Astros' Joey Loperfido: Heading to bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Loperfido is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics.
Loperfido will hit the bench for the third time in four games, giving way to Chas McCormick in right field. With Loperfido falling into an 0-for-15 slump at the plate over his last five games, the Astros have opted to scale back the rookie's playing time of late. Along with Chas McCormick, Trey Cabbage has also factored into the mix for starts in right field, where the Astros could continue to deploy a messy three-man committee until Kyle Tucker (shin) is ready to return from the 10-day injured list.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Not in Sunday's lineup
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Loperfido is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Seattle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Loperfido started the previous four contest but is hitless with four strikeouts in his past 11 at-bats. Trey Cabbage will start in right field and bat eighth in the series finale against the Mariners.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Idle against LHP
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Loperfido is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers.
The lefty-hitting Loperfido will take a seat Friday as the Rangers start southpaw Andrew Heaney. Mauricio Dubon, Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick fill the outfield from left to right.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Hits second homer
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Loperfido went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, a triple and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the Marlins.
Loperfido has hit safely in his last four games, going 5-for-13 with four extra-base hits and four RBI in that span. This was his first multi-hit effort since June 21. The outfield prospect is up to a .288/.337/.450 slash line with two homers, 13 RBI, 10 runs scored, five doubles, one triple and two stolen bases across 87 plate appearances. Loperfido continues to play in the corner outfield spots, though he's seen slightly less than a strong-side platoon role over the last week. Chas McCormick and Mauricio Dubon continue to be Loperfido's biggest competitors for playing time.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Not in lineup Tuesday
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Loperfido is absent from the starting nine for Tuesday's game against Miami, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Loperfido is on the bench for a second consecutive contest, giving way to Chas McCormick in right field Tuesday. Loperfido is 5-for-33 (.152) with 12 strikeouts over his last 11 games.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Back on bench Sunday
Rotowire
Loperfido is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins.
After hitting the bench for a three-game stretch from last Saturday through Monday, Loperfido had started in four of the Astros' previous five contests while going 2-for-16 with a double and two RBI. He'll cede his spot in the lineup to Chas McCormick in Sunday's series finale, and both Loperfido and McCormick will likely see their playing time trend downward once Kyle Tucker (shin) is able to return from the 10-day injured list after the All-Star break.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Sitting out third straight
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Loperfido is out of the lineup for Monday's contest in Toronto, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Loperfido was in the lineup for six straight games upon being recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land on June 21, but he's now began three consecutive contests on the bench. After picking up three hits in the first of those starts, Loperfido has gone just 2-for-16 at the dish since. Chas McCormick and Trey Cabbage will patrol the corner outfield spots for the Astros on Monday.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Loperfido is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Loperfido started six straight games before taking a seat for Saturday's contest, and he finds himself on the bench again Sunday. He collected three hits in his first game back from the injured list June 21 but has gone 1-for-15 in the ensuing five contests. Mauricio Dubon will take over in left field as Jon Singleton receives a start at first base.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Sitting Saturday
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Loperfido is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.
Loperfido has started in each of the Astros' last six games, going 4-for-19 with two doubles and two RBI while striking out seven times. Yordan Alvarez will shift to left field against Mets right-hander Tylor Megill, as Yainer Diaz serves as the designated hitter and Cesar Salazar starts behind the plate.
Loperfido will start in right field and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Rockies.
Loperfido will stick in the starting nine for a fifth straight game after going 4-for-13 with two doubles, one walk, two RBI, one stolen base and one run through his first four games since receiving a call-up from Triple-A Sugar Land. Houston has room in its everyday outfield for both Loperfido and Chas McCormick for the moment, but one of the two will likely lose out on playing time once Kyle Tucker (shin) makes his return from the 10-day injured list, perhaps as soon as next week.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Big game in return to majors
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Loperfido went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored and two RBI in Friday's win over Baltimore.
Loperfido was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday and made his first MLB appearance since June 10. He wasted no time making an impact, singling on the second pitch he saw in his first at-bat and later coming around to score. He added a pair of RBI doubles during Houston's monster nine-run sixth inning. Loperfido is forcing his way into more playing time at the top level with his consistent success. He's slashing .372/.413/.512 through his first 16 career MLB games.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Headed back to majors
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The Astros will recall Loperfido from Triple-A Sugar Land prior to Friday's game against the Orioles, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
It's not yet clear what the corresponding roster move will be. Loperfido has slashed .272/.365/.568 with 13 home runs and nine stolen bases this season with Sugar Land and has hit .333/.381/.436 with one homer and one steal in 15 games with the Astros. Contact has been an issue at both spots, as he had a 28 percent strikeout rate at Sugar Land and a 39.5 percent strikeout rate in Houston. His power and speed potential is real, however. Loperfido played only center field during his most recent stint in the minors, so while he does have some experience at first base, the Astros seem to still be viewing him mostly as an option in the outfield.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Recalled from Triple-A
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The Astros recalled Loperfido from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday.
Loperfido has hit .333/.381/.436 with one homer and one steal in 15 games with the Astros, although that's come with a 39.5 percent strikeout rate. All of Loperfido's action in the minors lately has come in the outfield, so that figures to be his best path to playing time right now with the big club. He has also been used some at first base.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Returns to Triple-A
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The Astros optioned Loperfido to Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
The Astros recalled Cesar Salazar on Tuesday to provide depth at catcher following Yainer Diaz's finger injury, and Loperfido will end up as the odd man out. The 25-year-old outfielder has performed well during his time in Houston, slashing .333/.381/.436 with five RBI in 43 plate appearances. However, a speedy return to the majors is not likely for Loperfido, with Kyle Tucker (shin) aiming to return from the IL on Friday.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Set to return to minors
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Loperfido is expected to be optioned from Triple-A Sugar Land prior to Tuesday's game in San Francisco, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 in Houston reports.
Loperfido was just recalled this past Friday when Kyle Tucker (shin) went on the 10-day injured list, but the former looks set to return to the minors without having received a plate appearance during his latest stint in the big leagues. Cesar Salazar is expected to be called up from Triple-A Sugar Land to provide protection at catcher while
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Back in majors
Rotowire
The Astros recalled Loperfido from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Kyle Tucker landed on the injured list earlier Friday due to a bruised shin, so Loperfido will return to Houston to fill the opening in the Astros' outfield group. The 25-year-old played in 14 games for the Astros earlier in the season, slashing .333/.381/.436 with five RBI through 43 plate appearances before being sent back down May 26. He'll likely start often against right-handed pitchers while filling in for Tucker.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Dispatched to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Astros optioned Loperfido to Triple-A Sugar Land after Sunday's 5-2 win over the Athletics, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Loperfido will head back to Sugar Land after he produced a .333 average with one home run, five RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base over 39 at-bats in 14 contests with Houston following his April 30 promotion. Veteran first baseman Jose Abreu is set to be called up from Triple-A on Monday, replacing the 25-year-old on the Astros' major-league roster. Considering how well he played in limited action in the big leagues, Loperfido will likely be back with Houston relatively soon.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Opportunities dwindling
Rotowire
Loperfido is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.
With Jake Meyers and Jon Singleton having seemingly settled into full-time roles at center field and first base, respectively, and with left fielder Chas McCormick returning from the injured list Tuesday, Loperfido's time with the big club could soon come to an end now that his avenues to regular at-bats are starting to become more closed off. Loperfido has started just once in the Astros' last five games.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Getting breather Saturday
Rotowire
Loperfido is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus the Brewers, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Loperfido will get a breather after he went 2-for-8 with a two-run home run over the last three contests. Mauricio Dubon will replace him in left field and bat ninth against Milwaukee.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: Crushes first homer
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Loperfido went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Thursday's win over the Athletics while also drawing a walk.
Loperfido jumped on a changeup from Joey Estes with two outs in the bottom of the third inning and sent it over the wall in right field for his first big-league home run, capping off a six-run inning for Houston. The rookie outfielder has gotten off to a fantastic start and has now hit safely in five straight games. Over that stretch he's batting .388 (7-for-18) with three RBI and three runs scored.
