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Mets first baseman Lucas Duda cranked a pair of solo home runs on Wednesday against Phillies starter Sean O’Sullivan, helping his club complete a series sweep. He had also homered in Monday’s win, giving him three in his last three games and eight on the season to go along with 23 RBI and a .305/.400/.539 triple-slash line.

If asked to name the five best-hitting first basemen, one would likely get the first four. The fifth is Duda, going by weighted on-base percentage (wOBA), an all-encompassing offensive metric found at FanGraphs. The major league average for first basemen is .343; Duda is at .407. The four above him are Adrian Gonzalez (.447), Paul Goldschmidt (.446), Anthony Rizzo (.431), and Miguel Cabrera (.430). Additionally, entering play Wednesday, only eight players had a triple-slash line of at least .300/.400/.500. Duda joins them after his performance against the Phillies.

Duda’s performance doesn’t come as any surprise. He finished the 2014 season with 30 homers, 92 RBI, and an .830 OPS. He’s hitting for slightly less power this season compared to last, but his average is way up as a result of a 33 percent line drive rate. Duda’s usual rate is around 20 percent. Hitters typically aren’t able to sustain a line drive rate much higher than 25 percent, so we should expect fewer of those in the remaining four months and more fly balls. As a result, Duda’s average should flatten but he should also hit a few more home runs as a result. It wouldn’t be shocking to see him remain among the five best-hitting first basemen at season’s end.

Kazmir Takes Stairway to the Trainer’s Room

Athletics starter Scott Kazmir left Wednesday’s start against the Tigers after just three innings. He had walked three but allowed no hits while striking out four. Dan Otero relieved him.

It was revealed shortly thereafter that Kazmir is dealing with shoulder tightness. He’ll undergo an MRI on Thursday to get an idea of what they’re dealing with. The Athletics, at 17-32 and in last place in the AL West, obviously can’t afford to lose Kazmir for any length of time. It’s doubly bad news as he was a potential trade chip if GM Billy Beane decided to sell at the trade deadline.

Though Kazmir is no stranger to the disabled list, he hadn’t suffered from a shoulder injury since the summer of 2010. This is the latest in what has been a rash of injuries for the A’s, as they’ve lost Drew Pomeranz to a sprained left A/C joint, Jarrod Parker to an elbow fracture, and A.J. Griffin suffered a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Should Kazmir need to miss a significant amount of time, Kendall Graveman’s spot in the rotation would likely be cemented while they could get a spot start or two out of Chris Bassitt.

King Felix Tosses Second Shutout

Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez tossed a shutout against the Rays on Wednesday, improving to 8-1 on the season with a 1.91 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and a 71/15 K/BB ratio in 70 2/3 innings. It’s his second shutout of the season with his previous one occurring on April 24 against the Twins.

Only six qualified starting pitchers have a better ERA than Hernandez and of them, only Max Scherzer has pitched more innings. Scherzer is also the only one with a better strikeout rate. Hernandez was the third starting pitcher taken on average in Yahoo fantasy leagues, with an average draft position of 14 behind Clayton Kershaw (four) and Scherzer (13).

A lot of fantasy experts rightly warn against taking pitchers early in drafts, and Kershaw’s poor start to the season is one example why. A bout of bad luck is more likely to hit pitchers compared to hitters and they’re also more likely to suffer injuries. But Hernandez has been among the most reliable pitchers in baseball, accruing 200-plus innings in each season between 2008-14 and finishing with a sub-2.50 ERA in three of those seven seasons. He missed out on his second career Cy Young award last season, falling behind winner Corey Kluber by 10 points in the balloting. If one is going to make an early fantasy gamble on a starting pitcher, there are only a handful worth doing it for, and King Felix is certainly among that privileged group.

Harper, Cruz Continue Pacing Each Other

I found this quite interesting: Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper and Mariners DH Nelson Cruz have homered on the same date three times since May 19. On May 19, Harper hit a solo home run off of Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi in the first inning for his 15^th of the season. About an hour later, Cruz homered off of Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez with two men aboard to retake the major league lead in home runs at 16.

