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Ezequiel Duran SS | TEX
Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Goes deep in loss
Duran started at third base and went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Tigers.
Duran trimmed Detroit's lead in the eighth inning by taking Drew Anderson deep for his seventh home run of the season. He started at the hot corner in place of Josh Jung (knee) after filling in for shortstop Corey Seager (back) on Saturday. Prior to that, Duran had a stretch of games in right field while filling in for the then-injured Brandon Nimmo. The versatile infielder has swung the bat well recently, batting .353 with an .802 OPS over his last nine games. Through 301 plate appearances this season, Duran is slashing .273/.323/.418 with seven home runs, 15 doubles, two triples, 44 RBI, 35 runs scored and six stolen bases.
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Andres Gimenez SS | TOR
Blue Jays' Andres Gimenez: Receiving Sunday off
Gimenez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.
Gimenez will be riding pine for the series finale in Seattle after he had started in Toronto's last four games. Ernie Clement will step in for Gimenez at shortstop and will bat sixth.
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Alika Williams SS | ATH
Athletics' Alika Williams: Heading to bench Sunday
Williams is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
Williams will move to the bench for the series finale after he had started at shortstop in the Athletics' last nine games while going 9-for-32 (.281 average) with a home run and a 1:12 BB:K. The Athletics will go with Joshua Kuroda-Grauer at shortstop after the 23-year-old has opened his time in the big leagues by going 8-for-18 with an RBI and three runs through his first five games. Williams is regarded as the better defender of the two, but Kuroda-Grauer brings more offensive upside to the table and could emerge as the preferred option at shortstop until Jacob Wilson (thumb) is ready to return from the injured list.
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Nick Allen 2B | HOU
Astros' Nick Allen: Handling regular role at shortstop
Allen will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Rays.
Since coming off the 10-day injured list Monday, Allen has drawn starts in five of Houston's ensuing six games while going 3-for-14 with a double, two walks, two runs and one RBI. Per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Astros manager Joe Espada said prior to Sunday's game that he anticipates top shortstop Jeremy Pena (calf) returning from the IL as soon as next Friday, so Allen's run as a regular in the lineup will soon come to an end.
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Taylor Walls SS | TB
Rays' Taylor Walls: Resting Sunday
Walls is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
Walls will get a breather after he went 10-for-36 (.278 average) with one stolen base, nine runs and two RBI while starting in the Rays' previous 11 games. Ben Williamson will replace Walls at shortstop and will bat sixth in the series finale.
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Jeremy Pena SS | HOU
Astros' Jeremy Pena: Could return next weekend
Pena (calf) is expected to play in a couple of rehab games at Triple-A Sugar Land this week could return from the 10-day injured list during the Astros' final series before the All-Star break next weekend against the Rangers, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
The veteran shortstop landed on the shelf last Tuesday due to a calf strain, but his absence looks like it will end up being a brief one. Pena was swinging a hot bat prior to getting hurt, having gone 8-for-21 with two walks, three RBI and five runs in his last five games.
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Brayan Rocchio SS | CLE
Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Receiving afternoon off
Rocchio is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.
Daniel Schneemann will pick up the start at shortstop while Rocchio rests after he had been included in the Cleveland lineup in each of the last four games. Dating back to June 17, Rocchio has gotten on base in all but two of his 16 starts and has slashed .288/.338/.394 with one home run, three steals, eight runs and five RBI over that stretch.
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Tristan Gray SS | MIN
Twins' Tristan Gray: Losing time with Buxton back
Gray is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.
Following a four-game absence due to a hip impingement, Byron Buxton returned to center field in Saturday's 11-4 win, which resulted in Ryan Kreidler shifting back to shortstop and Gray hitting the bench. Gray started at shortstop in all four games Buxton was out, going 0-for-14 to bring his batting average down to .226 for the season.
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Colson Montgomery SS | CHW
White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Clutch performance Saturday
Montgomery went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and two RBI in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Guardians.
Montgomery opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning before hitting what proved to be the game-winning solo shot in the eighth. Over his past 10 games, the 24-year-old has hit safely in eight contests with five extra-base hits, six RBI and five runs scored. On the year, he's slashing .221/.308/.484 with 22 homers, 51 RBI, 41 runs scored and one steal across 351 plate appearances.
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Tyler Tolbert SS | KC
Royals' Tyler Tolbert: Swipes two bags Saturday
Tolbert went 2-for-2 with a pair of stolen bases in Saturday's loss to the Phillies.
The Royals were mostly shut down by Philadelphia starter Jesus Luzardo, but Tolbert knocked two singles off the left-hander and stole a base after each hit. He was the only KC batter with multiple hits in the defeat. Tolbert hasn't gotten a lot of playing time of late -- his start Saturday was just his fourth over the Royals' past eight contests. While he's slashing a modest .243/.310/.243 with no extra-base hits on the season, he's made the most of his opportunities on the basepaths, stealing nine bags in 11 attempts.