MLB Player News
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Cody Freeman SS | TEX
Rangers' Cody Freeman: Makes first MLB start
Freeman started at third base and went 0-for-3 in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Tigers.
Freeman had his contract selected from Triple-A Round Rock on Friday and made his first MLB start. He's unlucky in that his first start in the show came against Detroit lefty Tarik Skubal (2.19 ERA, 2nd in MLB), but Rangers manager Bruce Bochy typically uses a right-handed batter at third base when facing a southpaw. With Josh Jung back in the minors, the Rangers' hot corner has become a rotation of Josh Smith against righties with Ezequiel Duran and now Freeman against lefties.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Goes deep again Sunday
Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk Sunday in a loss to the Brewers.
Ohtani batted second in the lineup for the first time this season, and the move paid off when he followed a Mookie Betts single in the third inning with a two-run blast to left field. The two-way superstar has homered in each of his past two contests and is up to 34 long balls on the campaign, though he's been passed for the NL lead by Eugenio Suarez, who has 35 home runs after going deep four times over the weekend. Suarez is also up on Ohtani by 20 RBI, which is due in part to the latter hitting leadoff throughout the season until Sunday. If Betts can get his bat back on track while taking over in the leadoff role, Ohtani could see more run-scoring opportunities moving forward.
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Giancarlo Stanton DH | NYY
Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton: Raps three singles Sunday
Stanton went 3-for-5 with a run scored in Sunday's 4-2 victory against Atlanta.
Though none of his knocks went for extra bases, Stanton posted his first three-hit performance of the campaign. The veteran slugger has at least one hit in eight of his past nine games, batting .393 (11-for-28) with three homers, two doubles and nine RBI during that span. While he seems to be heating up, Stanton hasn't been an everyday part of the lineup of late -- he's started just four of New York's past seven contests.
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Masataka Yoshida LF | BOS
Red Sox's Masataka Yoshida: Makes first outfield start
Yoshida started in left field and went 0-for-3 in Sunday's 6-1 win over the Cubs.
Yoshida made his first start in the field after a series of appearances as the designated hitter or as a pinch hitter. He was eventually pinch hit for against lefty Drew Pomeranz. Yoshida has gone 6-for-22 (.273) with one RBI, a stolen base and one run scored over seven games since coming off the injured list in the week leading up to the All-Star break.
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David Fry C | CLE
Guardians' David Fry: Sets career high with four RBI
Fry went 2-for-5 with a double and four RBI in Sunday's 8-2 win over the Athletics.
Fry delivered a career-best four RBI, doing all of his damage against Jeffrey Springs. The 29-year-old drove in a run with a first-inning single before breaking the game open with a bases-clearing double in the fourth. Fry now has six RBI over his last two games, surpassing the total (five) he posted across his first 31 appearances this season. Even with this recent surge, Fry is still batting a lackluster 13-for-76 (.171) with a .587 OPS this season.
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Christian Yelich LF | MIL
Brewers' Christian Yelich: Day off Sunday
Yelich is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
The veteran slugger has struggled a bit coming out of the All-Star break, going 2-for-9 with four strikeouts and a caught stealing in the first two games of the series in Los Angeles. William Contreras is serving as the designated hitter while Yelich sits, allowing Eric Haase to make a start behind the plate.
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Josh Bell DH | MIN
Nationals' Josh Bell: Beginning on bench Sunday
Bell is out of the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against the Padres.
Bell went 2-for-7 over the first two games of the series, but he'll get a rest in the finale. James Wood is getting a day off his feet with a start at DH.
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Marcell Ozuna DH | ATL
Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Back in lineup Sunday
Ozuna will start at designated hitter and bat sixth Sunday versus the Yankees.
Ozuna was withheld from the lineup in each of Atlanta's previous three contests in what appears to be a performance-related benching, but he'll back in the starting nine for the series finale versus New York. His exit from the lineup came as Atlanta prioritized getting its two catchers -- Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin -- into the lineup. Baldwin is getting the nod at catcher Sunday while Murphy is receiving rest, allowing Ozuna to at least temporarily reclaim his role at DH.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Smacks homer in loss
Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in Saturday's 8-7 loss to the Brewers.
Ohtani sparked a rally in the third inning with his homer and added an RBI single in the sixth. The two-way superstar has had a relatively quiet July as a batter, hitting .192 (10-for-52) over 14 games, though four of those hits have been homers. He's still at a .274/.379/.604 slash line on the year while adding 33 long balls, 63 RBI, 92 runs scored, 12 doubles, seven triples and 13 stolen bases through 97 games.
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Kyle Schwarber LF | PHI
Phillies' Kyle Schwarber: Crushes grand slam in win
Schwarber went 2-for-4 with a grand slam, a double, a walk and an additional run scored in Saturday's 9-5 win over the Angels.
Schwarber doubled in the first inning and later played hero in the sixth, launching a go-ahead grand slam with the Phillies trailing by one. The lefty slugger has followed up his All-Star Game MVP showing by homering in back-to-back games since the break, and he's now hit safely in 10 of 13 contests in July with seven long balls. For the year, he's tied for fourth in the majors with 32 home runs while slashing .251/.382/.563 with 74 RBI, 70 runs scored and nine steals across 435 plate appearances.