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Ryan O'Hearn 1B | PIT
Royals' Ryan O'Hearn: Out again Friday
O'Hearn is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Tigers.
O'Hearn will be stationed on the bench for the third time in the last four games as left-hander Matthew Boyd is set to take the mound for Detroit. Hunter Dozier takes over at first base for the Royals while Kelvin Gutierrez starts at third base.
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Kole Calhoun 1B | CLE
Angels' Kole Calhoun: Mashes eighth homer
Calhoun went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk to help the Angels to a 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Calhoun typically hits leadoff against right-handers, but he was dropped down to sixth in the order thanks to his early-season struggles. He responded by cranking a second-inning two-run shot off Aaron Sanchez. He's hitting just .204 with a .297 on-base percentage, but the 31-year-old is at least providing decent power, as this was eighth home run to go along with six doubles and eight RBI over 113 at-bats.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B | TOR
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Sits for first time
Manager Charlie Montoyo told MLB Network Radio that Guerrero will not be in the lineup Thursday against the Angels.
Guerrero has started all five games since earning a promotion at the end of April, going 3-for-18 with a double and 3:6 BB:K during those contests. He'll head to the bench for Thursday's series finale as the skipper looks to "give him a day off to relax" ahead of the team's upcoming weekend series against the Rangers.
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Ty France 1B | SD
Padres' Ty France: Goes 2-for-4 in win
France went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs and an RBI to help the Padres to an 11-2 win over the Braves on Thursday.
The 24-year-old chipped in on a huge day for the San Diego offense with a pair of hits and his first career triple, a nice breakout showing after he started his stint at the big-league level 2-for-13. He should continue to see regular work at the hot corner with Fernando Tatis Jr. (hamstring) on the injured list and will look to build on his torrid hitting at Triple-A El Paso, where he was slashing a blistering .423/.500/.885 in 78 at-bats.
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Keston Hiura 2B | LAD
Brewers' Keston Hiura: Excelling versus Triple-A pitching
Hiura hit his eighth home run of the season in a game with Triple-A San Antonio on Wednesday.
Triple-A pitchers have had little success against Hiura in his first stop at the level, as he owns a robust .312/.350/.688 slash line in an even 100 plate appearances over 26 games. Hiura had some struggles making contact early on, striking out 24 times over San Antonio's first 15 games, but he has shown rapid progress in that area, striking out just eight times over his last 11 contests. There isn't a spot open for Hiura at the MLB level just yet, but his numbers and adjustments indicate he is just about ready to take his cuts against big-league pitchers, and he could force the Brewers' hand a bit at some point soon.
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Paul Goldschmidt 1B | NYY
Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt: Sitting for day game
Goldschmidt is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Goldschmidt will be one of four Cardinals regulars resting on getaway day, with Yadier Molina, Paul DeJong and Dexter Fowler (illness) joining him on the bench. Matt Carpenter will move across the diamond to cover first base in place of Goldschmidt, who has produced only one extra-base hit (a double) and one RBI over his last eight starts.
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Paul Goldschmidt 1B | NYY
Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt: Supplies multi-hit effort
Goldschmidt went 2-for-5 with a run in a win over the Nationals on Wednesday.
Goldschmidt opened the new month on a positive note after going 1-for-14 over his previous three games. The veteran slugger has a solid .264/.350/.512 line through 137 plate appearances, but his 26.3 percent strikeout rate is an aspect of his game with plenty of room for improvement.
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Ryan O'Hearn 1B | PIT
Royals' Ryan O'Hearn: Benched versus righty
O'Hearn is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.
The Royals have routinely withheld O'Hearn from the lineup against left-handed pitchers this season, but he'll pick up a rare rest versus a righty (Charlie Morton) on Thursday. Since opening the season with a five-game hitting streak, O'Hearn has slashed a miserable .116/.262/.261 and could be in danger of losing out on a strong-side platoon role.
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Alex Kirilloff LF | MIN
Twins' Alex Kirilloff: Activated from minor-league IL
Kirilloff (wrist) was activated from the 7-day IL at Double-A Pensacola, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Kirilloff sustained the wrist injury late in spring training and originally was expected to return to the field sometime in April. He'll likely move to first base after playing the outfield last season.
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Dominic Smith DH | ATL
Mets' Dominic Smith: Batting second
Smith will start at first base and hit second Thursday against the Reds.
Smith is making just his fourth start of the season with Pete Alonso getting a rare day off. Though Alonso has slumped over the past week and a half, his struggles would need to become far more pronounced before the Mets seriously entertain regularly benching him in favor of Smith.