Chris Sale dominated the Rangers for seven innings today to pick up his third win of the season. He struck out a season-high 12 batters and gave up just four hits and one run. It was his fifth outing of the year of at least eight strikeouts. His ERA for the season now sits at 2.02 and he has 63 strikeouts across 49 innings.  Sale has finished in the top-6 of the A.L. Cy Young voting six years straight and will likely be in the discussion once again this season. Despite all the high finishes in the voting, he is still seeking his first Cy Young Award. J.D. Martínez and Sandy León provided much of the run support for Sale, finishing a combined 4-for-7 with four RBI, three runs, and a home run apiece. The Red Sox record now sits at 25-9 and they have the best record in baseball.

Mad Max

Max Scherzer had the good stuff going today, as he was able to strikeout 15 Phillies over the course of 6.1 innings. He gave up just one run on five hits but did not factor into the decision. Rhys Hoskins and Jorge Alfaro were his biggest victims as they both struck out three times apiece against him. The 15 strikeouts were his most since May 11th of 2016 when he struck out 20(!) against the Tigers. It was already his fifth game this season with double-digit strikeouts. He is looking like a good bet to win his third straight Cy Young Award. Also helping the Nationals towards a 5-4 victory today were Matt Adams and Wilmer Difo . Adams slugged his eighth home run of the year and fifth of May. Difo delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth off Héctor Neris .  

What Are Hits?

Domingo Germán and Mike Clevinger had a no-no battle going for a good portion of their game today in the Bronx. Clevinger gave up his first (and only) hit in the fifth inning and his final line on the day was 7.1 innings, two runs, one hit, four walks, and 10 strikeouts. He did not factor into the decision. German was dealing as well, and he did not give up a hit in his first MLB start. His final line was six innings, no hits, no runs, two walks, and nine strikeouts. For as good as the starters were in this one, the bullpen managed to be equal amounts of bad. Dellin Betances gave up three runs in just one inning; however, he was outdone by Cody Allen who blew a save and gave up three runs while recording just two outs. Gleyber Torres hit a three-run walk-off home run to give the Yankees a 7-4 win and their 15th win in their last 16 games.

James Shields also flirted with a no-hitter today, he held the Twins hitless over the first six innings, before falling apart in the seventh. His final line was 6.2 innings, two hits, three runs, two walks, and five strikeouts. It was his second straight quality start; however, he is still a guy you will want to leave on the waiver wire.

That Just Happened

Chris Archer appears to have righted the ship as he pitched well for his second straight start and third in his last four. Today he pitched seven innings of one-run ball and struck out six. He gave up just five hits and did not walk a batter. It was his best outing of the season and fantasy owners have to be pleased. Deep breaths people, he’s still a good pitcher.

Ian Desmond belted two home runs today to power the Rockies to a 3-2 win over the Mets. The home runs were his fifth and sixth of the season and fantasy GM’s will be hoping that the two dingers will be enough to get Desmond going after a very slow start to the season. He is still hitting under the Mendoza line. Kyle Freeland spun seven innings of two-run ball to pick up his second win of the season.

Whit Merrifield was running crazy today against the Tigers, as he picked up his fifth, sixth, and seventh steals of the season. He also had two hits and two runs to go along with the three steals. Merrifield finished last season with 19 home runs and 34 steals, numbers that many saw as unrepeatable for him, but he is almost right in line to do it again this year despite starting slow. Merrifield’s big game helped Jake Junis pick up his fourth win of the year as the young righty went seven innings and gave up just two runs while striking out eight.

Mike Trout did Mike Trout things today; he finished 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, a run, a walk, and a stolen base. It was his twelfth home run and his sixth stolen base of the year. His outburst helped pave the way for Shohei Ohtani to win his third game of the season. Ohtani hurled six innings of two-run baseball and struck out six.

Burning Questions

Willson Contreras and Harrison Bader are the two leadoff hitters for tonight’s game; it is the first start at the top of the lineup this year for either player, who will do more damage from the leadoff spot?

There were a lot of good pitching outings today; can Michael Wacha and Jon Lester keep it going? Both have been pitching well over their last three starts.

Both Clayton Kershaw and Jacob deGrom landed on the 10-day DL today, should fantasy owners be concerned? Will they be back after the minimum time on the DL?

Yoenis Céspedes left in the first inning of the Mets game Sunday, how much time will he miss?

 

Stay tuned.