total RBI in an 11-1 win over the Giants on Saturday.
Jackson plated Baltimore's first runs of the game with a two-run homer in the third inning and added a two-run double in the eighth. The rookie extended his hitting streak to 10 games, during which he's slashing .326/.356/.558 with his first two MLB homers, four doubles, 10 RBI and six runs. Jackson's hot bat has helped him hold onto an everyday spot in the Orioles' lineup -- he's started 10 straight games, manning either third base or right field.
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Trevor Rogers SP | BAL
Orioles' Trevor Rogers: Continues impressive comeback
Rogers (8-2) earned the win over San Francisco on Saturday, allowing one run on five hits and no walks while striking out five batters over seven innings.
The only run Rogers allowed came on a Willy Adames home run in the first inning. The veteran southpaw was otherwise dominant, surrendering just four singles. Rogers' campaign has been among the best stories in MLB; after posting an ERA no better than 4.00 over his previous three seasons, he's at a minuscule 1.39 ERA across 14 starts spanning 90.1 innings. Per Jake Rill of MLB.com, that mark is the lowest by any Baltimore pitcher through 14 starts in a season, besting Jim Palmer's 1.51 mark in 1975.
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Bobby Witt SS | KC
Royals' Bobby Witt: Belts decisive homer
Witt went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 3-1 victory versus Detroit on Saturday.
Witt's two-run shot in the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie. The star shortstop extended his hitting streak to 18 games, during which he's slashing .394/.450/.577 with three home runs, 11 RBI, 17 runs and four stolen bases. While's Witt's .860 OPS on the campaign is over 100 points lower than his .977 mark last year, he's been plenty productive with an overall .299/.355/.505 slash line, 20 homers, 76 RBI, 88 runs and 34 thefts.
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Jack Flaherty SP | DET
Tigers' Jack Flaherty: Rebounds with strong outing
Flaherty allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 5.2 innings in a no-decision against Kansas City on Saturday.
Flaherty was crushed for eight runs over five frames against the Royals in his previous start, but he fared much better against the same offense Saturday. The right-hander gave up just one run on a solo shot by Maikel Garcia in the fourth frame and finished one out shy of a quality start. It was a fitting end to what has been a very inconsistent August for the veteran hurler -- he surrendered five-plus runs in three starts while giving up one or zero runs in each of his other three outings.
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Carlos Estevez RP | KC
Royals' Carlos Estevez: Records save No. 36
Estevez earned a save against the Tigers on Saturday, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning.
Estevez had a two-run lead to work with when he entered in the ninth, and he worked around a one-out double to keep Detroit off the scoreboard. The veteran righty extended his scoreless streak to seven appearances and has now registered 11 consecutive successful conversions since his last blown save. With 36 total saves on the campaign, Estevez ranks first in the majors and has surpassed his previous career-high mark of 31.