Betting

One day after picking up four hits against the Cardinals, Bregman added three more in a blowout victory for the Cubs. The 32-year-old doubled — his 18th of the season — and singled twice, while improving his season line to .245/.339/.374 in his first season with the Cubbies. That’s still nowhere close to what Bregman and Chicago were hoping for when they signed the infielder to his massive deal, but it’s beyond possible we’ll see more efforts like this from Bregman over the final two-plus months. He’s too good a hitter to have a slash that poor.

Williams gave up a solo homer in the first and then wild pitched the second run home in the fifth and that was enough to keep him out of the win column with the Guardians getting shut out. What Williams did do tonight was fan at least 11 batters for the fourth straight outing. He’s just the 24th pitcher (13th different) in major league history to accomplish that. Oddly enough, three of the previous five pitched for Cleveland, Corey Kluber (five in a row in 2017), Trevor Bauer (2018) and Shane Bieber (2021) joined Chris Sale (five in 2018) and Gerrit Cole (five in 2019) in doing it in the last 10 years. Pedro Martinez holds the record, doing it in eight straight starts in 1999. Williams could next face the D’backs on Sunday or the Mets on Tuesday, depending on how the Guardians want to line things up with off days Thursday and Monday.

Cole struck out seven over those six scoreless, and he allowed just four hits and a pair of walks while throwing 60-of-99 pitches for strikes. The 35-year-old veteran didn’t have the same swing-and-miss stuff he did against the Pirates when he whiffed 11 in his previous outing, but he was even more effective while lowering his ERA to 3.57 in the process. Cole has not pitched like a fantasy ace for the majority of 2026, but he has over his last few outings. He’s scheduled to face the Cubs on Sunday and will look to continue this impressive run.

Lewis did not start this game, but he did finish it. With the Twins trailing 2-1 and two outs, Lewis blasted a baseball high off the wall in right-center, and it scored a pair to give Minnesota the comeback victory. He also drew a walk earlier in the game, and it improves the 27-year-old’s slash to .215/.300/.387 over 261 at-bats. That’s a disappointing season, but Lewis has had just enough bright spots to justify believing there’s better things ahead.

Pasquantino was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning after going 0-for-3 at the dish. There’s some real cause for concern here since the 28-year-old first baseman missed nearly one month with a right hamate fracture back in mid-June. He’ll head for further evaluation to determine the severity of the issue. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for the moment.

Oh, so that’s why Detroit DFA’d Jake Rogers. The Tigers started both of their catchers tonight, with Dillon Dingler serving as a DH, and Valencia, who was recalled Monday, hit his third and fourth homers in just seven games (four starts) as a major leaguer. True, the second one tonight was hit off Chadwick Tromp, but this still an awfully impressive start. He’s the first player to have four hits and two homers in one of his first seven career games since Jose Siri in 2021 and second since Danny Espinosa in 2010.

Melton’s 23.1 percent strikeout rate isn’t overwhelming, but he’s been about as effective as any pitcher in the majors since joining the Detroit rotation two months ago, going 6-1 with a 1.75 ERA in 67 innings over 11 starts. Regression will surely come at some point; he could well remain an above average starter, but the stuff seems shy of ace quality. He’s a really good bet again next week, though, as he’s due to face the Mariners in Seattle.

It feels like a precautionary move, but that’s purely speculation at this juncture. Guerrero will undergo further evaluation to determine the severity of the situation after being lifted for a defensive replacement in the fourth inning. He finished 1-for-2 at the plate. There should be an update on his status prior to Wednesday’s series finale at Nationals Park.

Caminero tripled in the lone run of the game for the Rays with his first three-bagger of the year. The double was the 18th of 2026, and his slugging percentage improves to .550 in the process. Caminero has now driven in 64 runs in 2026, and has quickly — but not necessarily surprisingly — established himself as one of the best power-hitting hitters in baseball.

The win gives the Marlins a two-game winning streak after losing their previous dozen in a row. Alcantara was brilliant; scattering four hits allowed — just one for extra bases — and he struck out five while issuing just one walk. It’s the fourth time in five starts in July that the 30-year-old has been able to go at least seven innings, and it lowers his ERA for the month to a solid 2.57. Overall, Alcantara is now up to 11-6 on the season with a 3.82 mark in 2026, and he’ll look to go deep again Sunday in a scheduled bout against the Mets in New York.