On May 22, Harper sliced a home run to left field at home in the second inning against Phillies starter Sean O’Sullivan, tying Cruz at 16 home runs. About an hour later, Cruz went deep against Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada with the bases empty in the sixth inning for number 17, again retaking the major league lead.

Harper tied Cruz at 17 with a wacky opposite-field home run at Wrigley Field off of Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks. Cruz did not answer, so they entered play Wednesday tied at 17.

On Wednesday, Harper hit a solo home run in the sixth inning off of Cubs lefty Jon Lester, pushing the Nats’ lead to 2-0 in an eventual 3-0 win. He temporarily took the major league lead in home runs with 18. But Cruz answered, crushing a three-run home run in the ninth inning off of Rays closer Brad Boxberger to break a scoreless tie and send the Mariners to a 3-0 win.

The parallels between the two sluggers lately has been quite interesting considering they have unarguably been the best hitters in their respective leagues.

National League Quick Hits: Bryce Harper hit his 18^th home run in Wednesday’s win over the Cubs, tying him with Nelson Cruz for the major league lead … Noah Syndergaard homered and pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings in a win against the Phillies on Wednesday … The Braves activated third baseman Chris Johnson from the disabled list on Wednesday … Ben Revere went 2-for-4 in Wednesday’s loss to the Mets, boosting his average to .346 over the span of his six-game hitting streak … Dee Gordon went 3-for-4 and picked up his league-leading 19^th stolen base in Wednesday’s loss to the Pirates … Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams (quad) is expected to miss 3-4 months … The Cubs released lefty reliever Phil Coke on Wednesday … Mark Melancon got his 12^th save in Wednesday’s win over the Marlins, giving him 14 scoreless appearances out of his last 15 … The Reds are aiming for Johnny Cueto (elbow) to return Sunday against the Nationals … Brewers outfielder Khris Davis tripled twice in a loss to the Giants on Wednesday … The Dodgers designated pitcher Sergio Santos for assignment on Wednesday and recalled outfielder Chris Heisey from Triple-A Oklahoma City … Santiago Casilla worked a perfect ninth inning to pick up his 14^th save in Wednesday’s win over the Brewers, as he remains unscored upon in May … Yasmany Tomas went 1-for-4 in a loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday, extending his hitting streak to 11 games … Padres left-hander Cory Luebke (elbow) will throw a simulated game on Tuesday … Jordan Lyles (toe) has been cleared to start on Sunday against the Phillies.

American League Quick Hits: Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run home run in Wednesday’s win versus the Royals, giving him 665 for his career along with 1,995 RBI … Chris Archer struck out 12 over eight scoreless innings but got a no-decision against the Mariners on Wednesday … Chris Davis homered twice on Wednesday to lead the Orioles past the Astros … The Red Sox acquired outfielder Carlos Peguero from the Rangers for cash considerations on Wednesday … Josh Donaldson hit a home run in the ninth inning for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, this time tying the game, but the Blue Jays lost to the White Sox in 10 innings … Royals left-hander Danny Duffy (biceps) will throw a bullpen on Friday … Aaron Hicks hit his first home run of the season to help the Twins top the Red Sox on Wednesday … Justin Verlander (triceps) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Sunday … White Sox closer David Robertson blew saves on consecutive days against the Blue Jays, but vultured a win on Wednesday … Carlos Santana, hit in the wrist by a pitch on Tuesday, returned to the Indians’ lineup on Wednesday and homered in a rout of the Rangers … Evan Gattis homered in Wednesday’s win over the Orioles, giving him 10 on the season along with 30 RBI … The Angels acquired outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis from the Mets in exchange for cash considerations on Wednesday … Rangers starter Colby Lewis was hammered for 10 runs (nine earned) over 2 2/3 innings against the Indians on Wednesday … Nelson Cruz broke a scoreless tie with a three-run home run in the ninth inning Wednesday against the Rays, keeping him tied with Bryce Harper for the major league lead at 18 … Sean Doolittle pitched a scoreless fifth inning Wednesday against the Tigers, making his first appearance of the 2015 season.