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Jared Young 1B | NYM
Cubs' Jared Young: Optioned to minors
Young was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Saturday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Young will be the player to make way as Dansby Swanson (heel) returns from the injured list. Young didn't accomplish much in 13 games following his late-June promotion, hitting .171/.256/.371.
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Freddie Freeman 1B | LAD
Dodgers' Freddie Freeman: Homers, drives in three
Freeman went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, three RBI, three runs scored and two walks in Friday's victory over the Rangers.
Freeman stuffed the box score with yet another big performance, with his 18th home run of the year coming on a solo shot in the fifth inning. The slugging first baseman has produced nine multi-hit performances over his last 20 games, going 28-for-81 (.346) during that stretch. Freeman boosted his season slash line to .322/.405/.565 with 55 extra-base hits and 81 runs scored.
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C.J. Cron 1B | BOS
Rockies' C.J. Cron: Homers in victory
Cron went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in the Rockies' defeat of the Marlins on Friday.
The 33-year-old slugger opened the scoring by taking Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett deep in the top of the first inning, and he later added a single off right-hander Dylan Floro in the top of the eighth. Cron has appeared in only 53 games this season due to injuries, but he's generally been a reliable source of power when healthy and has 11 home runs and 31 RBI.
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LaMonte Wade Jr. LF | HOU
Giants' LaMonte Wade: Leading off Friday
Wade (hamstring) is leading off and starting at first base Friday in Washington.
He exited Tuesday's game with cramping in his left hamstring, but Wade is ready to return to action for a favorable matchup against righty Jake Irvin. Wade will likely start again Saturday with righty Josiah Gray on the bump for the Nats before heading to the bench Sunday against lefty MacKenzie Gore.
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Darick Hall 1B | PIT
Phillies' Darick Hall: Optioned to Triple-A
Hall was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday.
With Bryce Harper making his first start at first base Friday and Kyle Schwarber being used at designated hitter, Hall is headed back to the minors. He has just a .437 OPS at the big-league level this season.
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Drew Ellis 1B | PHI
Phillies' Drew Ellis: Sent down to Triple-A
Ellis was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday.
Ellis has gone 5-for-23 with a couple homers during his time in the majors this season. He wasn't going to be playing much with Josh Harrison back from the injured list.
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Dominic Smith DH | ATL
Nationals' Dominic Smith: Taking seat Friday
Smith is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against the Giants.
The Giants are sending southpaw Alex Wood to the mound, so the left-handed hitting Smith will begin this one on the bench. Michael Chavis is handling first base.
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Wilmer Flores 1B | SF
Giants' Wilmer Flores: Goes yard again
Flores went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Reds.
The Giants put just four runners on base, and Flores accounted for half of those instances. The infielder has taken advantage of more playing time in July, batting .417 (20-for-48) over 14 contests this month. He's also homered four times in his last four games. For the season, he's at a .292/.349/.526 slash line with 12 homers, 31 RBI, 29 runs scored and 13 doubles over 232 plate appearances. Until LaMonte Wade (hamstring) is ready to play, Flores will likely see a majority of the work at first base.
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Matt Olson 1B | ATL
Braves' Matt Olson: Crushes two homers in win
Olson went 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBI in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
Olson's two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh inning brought Atlanta back within one run. The first baseman then came right back in his next at-bat and smacked a solo home run, going back-to-back with Austin Riley to give his team a 7-5 lead. Olson continues to deliver at the plate, especially in July, as he's now batting .327 with four homers, 13 RBI and 11 runs scored for the month. His 32 home runs on the season also leads the National League.
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Pete Alonso 1B | BAL
Mets' Pete Alonso: Slump continues
Alonso went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the White Sox.
Though he's still tied for fifth in the majors with 26 home runs, Alonso's power production and batting average have both been trending down steadily since the beginning of June. Over the past seven weeks, Alonso has popped just six homers in 31 games and is slashing .136/.250/.327 during that same stretch. The Mets could soon look to build in an off day for the slumping Alonso, but he'll start at first base and bat cleanup in Thursday's series finale.