Death, taxes and Khris Davis hitting versus the Rangers? Davis launched two home runs, has homered in four straight games with this being his second multi-homer outing in it. He also drove in five of the A’s six runs fueling another come from behind win. Versus Texas, Davis has homered in six straight contests, has seven this year with 19 RBI and in 49 career games against them has 25 home runs with 57 RBI.

Over his 93 games this year, Davis has 27 home runs with 77 RBI and a .253/.327/.543 slash line. His current pace projects his third straight 40-plus home run season (42 to be exact) and 121 RBI in 146 games. He’s a streaky hitter and in the midst of a heater batting .345 (29-for-84) his last 21 games with nine doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 24 RBI.

 

That Just Happened

Another reason Oakland can sustain a hot streak and come from behind wins, its bullpen. Lou Trivino garnered his eighth win in relief firing a clean eighth inning with a strikeout lowering his ERA to 1.33 on the year. Closer Blake Treinen notched his 26th save striking out the side. He’s been scoreless in 15 of his last 17 outings with a 0.90 ERA in them.

Rougned Odor extended his modest hit streak to seven games going 1-for-3 with a run, an RBI and his ninth stolen base, fourth in this stretch. Odor’s been hot in July with a .348/.429/.561 slash line, 12 runs, five doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, six stolen bases and seven walks raising his average from .229 to .260 in the process.

Tough sneak preview for Jose Leclerc if the team trades incumbent closer Keone Kela . LeClerc entered his appearance last night on an 11 game scoreless streak but walked a batter leading up to another Davis dinger. This marks only the third time LeClerc’s allowed runs in his last 23 games during which he’s struck out 34 with a 2.45 ERA.

A walk-off home run moved Charlie Blackmon ’s hit streak to eight games and allowed him to reach 20 home runs on the season. He’s hitting .375 (12-for-32) in the streak and hit his first home run since July 13th. Fantasy owners hope more will be in the offing. Teammate Ian Desmond also extended his hit streak to 11 games.

Jon Gray fired a one hitter allowing two runs (one earned) and two walks with six strikeouts in a no-decision on 97 pitches generating 15 swinging strikes with 13 called. Gray’s been pitching to his FIP since his promotion and the buy low window, for the risk averse, will be closing shortly.

Nice bounce back outing by Wade Davis giving up a walk and striking out two en route to his first win in relief this year. Davis imploded for a career worst five earned runs as a reliever on Tuesday night. On the other side, Collin McHugh ’s been strong in the bullpen this season but suffered his first loss since August 14th of last year in Arizona on Blackmon’s walk-off.

Mike Trout racked up three extra-base hits in four at-bats with a double, two home runs and four RBI last night. He had walked in nine of his prior 18 plate appearances. Trout has launched 28 home runs this year and only needs one more stolen base to reach 25 home runs and 20 steals for five years before his Age-27 season. Only Darryl Strawberry has accomplished this feat so far.

Congratulations to Albert Pujols who hit his 17th home run and 631st of his career to move into sixth place All-time ahead of Ken Griffey Jr. Shohei Ohtani added his ninth home run, all of which have occured in home games.

Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs won his eighth game lasting six innings allowing four hits, two runs (one earned) and striking out nine. He’s yielded one earned run or fewer in seven of his last eight starts dating back to June third with a 1.44 ERA in these outings.

 

Around the Diamond

Both Brandon Belt and José Altuve left their respective games early with knee issues. Belt hyperextended his knee and will undergo more testing today in San Francisco. Altuve reported right knee discomfort and considered day-to-day. Houston’s off on Thursday so he can receive treatment.

Colorado added to its bullpen depth trading for Seung-Hwan Oh from Toronto. Oh’s been hot of late with a 1.04 ERA, 0.46 WHIP and nine strikeouts in 8.1 innings this month. He will need to generate swings and misses in Colorado to avoid giving up home runs.

Its apparent J.A. Happ will be traded. To whom will be the question. The Yankees and Brewers lead in pursuit of the southpaw. New York has good reason, Happ’s recorded a 0.84 ERA versus Boston this year in two starts and owns a 2.98 career ERA against them with seven wins.

Minor league players Dakota Hudson of the Cardinals and Domingo Santana of Milwaukee were pulled from minor league games on Wednesday. Fantasy owners should pay attention where each of them will be going.

Cubs closer Brandon Morrow will not be ready to return on Saturday which means saves remain in the air going forward. Pedro Strop recorded his fourth on Wednesday.

 

What To Watch For

Rhys Hoskins attributes his recent power surge to the Home Run Derby. He’s homered in four of his last five games hitting .292 out the break with nine RBI and a 1.289 on-base plus slugging percentage.

Boston shuffled its rotation with the addition of Nathan Eovaldi . Here’s how it will look for the next three series:

Ranger Suarez will make his debut against the Reds on the road and try to replicate the success of rookies against them of late.

Khris Davis will face Bartolo Colón this evening. In nine career at-bats, Davis has three hits including a double and a home run.

More trade rumors will surface as the fantasy landscape continues to take shape. Be sure to check back later for the Closing Bell on Fantasy Alarm to stay ahead of the competition.

 

Statistical Credits:

MLB.com

Fangraphs.com

BaseballSavant.com