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  • Not starting Thursday
    Rafaela isn't in Boston's lineup for Thursday's game against Detroit, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

    Advice: Rafaela went 0-for-4 during Wednesday's loss to Baltimore, putting an end to his four-game hit streak. He'll take a seat versus Jack Flaherty and the Tigers while Rob Refsnyder starts in the outfield, moving Connor Wong into the DH role and allowing Reese McGuire to start behind the plate. Rotowire.com Thursday, 12:15 pm
     
  • Pilfers third bag
    Lopez went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Padres.

    Advice: The 25-year-old infielder has seized the starting job at second base in the wake of the Luis Arraez trade. Through 30 games in the majors this season, Lopez is slashing a solid .273/.313/.429 with three homers, three steals, 11 runs and 15 RBI, and Statcast has graded him in the 89th percentile for outs above average on the defensive side of the ball. Given his career .288/.354/.401 line over nearly 1,000 plate appearances at Triple-A, this level of production seems very sustainable for Lopez, and he could even get more aggressive on the basepaths -- he's stolen 42 bags in 53 attempts at Triple-A. Rotowire.com Thursday, 7:56 am
    Otto LopezMIA - 2B,SS
    1:10 pm vs TEX
    New Player Note
     
  • Making adjustments
    The Red Sox advised Rafaela to hold his hands lower in his stance, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports. He went 0-for-4 in Wednesday's loss to Baltimore and is batting .206 with a 25.7 strikeout percentage.

    Advice: The goal of the hands adjustment is to cut down on all the movement needed to catch up to fastballs. "Be on time," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "We've been talking about it, showing him examples. It happens that we're here, too, [in Baltimore] and can use [the Orioles] as an example of how short they are to the ball and how they use their hands." Rafaela's been inconsistent overall but has hit better recently, going 9-for-33 (.273) over the last nine games while batting safely in seven of those contests. Rotowire.com Thursday, 5:34 am
     
  • Homers Wednesday
    Sanchez went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the Padres.

    Advice: Sanchez extended Miami's lead to 7-1 in the sixth inning, launching a 412-foot solo shot off Enyel De Los Santos. It's the first homer for Sanchez since April 24 and his third of the season. The 26-year-old outfielder is now slashing .230/.285/.309 through 166 plate appearances with 19 RBI, 12 runs scored and six stolen bases. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 8:12 pm
     
  • Goes deep in loss
    Happ went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional run scored and two total RBI in Wednesday's 10-6 loss to the Brewers.

    Advice: Happ is 5-for-15 over his last four games, and three of those hits have left the yard. The outfielder had only two home runs across 47 games before this recent hot streak, but he blasted 20 or more long balls in two of the last three seasons, so it wouldn't be surprising to see his power production continue to trend upward. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 7:46 pm
     
  • Ian Happ goes yard in loss to Brewers
    Ian Happ went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI against the Brewers on Wednesday.

    Advice: Happ took Bryse Wilson deep to right field for a solo homer in the second inning to put the Cubs on the board. He then led off the fourth with a base hit and scored on a groundout before bringing a run in with a sacrifice fly in the ninth. The 29-year-old outfielder is slashing .226/.329/.376 with five homers, 28 runs scored, and two steals across 216 plate appearances. His underlying stats have all nearly matched his 2023 season with the exception of his strikeout rate, which is up to 28 percent after posting a 22 percent mark last season. Rotoworld Wednesday, 7:19 pm
     
  • Reaches three times in doubleheader
    Greene went 2-for-7 with a walk, a double and two runs scored in Wednesday's doubleheader against the Pirates.

    Advice: Greene did most of his damage in the first game, when he went 2-for-4 with both of his runs, then cooled down against Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh bullpen in the nightcap. That's a microcosm of the outfielder's season, as he was batting .257 with a .911 OPS through the end of April, but he's batting just .204 with a .590 OPS this month. Greene has the talent to get rolling again, however, and fantasy managers will just need to be patient with the 23-year-old. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 6:53 pm
     
  • Jasson Domínguez (elbow) plays field in rehab game
    Jasson Domínguez, who had been limited to DHing since beginning his rehab assignment, played five innings in center field Wednesday.

    Advice: He went 1-for-2 before being lifted. Domínguez, making his way back from Tommy John surgery, is batting .317 with two homers in 11 games. It sounds like he’ll probably be optioned to the minors once his rehab assignment concludes, though an injury in the Yankees outfield could change that. Rotoworld Wednesday, 10:37 am
     
  • ‘Banged-up’ Semien sits for first time since 2022
    A “banged up” Marcus Semien is out of the Rangers lineup Wednesday for the first time since May 12, 2022.

    Advice: Semien has been playing at less than 100 percent after colliding with Adolis García in left field on May 18 and is just 4-for-33 at the plate in eight games since the incident. The Rangers are off Thursday and are hoping that a two-day break will help. Rotoworld Wednesday, 9:48 am