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Sean Murphy C | ATL
Braves' Sean Murphy: Receiving Sunday off
Murphy is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Phillies.
Murphy was on the bench for Friday's series opener and will also sit for Sunday's finale after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Saturday's contest. Travis d'Arnaud will step in behind the plate to catch for righty Reynaldo Lopez.
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Ha-seong Kim SS | ATL
Padres' Ha-Seong Kim: Tallies three hits, RBI
Kim went 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Saturday's loss to Arizona.
Kim opened the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff double and eventually advanced to third before being left stranded. However, he came right back with hits in each of his next two trips to the plate, driving home Donovan Solano with a double in the eighth to tie the game at 4-4. It marked Kim's second three-hit performance this season and his 13th multi-hit game overall. The shortstop has now hit safely in 11 of his last 14 games, though he's still batting just .222 (4-for-18) through five games in July.
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Blake Treinen RP | LAD
Dodgers' Blake Treinen: Collects seventh hold
Treinen earned a hold against Milwaukee on Saturday, striking out one batter in a perfect inning of work.
Treinen entered in the seventh frame and retired the side in order on 11 pitches. The right-hander has given up an earned run in just two of his 23 appearances this season, resulting in a solid 2.61 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 20.2 innings. Treinen hasn't shown much rust despite missing all of 2023 and most of 2022 due to a shoulder injury.
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Dylan Carlson LF | CHC
Cardinals' Dylan Carlson: Seeing steady starts against LHPs
Carlson will start in center field and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Nationals.
The switch-hitting Carlson will make his fourth consecutive start, with all coming against left-handed pitching. Carlson hasn't started against a right-handed pitcher since June 24 and still looks to be stuck in a short-side platoon role. He heads into Sunday's game with a .198/.273/.245 slash line and a 24 percent strikeout rate over 121 plate appearances on the season.
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Lourdes Gurriel LF | ARI
Diamondbacks' Lourdes Gurriel: Extends hitting streak with homer
Gurriel went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Saturday's win over the Padres.
Gurriel jumped on a knuckleball from Matt Waldron to lead off the fourth inning and crushed it into the stands in left-center field to give Arizona a one-run lead. It was the outfielder's third home run in his last eight games, and he's now hit safely in five straight contests to open the month of July. Gurriel has also tallied multiple hits in 10 of his last 16 games, batting .358 (24-for-67) over that stretch with four homers, 12 RBI and 10 runs scored.
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Matt Carpenter DH | STL
Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Sitting again versus lefty
Carpenter is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.
The lefty-hitting Carpenter finds himself on the bench for the fifth game in a row while the Cardinals have opposed four consecutive left-handed starting pitchers. With Carpenter riding the pine, Willson Contreras will get a day off from catching and will serve as St. Louis' designated hitter while Pedro Pages settles in behind the dish.
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Miguel Vargas 3B | CHW
Dodgers' Miguel Vargas: Swats go-ahead homer
Vargas hit a solo home run as a pinch hitter in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Brewers.
Vargas batted for Gavin Lux in the eighth inning and came through with a solo blast to give Los Angeles a 4-3 lead. The 24-year-old has been very productive when given the opportunity this season, slashing .349/.408/.651 with three homers, four doubles, nine RBI, 10 runs and a stolen base over 49 plate appearances. Vargas hasn't been a consistent part of the lineup, however, as he's started just once across Los Angeles' past seven contests.
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Matt Waldron RP | WAS
Padres' Matt Waldron: Fans six in quality start
Waldron did not factor into the decision in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over six innings while striking out six.
Waldron allowed Arizona's first run in the second after surrendering a leadoff single to open the frame, along with two walks and a second single, the latter three all coming with two outs. He would then surrender a leadoff homer to Lourdes Gurriel in the fourth and was later charged with a third run after being relieved by Yuki Matsui in the seventh. Waldron has now logged quality starts in seven of his last eight outings, though he's allowed multiple runs in three straight. The right-hander has also issued multiple free passes in five of his last six starts.
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Will Smith C | LAD
Dodgers' Will Smith: Goes deep again Saturday
Smith went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-3 win against Milwaukee.
After belting three solo homers Friday, Smith smashed a two-run shot in his first at-bat Saturday. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the backstop became the first Dodger to homer in four straight at-bats since Adrian Gonzalez in 2015 and the first major leaguer to do so since Jose Altuve in September of last season. Smith's two-game power surge has pushed him to 15 long balls on the campaign, tied for third among MLB catchers.