MLB Player News
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Pavin Smith RF | ARI
Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: Goes deep in victory
Smith went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's 5-1 win against the Brewers.
Smith capped the scoring in the contest with a two-run shot in the eighth inning. The long ball was his first since he went deep three times against the Astros on Sept. 8. He's been hitting well of late, though, compiling a six-game hitting streak during which he's batting .474 (9-for-19) with four doubles, five runs and five RBI. His path to regular at-bats will take a hit when Lourdes Gurriel returns from a calf injury, which could happen this weekend.
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Vladimir Guerrero 1B | TOR
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero: Reaches 30-homer plateau
Guerrero went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs, an additional run scored and a walk Thursday against the Rangers.
Each of Guerrero's blasts went for over 400 feet, raising his season homer total to 30. The first of those homers snapped a 49 at-bat homer-less streak. It was the first multi-homer game of the season for Guerrero and the 19th time he's collected at least three hits in a game. The veteran first baseman stands just one RBI shy of his second 100-RBI season, while his .322 average is a career best and ranks second in the majors behind only Bobby Witt.
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Matt Olson 1B | ATL
Braves' Matt Olson: Homers twice in rout
Olson went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, four total RBI and three total runs scored in Thursday's 15-3 win over Cincinnati.
Olson got the scoring started with a solo shot off Julian Aguiar in the second inning before adding a three-run homer in the fifth, extending Atlanta's lead to 8-1. While it's been a down year overall for Olson, he's been on fire down the stretch, going 15-for-36 (.417) with a pair of home runs and 15 RBI in his last 10 games. The 30-year-old first baseman has boosted his slash line to .243/.326/.459 with 28 homers, 94 RBI and 76 runs scored across 647 plate appearances this season.
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Joey Gallo 1B | WAS
Nationals' Joey Gallo: Idle Thursday
Gallo isn't in Washington's lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Gallo's two home runs since the start of September represent the only hits he's tallied in his last 32 at-bats, so the Nats will sit him down Thursday in an effort to find more production at the plate. Juan Yepez will fill in as Washington's first baseman and bat seventh.
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Michael Busch 1B | CHC
Cubs' Michael Busch: Sitting down Thursday
Busch isn't in the Cubs' lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.
After going 1-for-10 with an RBI and four strikeouts during Chicago's previous series against Oakland, Busch will take a seat to begin the Cubs' four-game set with Washington. Patrick Wisdom will cover first base in his stead and bat sixth.
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Rhys Hoskins 1B | MIL
Brewers' Rhys Hoskins: Not in Thursday's lineup
Hoskins is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.
The Brewers have most of their regulars in there the day after clinching the National League Central, but Hoskins is getting the night off. Jake Bauers will play first base and Garrett Mitchell will be the designated hitter in the series opener.
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Tony Blanco 1B | PIT
Pirates' Tony Blanco: Flashing mammoth power
Blanco slashed .305/.385/.505 with four home runs and a 28.4 percent strikeout rate in 30 games for the Florida Complex League Pirates before a hamstring injury ended his season at the beginning of July, MLB Pipeline reports.
It's unlikely Blanco makes enough contact to turn into an everyday big leaguer, but he's a fun prospect to dream on because of his 6-foot-7, 243-pound frame and 70-grade raw power. Blanco struck out 37.6 percent of the time as an old-for-the-level 18-year-old in the Dominican Summer League last year and struck out a decent amount again this year as an older player in a rookie league. However, if he's able to maintain his conditioning while improving his hit tool next year in his full-season debut, Blanco's prodigious power would make him a sought after prospect in dynasty leagues.
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Freddie Freeman 1B | LAD
Dodgers' Freddie Freeman: Rips three hits Wednesday
Freeman went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and a stolen base against Miami in Wednesday's 8-4 win.
Freeman extended his modest hitting streak to five games, though this was his first multi-hit performance during that span. While the star first baseman had a three-game streak of notching at least one RBI come to an end, he has now scored at least one run in four consecutive contests. On the season, Freeman is slashing .283/.381/.483 with 22 homers, 88 RBI, 81 runs and eight stolen bases over 609 plate appearances.
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LaMonte Wade 1B | SF
Giants' LaMonte Wade: Notches second steal
Wade went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Orioles.
Wade has been decent in September, going 11-for-41 (.268) with two extra-base hits, eight RBI and four runs scored over 13 games this month. His steal Wednesday was just his second theft of the year, matching his total from 2023. Overall, the first baseman has a .267/.390/.376 slash line with six home runs, 31 RBI, 42 runs scored and 15 doubles over 370 plate appearances in a strong-side platoon role.