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Stats

Christian Encarnacion-Strand hits two-run homer

Encaracion-Strand_Christian (1).jpg

Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 3rd Baseman #32

Player Stats

Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk Thursday against the Red Sox.

The homer came off Aroldis Chapman in the ninth, but the Orioles, unfortunately, were down by three at the time and lost by one. Still, it was another impressive showing from Encarnacion-Strand, who could be playing his way into the Orioles’ 2027 plans. He’s hit .269/.314/.508 with eight homers and 30 RBI in 141 plate appearances. That’s as many RBI as Taylor Ward had in 506 plate appearances before being traded, two more than Jackson Holliday has in 316 plate appearances and seven more than Tyler O’Neill has in 260 plate appearances.

- Matthew Pouliot

Recap

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Schlittler continues to make AL Cy Young case

James Schiano discusses New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler's electrifying season as the right-hander continues to steamroll toward the American League Cy Young Award with another 10-strikeout performance.

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Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 3rd Baseman #32

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Christian Encarnacion-Strand is not in the Orioles lineup against the Guardians on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old has been rock solid for the Orioles this season, hitting .260/.306/.486 with eight home runs and 31 RBI in 423 games. We should note that he has hit considerably better against lefties and has a .225/.247/.360 slash line against righties. With Encarnacion-Strand out of the lineup on Tuesday, Coby Mayo will DH and hit cleanup, while Blaze Alexander will play third base and bat seventh.
Samuel Basallo

BAL Catcher #29

Samuel Basallo (hand) is back in the lineup at DH for Monday’s series opener against the Rockies.

Basallo’s return comes at a fortuitous time for fantasy managers with Baltimore kicking off a three-game series at high-octane Coors Field. He’s back in the lineup after missing Sunday’s game with a hand contusion. The 22-year-old backstop’s presence at DH pushes Christian Encarnacion-Strand to the bench with Blaze Alexander getting the nod at third base. Things are only going to get more crowded with Luis Robert Jr. coming over from the Mets off waivers in the next few days.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 3rd Baseman #32

Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 4-for-5 with two doubles, including one that put the Orioles ahead in the ninth, Wednesday in an 8-7 win over the Cardinals.

Four at-bats and four line drives from Encarnacion-Strand, with three of them leaving his bat at 103-106 mph. He also homered and knocked in three on Tuesday, and he’s now up to 27 RBI in 26 starts and five pinch-hit appearances for the Orioles. That he’s been in and out of the lineup makes him a tough play in mixed leagues, but his play this series figures to ensure that he stays in the lineup this weekend for a series against the A’s in Sacramento that offers big-time scoring potential.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 3rd Baseman #32

Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI against the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Thanks to Tyler O’Neill’s absence, Encarnacion-Strand and Coby Mayo have both gotten to start the last three games. Things are about to get crowded, though, with Blaze Alexander returning from the IL this weekend. CES has done solid work in hitting .238/.278/.485, particularly with his 25 RBI in 101 plate appearances. Still, he’s likely looking at a reduced role or maybe even a trip back to the minors soon.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 3rd Baseman #32

Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and four RBI in a loss to the Rays on Monday.

Encarnacion-Strand was a one-man wrecking crew in this one, connecting for a two-run homer against Rays reliever Tyler Wells in the fifth inning. It was his sixth round-tripper in 24 games since returning to the big leagues last month. The 26-year-old former top prospect has seemingly carved out a semi-regular role against left-handed starters and should continue playing regularly over the final six weeks.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 3rd Baseman #32

Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 1-for-5 with a double and three RBI on Sunday as the Orioles clobbered the Rays.

The 26-year-old slugger capped off the Orioles’ scoring in the ballgame with a bases-clearing three-run double in the sixth inning that made it a 10-1 ballgame. He has impressed since joining the O’s, slashing .250/.293/.500 with five homers and 18 RBI in his first 83 plate appearances.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 3rd Baseman #32

Christian Encarnacion-Strand is starting at third base and batting sixth against the Twins on Wednesday.

Encarnacion-Strand has typically been sitting against right-handed pitchers, but he went 3-for-4 with a home run on Tuesday, so the Orioles are gonna give him a chance to stay hot. We should note that, in 40 plate appearances against righties this season, CES is hitting .211/.250/.342, so the results haven’t really been there. However, it’s just a 15 percent strikeout rate in those plate appearances, so maybe the hits will start to fall. Coby Mayo is on the bench on Wednesday.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 3rd Baseman #32

Christian Encarnacion hit a solo homer and stole a base while going 3-for-4 in a win over the Twins on Tuesday.

It’s the fourth stolen base of the season for Encarnacion-Strand, while the homer was also his fourth. It’s a small sample of 59 at-bats, but a .271/.328/.525 slash reminds that it wasn’t that long ago that he was considered one of the up-and-coming power bats in the sport. It’s understandable to have skepticism, but weirder things have happened than a 26-year-old with his track record breaking out.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 3rd Baseman #32

Christian Encarnacion-Strand is not in the Orioles’ starting lineup for Friday’s battle against the Rangers in Arlington.

Encarnacion-Strand has become a fixture in the middle of the O’s lineup since his arrival, but he’ll get a breather in this one against tough right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. Coby Mayo will cover the hot corner in his absence while Tyler O’Neill serves as the Orioles’ designated hitter and will bat cleanup on Friday.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand

BAL 1st Baseman #32

Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, and four RBI in Friday’s loss to the Braves.

