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Bryan Baker RP | TB
Orioles' Bryan Baker: Notches first save
Baker earned the save in Sunday's 3-2 win over the White Sox, striking out two in a perfect ninth inning.
With both Felix Bautista and Seranthony Dominguez seemingly unavailable, Baker was tasked with protecting a one-run lead in the ninth inning Sunday. The right-hander made quick work of the White Sox, needing just 13 pitches to pick up his first save this season. The 30-year-old Baker has been solid in a setup role this year, posting a 2.77 ERA with a 0.92 WHIP and 33 strikeouts across 26 innings.
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Charlie Morton SP | ATL
Orioles' Charlie Morton: Grabs second straight win
Morton (2-7) earned the win Sunday against the White Sox, allowing one unearned run on six hits and a walk over 6.2 innings. He struck out seven.
After a dreadful start to the year that resulted in a demotion to the bullpen, Morton's turned in back-to-back wins and quality starts since returning to the Baltimore rotation, and he's allowed three runs (two earned) while striking out 12 over 12.2 innings in that span. The veteran right-hander lowered his ERA to 6.20 with a 1.58 WHIP and 52:27 K:BB across 53.2 innings this season. Morton will look to keep it going in his next outing, currently scheduled for next week on the road against the A's.
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Aroldis Chapman RP | BOS
Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Picks up ninth save
Chapman earned the save in Sunday's 3-1 win over Atlanta, logging a strikeout and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning.
Chapman has allowed just one run while striking out 10 in his last eight innings, and he improved to 9-for-10 in save chances this season. Overall, the 37-year-old southpaw sports a 1.88 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP and 32:9 K:BB across 24 innings this year.
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Garrett Crochet RP | BOS
Red Sox's Garrett Crochet: Strikes out 12 in victory
Crochet (5-4) earned the win Sunday against Atlanta, allowing one run on five hits and two walks across seven innings. He struck out 12.
Crochet was dominant Sunday, allowing just a solo home run to Marcell Ozuna in the first inning before blanking Atlanta over his final six frames while recording a season-high 12 strikeouts. The 25-year-old Crochet has held opponents to two runs or fewer in 12 of his 13 outings this season. His ERA is down to 1.98 with a 1.06 WHIP and 101 strikeouts, tied with MacKenzie Gore for the MLB lead, across 82 innings this season. Crochet will have a tough test in his next outing, currently scheduled as a road matchup with the rival Yankees.
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Josh H. Smith 3B | TOR
Rangers' Josh Smith: Three hits, home run in win
Smith went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, a double, a stolen base and four total RBI in Sunday's 8-1 win over the Cardinals.
Smith got the Rangers on the board in the second inning with a two-run double, putting Texas ahead 2-1, before bookending the scoring with a homer off Roddery Munoz in the eighth. The long ball was his fifth of the year and extended the lead to 8-1. It was the first multi-hit game since May 14 for the 27-year-old Smith -- he'd gone just 5-for-45 (.111) with a .313 OPS in 13 contests prior to Sunday. Overall, Smith is slashing .269/.340/.409 with 20 runs scored, 16 RBI and seven stolen bases through 192 plate appearances this season.
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Evan Carter CF | TEX
Rangers' Evan Carter: Likely to be activated Tuesday
The Rangers are expected to activate Carter (quadriceps) from the 10-day injured list ahead of Tuesday's series opener at Tampa Bay, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.
Carter is nearing the finish line in his recovery from a Grade 2 right quad strain, which sent him to the IL on May 18. He was cleared to head out on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock this weekend and has gone 0-for-6 with a walk and an RBI in his first two games while making one start in center field and one at designated hitter. Before getting hurt, Carter had briefly been handling an everyday role in the Texas outfield, but he may not be guaranteed steady playing time once he's activated. Rookie Alejandro Osuna has gotten on base at a .476 clip since getting called up from Round Rock on May 25, and the Rangers may find it difficult to justify taking him out of the lineup to clear a spot for Carter.
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Jacob deGrom SP | TEX
Rangers' Jacob deGrom: Rebounds for fifth win
DeGrom (5-2) earned the win Sunday over the Cardinals, allowing one run on four hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out four.
DeGrom issued a leadoff walk in the first inning to Lars Nootbaar, who eventually came around to score on Willson Contreras' two-out single. However, deGrom limited the damage from there, holding the Cardinals scoreless over his final five frames to earn his fifth win and quality start. The 36-year-old deGrom hasn't had his swing-and-miss stuff recently, though he's found success regardless -- he held St. Louis to just two hard-hit balls Sunday. Overall, deGrom sports a 2.34 ERA with a 0.98 WHIP and 66:17 K:BB across 12 starts (69.1 innings) this season. He's currently lined up to face the Nationals on the road in his next outing.
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Miguel Andujar DH | SD
Athletics' Miguel Andujar: Leaves early with oblique injury
Andujar was removed in the bottom of the fifth inning of Sunday's game against the Blue Jays due to right oblique discomfort, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored before departing.
The Athletics haven't clarified when Andujar sustained the injury, but he may have tweaked his side at some point during his plate appearance in the top half of the inning, when he grounded into a fielder's choice. Though he stayed in the game and came around to score on Luis Urias' double, Andujar was lifted in favor of Max Schuemann when the Athletics returned to the field for the bottom of the frame. Andujar will presumably be put through some tests as the Athletics look to determine the severity of his oblique issue, but it won't be surprising if the 30-year-old needs to go on the 10-day injured list.
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Dylan Moore 1B | PHI
Mariners' Dylan Moore: Sitting for third straight game
Moore is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins.
For the third straight game, Moore is on the bench against a right-handed pitcher, a sign that he's lost hold of his spot in the Mariners' everyday lineup. Cole Young will pick up his second consecutive start at the keystone following his call-up from Triple-A Tacoma and looks as though he'll be prioritized ahead of Moore, who could end up filling the short side of a platoon at second base with the rookie.
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Blake Hunt C | SD
Mariners' Blake Hunt: Passes through waivers
The Mariners outrighted Hunt to Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday.
After being designated for assignment Thursday, Hunt went unclaimed off waivers and will stick around in the Mariners organization as catching depth at the Triple-A level. The 26-year-old backstop has slashed .231/.271/.407 with two home runs over 96 plate appearances in the Pacific Coast League this season.