MLB Player News
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Christopher Morel 1B | MIA
Cubs' Christopher Morel: Back as leadoff hitter
Morel is starting in center field and batting first in Sunday's game against the Mets.
Morel sat in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader but will return for the series finale and last game before the All-Star break. The rookie has had a nice first half with an .814 OPS through 54 games, and he's chipped in nine home runs and eight stolen bases.
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Eloy Jimenez DH | TOR
White Sox's Eloy Jimenez: Unavailable Sunday
Jimenez (leg) is not starting Sunday's series finale against the Twins.
Jimenez has yet to resume running after he exited Wednesday's contest early with right leg tightness, causing him to miss the White Sox' last four games before the All-Star break. Jose Abreu will take over at designated hitter while Andrew Vaughn draws the start at first base and will bat third in the series finale.
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Marcell Ozuna DH | PIT
Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Gets breather Sunday
Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.
Ozuna will hit the bench for the second time in less than a week while he heads into the All-Star break amid a slump at the plate. Over his last eight games, Ozuna went 4-for-29, dropping his season average to .221. Atlanta will give Ronald Acuna a day out of the outfield and deploy him as the designated hitter Sunday in place of Ozuna.
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Giancarlo Stanton DH | NYY
Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton: Resting Sunday
Stanton is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Red Sox.
Stanton will get a breather after he started seven straight games and went 7-for-30 with three homers, seven RBI and seven runs in those contests. Tim Locastro will take over in right field and bat eighth in the Yankees' final game before the All-Star break.
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Ji-Man Choi 1B | NYM
Rays' Ji-Man Choi: Not in lineup Sunday
Choi will sit Sunday against the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Choi will get a breather after he went 1-for-9 with an RBI in the first two games of the series. Brandon Lowe will start at designated hitter while Yu Chang enters the lineup at second base and bats ninth in Sunday's series finale.
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Giancarlo Stanton DH | NYY
Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton: Crosses home three times
Stanton went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and three runs in Saturday's 14-1 trouncing of the Red Sox.
Matt Carpenter (two home runs, seven RBI) did the heavy lifting for the Bronx Bombers on Saturday, but Stanton and Anthony Rizzo did their parts to ensure the Yankees' No. 6 hitter had plenty of run-producing opportunities. Stanton has now scored at least once in all but two of his last nine starts while homering four times and driving in eight runs of his own over that stretch.
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Matt Carpenter DH | STL
Yankees' Matt Carpenter: Continues to mash with seven RBI
Carpenter went 2-for-4 with two home runs, a walk, three total runs and seven total RBI in Saturday's 14-1 rout over the Red Sox.
Boston took an early 1-0 lead, but Carpenter erased that with his three-run shot to right field in the first inning. The veteran connected on another three-run shot in the fifth, and he closed his ledger by drawing a bases-loaded walk in the eighth. It's been a remarkable resurgence for Carpenter this season -- he's slashing an incredible .360/.473/.933 with 13 homers, 31 RBI and 22 runs over just 92 plate appearances. Per ESPN, Carpenter is the fifth player in the expansion era to notch an OPS of at least 1.400 through his first 30 games of the season with a minimum of 90 plate appearances.
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Darin Ruf DH | MIL
Giants' Darin Ruf: Homers in consecutive contests
Ruf went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Brewers.
Ruf opened the scoring in the sixth inning with a blast off Brewers starter Eric Lauer. This was Ruf's second straight game with a homer, and he's up to nine long balls on the year. The 35-year-old has hit safely in nine of 15 games in July, though he hasn't record a multi-hit effort since June 23. He's slashing .227/.336/.376 with 32 RBI, 41 runs scored and two stolen bases through 283 plate appearances. Ruf should continue to work his way into the lineup regularly versus southpaws.
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Christopher Morel 1B | MIA
Cubs' Christopher Morel: Not starting evening game
Morel will sit for the second portion of Saturday's doubleheader against the Mets.
Morel went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in the first game, dropping his OPS in his surprising rookie season slightly to .816. David Bote will handle second base in the nightcap.