Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Returns to Oakland lineup
Rotowire
Butler (illness) will start in right field and bat leadoff in Wednesday's game against the Astros.
Butler had to miss Tuesday's game while battling a virus, but he's feeling well enough to return to action a day later. The 24-year-old is slashing .326/.364/.679 with 19 home runs and 10 stolen bases since July 1 for the Athletics.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Battling virus
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Butler is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Astros due to a virus, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Butler is feeling under the weather, so he's on the bench Tuesday after a run of 20 straight starts. Manager Mark Kotsay hopes the outfielder will be back in the lineup for Wednesday's contest.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Getting day off Tuesday
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Butler is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's game in Houston, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
It looks to be a routine day off for Butler, who had started each game since Aug. 19. Seth Brown will start in right field and Jacob Wilson will be elevated to the leadoff spot for the Athletics on Tuesday.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Extends hit streak Saturday
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Butler went 1-for-4 with a double in a loss to the Tigers on Saturday.
Butler's two-bagger extended his hitting streak to 17 games, a career best. The 24-year-old has pushed his batting line to an impressive .270/.325/.526 across 382 plate appearances, and his 45 extra-base hits account for just under half of his 94 total knocks on the season. Butler has recorded 15 XBH overall during his current hit streak, a sample in which he's also striking out at a tiny 8.1 percent clip.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Goes deep again Tuesday
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Butler went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Mariners.
Butler's lone hit of the night was a first-inning solo blast to center off Luis Castillo. That hit made it eight consecutive games with an extra-base hit and he's now rocking a 13-game hit streak during which he's totaled 22 hits, eight home runs, five doubles and 14 RBI. For the year, the 24-year-old is slashing .265/.319/.527 with 21 homers, 54 RBI, 54 runs, 13 steals and a 28:84 BB:K in 364 plate appearances.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Another stellar effort Sunday
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Butler went 4-for-5 with a double and a stolen base in an extra-inning loss to the Rangers on Sunday.
The red-hot leadoff man kept on wreaking havoc Sunday, posting his fifth multi-hit effort in the last six games and lacing a double for the third straight contest in the process. Butler also extended his hitting streak to 11 games, a stretch during which he's now hitting a blistering .435 with 11 extra-base hits, 13 RBI, two walks, three steals and 13 runs across 48 plate appearances.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Massive performance in loss
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Butler went 3-for-4 with three home runs, a walk and four total RBI in Thursday's 10-9 loss to the Reds.
Butler hit a two-run blast in the second inning and added solo shots in the fourth and ninth frames, but his power display was overshadowed by a ninth-inning disaster from Grant Holman, who blew a two-run lead. This was Butler's second three-homer game of the season, and he's lifted six long balls while going 13-for-32 (.406) during an eight-game hitting streak. The outfielder is up to a .255/.313/.503 slash line with 19 homers, 51 RBI, 49 runs scored and 12 stolen bases over 100 contests this season. While the Athletics' offense isn't particularly impressive, Butler has done well in the leadoff role versus right-handed pitchers.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Records steal in win
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Butler went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a stolen base and a run in a win over the Rays on Thursday.
Butler provided one of three multi-hit efforts on the day for the Athletics while also recording his 11th stolen base of the campaign. The rookie last posted a multi-hit tally Aug. 11, and despite Thursday's production, he's generated just a .185 batting average and .532 OPS over 33 plate appearances since that contest.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Productive from leadoff spot Monday
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Butler went 1-for-3 with an RBI sacrifice fly and a run in a win over the Rays on Monday.
Butler had a hand in two of the Athletics' three runs while working out of the leadoff spot, a slotting in which he owns a .273 average and .866 OPS this season. However, the rookie's bat has cooled in August after a torrid July, as he's still carrying just a .184 average and 28.6 percent strikeout rate across 56 plate appearances thus far this month.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Getting breather
Rotowire
Butler is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the White Sox.
Butler will be absent from the starting lineup for the first time since the All-Star break, with Daz Cameron batting leadoff and manning right field Monday. Butler has a .778 OPS this season with 12 homers and nine stolen bases across 260 plate appearances.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Picks up ninth steal
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Butler went 0-for-4 with a stolen base in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Dodgers.
