Cristian Javier, Héctor Neris, and Ryan Pressly combined to throw a no-hitter against the Yankees in the Bronx. It was the first no-no against the Pin Stripes in 19 years, and stymied one of the best offenses in baseball. Javier started the season in the bullpen bit after an injury to Jake Odorizzi, he moved into the starting rotation. Honestly, this was the best Javier has pitched in the majors. He struck out a career high 13 batters in his seven innings of work. He lowered his ERA to 2.73 after leaving the game and is sporting a 51% first-strike percentage on the year. Things got a bit hairy in the eighth as Neris walked two in the eighth but retired Joey Gallo to flyout to the warning track to end the threat. Pressly came in to finish the job in the ninth as the Astros take a 2-1 lead in the weekend series. José Urquidy faces off against Nasty Nester Cortes early Sunday afternoon as the Astros look to take three games against the Mighty Yankees. A post-season matchup between these two teams is going to be so much fun to watch.
Hitters with an EDGE
Pete Alonso vs. Miami
2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR (21, 22), 2 RBI
The Polar Bear does it again. He smashed two balls over the wall and the second was a 433-foot go-ahead shot in the eighth inning of Marlins’ reliever Jimmy Yacabonis. The 27-year-old slugger has been lights out this year and was hitting .278/.356/.544 with 20 homers and 66 RBI prior to Saturday’s game. Alonso has been nothing but nails and has solidified his spot as a early-round draft pick.
Jarren Duran vs. Guardians
4-for-5, 0 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB (3, 4)
The 25-year-old has been consistently hitting lead-off as Alex Cora has the Devers-Martinez-Bogaerts-Verdugo-Story part of the lineup chiseled in the granite. He has been making the most of his spot in the lineup and even more so against Shane Bieber and the Guardians on Saturday. The dynamic outfielder went 4-5 and swiped two bags on the afternoon. Unfortunately, he will not be making the trip up north to Canada but should settle back into the leadoff spot once the Red Sox return to the States.
Isaac Paredes vs. Pirates
3-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR (10), 3 RBI
Ha. The Rays do it again. Prior to the season, Tampa traded Austin Meadows for Isaac Parades which lead most fantasy managers scratching their heads. Well… Parades smashed his tenth ball over the fence while Meadows is still looking for his first big fly. This is the 23-year-old’s fifth homer in three games. Kevin Cash is starting to play the young second baseman more often but as soon as he starts to cool off, expect him to hit the bench.
Pitchers with an EDGE
Miles Mikolas vs. Cubs
6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
31% CSW, 10 swinging strikes
I always thought that this would be a pretty easy matchup for Mikolas but nine punchouts?!? Mikolas has been on an excellent run as of late. This was his fifth straight start of five or more innings pitched. During that time, the 33-year-old has a 2.57 ERA, .79 WHIP, and 22/6 K/BB ratio. The veteran has two tough matchups as he goes to Philadelphia to face the Phillies and then makes his way to Atlanta to face the Braves.
Corbin Burnes vs. Blue Jays
7.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
37% CSW, 18 swinging strikes
Burnes continues to show why he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. He went against the formidable Toronto offense and kept them to only three runs scored. His cutter was as devastating as normal but he generated eight of his 18 swings and misses of his slider. Burnes didn’t get that bite on his cutter to Matt Chapman in the fifth and hung a first-pitch curve to Bo Bichette in the eighth which went for solo shots. Two mistakes lead to two runs. Ugh. Things happen but you still got the win in the end.
Max Fried vs. Dodgers
6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
36% CSW, 20 swinging strikes
Does it seem that no one is discussing Max Fried’s season so far? Fried has been pretty much ace-like and he showed that again Saturday against the Dodgers. He threw 18 first-pitch strikes to the 26 batters he faced and didn’t give up a run until the top of the seventh inning. Fried had every pitch working and the four-seamer and sinker both generated six whiffs on the night. Sadly, he was eligible for the win as the Dodgers got to A.J. Minter late but fantasy managers can feel great with the 28-year-old right-hander on their fantasy rosters.
Priority Pickup
Edward Olivares (Royals) OF - Available in 92% of Yahoo leagues
Olivares, who spent most of last year on the I-29 shuttle between Triple-A Omaha and Kauffman Stadium, looked like he had a locked-in spot in the 2022 Kansas City outfield at the start of this season. He began the season at the bottom of the lineup but moved his way to leadoff before a nasty quad injury put him on the injured list. He has finally returned and is a must pickup. He was hitting .371/.421/.486 with three RBI and two swipes. In his first game back on Friday, he went 2-3 with two bombs against the Athletics at home. Sure, the Royals lineup is dreadful but Olivares has the power/speed/batting average combination that makes him a great addition to your squad.
Closing Time
Ryan Pressly vs. Yankees
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (15th save)
Pressly not picked up his 15th save of the season but also shut down the Yankees as the Astros completed a combined no-hitter on Saturday on the Bronx. Pressly blew the save against the mighty Yankees on Thursday but picked up two punchouts. As long as he remains healthy, Dusty Baker will continue to call on him in save situations.
