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Julian Aguiar RP | CHC
Reds' Julian Aguiar: Named Monday's starter
Aguiar will start Monday's game against the Astros, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Aguiar will be pitching after just three days of rest, though the Reds seem to be comfortable sending him back out for another start after he threw 78 pitches over four innings Thursday. The 23-year-old righty has allowed 10 earned runs in just 14 innings through his first three MLB starts and will be facing an Astros offense that has posted a .748 OPS since the start of August.
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Mitch Keller SP | PIT
Pirates' Mitch Keller: Allows three homers in loss
Keller (11-9) took the loss Sunday, allowing four runs (three earned) on 11 hits in 5.1 innings against the Guardians. He struck out seven.
Keller's control was on point throughout, as he reached seven punchouts for just the second time in his last 11 starts while not walking a batter for the second time in nine outings. Additionally, his 3.15 pitches per plate appearance was significantly below the league average of 3.88. However, he also allowed 12 baserunners, including a hit batsman and season highs in base hits and homers allowed. Keller entered August with a 10-5 mark and following his first outing of the month, he was sitting with an impressive 3.20 ERA for the season. Since then, he's allowed 21 earned runs over his last five starts, causing his ERA to balloon more than a half run to 3.88. He'll look to steady the ship in his next start, scheduled to take place at home against the Nationals.
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Alec Bohm 3B | PHI
Phillies' Alec Bohm: Missing third straight start
Bohm (hand) remains out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
Though Bohm is on the bench for the third day in a row, he seems to be progressing in his recovery from left hand discomfort. According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Bohm was spotted on the field doing some work prior to Sunday's game, and the Phillies have suggested that he could be ready to return to the lineup following Monday's off day. He'll give way to Edmundo Sosa at third base for at least one more game, however.
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Ramon Laureano LF | SD
Braves' Ramon Laureano: Hitting bench Sunday
Laureano is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.
Laureano will see his streak of 19 consecutive starts come to an end while Jarred Kelenic gets the nod in left field in the series finale. Though he'll exit the lineup, Laureano seems to have supplanted Kelenic as the preferred option atop the depth chart after slashing a blistering .325/.364/.542 with five home runs, two stolen bases, 12 runs and 11 RBI over 27 games in August.
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Travis d'Arnaud C | LAA
Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: Poaching playing time from Murphy
D'Arnaud will start at catcher and bat fifth in Sunday's game against the Phillies.
Atlanta's timeshare at catcher has tilted in favor of d'Arnaud lately, as he'll pick up his sixth start in nine games Sunday. D'Arnaud holds an 89-point edge in OPS (.774 to .685) over Murphy this season, and that disparity may be enough for the former to see the larger share of playing time behind the dish despite the latter's bigger contract.
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Sean Murphy C | ATL
Braves' Sean Murphy: Losing work to d'Arnaud
Murphy is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.
Murphy has now started just three times in nine games and may be moving into the shorter side of a timeshare at catcher with Travis d'Arnaud. The 29-year-old backstop has been a major disappointment in the second season of a six-year, $73 million contract, having submitted a career-low .685 OPS through 210 plate appearances for Atlanta.
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Luis Guillorme 3B | HOU
Diamondbacks' Luis Guillorme: Idle against lefty
Guillorme is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
With southpaw Justin Wrobleski toeing the rubber for the Dodgers, the lefty-hitting Guillorme will open the contest on the bench. Platoon mate Kevin Newman checks in for Guillorme at second base.
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Joc Pederson DH | TEX
Diamondbacks' Joc Pederson: Sitting against southpaw
Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
The lefty-hitting Pederson will take a seat for the second time in the series while the Dodgers send another southpaw (Justin Wrobleski) to the hill. Randal Grichuk will fill in for Pederson as Arizona's designated hitter.
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Adrian Del Castillo DH | ARI
Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Idle against lefty
Del Castillo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
The lefty-hitting Del Castillo will hit the bench for the third time in four games, with each of those absences coming against left-handed pitchers. The rookie backstop still appears to be locked into the strong side of a platoon with Jose Herrera while top catcher Gabriel Moreno (adductor) is on the injured list.
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Kevin Kiermaier CF | LAD
Dodgers' Kevin Kiermaier: Losing playing time to Edman
Kiermaier will start in center field and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Though he'll pick up his second start in a row Sunday, Kiermaier has faded into more of a part-time role after serving as the Dodgers' primary option in center field through the first three weeks of August. Tommy Edman has since taken over as the Dodgers' preferred center fielder, but manager Dave Roberts will make room for both Kiermaier and Edman on Sunday while the latter fills in at shortstop for a resting Miguel Rojas.