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Major League Baseball roundup

[August 26, 2016] Aug 25 (The Sports Xchange) - Jose Bautista returned to the Toronto Blue Jays' lineup for the first time since Aug. 9 on Thursday for the series finale against the Los Angeles Angels.

Bautista strained his left knee making a throw from right field and also spent six weeks earlier this summer on the disabled list with a toe injury.

Bautista was in the leadoff spot as the Blue Jays' designated hitter against Jered Weaver.

He is batting .222 with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs in 80 games this season.

The Blue Jays optioned Ryan Goins to Triple-A Dunedin.

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The Seattle Mariners activated left-hander James Paxton from the 15-day disabled list and slated him to start Thursday's game against the Chicago White Sox.

Paxton will be back in action for the first time since being drilled on the left elbow by a line drive off the bat of Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons on Aug. 7. He is 4-5 with a 3.53 ERA in 13 starts this season.

Seattle also designated left-hander Wade LeBlanc for assignment. LeBlanc was 3-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 appearances (eight starts) for the Mariners.

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The Washington Nationals acquired left-hander Marc Rzepczynski and cash from the Oakland Athletics for Max Schrock.

A free agent at the end of the season, Rzepczynski posted a 3.00 ERA in 56 relief appearances for the A's in 2016.

The 30-year-old struck out 37 batters in 36 innings and is holding right-handers to a .226 batting average this season; left-handers have an average of .296.

Rzepczynski keeps the ball on the ground with a 70.5 percent ground-ball rate; only Orioles closer Zach Britton is better in all of baseball in 2016.

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Schrock, 21, is primarily a second baseman who played primarily in Class A. He was drafted in the 13th round in 2015 and was rated Washington's No. 17 prospect by MLBPipeline.com.

Schrock had a batting average of .333 at two levels of Class A this season.

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The Boston Red Sox placed rookie outfielder Andrew Benintendi on the 15-day disabled list due to a sprained left knee.

Benintendi was injured during the seventh inning of Wednesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. He is slated to undergo an MRI exam to determine the severity.

Benintendi is batting .324 in 68 at-bats since reaching the majors on Aug. 2. He has one homer and 10 RBIs in 21 games.

Boston recalled infielder Marco Hernandez from Triple-A Pawtucket to fill the roster spot. Hernandez was batting .309 with five homers and 29 RBIs at Pawtucket.

Hernandez has a .295 average in 44 at-bats with the Red Sox this season.

- - - (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

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