Betting

Chisholm golfed a Matt Krook sweeper into the second deck in right field, just fair, for his 13th homer of the season. The second baseman had slumped of late — he’s hitting just .186 over his last 30 games — and is still just under a .700 OPS on the season, but hopefully this gets him going in the second half. Someone get him on with Jimmy Fallon again.

Peters was at the heart of this White Sox blowout win over the Athletics. First, he contributed a run-scoring single during their four-run outburst against Aaron Civale. Then, he helped break it open with a two-run home run as they poured it on in the seventh inning. The White Sox managed to bat around in that inning and Peters came to the plate next needing a triple to complete the cycle. He yanked a ball down the first base line, got on his horse, and slid into third safely as the crowd roared. That was the first cycle by a White Sox player since José Abreu – yes, really – in 2017. This is a fantastic exclamation point on a stellar first half for Peters’ with a .303/.357/.484 slash-line to go along with six home runs and five stolen bases.

De La Cruz broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning, sending his 15th homer of the season into the stands to put the Reds up 1-0. He would later triple in the bottom of the seventh inning and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Sal Stewart to put the Reds up 2-0. Elly continues to go on a tear since returning from injury and is slashing .286/.390/.543 on the month with a few days to go before the All-Star Break.

Greene couldn’t have asked for a much better outing in this one. After a disastrous first start of the season his last time out, the hard-throwing righty held the Cubs in check all night, allowing just three hits over seven scoreless frames. Greene was lights out for the Reds on Friday, needing just 93 pitches to get through this outing while limiting himself to just one walk. He’ll get some time off with the All-Star Break just around the corner, but hopefully this start signals a strong second-half of the season for him.

After taking a brief four-day hiatus from hitting homers, Caminero has now homered in back-to-back games. The slugger belted his 28th homer of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning to put the Rays up 6-2, as he continues to tear the cover off the ball. He’ll look to homer in his third-straight game when the two teams face off on Saturday.

Basallo came up big for the Orioles in the bottom of the eighth inning. Facing Matt Strahm in a left-on-left matchup and with a runner on first, Basallo got a piece of a high and inside slider from Strahm, lacing it down the right field line for a two-run homer to put the O’s up 5-3. It was the 15th homer of the season for Basallo, who has now homered three times in his last seven games. The 21-year-old lefty isn’t hitting for much of an average this month, slashing just .167/.259/.542 in July, but he’s making the most of the balls he puts in play.

The 21-year-old phenom gave the Tigers an early lead as he clobbered a 414-foot (103.0-mph EV) opposite-field two-run shot off of Aaron Nola in the third inning. That would be the only time that he would reach base in five trips to the plate. The first-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year favorite is slashing a scintillating .286/.395/.426 with eight homers, 34 RBI and 11 stolen bases through his first 405 plate appearances in the big leagues.

The Rangers are considering the possibility of placing deGrom on the injured list, but with the timing of the All-Star break they aren’t sure if it’s necessary or not yet. Either way, it sounds like the 38-year-old right-hander should only wind up missing a start or two. No word yet on who will take his place on the slab for Sunday’s first half finale.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the 23-year-old slugger will be heading to the injured list for this one. It’s unclear when Kurtz suffered the injury, as he exited Wednesday’s game due to illness but returned on Thursday and played the entirety of the game against the Tigers. While no move has been made yet, there’s still time for it to be done before Friday’s game starts. Fantasy managers may want to use an alternative for the weekend if possible. Joey Meneses will start in his place on Friday and could see extended action there if Kurtz winds up on the injured list.

Peña had been shelved since June 30 due to a mild calf strain. Prior to landing on the injured list, he was hitting .295/.356/.443 with six homers, 21 RBI and eight stolen bases across 202 plate appearances. Braden Shewmake was designated for assignment in a corresponding move on Friday.