Butler was hitless for the third time in four contests, but he was still able to pick up his ninth steal of the year. Since taking over the leadoff spot July 13, Butler has gone 24-for-70 (.343) over 17 contests, though he's now gone four games without a multi-hit effort. He's at a .246/.312/.466 slash line with 12 home runs, 35 RBI, 34 runs scored, 12 doubles and two triples over 79 games this season. His 27.7 percent strikeout rate is a bit lofty for the leadoff role, but he's displayed enough contact ability to be passable atop Oakland's order with few better options available.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Continues to rake in win
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Butler went 2-for-5 with a double, a two-run homer, two runs scored and a stolen base in Thursday's win over the Angels.
Butler kicked things off for Oakland with a leadoff double before coming around to score the team's first run on a throwing error by Logan O'Hoppe. The outfielder then added a two-run shot in his next trip to the plate, giving him nine homers in July to go along with 26 RBI and 19 runs scored. Butler has also hit safely in eight consecutive games, registering multiple hits in seven of them. Over that eight-game stretch he's batting .545 (18-for-33) with 12 extra-base hits,15 RBI and 12 runs scored.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Stays hot at dish
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Butler went 3-for-4 with a solo homer, a triple, a double, a walk, two RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's 8-2 win over the Astros.
Butler did a little bit of everything except notch a single to complete the cycle in Tuesday's win. Over the Athletics' last 11 games, Butler is slashing a ridiculous .488/.543/1.122 with six homers, four doubles, two triples, two steals and 20 RBI. He now has six straight multi-hit games. This all comes after Butler was hitting just .179 with two home runs entering the month of July.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Laces triple in lopsided win
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Butler went 2-for-4 with a two-run triple and a run in a win over the Angels on Friday.
Butler ignited what would be a 13-run outburst for the Athletics on the night with his third-inning triple that plated Jacob Wilson (hamstring) and Max Schuemann to erase an early 1-0 deficit. The rookie essentially picked up where he left off to conclude the first half of the season, as he'd memorably launched three home runs and driven in six runs in Sunday's rout of the Phillies. Butler now boasts a 1.505 OPS across his last seven games overall, a sample in which seven of his 10 hits have gone for extra bases.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Memorable three-homer game Sunday
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Butler went 3-for-6 with a trio of two-run home runs in an 18-3 win over the Phillies on Sunday.
The rookie had the most memorable hitting performance in an afternoon full of them for the Athletics, who slugged a whopping eight home runs in the rout. Butler left the yard in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings, capping off his trio of round trippers with a massive 449-foot shot that landed in the second deck in right-center field. It is the first time Butler has homered three times in a game at any level of professional baseball, and his long-ball total on the afternoon represented exactly half his season tally across 187 plate appearances coming into the day. Butler heads into an inopportunely timed All-Star break with his power stroke in prolific form, as he's left the yard on five occasions in the last six games.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Productive again in win
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Butler went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, two RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Red Sox.
The 24-year-old has flipped a switch in July, going 9-for-27 (.333) in eight games with three homers, two steals, six runs and nine RBI. Butler's tools have never been in question, just his ability to make enough contact to be consistently productive, and even during his current hot streak he's whiffed nine times for a 31 percent strikeout rate.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Flashes tools in Tuesday's loss
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Butler went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a stolen base in Tuesday's 12-9 loss to the Red Sox.
He also struck out twice, and the 24-year-old's inability to make consistent contact remains an issue. Butler has been productive since the calendar flipped to July, however, batting .292 (7-for-24) with three homers, a steal, six runs and seven RBI in seven games despite a 1:9 BB:K.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Pads lead with homer
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Butler went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's 5-0 win over the Angels.
Butler has homered in two of his last three games, and he's hit safely in four straight contests. The outfielder appears to be regaining control of a strong-side platoon role in right field after a brief uptick in playing time for Daz Cameron in late June. Butler is up to four homers, 12 RBI, four stolen bases and 14 runs scored while slashing .193/.272/.317 through 162 plate appearances this season.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Sitting versus lefty
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Butler is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.
Butler was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday and went 1-for-3 with a double and a run in his first big-league game in over a month. He'll head to the bench Wednesday as lefty Cole Ragans starts for Kansas City, which opens up right field for Daz Cameron.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Doubles, scores in return to bigs
Rotowire
Butler, promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day, went 1-for-3 with a double and a run in a win over the Royals on Tuesday.
The speedy outfielder churned out his fifth double and seventh extra-base hit overall at the big-league level this season in the fourth inning and subsequently crossed the plate on Zack Gelof's three-run home run. Butler has a path to playing time now that Seth Brown has been jettisoned from the 40-man roster, but the former must cut down on the strikeouts that plagued him during his first Athletics stint this season and eventually helped lead to his demotion.
