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Travis Bazzana 2B | CLE
Guardians' Travis Bazzana: Runs hit streak to five games
Bazzana went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals.
Bazzana's multi-hit effort extended a hit streak to five games, during which the rookie has gone 8-for-19 with a home run, five doubles, two RBI and two runs scored. All of that production came as the Guardians' leadoff batter, a role that opened up because of Steven Kwan's season-opening slump.
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Isiah Kiner-Falefa 2B | BOS
Red Sox's Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Gaining foothold in lineup
Kiner-Falefa started at third base and went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 8-0 win over Atlanta.
Kiner-Falefa was part of a small-ball, six-run fourth inning built on five singles, a walk, an error and a sacrifice. It was the fourth straight game with at least one RBI for Kiner-Falefa, who started three of those games (once at shortstop and twice at the hot corner). Given the injury to Trevor Story (abdomen) and unproductive bat of Caleb Durbin, there may be more starting opportunities for Kiner-Falefa.
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Chase Meidroth 2B | CHW
White Sox's Chase Meidroth: Crushes grand slam in win
Meidroth went 2-for-5 with a grand slam in Wednesday's 15-2 win versus the Twins.
Meidroth expanded the White Sox's lead to 12 with his seventh-inning grand slam off Travis Adams. The 24-year-old has already matched his home-run total from last season (5) over 122 games through just 52 contests while also raising his OPS from last season's .649 to .739. It was also Meidroth's first career grand slam.
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Ezequiel Duran 3B | TEX
Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Battling illness
Duran was removed from Wednesday's game against the Astros due to an illness, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Duran went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before he began to feel under the weather. He could be held out for another day or two while he recovers, which would leave Nicky Lopez as the next man up to start at shortstop for Texas.
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Jose Altuve 2B | HOU
Astros' Jose Altuve: Might avoid rehab assignment
Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday that the Astros could have Altuve (oblique) simulate at-bats rather than embark on a rehab assignment, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Espada relayed that Altuve has been healing at an "incredible" pace, with the latter having already progressed to swinging at 75-to-80 percent effort. Given the veteran second baseman's recovery from a Grade 2 left oblique strain, he may take simulated at-bats in lieu of a rehab assignment and be back with the Astros quicker than anticipated.
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Jazz Chisholm Jr. 2B | NYY
Yankees' Jazz Chisholm: Left out of starting nine
Chisholm is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.
Left-hander Noah Cameron is on the hill for the Royals, so Yankees manager Aaron Boone decided that Wednesday was a good opportunity to stock up on some extra right-handed bats and give the left-handed-hitting Chisholm a breather. Chisholm had started in each of the Yankees' last 12 games, slashing an impressive .400/.471/.667 over that stretch to bring his OPS up to .724 for the season.
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Vaughn Grissom 1B | LAA
Angels' Vaughn Grissom: Clubs grand slam in big win
Grissom went 3-for-5 with a home run and six RBI in Tuesday's 10-6 win over the Tigers.
The 25-year-old infielder got the Angels on the board with a two-run single in the third inning before launching his first career grand slam off Will Vest in the eighth to put his team in the lead for good. Grissom snapped a 2-for-28 skid with the big performance, and since joining the big-league roster in mid-April he's slashing .233/.308/.379 with three homers, eight runs and 19 RBI in 32 games while seeing action at first base, second base and third base. Advanced stats paint a rosier picture, however -- his 91.0 mph average exit velocity and 47.9 percent hard-hit rate are comparable to Mike Trout's.
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Ezequiel Duran 3B | TEX
Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Back at shortstop
Duran started at shortstop and went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's 10-7 win over Houston.
Duran spent the last two games at third base but returned to shortstop with Josh Jung returning to the hot corner Tuesday. The versatile Duran is getting steady work as a replacement for injured infielders and will continue on as the shortstop until Corey Seager (back) is ready to return. Duran has been rolling the last week, going 10-for-30 with one home run and 11 RBI over the last eight contests.