That Just Happened
Alex Bregman and the Astros smacked around Danny Duffy and the Royals in a 10-2 win. Bregman hit his tenth home run of the year (second straight day with a home run) and drove in four. Duffy was tagged for six earned runs over six innings and his record fell to 3-7 on the year. Whit Merrifield collected another two hits and stole his fifteenth bag. He has multi-hit games in four of his last five.
Luis Severino shut the Rays down today paving the way to a 4-1 Yankees win. He pitched eight shutout innings and gave up just three hits while striking out nine. Six of his nine strikeouts were clocked at 99+ mph. He picked up his tenth win of the year and lowered his ERA down to 2.08. Giancarlo Stanton (16) and Gary Sánchez (13) blasted back-to-back jacks in the fifth inning to provide some offense.
Nicholas Castellanos had a double-dong day for the Tigers and now has eight for the year. Both blasts came off White Sox starter Lucas Giolito who now has a 7.19 ERA after giving up five more runs today (why is he still in the Majors?). For Castellanos, the two home runs and five RBI were good enough for a superb 50.9-point day on FanDuel.
Max Scherzer was a hard-luck loser for his second straight start. In his last start he was outdueled by Derek Holland despite pitching well. In this start he once again pitched well, but this time was outdueled by Marco Estrada . Scherzer pitched six innings of two-run ball and struck out ten, but Estrada threw 6.2 shutout innings and helped the Blue Jays to a 2-0 win over the Nats.
J.T. Realmuto had a big game for the Marlins as he blasted a pair of home runs and drove in four. He now has nine long balls to go along with a crisp .309 average. He is making a strong case to be the National League’s starting catcher at the All-star game.
Eddie Rosario led all hitters in FanDuel and DraftKings points at 52.8 and 40.0 points respectively. He finished 4-for-4 with a home run, four runs, two RBI, a walk, a double, and a stolen base. As you can see, he really stuffed the stat sheet in the Twins 9-3 win over the Indians. The home run was his sixteenth of the year and he is now hitting a robust .323. He has been a huge fantasy asset and value. Rosario and the Twins were able to bombard Carlos Carrasco for the second time in June. He pitched 1.1 innings (more on that in a bit) and gave up four runs. On June 1 against the Twinkies he gave up six runs across 3.2 innings.
Sean Newcomb and Jordan Lyles were locked up in a pitcher’s duel before weather cut both their outings short. The two pitchers matched zero's for the first four innings before the Braves were able to score a run off Lyles via a Charlie Culberson home run. Newcomb’s final line was six innings, two hits, no runs, and seven strikeouts. As for Lyles, he pitched seven innings of one-run ball and struck out six. Newcomb lowered his ERA to 2.70 while Lyles lowered his to 4.46. The Braves are currently leading this game 1-0 in the eighth inning.
Injury News
Carlos Carrasco left today’s game after taking a line drive off the right arm. He was immediately pulled from the game and taken to the hospital for examinations.
A CT scan of Jorge Soler ’s left foot confirmed a fracture; he is expected to miss a minimum of six weeks. Not a huge blow in shallow leagues, but those in deeper leagues are going to feel this one.
Andrelton Simmons was activated off the DL today and inserted back in at shortstop and batting second. He finished the day 0-for-4.
Nomar Mazara missed his second straight game with a wrist ailment and if it does not improve quickly a DL stint may be looming.
Ronald Acuna was able to run the bases today and told his manager that he is ready to go; we should see him back very soon.
C.J. Edwards played catch Friday and told reporters that he expects to be back before the All-star break. The Cubs setup man had a 2.88 ERA, nine holds, and 40 strikeouts across 25 innings pitched prior to landing on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Brandon Belt was activated off the DL today and will back second against the Dodgers tonight.
Jeurys Familia is expected to be activated off the 10-day DL tomorrow.
Burning Questions
Steven Wright has made back-to-back starts without allowing a run and in fact has not given up a run in his last 22.2 innings pitched; will the streak end tonight in Seattle?
Carlos Martínez vs. Kyle Hendricks has the look of a pitcher’s duel; will it turn out that way?
Madison Bumgarner has a 4.76 ERA through his first two starts since returning from the DL, can he get on track tonight against the division rival Dodgers?
Stay tuned.