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Joey Cantillo SP | CLE
Guardians' Joey Cantillo: Thrives in bulk relief again
Cantillo (11-9) notched the win Thursday against Boston, striking out two while allowing one hit and two walks in five shutout innings of relief.
Cantillo was dominant in bulk relief Thursday, scattering a lone hit in a scoreless outing to help Cleveland clinch a third consecutive postseason berth. The left-hander is steamrolling his way into the playoffs, riding a scoreless streak of 15 innings covering his last three appearances in long relief. His regular season reaches an end with a 3.62 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 171:81 K:BB across 159 frames.
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Willson Contreras 1B | BOS
Red Sox's Willson Contreras: Doesn't expect to play Friday
Contreras (hand) still can't swing pain free and doesn't expect to play during Friday's doubleheader against the Cubs, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
Contreras was held out of the lineup for a sixth straight contest Thursday night against Cleveland, and he now appears to be set to miss at least two more games Friday. The first baseman is dealing with a bruised right hand, and there's a chance that he won't be able to return to action until the postseason.
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Ranger Suarez SP | BOS
Red Sox's Ranger Suarez: Five strong innings in loss
Suarez (8-5) took the loss Thursday against Cleveland, striking out five while allowing one run on three hits and one walk in five innings.
The lone blemish came in the second inning, when Angel Martinez took Suarez yard for a solo homer. The southpaw still looked sharp for the most part in what was effectively a tune-up start ahead of the postseason, and he's now worked at least five innings while yielding fewer than two runs in four straight outings. His regular season ends with a strong 3.22 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 140:46 K:BB over 148.1 innings in his debut season with the Red Sox.
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Alika Williams SS | ATH
Athletics' Alika Williams: Dealing with upper-body issue
Williams was scratched from Thursday's contest versus Houston with upper-body soreness, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Williams is dealing with an unspecified issue, but he appears to have avoided a major injury. He can be considered day-to-day as the team begins their final series of the 2026 campaign.
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Alika Williams SS | ATH
Athletics' Alika Williams: Late scratch Thursday
Williams (undisclosed) was scratched from Thursday night's lineup against the Astros, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Williams was originally set to start at shortstop and bat eighth in the series opener, but he will now take a seat instead. It's unclear why exactly he was scratched, and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer will start in his place.
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Sam Antonacci LF | CHW
White Sox's Sam Antonacci: Scores three runs in win
Antonacci went 2-for-5 with a walk and three runs scored during Thursday's 9-1 win over the Royals.
Antonacci contributed three of the nine White Sox runs during Thursday's blowout win. For the 23-year-old, this marks three consecutive games with a run scored. This year, Antonacci is slashing .271/.365/.390 with eight homers, 48 RBI, 43 walks and 19 stolen bases in 545 plate appearances.
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Jeremy Pena SS | HOU
Astros' Jeremy Pena: Back in starting lineup
Pena (wrist) is starting at shortstop and batting leadoff for Thursday night's matchup against the Athletics, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Pena was unable to start Wednesday's contest against the Mariners as a result of wrist injury suffered after being hit by a pitch Tuesday night. The infielder was able to enter as a pinch runner and swipe a bag in Wednesday's extra-inning loss to Seattle, and he will now return to the lineup one day later. Pena is batting .367 with three home runs, four RBI, seven runs scored and two stolen bases over 30 at-bats since Sept. 15.
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Randy Dobnak SP | KC
Royals' Randy Dobnak: Roughed up in brief start
Dobnak (3-5) earned the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits and one walk over 1.1 innings against the White Sox on Thursday. He struck out one.
During his final start of the season, Dobnak was unable to complete two innings after being pulled just one out into the second. This marks consecutive starts with at least four earned runs allowed. In 15 games (13 starts) this season, the 31-year-old owns a 3.51 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 49:26 K:BB in 74.1 innings.
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Miguel Vargas 3B | CHW
White Sox's Miguel Vargas: Steals 21st base
Vargas went 2-for-5 with two RBI, two runs, one walk, one stolen base and three strikeouts during Thursday's 9-1 win over the Royals.
Vargas extended his hitting streak to six games and has successfully recorded a base hit in 12 of his last 13 games. The 26-year-old got the scoring started with an RBI single in the first inning and later contributed another RBI single in the second to extend the lead. This year, Vargas is slashing .252/.363/.479 with 33 homers, 92 RBI, 98 walks and 21 stolen bases in 695 plate appearances.
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Salvador Perez DH | KC
Royals' Salvador Perez: Blasts 20th homer
Perez went 1-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and a strikeout during Thursday's 9-1 loss to the White Sox.
Perez launched his first homer since Sept. 6 against Toronto on Thursday against the White Sox. The 36-year-old took David Sandlin deep in the fourth inning to put the Royals on the board. This year, Perez has slashed .228/.272/.378 with 20 homers and 75 RBI in 615 plate appearances.