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Gunnar Henderson SS | BAL
Orioles' Gunnar Henderson: Homers in Sunday's win
Henderson went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Yankees.
Henderson's power pace has dipped in July -- he has two homers this month, though he's still hit .275 (14-for-51) over his last 12 contests. The shortstop's blast gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Henderson is up to 28 homers this season, matching his total from 150 games last year in just 95 contests in 2024. He's added a .286/.373/.584 slash line, 63 RBI, 78 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, 18 doubles and five triples.
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Dominic Smith DH | ATL
Red Sox's Dominic Smith: Homers, drives in three
Smith went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and three RBI Sunday against the Royals.
Smith's second-inning two-run blast off Brady Singer gave the Red Sox an early three-run lead. He then provided insurance with an RBI single in the seventh that turned out to provide the game-winning run. It was the third multi-hit game in a week for Smith, who has added five RBI over the past two games. However, his days as the regular starter at first base appear to be numbered as Triston Casas (ribs) is beginning to prepare for a rehab assignment and is hoping to return to the Red Sox lineup by the end of the month.
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Kenley Jansen RP | DET
Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Collects rare two-inning save
Jansen tossed two innings Sunday, allowing one run on two hits and a walk to pick up the save against the Royals. He struck out three.
Jansen struck out the side in the eighth, then battled through the ninth, allowing a run but inducing a game-ending groundout with the tying run on second. While he had accomplished the feat previously in the postseason, it was the first regular-season two-inning save of Jansen's 15-year career. The 36-year-old reliever was not named to the American League All-Star roster, but he has put together another All-Star-caliber campaign with 19 saves, a 2.16 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP and 38 strikeouts over 33.1 innings.
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Brady Singer SP | CIN
Royals' Brady Singer: Pulled in the third
Singer was saddled with the loss Sunday, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk over 2.2 innings against the Red Sox. He struck out three.
Singer couldn't put things together Sunday, allowing separate two-run homers in each of the first and second innings, then loading the bases in the third prior to being pulled. It was the shortest outing of the season for Singer, who entered the contest having allowed only one earned run during each of his previous four starts. He enters the All-Star break ranked 10th in the majors with a 3.20 ERA to go along with a 1.23 WHIP and 99 strikeouts over 19 starts spanning 104 innings.
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Max Scherzer SP | TOR
Rangers' Max Scherzer: Solid in abbreviated start
Scherzer didn't factor into the decision Sunday against Houston, allowing one run on four hits and one walk with six strikeouts across four innings.
Scherzer didn't complete five innings for the first time since being activated from the injured list June 23 and threw only 71 pitches after tossing 95 pitches in his previous start. Though he didn't go deep into the contest, Scherzer was very effective, with the lone run against him coming in the third on a solo home run by Jake Meyers. The 39-year-old has logged a 2.96 ERA and a 23:4 K:BB across 27.1 innings heading into the All-Star break.
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Ronel Blanco SP | HOU
Astros' Ronel Blanco: Takes tough-luck loss
Blanco (9-4) took the loss Sunday against the Rangers, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts across six innings.
All the damage against Blanco came in the first inning, when Josh Smith launched a two-run home run. However, the Astros managed to score only one run until the ninth inning, sticking Blanco with the loss despite logging a quality start. The 30-year-old has been outstanding this season, owning a 2.56 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP over 109.0 innings at the All-Star break. Before 2024, Blanco had a career 4.78 ERA in 58.1 innings and had primarily been utilized out of the bullpen, making him one of baseball's biggest breakouts so far.
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Kirby Yates RP | PIT
Rangers' Kirby Yates: Nets 16th save
Yates picked up the save Sunday against the Astros, allowing one run on a hit and a walk with no strikeouts across one inning.
While Yates advanced to 16-for-16 in save opportunities this season, he snapped his streak of eight consecutive scoreless innings. The 37-year-old walked Jon Singleton and yielded a single to Jeremy Pena to start the ninth frame, with Singleton eventually coming around to score on a groundout by Joey Loperfido. The outing bumped Yates' ERA from 0.81 to 1.05, and he has a 0.90 WHIP across 34.1 innings.
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Josh H. Smith LF | TOR
Rangers' Josh Smith: Carries Texas to win
Smith went 2-for-4 with two two-run home runs during Sunday's 4-2 win over the Astros.
As a team, the Rangers logged only three hits Sunday. Two of those came off Smith's bat, and each wound up in the stands for the 26-year-old's first career multi-homer game. During his last 11 games, Smith is batting 13-for-40 (.325) with three homers, seven runs scored, eight RBI and a stolen base.
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Jake Meyers CF | HOU
Astros' Jake Meyers: Goes yard in loss
Meyers went 2-for-4 with a solo home run during Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Rangers.
Meyers' third-inning solo home run off Max Scherzer was the Astros' only run until the ninth inning. Sunday's performance marked Meyers' first multi-hit game since June 29. The 28-year-old will take a .242/.312/.424 slash line, 10 homers and seven stolen bases into the All-Star break.
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Chad Kuhl RP | ATL
White Sox's Chad Kuhl: Struggles in long relief
Kuhl (0-1) took the loss Sunday against Pittsburgh, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts across four innings.
Kuhl was thrust into Sunday's contest in the third inning after Michael Soroka exited after throwing three pitches due to shoulder soreness. Kuhl surrendered a three-run home run to Joey Bart in the fourth inning and left the contest following the sixth inning as the White Sox trailed 4-3, resulting in the loss. Since being called up June 14, Kuhl has appeared in seven games and tossed 21.1 innings, compiling a 5.06 ERA and a 20:14 K:BB.