Tampa Bay occupies fourth place in the AL East, but if they're going to make a strong campaign to rise within the division, OF Steven Souza, Jr. is going to be a big part of that effort. After going 3-5, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI, K Thursday, he is clocking in a batting average of .349. Even more impressive than the already robust stat line is that he fell just one measly single short of hitting for the cycle during Thursday's game. To me, such a performance is both exciting for the XBH excellence and frustrating for how close he was to a huge accomplishment. In any case, he's been huge for the Rays of late from the leadoff spot, and I continue to campaign for his fantasy ownership to increase. [Edit: Souza, Jr. also bats from the 5-spot at the heart of the order, and the lineup is matchup-dependent on the pitcher.]
Let’s take a look at what else happened hitting-wise around the league:
