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Anthony Rendon 3B | LAA
Angels' Anthony Rendon: Scratched with illness
Rendon was scratched from Monday's lineup against the Astros due to a stomach bug, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.
Rendon was penciled in to start at third base Monday per usual, but he was a late scratch due to the illness. It doesn't appear to be a serious issue, so the 31-year-old should rejoin the lineup within a day or two. Jack Mayfield will start at the hot corner in his place.
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Gio Urshela 3B | MIN
Twins' Gio Urshela: Three hits in win
Urshela went 3-for-5 with three singles in Monday's win over the Red Sox.
Urshela posted his second consecutive multi-hit performance Monday after failing to have one in the first seven games of the year. The hot stretch has lifted his batting average from .167 to .296 on the season. If Urshela can keep the average up, he could have a strong 2022 campaign hitting in the heart of the Twins' batting order.
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Joe Perez 3B | PIT
Astros' Joe Perez: Heads back to minors
The Astros optioned Perez to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Perez was up with the Astros for the weekend series in Seattle, but he didn't see any action Friday through Sunday. With Yordan Alvarez (illness) making his return from the COVID-19 injured list ahead of Monday's game against the Angels, Perez was the logical choice to move off the 28-man active roster.
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DJ LeMahieu 2B | NYY
Yankees' DJ LeMahieu: Continues hot stretch at plate
LeMahieu went 2-for-3 with a walk in Sunday's loss to Baltimore.
The Yankees managed only three hits in the contest, and LeMahieu was responsible for half of them. The base knocks extended the veteran infielder's modest hitting streak to five games, during which he is batting .444 (8-for-18) with a pair of doubles. LeMahieu has no homers and only one RBI over that stretch, but his hot streak is a positive sign after he started the campaign going 1-for-10 over his first four contests.
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Ceddanne Rafaela CF | BOS
Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Red-hot start in High-A
Rafaela is hitting .395/.422/.861 with five homers, 11 RBI and four steals through nine games with High-A Greenville.
That sure is a lot of power from a guy who's listed as a scrawny 5-foot-8, 152 pounds. Rafaela flashed some pop (10 homers) and terrific base-stealing ability (23-for-26) in Low-A last year, but his start to this season has been a real attention grabber -- especially after he impressed in major-league spring training. Moreover, the Sox have tried him out at almost every position between last season and this one, and he's excelled defensively all over the field, which will make it easy for him to find his way up to the big team sometime in the next couple years if he keeps hitting the ball with authority.
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Matt Duffy 3B | TEX
Angels' Matt Duffy: Records three hits Sunday
Duffy went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI in Sunday's win over the Rangers.
Duffy recorded his second multi-hit game and his first extra-base hit of the season, and he's making the most of his opportunities at the plate. He's hit .389 (7-for-18) to begin the season while holding a part-time role.
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Alex Bregman 3B | CHC
Astros' Alex Bregman: Quiet bat early on
Bregman went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout Sunday against the Mariners.
Bregman was hitless for his fourth consecutive game, though he has walked four times across 16 plate appearances in that same span. While it's generally too early to panic about early season slumps, Bregman has also yet to register an extra-base hit on the campaign. Positively, he's striking out at a 14 percent clip -- in line with his career norms -- so hits should start to fill in.
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Gio Urshela 3B | MIN
Twins' Gio Urshela: Making third straight start
Urshela will start at third base and bat third in Monday's game against the Red Sox, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
Urshela will pick up his third straight start at the hot corner with the lefty-hitting Luis Arraez taking a seat against Boston southpaw Rich Hill. Arraez's ability to play multiple positions should continue to allow Urshela to pick up occasional starts against right-handed pitching, too, but the 30-year-old hasn't done much in a small sample of 24 plate appearances to warrant much excitement. He's hitting .227 with a home run, no stolen bases, three runs and two RBI in eight games.
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Anthony Rendon 3B | LAA
Angels' Anthony Rendon: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rendon is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Rendon has a modest four-game hit streak during which he is 4-for-14 with a home run, three walks, three RBI and two steals, and he'll receive a day off Sunday. Jack Mayfield will start at the hot corner in the series finale at Texas.
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Ramon Urias 3B | STL
Orioles' Ramon Urias: Not starting Sunday
Urias is out of the lineup Sunday against the Yankees, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Urias has started six of eight games at the hot corner to begin the season but finds himself on the bench for Sunday's contest. Kelvin Gutierrez will start in his place for the series finale in New York.