MLB Player News
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Matt Olson 1B | ATL
Athletics' Matt Olson: Clubs first homer of 2019
Olson went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Sunday against Cleveland.
Olson left the yard in the sixth inning for the first time this year, but it wasn't enough to power Oakland to victory. In eight games since coming off the injured list, the 25-year-old is 6-for-28 with three walks and two extra-base hits.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B | TOR
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Settles into two hole
Guerrero will start at third base and bat second Sunday against the White Sox.
Guerrero opened his career as the Blue Jays' No. 5 hitter, but after he offered little impact as a slugger over his first week and a half in the big leagues, Toronto has deployed him out of the two hole in the previous two contests. The lineup change appeared to pay dividends in Saturday's 7-2 loss, as Guerrero turned in the best performance of his young career by reaching base in all four plate appearances (two singles, two walks). The power should eventually show up for Guerrero, but the control he showed during his at-bats Saturday was encouraging as he put his exceptional plate discipline on full display.
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Ryan O'Hearn 1B | PIT
Royals' Ryan O'Hearn: Sitting versus southpaw
O'Hearn is not in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Phillies.
O'Hearn started the last seven games at first base and went 6-for-25 with a double, home run and five RBI, but he was hitless with four strikeouts in the last three contests. Left-hander Cole Irvin will take the mound for the Phillies, sending the 25-year-old to the bench as he is 0-for-18 versus lefties this season. Hunter Dozier will cover first base in his absence for the Royals.
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C.J. Cron 1B | BOS
Twins' C.J. Cron: Caps twin bill with big night
Cron went 4-for-5 with a double and a three-run home run in an 8-3 win over the Tigers in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
After homering in the matinee, the first baseman really got rolling in the nightcap, taking Gregory Soto deep in the fifth inning to blow open what had been a 4-3 Twins lead. Cron now sports a .261/.318/.521 slash line through 35 games with nine homers and 26 RBI, but his playing time could take a hit once Miguel Sano (heel) rejoins the lineup later this month.
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Yandy Diaz DH | TB
Rays' Yandy Diaz: Clubs two homers
Diaz went 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI in a 7-2 win over the Yankees on Saturday.
Diaz hit a solo shot off CC Sabathia in the third inning and then capped Tampa Bay's scoring in the seventh with a three-run blast to essentially put the game away. The 27-year-old is slashing .267/.357/.550 with nine home runs, 22 RBI and a 20:24 BB:K over 35 games and should continue to be a mainstay in the top half of the Rays' lineup.
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Brandon Dixon 1B | SD
Tigers' Brandon Dixon: Homers in afternoon game
Dixon went 2-for-4 with a homer in the afternoon portion of Saturday's doubleheader against the Twins.
Dixon's homer, his second of the season, was a two-out solo shot in the second inning off Michael Pineda. He's now hitting .294/.314/.529 in 35 plate appearances but is striking out 42.9 percent of the time.
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Yuli Gurriel DH | SD
Astros' Yuli Gurriel: Extends hitting streak
Gurriel went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-0 win over Texas.
Gurriel and Robinson Chirinos went back-to-back in the eighth inning, giving the Astros insurance runs. The homer extended Gurriel's hitting streak to seven games (11-for-27), a stretch that raised the first baseman's average from .234 to .269. The trick for Gurriel now is to start hitting with men in scoring position. He batted .403 in such situations in 2018 but has dropped to .107 this season, which has limited him to just 12 RBI in 35 games.
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Jose Abreu 1B | HOU
White Sox's Jose Abreu: Doubles in loss
Abreu went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays.
Abreu's first-inning, run-producing double gave the White Sox an early lead and was his 35th RBI of the season. White Sox manager Rick Renteria has done a good job of putting the team's hottest hitters in front of Abreu, whether that be Tim Anderson or Yoan Moncada, giving him plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. Abreu currently is in a 19-game stretch during which he's driven in 25 runs and hasn't gone more than two games without an RBI.
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Matt Olson 1B | ATL
Athletics' Matt Olson: Multi-hit effort in loss
Olson went 2-for-4 with a double in a loss to the Reds on Thursday.
Olson managed the only multi-hit effort of the night for the Athletics in a game during which their offense was thoroughly stymied. The young infielder has now put together a pair of two-hit tallies in his three games since returning to action following his hand injury, with Thursday's two-bagger serving as his first extra-base hit of the season. Olson is still in the process of getting his timing back at the plate, however -- he's struck out two times apiece in each of his first three games since returning.
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Kole Calhoun 1B | CLE
Angels' Kole Calhoun: Hits ninth homer
Calhoun went 2-for-4 with a home run, walk and three runs in a 13-0 victory against the Tigers on Thursday.
It wasn't too long ago that Calhoun was hitting below .200, but he already has nine home runs and supports a .485 slugging percentage. He's also raised his average in May, going 8-for-22 (.364) to begin the month. Overall, Calhoun is batting .223 with 21 RBI, 24 runs and one steal in 130 at-bats.