MLB Player News
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Spencer Horwitz 1B | PIT
Blue Jays' Spencer Horwitz: Sitting against lefty
Horwitz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.
The lefty-hitting Horwitz will get the afternoon off in the series finale while the Angels send a southpaw (Tyler Anderson) to the hill. Horwitz had started in each of Toronto's last seven games, going 6-for-26 with two home runs, three doubles and three waks.
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Michael Stefanic 2B | TOR
Angels' Michael Stefanic: Playing time dropping off
Stefanic will start at second base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Though he'll be included in the lineup in the series finale, Stefanic's playing time appears to be drying up after he previously started five and four consecutive games earlier this month. Stefanic has gone just 1-for-24 over his last seven contests and will likely continue to play second fiddle at the keystone to Brandon Drury.
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Jared Triolo 3B | PIT
Pirates' Jared Triolo: Getting afternoon off
Triolo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
After starting in each of the last eight games while going 4-for-23 with two home runs and six walks against five strikeouts, Triolo will hit the bench for the series finale. Alika Williams will replace Triolo in the starting nine, manning second base while batting eighth.
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Jorge Polanco 2B | NYM
Mariners' Jorge Polanco: Records fourth steal Saturday
Polanco went 0-for-2 with two walks, a stolen base and a run in a 4-3 loss to the Giants on Saturday.
Polanco got it done with some classic small ball Saturday, showing solid plate discipline and recording a rare steal during one of his trips on the basepaths. The veteran has progressively crawled out of a deep hole at the plate over the course of the second half of the season, with Saturday's production pushing his post-All-Star-break slash line to .269/.358/.529 across 120 plate appearances. Despite the quiet night from a power perspective Saturday, Polanco has also shown some welcome pop during that span, knocking 13 of his 28 hits for extra bases while driving in 18 runs.
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Zack Gelof 2B | ATH
Athletics' Zack Gelof: Rare three-hit effort Saturday
Gelof went 3-for-4 with a stolen base and two runs in a loss to the Brewers on Saturday.
Gelof made plenty of noise out of his No. 8 spot in the order, recording his second three-hit game of August but only his fifth all season with at least that many knocks. After a poor start to the current month, Gelof has finally started to show signs of life at the plate by posting a .286 average and .796 OPS across the 63 plate appearances covering his last 16 games.
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Nacho Alvarez Jr. 3B | ATL
Braves' Nacho Alvarez: Shakes off illness
Alvarez (illness) has appeared in Triple-A Gwinnett's last four games, going 8-for-17 with two home runs, two walks, two stolen bases, six RBI and six runs.
Alvarez missed five days' worth of action while recovering from a bout with pneumonia, but he's shown no signs of being slowed down by the illness since rejoining the Gwinnett lineup. Though Alvarez struggled mightily in his first exposure to the majors back in July, he's continued to wield a hot bat at Gwinnett since making the jump to the International League in June. Over 199 plate appearances at Triple-A, Alvarez is slashing .311/.422/.521 with nine home runs and eight stolen bases.
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Marcus Semien 2B | NYM
Rangers' Marcus Semien: Drives in two
Semien went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 13-5 loss to the Guardians.
Semien led off the game with a single and scored to give Texas a brief lead early. He later drove in a run in the seventh and ninth innings. Semien is up to 63 RBI over 128 games and would need a very productive final month to match the 100 RBI he had in 2023.
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Luis Guillorme 3B | HOU
Diamondbacks' Luis Guillorme: Makes third consecutive start
Guillorme started at second base and went 0-for-2 with two walks, a run scored and a stolen base in Saturday's 4-1 win over Boston.
Guillorme, who was signed last Tuesday, made a third consecutive start -- all against right-handers -- and appears to have moved into a platoon at second base with Kevin Newman for as long as it takes Ketel Marte (ankle) to return. Marte is not yet asymptomatic, manager Torey Lovullo told Arizona Sports on Friday, so there could be plenty of opportunities for Guillorme in the short term. The utility infielder is 2-for-10 with four walks, one RBI, two steals and two runs scored in his first three games with the Diamondbacks.
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Thairo Estrada 2B | COL
Giants' Thairo Estrada: Swipes bag in win
Estrada went 2-for-4 with one RBI, one stolen base and one run scored in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Mariners.
Estrada has gone 6-for-20 (.300) over five games since he returned from a wrist injury. The theft was just his second of the year, an unusually low mark after he topped 20 steals the previous two years. Part of the issue has been a lack of opportunity -- Estrada is slashing just .221/.251/.352 over 92 contests this season. He's added nine home runs, 46 RBI, 43 runs scored, 15 doubles and two triples. Per Statcast, his sprint speed is at 28.0 feet per second, which is just slightly below last year.
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Bryson Stott 2B | PHI
Phillies' Bryson Stott: Perfect at plate Saturday
Stott went 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Saturday's 11-2 win over the Royals.
Stott has hit safely in eight of his last 11 games, going 12-for-38 (.316) in that span, though just two of those have been multi-hit efforts. The second baseman has also been lacking in terms of run production, as he has just four RBI over 18 contests in August. For the season, he's at a .243/.315/.358 slash line with nine home runs, 47 RBI, 56 runs scored and 25 stolen bases through 118 games. Stott has seen a reduced role versus left-handed pitchers this year, with Edmundo Sosa often taking over at second base against southpaws.