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Francisco Mejia C | TB
Rays' Francisco Mejia: Knocks in two
Mejia went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in a 7-3 win over the Royals on Friday.
Mejia had a productive night at the plate, helping lift his team over the Royals with an RBI single during a four-run fourth. He later cashed in Taylor Walls for an insurance run with a double in the eighth. The 26-year-old catcher has seen increased competition for playing time since Christian Bethancourt was traded to the Rays, so it will be important for him to continue producing at the dish. Mejia is slashing an excellent .324/.342/.649 in July.
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Martin Maldonado C | SD
Astros' Martin Maldonado: Pops solo shot
Maldonado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-2 win over the Mariners.
Maldonado's fifth-inning solo shot stood as the game-winning hit. The catcher has tapped into his power in July, hitting five of his 10 homers this season in his last 16 games. For the season, he has a .166/..235/.341 slash line with 27 RBI, 25 runs scored and eight doubles through 70 contests. This is the fourth year in Maldonado's career he's reached double digits in homers.
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Christian Vazquez C | HOU
Red Sox's Christian Vazquez: Hits two home runs
Vazquez went 3-for-4 with two solo homers in Friday's 28-5 loss to Toronto.
The Red Sox were manhandled Friday but it didn't stop Vazquez from producing one of his best performances of the year. He took Kevin Gausman deep with a solo shot in the fourth inning and then hit another solo home run against Jeremy Beasley in the sixth. It was Vazquez's first multi-homer game of the year and he's up to eight long balls on the campaign. He's slashing .281/.324/.442 with 26 extra-base hits and 38 RBI through 75 games.
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Danny Jansen C | TEX
Blue Jays' Danny Jansen: Goes deep twice
Jansen went 3-for-6 with two home runs, six RBI, four runs scored and a walk in Friday's 28-5 win over Boston.
Jansen knocked a three-run homer off of Austin Davis in the fourth inning before launching a two-run shot against Darwinzon Hernandez in the sixth. He's up to nine home runs on the year after going deep for the first time since June 1. He's now 6-for-17 (.353) with five runs scored in five games since returning from the injured list. Jansen improved his season slash line to .260/.329/.644 with 10 extra-base hits and 19 RBI through 82 plate appearances.
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Tomas Nido C | DET
Mets' Tomas Nido: Suffers hand contusion
Nido left Friday's game against the Padres with a left hand contusion, Deesha Thosar of FoxSports.com reports.
X-rays came back negative, providing some hope that Nido will avoid a long-term absence. If he's forced to miss further time, the Mets catching depth will be tested with James McCann (oblique) also sidelined.
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Tyler Stephenson C | CIN
Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Suffers broken right clavicle
Stephenson suffered a broken right clavicle Friday against St. Louis.
Stephenson was hit in the shoulder by a foul ball and he was unable to complete a throw to first base a few pitches later. No timetable has been announced for his return, though he'll likely miss a large portion of the rest of the campaign.
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Connor Wong C | BOS
Red Sox's Connor Wong: Optioned to Triple-A
Wong was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Friday.
With Kevin Plawecki back from the COVID-19 injured list, Boston no longer needed Wong as insurance behind the plate. He has accrued only nine plate appearances in Boston this season, collecting two hits. Yolmer Sanchez was recalled to take Wong's spot on the roster.
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Michael Perez C | BAL
Pirates' Michael Perez: Loses roster spot
Perez was designated for assignment Friday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Perez was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on July 15 and will lose his spot on the 40-man roster to make way for the activation of Greg Allen (hamstring). Jason Delay and Tyler Heineman will remain the top options behind the dish in Pittsburgh.
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Tyler Stephenson C | CIN
Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Leaves early with shoulder injury
Stephenson was forced to exit Friday's contest against the Cardinals early with a shoulder injury, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Stephenson was hit by a foul ball in the shoulder, causing him to come out of the game a few pitches later. He was replaced by Michael Papierski and can be considered day-to-day for the time being.
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Austin Hedges C | CLE
Guardians' Austin Hedges: Riding pine Friday
Hedges isn't starting Friday against the White Sox, LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Hedges is getting an extra day off after the All-Star break having gone 5-for-13 with a run, an RBI and a strikeout over the last five games. Luke Maile is starting behind the dish and batting eighth.