Blake Snell tied the AL record for most strikeouts to start a game with seven strikeouts. The MLB record for most strikeouts to start a game is eight held by Jim Deshaies (1986) and Jacob deGrom (2014). He also was able to tie the club record for most consecutive strikeouts at any point in one game. He racked up a lot of pitches and was only able to go six innings, but his final line for the day was still fantastic. He pitched six shutout innings and struck out 12. The 12 strikeouts were the second highest of the young lefties career (he struck out 13 over seven shutout innings on October 1st of last year). The strong outing lowered his ERA to 2.36. He left with a lead, but in the end he did not factor into the decision because of a blown save by Jose Alvarado . Félix Hernández was the opposing pitcher, and while he didn’t tie any records, he was very effective and gave us a blast from the past. His final line was eight innings, one run, five hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts. He also picked up his sixth win of the year as the Mariners defeated the Rays 2-1. Snell and Hernandez produced 58.0 and 52.0 FanDuel points respectively.

 

Near No-No

Michael Wacha nearly tossed a no-hitter day as he came within just three outs of finishing it off. He was yanked after giving up a leadoff single to Colin Moran to start the ninth, seeing as he was at 111 pitches it was not surprising to see him pulled after the no-no was broken up. His final line for the day was eight innings, one hit, two walks, and eight strikeouts. He was able to pick up his seventh win of the year and his record now stands at an outstanding 7-1. DFS players who chose to roster Wacha today have to be thrilled about the 58.0 and 36.2 points he was able to provide on FanDuel and DraftKings respectively. Jordan Hicks finished off the Pirates in the ninth inning in relief of Wacha with a shutout inning and two strikeouts. Marcell Ozuna had the big blast to back Wacha and the Cards as he launched a grand slam in the bottom of the first inning. He may be starting to finally heat up; he is 5-for-11 with two home runs over the last three games. Wacha and Ozuna provided nearly everything the Cardinals needed to take down the Pirates 5-0.  

 

Three Dinger Special

Eddie Rosario went nuts for the Twins today in their 7-5 victory over the Indians; he hit three home runs with the last being a walk-off blast in the ninth. The home runs were his eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth of the year. He finished the game with a ridiculous 59.6 points on FanDuel. He is having a fantastic season, to go along with the 13 long balls; he is hitting .317 with 40 RBI and 36 runs scored. The 26-year-old outfielder is making a strong case for his first all-star game appearance. Rosario wasn’t the only player to have a big day in this one, as Edwin Encarnación did everything he could for the Indians to keep them in the game despite Rosario’s huge day. Edwin hit two bombs of his own and he now has sixteen for the season. After a slow start to the season, it has been business as usual since the start of May for the veteran slugger.  

 

That Just Happened

Jon Jay launched his first home run of 2018 and his first since July 5th of last year, a span of 442 at-bats. However, his solo shot wasn’t enough to help the Royals win as they fell to the Athletics 5-1. Dustin Fowler had a 3-for-4 day out of the leadoff spot for the A’s and Matt Olson launched a three-run home run, his twelfth of the year.

Aarón Sánchez tossed one of his best games of the year as he went six strong innings for the Jays. He gave up just one run and struck out seven. It was a nice bounce-back game for the righty after getting blown up for seven earned runs in his previous start. Justin Smoak helped his pitcher out with a 3-for-5 day, including a two-run home run.

Eddie Rosario wasn’t the only player to launch a walk-off home run today, as Charlie Culberson delivered a pinch-hit walk-off dinger for the Braves. It was Culberson’s second walk-off home run of the year and both have been as a pinch-hitter.

Jon Lester was able to take down the Mets in a pitcher’s duel with Steven Matz .  Lester hurled seven innings of no-run baseball, giving up just two hits while striking out seven. He lowered his ERA to a crisp 2.44. Matz had a solid day of his own as he also pitched seven innings and gave up just two runs. He gave up five hits and struck out seven as well. His ERA is currently sitting at a respectable 3.42.

Jake Arrieta hit a home run, his fourth straight year with a home run, yes the pitcher Jake Arrieta . Unfortunately for Arrieta, the home run was the only good thing he has to show for his efforts today as he gave up five earned runs over six innings. All five runs came in a disaster sixth inning. The Phillies fell to the Giants 6-1. Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey both collected two hits and hit a home run apiece.

Max Muncy smacked two home runs and drove in four to help the Dodgers win a slugfest over the Rockies 10-7. Muncy has been a nice surprise for the Dodgers and he now has nine home runs. It’s amazing that they were able to win this game after Alex Wood was shelled for six runs in just two innings of work. Kenley Jansen picked up his fourteenth save pitching a clean ninth inning.

 

Burning Questions

Jeremy Hellickson left today’s game after just four pitches due to a hamstring injury; how much time will he miss? He is heading for a MRI.

TeOscar Hernandez was held out of today’s action due to a foot contusion that he sustained in yesterday’s game; how many more games will he miss?

Chris Archer (groin) called himself “questionable” for his next start; should fantasy owners be worried?

The Astros and Red Sox will go to battle for Sunday Night Baseball; which contender will come out on top in this one? Charlie Morton is currently undefeated with a 7-0 record, how long can he make it last?

 

Stay tuned.