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Jackson Chourio LF | MIL
Brewers' Jackson Chourio: Day off Thursday
Chourio is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Pittsburgh.
Chourio will get his second day off in the past week as Brewers manager Pat Murphy gives some key regulars a little rest before the postseason. Sal Frelick will slide over to left field and Garrett Mitchell will play right in the series finale.
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Michael Kopech SP | LAD
Dodgers' Michael Kopech: Secures 15th save
Kopech picked up the save over the Padres on Wednesday, allowing one walk over a scoreless ninth inning while striking out one.
Kopech relieved Blake Treinen to open the ninth and retired the first two batters on five pitches before surrendering a walk to Jake Cronenworth. The right-hander was then able to strike out Donovan Solano for the final out to lock down his 15th save of the campaign and his third in the month of September. Kopech has now allowed at least one baserunner in five-consecutive appearances and at least one free pass in four of his last five. However, he's also converted each of his last seven save opportunities, with his last blown save coming back on July 7 against the Marlins.
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Santiago Espinal 3B | TEX
Reds' Santiago Espinal: Fills in at second base
Espinal started at second base and went 1-for-3 in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to Cleveland.
Espinal filled in at second base for Jonathan India, who was held out of the starting lineup after clearing concussion protocol. Espinal's in a skid to end the season, going 4-for-37 (.108) over the 11 games, but he's been productive overall during the second half.
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Jack Flaherty SP | DET
Dodgers' Jack Flaherty: Strikes out five in no-decision
Flaherty did not factor into the decision in a win over the Padres on Wednesday, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks over five innings while striking out five.
Flaherty allowed four of the first six batters to reach between the first and second inning, leading to two runs coming home for San Diego over that stretch. He then went on to retire 10 of the next 12 batters he faced before coughing up a solo homer to Fernando Tatis in the fifth. It marked the third-consecutive start in which the right-hander has given up at least three runs and multiple free passes. However, he's also managed to get through at least five innings in nine of 10 outings since joining the Dodgers.
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Dylan Cease SP | TOR
Padres' Dylan Cease: Allows three runs in no-decision
Cease did not factor into the decision in a loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out four.
Cease got off to a bit of a rocky start, issuing a walk to Shohei Ohtani to lead off the bottom of the first before then allowing the slugger to reach second on a wild pitch. The right-hander saw one run come home in the frame and was later tagged for another two runs in the fourth after allowing four-consecutive batters to reach. Cease did generate 20 whiffs in the contest, but that led to only four strikeouts over his five innings of work. It marked the fourth time in his last six starts that he failed to strike out at least five batters and the fifth time over that stretch in which he issued multiple walks. On a positive note, he still carries a 2.97 ERA in September and hasn't allowed a home run in three straight outings.
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TJ Friedl CF | CIN
Reds' TJ Friedl: Moves to leadoff Wednesday
Friedl batted leadoff and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Guardians.
Friedl broke up a no-hitter with a bunt to lead off the seventh inning and scored Cincinnati's first run. He was moved back to leadoff -- his first time since June 23 -- as Jonathan India was held out after clearing concussion protocol. He's struggled of late, going 4-for-24 (.167) over the last eight games. It's assumed Friedl will drop back to the middle of the order once India's ready to return.
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Justin Martinez RP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Enters in seventh inning
Martinez allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out two over 1.1 innings in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Giants.
The Diamondbacks were up, 5-1, when manager Torey Lovullo had Martinez enter the contest to open the seventh inning. He allowed the first two batters to reach but managed to wriggle out of danger. The right-hander was sent out to start the eighth and was removed after a double and single made it a 5-2 game. It's unclear why Lovullo had his closer enter what would normally be a low-leverage spot. Martinez has pitched at regular intervals over the past week, so it wasn't an issue of rust. Perhaps it was due to Lovullo's desire to end the team's three-game losing skid.