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Colson Montgomery SS | CHW
White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Crushes 21st homer
Montgomery went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 9-3 win over the Orioles.
The 24-year-old shortstop crushed a Trey Gibson slider in the third inning, launching it 440 feet to right field and leaving Camden Yards completely. It was Montgomery's fourth homer in the last nine games, but he has just seven total hits during that stretch and a 2:15 BB:K. On the season, he sports a .221/.311/.482 slash line with 21 long balls, 40 runs, 49 RBI and a 32.0 percent strikeout rate in 81 contests.
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Erick Fedde RP | CHW
White Sox's Erick Fedde: Plenty of support in third win
Fedde (3-6) picked up the win Tuesday, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks over five innings in a 9-3 victory over the Orioles. He struck out three.
It wasn't a particularly sharp performance from the right-hander, who tossed 54 of 90 pitches for strikes, but the White Sox backed Fedde with a seven-run third inning that decided the game early. It's the first time in four outings that Fedde has lasted five innings and he hasn't served up a homer in any of them, posting a 3.31 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 13:9 K:BB over 16.1 innings during that stretch. He'll look to build on this effort in his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come on the road this weekend in Cleveland.
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Junior Caminero 3B | TB
Rays' Junior Caminero: Historic power surge continues
Caminero went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's 10-4 win over the Royals.
Caminero delivered the biggest blow of Tampa Bay's six-run third inning, crushing a three-run homer off Noah Cameron to break the game open. The 22-year-old has now homered in five straight games and is batting .500 (10-for-20) with 15 RBI during that stretch. Even more impressively, Caminero has launched eight home runs over his last seven games, becoming the first player age 22 or younger to accomplish that feat since at least 1900. The third baseman is now slashing .294/.384/.555 with 23 home runs, 12 doubles, 52 RBI and 53 runs scored across 82 games this season.
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Bobby Witt SS | KC
Royals' Bobby Witt: Homers twice in loss
Witt went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Tuesday's 10-4 loss to the Rays.
Witt did everything he could to keep Kansas City in the game, launching a two-run homer off Griffin Jax in the third inning before adding a solo shot in the eighth to trim Tampa Bay's sizable lead. Since returning to the lineup from an MCL sprain, the star shortstop is batting .286 (4-for-14) across four games.
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Noah Cameron SP | KC
Royals' Noah Cameron: Unravels in third inning
Cameron (4-6) took the loss Tuesday against the Rays, allowing six runs on nine hits and three walks over 3.2 innings.
Cameron fell apart in the third inning, surrendering all six of his runs while allowing seven hits in the frame, including back-to-back home runs by Junior Caminero and Ryan Vilade. He returned for the fourth but was lifted after allowing two more singles. To make matters worse, Cameron failed to record a strikeout for the first time this season. The left-hander has now been hit hard in four straight starts, allowing at least seven hits in each outing while posting a 9.00 ERA. On the season, he owns a 4.95 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 75:25 K:BB across 83.2 innings. Cameron will seek to turn things around in his next start, scheduled against the Phillies at home.
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Yordan Alvarez DH | HOU
Astros' Yordan Alvarez: Turns tide with grand slam
Alvarez went 3-for-4 with a grand slam in Tuesday's 6-4 win against Minnesota.
Houston fell behind 3-0 after one inning, and that score held through three frames. However, the Astros managed to turn things around in the fourth, putting up six runs -- the final four of which came on Alvarez's grand slam. It was the seventh grand slam of Alvarez's career, tying the franchise mark shared by Jose Altuve, Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The big hit was another in what has been a huge first half for Alvarez, who is tied for second in MLB with 26 home runs and 60 RBI while putting up a league-best 1.046 OPS through 86 games.
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Griffin Jax SP | TB
Rays' Griffin Jax: Earns third straight win
Jax (4-5) earned the win Tuesday against the Royals, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out five over six innings.
Jax surrendered all three of his runs via the long ball, as Carter Jensen led off the game with a homer and Bobby Witt added a two-run shot in the third inning. However, Tampa Bay's offense erupted for 10 runs while he was on the mound, giving him plenty of run support. Since allowing six runs over four innings June 1, Jax has bounced back, posting a 1.73 ERA over his last five outings while riding a three-start winning streak. He now owns a 3.45 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 58:20 K:BB across 60 innings and is scheduled to face Houston on the road next.
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Joe Ryan SP | MIN
Twins' Joe Ryan: Crumbles in fourth frame
Ryan (5-5) took the loss against Houston on Tuesday, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five batters over four innings.
Ryan got through three frames without allowing any runs, but things unraveled for him in the fourth. In that inning, Houston struck for six runs on four hits, including a Yordan Alvarez grand slam. Ryan didn't help himself by issuing two free passes in the frame, with both players he walked coming around to score. The veteran right-hander had a shaky June -- despite posting a strong 43:8 K:BB over 33 innings, he also registered a 4.91 ERA across his six starts. Ryan still has a fine 3.61 ERA and a strong 1.08 WHIP overall on the campaign, and his 113 strikeouts are fifth-most in the American League.
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Josh Hader RP | HOU
Astros' Josh Hader: Dominant in eighth save
Hader earned a save against the Twins on Tuesday, striking out two batters in a perfect inning of work.
Hader was unsurprisingly called upon in the ninth inning with Houston holding a two-run lead. The veteran closer made quick work of Minnesota, notching a pair of punchouts while retiring the side in order on nine pitches. Hader didn't pitch for the Astros until June 3, but he hasn't wasted any time reminding everyone that he's still one of MLB's top closers. He's gone 8-for-8 on save chances so far while giving up only one run and posting a 21:5 K:BB over 13 innings spanning 13 appearances.
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Michael Burrows SP | HOU
Astros' Mike Burrows: Fares well enough to nab victory
Burrows (4-8) completed five innings against Minnesota on Tuesday, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three batters to earn the win.
Burrows had a rough beginning to his outing, allowing three runs on two hits in the first frame. He rebounded pretty well from there, holding the Twins scoreless over his following three innings before giving up one more run in the fifth. The right-hander logged just three punchouts, continuing a disappointing campaign so far on the strikeout front -- after posting a 9.1 K/9 across 96 innings with Pittsburgh last year, he's at a meager 7.2 K/9 through 90.1 frames this season. Beyond that, Burrows has regressed in his ratios as well, and he now holds a poor 5.58 ERA and 1.51 WHIP through 17 appearances (16 starts).