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Ivan Herrera DH | STL
Cardinals' Ivan Herrera: Getting breather amid mini slump
Herrera is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Giants.
It's the first day off since July 23 for Herrera, who is hitless over his last five games. Leo Bernal will slot in at designated hitter, and Pedro Pages is getting a start at catcher while Herrera gets a day to regroup.
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Junior Caminero 3B | TB
Rays' Junior Caminero: Swats another walk-off homer
Caminero went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the A's.
For the second time in five days, Caminero walked it off for the Rays, this time by getting hold of a 100.4-mph fastball from Elvis Alvarado and driving it the other way to clear the fence in the right-field corner. Caminero is up to 41 homers on the season, first in the American League and third in the majors behind the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber (45) and the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong (42), and the 23-year-old needs four more RBI to reach 100 for the second straight year.
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Bryan Baker RP | TB
Rays' Bryan Baker: Nabs third win
Baker (3-2) picked up the win Tuesday, working a perfect ninth inning without a strikeout in a 2-1 victory over the A's.
With the game tied 1-1 and a save situation off the table at home, Baker was called in for the top of the ninth and needed just seven pitches (three strikes) to set down the 2-3-4 hitters for the A's. The right-hander then got rewarded when Junior Caminero walked it off with a solo shot. Baker has been scored upon in only one of his last nine appearances, picking up two wins and three saves during that stretch with a 1.08 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, but a lackluster 6:5 K:BB.
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Griffin Jax SP | TB
Rays' Griffin Jax: Blanks A's in Tuesday's no-decision
Jax didn't factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing two hits over five scoreless innings in a 2-1 win over the A's. He struck out seven without walking a batter.
The right-hander was dominant over 67 pitches (46 strikes), but an early hook from manager Kevin Cash nearly cost the Rays when Ty Johnson gave up the tying run in the top of the sixth inning. Jax has been held under 70 pitches in all three of his September starts following a month-long absence due to elbow discomfort, but the strict workload limit appears to be working, as he's given up just one run in 10 innings over his last two trips to the mound with a 9:1 K:BB. Jax will look to stay stingy in his next outing, which lines up to come at home this weekend against the Red Sox.
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JJ Wetherholt 2B | STL
Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt: Activated from 10-day IL
The Cardinals activated Wetherholt (wrist) from the 10-day injured list Wednesday.
Wetherholt was scheduled to go through a full pregame workout Tuesday, and he came out of it with no concerns, clearing the way for his return. He's starting at second base and batting leadoff Wednesday versus the Giants. The rookie infielder has been sidelined since late August with right wrist tendinitis. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said that Wetherholt will play just six innings Wednesday as he eases back into a full-time role, John Denton of Roundtable.io reports.
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Jack Perkins RP | ATH
Athletics' Jack Perkins: Fans eight in no-decision Tuesday
Perkins didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Rays, allowing one unearned run on four hits and one walk over 6.2 innings. He struck out eight.
In his longest and best performance of the season, Perkins fired 53 of 83 pitches for strikes, and the only run to cross the plate against him came as the result of a passed ball by Jonah Heim, which let Chandler Simpson scamper home from third base. Perkins has had a rough season overall, but the 26-year-old right-hander is providing some optimism for 2027 -- over his last six outings, he's produced a 2.86 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 33:16 K:BB through 28.1 innings. He's scheduled to make his next start on the road this weekend in Cleveland.
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Rafael Flores C | PIT
Pirates' Rafael Flores: Four hits in Tuesday's loss
Flores went 4-for-4 in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Brewers.
All four knocks were singles, but it was still an impressive way for Flores to extend his hitting streak to nine games. During that span, the 25-year-old catcher is batting .441 (15-for-34) with a double and a homer but just two runs and two RBI as the Pittsburgh offense as a whole has struggled over the final weeks of the season -- Tuesday marked the sixth time in 13 September contests that the Pirates scored two runs or fewer.
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Brandon Lowe 2B | PIT
Pirates' Brandon Lowe: Clubs homer No. 30
Lowe went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Brewers.
The second baseman supplied the only offense for the Pirates when he bashed a DL Hall fastball off the right-field foul pole in the eighth inning. It was Lowe's 30th homer of the season, marking the third time in his career he's reached that plateau, and he's been locked in to close out the campaign. Over his last 14 games, Lowe has delivered a .346/.424/.558 slash line with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI and 10 runs.
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Joseph Ortiz SS | MIL
Brewers' Joey Ortiz: Three hits in Tuesday's win
Ortiz went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Pirates.
It's the 28-year-old infielder's second straight two-RBI performance, as he raises his game to close out the regular season, Over 12 contests in September, Ortiz is batting .417 (15-for-36) with two doubles, two homers, five runs and eight RBI.