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Taj Bradley SP | MIN
Twins' Taj Bradley: Looks sharp in Triple-A
Bradley gave up one run over six innings with four strikeouts and no walks Wednesday for Triple-A St. Paul.
It was Bradley's first start in the Twins organization after he was acquired for Griffin Jax last Thursday. Despite trading for him, the Twins say they want to keep Bradley in the minors to work on some of his pitches. He'll likely be called up at some point this season, but it sounds like he'll make at least another start or two at Triple-A.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B | TOR
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero: Crushes 18th homer
Guerrero 4-for-7 with a double, a home run, four runs scored and two RBI in Wednesday's rout of the Rockies.
Guerrero launched his 18th homer of the year to right-center field off Victor Vodnik in the eighth inning. The 26-year-old slugger was a big part of Toronto's record-setting trip to the Coors Field, going 8-for-17 with two doubles, two homers, four RBI and seven runs over the three games, and both long balls were to the opposite field -- a very strong sign that Guerrero's getting his swing locked in and gearing up for a big finish to the summer.
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Ernie Clement 2B | TOR
Blue Jays' Ernie Clement: Goes yard in four-hit effort
Clement went 4-for-7 with a double, a solo home run and four total runs scored in Wednesday's rout of the Rockies.
His ninth-inning shot off position player Austin Nola gave Clement his sixth homer of the season. The 29-year-old utility player took full advantage of a trip to Coors Field, going 9-for-18 with four extra-base hits and seven runs scored, as the Blue Jays set an MLB record for hits (63) and a franchise record for runs (45) over the three-game series. Through 433 plate appearances this year, Clement has a career-best .290 batting average and .325 OBP while adding three steals, 34 RBI and 61 runs.
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Ty France 1B | SD
Blue Jays' Ty France: Three doubles in Wednesday's rout
France went 4-for-4 with three doubles, four runs scored and an RBI in Wednesday's win over the Rockies.
The Blue Jays wrapped up a record-setting series with a 20-1 rout, and France was right in the thick of the fireworks. The 31-year-old has three multi-hit performances in 14 games since the All-Star break, with the first two coming as a member of the Twins, and France is slashing .311/.415/.444 over that stretch with six doubles, three RBI and nine runs. Based on his usage since being traded to the Blue Jays, his main role over the final weeks of the season will be to handle first base against left-handed pitchers while Vladimir Guerrero slides over to designated hitter.
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Lawrence Butler RF | ATH
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Retreating to bench
Butler is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.
The Athletics appear to be treating the left-handed-hitting Butler as a strong-side platoon player at this point; he'll be on the bench for the third time in four games, with all of his absences coming against southpaw starters. With Butler bowing out of the lineup, Colby Thomas will step in as the Athletics' starting center fielder.
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Luis Urias 2B | TOR
Athletics' Luis Urias: Back in action Thursday
Urias (back) will start at second base and bat eighth in Thursday's game versus the Nationals.
Urias missed the last two games while dealing with a back issue, but he feels well enough to give it a go in Thursday's series finale. The veteran infielder will bring a .677 OPS into play Thursday.
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Mike Trout CF | LAA
Angels' Mike Trout: Smacks 20th homer
Trout went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Rays.
Trout tied the game in the third inning with a 433-foot blast off Shane Baz, his 20th of the year. The blast marked the 10th time in Trout's 15-year career that he's reached the 20-homer mark. The 34-year-old veteran also extended his hit streak to six games. Overall, Trout is slashing .240/.364/.471 with 50 RBI and 48 runs scored through 376 plate appearances this season.
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Michael Taylor CF | CHW
White Sox's Michael Taylor: Clubs late homer in loss
Taylor went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in a loss to the Mariners on Wednesday.
Taylor gave the White Sox some hope when he began the ninth inning with a solo shot off All-Star closer Andres Munoz to narrow his team's deficit to two runs. It was the veteran outfielder's sixth long ball of the campaign and just his second over his past 29 games. Taylor certainly needed to wake up his bat -- he's played sparingly of late and entered Wednesday in a 2-for-22 slump.
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Julio Rodriguez CF | SEA
Mariners' Julio Rodriguez: Belts big blast
Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run, an additional run and a walk Wednesday in an 8-6 win against the White Sox.
Rodriguez contributed to Chicago starter Jonathan Cannon's rough outing by clubbing a 434-foot, three-run homer in the second inning. The talented young outfielder has really perked up in the power department of late, going deep seven times over his past 13 contests. Rodriguez is at 21 long balls and 21 thefts on the season, making him one of just five big-leaguers to reach the 20-20 mark thus far.