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Zachary Neto SS | LAA
Angels' Zach Neto: Sitting Thursday
Neto is not in the starting lineup Thursday night against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Neto will get a breather after he went 2-for-12 with a double, an RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases over the first three games of the series against Texas. Denzer Guzman will draw the start at shortstop and bat sixth in the series finale versus the Rangers.
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Tyler Stephenson C | CIN
Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Cranks home run in win
Stephenson went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Thursday's 9-8 win over the White Sox.
Stephenson broke open a tie with a three-run homer in the fourth inning. It was his 11th home run of the season. He continued a strong second half and is now slashing .302/.397/.635 with five home runs, 10 doubles, 14 RBI and 12 runs scored over 19 games since the All-Star break.
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Elias Diaz C | TEX
Rangers' Elias Diaz: Breather Thursday
Diaz is not in the starting lineup Thursday night against the Angels, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Diaz will head to the bench after going 1-for-4 in the team's 5-2 loss Wednesday. The 35-year-old continues to rotate behind the plate with Austin Wynns while Kyle Higashioka (forearm) is on the injured list. Wynns will start at catcher and bat eighth in the series finale.
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Jake Burger 1B | TEX
Rangers' Jake Burger: Sitting Thursday
Burger is not in the starting lineup Thursday night against the Angels, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Burger will get a night off after he went 1-for-13 with three strikeouts and two RBI over the first three games of the series against Los Angeles. Joc Pederson will slot in at first base and bat leadoff in the series finale.
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Eugenio Suarez DH | CIN
Reds' Eugenio Suarez: Continues homer binge
Suarez went 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBI in Thursday's 9-8 win over the White Sox.
Suarez connected for a two-run home run in the first inning and later plated runs on a sacrifice fly and a hit-by-pitch. The home run was his fourth over his last six games. Suarez owns a .205/.285/.462 slash line with 18 home runs and 48 RBI through 89 games.
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Brice Turang 2B | MIL
Brewers' Brice Turang: Dealing with left knee injury
Turang (knee) is not in the starting lineup Thursday night against the Dodgers, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
Turang is dealing with left knee pain, and he underwent an MRI on Thursday. Manager Pat Murphy did not rule the second baseman out past Thursday's contest, but Turang is expected to get a second opinion following the MRI. If Turang is forced to miss any action moving forward, David Hamilton and Ji Hwan Bae would be the top two candidates to fill in for him at second base.
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Sal Stewart 1B | CIN
Reds' Sal Stewart: Homers, scores four times
Stewart went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run, two RBI and three additional runs scored in Thursday's 9-8 win over the White Sox. He was also hit by a pitch.
Stewart crushed a Davis Martin slider, sending it 419 feet over the fence in left field. It was his 26th home run of the season. In Stewart's next plate appearance in the third, one pitch after Martin threw wild and inside, the right-hander plunked Stewart on the visor of the helmet, which set off a benches-clearing scene and resulted in Martin's ejection. Stewart also had a run-scoring single in the fourth inning and is up to 89 RBI over 120 games.
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Tyler Phillips SP | MIA
Marlins' Tyler Phillips: Falls to Pittsburgh
Phillips (3-6) took the loss Thursday against the Pirates, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out six.
After holding the Pirates scoreless through his first four innings, Phillips ran into trouble in the fifth, when he gave up two runs on a balk and a Jared Triolo homer before he was charged with another two runs in the sixth. Phillips had been pitching well coming into the day, working to a 3.33 ERA across 24.1 innings in his previous six outings. His ERA now sits at 3.65 over 98.2 innings this year with a 1.36 WHIP and 76:40 K:BB. Phillips is tentatively in line to face the Phillies on the road his next time out.
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Braxton Ashcraft SP | PIT
Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Strikes out 10 in complete game
Ashcraft (12-5) earned the win in a complete game Thursday against the Marlins, allowing a run on three hits and a walk. He struck out 10.
Ashcraft was dominant Thursday, as he held Miami scoreless for eight innings before Owen Caissie led off the ninth with a home run. It was an especially encouraging performance for the right-hander, who had stumbled to a 7.88 ERA across 24 innings in his previous five outings. Ashcraft's ERA now sits at 3.88 across 24 starts (141.1 innings) this season with a 1.11 WHIP and 155:33 K:BB. He's tentatively in line to face the Tigers at home his next time out.
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Rafael Flores C | PIT
Pirates' Rafael Flores: Homers twice, drives in six
Flores went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs and six total RBI in Thursday's 13-1 win over Miami.
Flores, making his second start in Pittsburgh's last five games, extended the Pirates' lead to 8-0 in the eighth inning with a three-run blast off John King before capping the scoring in the ninth with another three-run blast after Marlins third baseman Javier Sanoja took over on the mound. Coming into the day, Flores had just one homer through his first 12 games this season while going 1-for-15 in his last eight contests. He'll primarily serve as Henry Davis' backup behind the plate while Endy Rodriguez (hip) is sidelined.