Edwin Díaz vs. Marlins
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (16th save)
Díaz only needed 16 pitches to strike out three Marlins en route to his 16th save of the year. The 28-year-old right-hander has been lights out for the Mets this year and had a 47 K% to go along with a 2.20 ERA in 29 appearances. Sure, there are games where he goes off the rails but when Díaz is on, he is an absolute delight to watch.
Josh Hader vs. Blue Jays
1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (22th save)
Hader struck out the first two Jays before giving up a double to Matt Chapman and a single from Lourdes Gurriel Jr to right that brought in Chapman bringing Toronto within one run of tying the game in the ninth. Hader faced top prospect, Gabriel Moreno, with the tying run on first but induced a ground out to first base to pick up his 22nd save of the season. Hader was consistently selected as the first closer in drafts and he has not let fantasy managers down.
Lou Trivino vs. Royals
2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (3rd save)
After A.J. Puk and Zach Jackson pitched on Thursday and Domingo Acevedo threw on Friday, the A’s trusted Trivino to throw two innings against the Royals on Saturday to lock down the victory. The 30-year-old was looking like an interesting closer a few years ago but his velocity and skills took a tumble. Steer clear. Nothing to see here.
Tanner Houck vs. Guardians
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (6th save)
It seems like Alex Cora and the Red Sox have settled on a closer as Houck racked up his sixth save of the season. It was a relatively easy outing for the 26-year-old as he needed only to toss seven pitches in the bottom of the ninth. The Sox travel up to the great county of Canada at the beginning of the week and Houck will not be part of the bullpen. John Schreiber could pick up a save while the team is in Toronto - for all you fantasy managers speculating for saves this week.
Kenley Jansen vs. Dodgers
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (20th save)
Well…that was awkward. Jansen entered the ninth inning against his long-time club with ex-Braves closer Craig Kimbrel sitting in the bullpen. Jansen had no trouble with the bottom of the Dodgers lineup and quickly struck out Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, and Trea Turner to lock down his 20th save of the season. I wonder if the Dodgers are having second thoughts about not signing him in the off-season.
Gregory Soto vs, Diamondbacks
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (14th save)
It was an easy outing for Soto as he only needed 12 pitches to pick up his 14th save on the season. Sure, the Tigers are not great but Soto has been a pretty safe closer for fantasy managers. He has a 2.77 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 26/12 K/BB ratio in 27 appearances. Not the best but, he is getting the job done and there is no one knocking on the door behind him.
Seranthony Domínguez vs. Padres
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (2nd save)
The Phillies were crushed in this game after superstar Bryce Harper left the game with a fractured left thumb. However, we might see the next closer emerge as Dominguez picked up his second save of the season in San Diego. Dominguez has prior closing experience (he had 16 saves in 2018) prior to injury his elbow in 2019. The 27-year-old has a 1.69 ERA, .86 WHIP, and 35/7 K/BB ratio in 28 appearances. If he is on your waiver wire, go pick him up!
Sunday’s Matchup of the Day
Tony Gonsolin (Dodgers) vs. Spencer Strider (Braves)
Pop some popcorn and settle in for the late game on Sunday. Tony Gonsolin has been nothing short of impressive this year. He has a 1.58 ERA, .82 WHIP, and 64/21 K/BB ratio across 68 ⅓ innings of work. Sure, there have been some cupcake matchups (three games versus the Diamondbacks) but he has also faced the Mets, Phillies, and the Rockies in Coors Field. In his last game in Great American Small Park, he gave up two bombs but still went five innings with four punchouts. Atlanta has been supercharged as of late, thanks to Dansby Swanson, so he faces an uphill battle. On the other side of the bump, Baseball Twitter Darling, Spencer Strider looks to bounce back after giving up six runs in a shellacking outing against the Giants. Strider has filthy stuff and injuries have ravaged the Dodgers in recent weeks so it could be an “easy” matchup for the mustachioed right-hander on Sunday night.
American League Quick Hits:
X-rays were negative on Alejandro Kirk’s hand after being clipped on the left hand on Friday night and started Saturday’s game at DH. … Ty France has a Grade 2 flexor strain. … Nathan Eovaldi played catch. … Matt Manning also played catch. … Lance McCullers faced hitters on Saturday and reached 93 MPH. … Jeremy Peña will likely return on Sunday. … Trevor Larnach was placed on the 10-Day IL with a core muscle strain. … Chris Sale punched out six in a rehab outing. … Ezequiel Durán and Taylor Hearn were both optioned to Triple-A after Saturday’s game. … Yusei Kikuchi and Brad Keller got the quick hook in their starts Saturday. … Lance Lynn gets 23 swings and misses but allows five earned runs in his start against the Orioles.
National League Quick Hits:
Bryce Harper left Saturday’s game after being hit on the hand with a pitch and X-rays showed he fractured his thumb. Brutal blow for the Phillies. … Mark Appel, the number 1 pick in 2013, made his major league debut as the Phillies called him up for help in the bullpen. … