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Nate Lowe 1B | CLE
Guardians' Nathaniel Lowe: Homers, drives in two
Lowe went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional RBI and an additional run scored in Friday's 7-5 loss to the Padres.
Lowe took Michael King deep in the bottom of the second inning with his 14th homer of the season, and he later plated another run with an RBI single in the third, scoring Steven Kwan. Lowe also singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the eighth. The homer was his 14th of the season, while the three-hit effort lifted his average and OPS to .269 and .829, respectively. Friday marked his first multi-hit performance since Aug. 6.
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Munetaka Murakami 1B | CHW
White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Smacks solo homer Friday
Murakami went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and an additional run scored during the White Sox's 9-5 win over the Tigers on Friday.
Murakami contributed to the White Sox's five-run fourth inning with a solo long ball off Jackson Jobe. It was Murakami's third homer in August and 27th of the year, tied with teammate Miguel Vargas for fourth most in the American League. Murakami also has a .909 OPS, which would be the eighth highest in the majors if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.
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Xander Bogaerts SS | SD
Padres' Xander Bogaerts: Drives in three in win
Bogaerts went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run, an additional RBI and two walks in Friday's 7-5 win over Cleveland.
Bogaerts made the most of his lone official at-bat, launching a two-run homer off Gavin Williams in the fourth inning to cut San Diego's deficit to 3-2. He later added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to give the Padres some insurance. The long ball was Bogaerts' 11th of the season, and while the veteran has put up a relatively quiet offensive campaign, more outings like Friday's would provide a spark for the Padres' offense over the final weeks of the regular season. He's still hitting just .223 with a below-average .653 OPS.
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Gavin Williams SP | CLE
Guardians' Gavin Williams: Surrenders five runs in loss
Williams (11-7) took the loss Friday against the Padres after allowing five runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out five over 4.1 innings.
Williams was handed a 3-0 lead after the first three innings but couldn't protect it. The right-hander surrendered a two-run homer to Xander Bogaerts in the fourth before Fernando Tatis took him deep to open the fifth, and he was ultimately removed following a two-run double from Luis Campusano. The rough outing was the third straight start in which he's failed to complete six innings, a stretch that has pushed his ERA from 3.55 to 3.74. He's scheduled to make his next start at home against the Giants.
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Miguel Vargas 3B | CHW
White Sox's Miguel Vargas: Goes yard twice against Detroit
Vargas went 4-for-5 with a double, two home runs, three RBI and an additional run scored during the White Sox's 9-5 win over the Tigers on Friday.
Vargas set a season high in hits Friday and matched his career best. It was also his third multi-homer game of this season and brought him up to 27 on the year, tied with teammate Munetaka Murakami for fourth most in the American League. Vargas is enjoying a career year, boasting a .829 OPS with 12 steals, 71 RBI and 55 extra-base hits across 523 plate appearances.
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Bradgley Rodriguez RP | SD
Padres' Bradgley Rodriguez: Earns first career save
Rodriguez allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save in Friday's 7-5 win over the Guardians.
Rodriguez was called upon to protect a two-run advantage and responded with the first save of his major-league career. The right-hander allowed a double to Brayan Rocchio but bounced back and closed out San Diego's victory with back-to-back strikeouts. Friday's save doesn't signal a change atop the bullpen hierarchy, as Mason Miller will remain the Padres' closer. Still, Rodriguez has worked his way into San Diego's late-inning mix and owns a 2.09 ERA across 50 appearances and 55 innings in 2026.
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Dalton Rushing C | LAD
Dodgers' Dalton Rushing: Takes swings on field Friday
Rushing (elbow) participated in batting practice at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
Rushing was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his right elbow in early August and has already been deemed very unlikely to catch again this season. Nonetheless, the Dodgers are hoping to get the 25-year-old back before the end of the campaign as a left-handed-hitting option off the bench. The UCL tear is considered minor, and Rushing is planning to forego surgery in favor of treating the injury with rest and rehab.
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Ben Malgeri RF | DET
Tigers' Ben Malgeri: First multi-homer game of career
Malgeri went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI during the Tigers' 9-5 loss to the White Sox on Friday.
Malgeri put the Tigers on the board in the second inning with a two-run homer before adding a solo blast in the seventh. It was the first multi-homer game of Malgeri's major-league career, and he's up to three long balls on the season. Since making his big-league debut June 23, he's gone 15-for-53 (.283) with 10 RBI and five extra-base hits.
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Will Smith C | LAD
Dodgers' Will Smith: Takes batting practice Friday
Smith (neck) took part in on-field batting practice Friday, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
The BP session marks a significant milestone for Smith, who has been on the shelf for over two months due to a neck injury. The veteran backstop resumed baseball activities in late July and appears to be moving closer to kicking off a minor-league rehab assignment. If all goes well for Smith moving forward, he could rejoin the big-league club by the final week of August or first week of September.
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Jackson Jobe SP | DET
Tigers' Jackson Jobe: Rocked for six runs in loss
Jobe (1-1) took the loss against the White Sox on Friday, allowing six runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out four across 3.2 innings. He also hit two batters.
Jobe limited Chicago to one run through three innings, but the floodgates were opened in the fourth, when he gave up home runs to Tristan Peters and Munetaka Murakami before yielding a two-run triple to Braden Montgomery. Jobe is still shaking off the rust, as Friday's start was only his second since his return from Tommy John surgery. He's lined up to face the Pirates on the road next week.