Encarnacion-Strand continues to leave a strong impression with the Orioles since getting called up. The righty smacked a two-RBI double off Grant Holmes in the bottom of the second inning to give the Birds an early 2-0 lead, and in the bottom of the 10th, he blasted a two-run homer to cut the Braves’ lead to 7-6. CES has now driven in eight runs in his first five games with the Birds while registering four extra-base hits.

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Adael Amador

COL 2nd Baseman #1
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Adael Amador is not in the Rockies’ starting lineup for Thursday’s matchup against the Yankees.l

Amador has been functioning as the team’s primary second baseman in recent weeks, but he’ll get a breather in this one. Connor Norby will start in his place and will bat second for the Rockies against Yankees’ left-hander Max Fried.
- David Shovein

Source: MLB
Connor Norby
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Cam Smith

HOU Right Fielder #11
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Cam Smith hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning off Jhoan Duran as the Astros beat the Phillies 2-1.

Duran left a splitter up and Smith took it up and out to left-center, homering for the third straight day to give the Astros a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning. That’s one way to respond to a loss of playing time. Smith is now hitting .350/.409/.900 over his last seven games and has hit 20 homers and stolen 10 bases in his age-23 season. Not too shabby even if he hasn’t been an instant star after being included in the Kyle Tucker trade.
- Rivers McCown

Recap

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Luis Arraez

PHI 2nd Baseman #4
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Luis Arraez singled and scored Philadelphia’s lone run in a 2-1 loss to the Astros on Thursday afternoon.

He broke up Cristian Javier’s no-hitter in the fifth inning and came around to score on a Bryson Stott fielder’s choice. Arraez is hitting .298/.317/.397 since joining the Phillies with two homers and no stolen bases, but he has managed 15 RBI while mostly hitting out of the four hole.
- Rivers McCown

Recap

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Josh Hader

HOU Relief Pitcher #71
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Josh Hader needed just eight pitches to dispatch the Phillies for his 25th save of the season on Thursday afternoon

He got Edmundo Sosa to strike out on three pitches, induced a weak groundout from Kyle Schwarber, then got Trea Turner to ground out to end the game. It’s revenge for a run allowed on Tuesday -- the only run allowed Hader has given up in September or August this year. He should remain locked-and-loaded in lineups as the Astros try to chase down another AL West crown.
- Rivers McCown

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Jhoan Duran

PHI Relief Pitcher #59
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Jhoan Duran took the loss on Thursday after giving up a solo homer to Cam Smith in the top of the ninth in a 1-1 game.

It was a splitter that hung in the middle of the plate and Smith took advantage of the location and hammered it. It’s the second loss in three appearances for Duran, who has only allowed a single run each time and even despite that has a 1.69 ERA in his last 15 appearances. He’ll be fine.
- Rivers McCown

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Zack Wheeler

PHI Starting Pitcher #45
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Zack Wheeler struck out nine and allowed five hits and one earned run in seven innings against the Astros on Thursday afternoon.

He was allowed to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and did so by striking out pinch-hitter Yainer Diaz, but the Phillies couldn’t get anything going against Cristian Javier and Wheeler left with the score knotted at one. Wheeler has now reeled off three straight starts of allowing exactly one earned run after his nine-run blowup against the Mariners on August 24. He’s struck out 24 in 19 innings in that stretch. He can be started with confidence against the Nationals next week.
- Rivers McCown

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Cristian Javier

HOU Starting Pitcher #53
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Cristian Javier threw six innings of three-hit ball against the Phillies on Thursday afternoon, allowing just one run in a no-decision.

He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning and was allowed to face Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner with runners on to finish the sixth. Unfortunately he was facing Zack Wheeler and that tends to make win chances scarce. Javier has now allowed just two runs over his last two starts while striking out 13 in 11 innings, lowering his season ERA from 6.45 to 5.50 in the process. Start of a turnaround? He’ll be on the streaming radar against the Royals next week.
- Rivers McCown

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Aaron Judge

NYY Right Fielder #99
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Aaron Judge is not in New York’s starting lineup against the Rockies on Thursday.

The Yankees will take a cautious approach with the return of their slugger, as he grabs a seat after playing two games against the Rockies on Tuesday and Wednesday. There’s no cause for concern here as the Yankees were always expected to take it easy with Judge’s return.
- Rivers McCown

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Lane Thomas

ATL Left Fielder #20
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Braves manager Walt Weiss said Lane Thomas (intercostal strain) will be placed on the injured list.

He could miss the remainder of the season. The Braves will turn to Brewer Hicklen as their lead fourth outfielder for the time being.
- Rivers McCown

Injury

Source: Grant McAuley
Brewer Hicklen
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Austin Riley

ATL 3rd Baseman #27
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Austin Riley hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning as the Braves downed the Rays 3-1 on Thursday afternoon.

The Braves managed five straight hits against the Rays bullpen in a 0-0 game in the eighth to take a 3-0 lead. Riley’s single scored the first run, and he himself scored on a single by Ha-Seong Kim after Mike Yastrzemski got him to third base on a ground-rule double. It was Riley’s only hit of the game, and he remains mired in a deep slump, hitting .228/.275/.347 over his last 30 games with two homers and two stolen bases.
- Rivers McCown

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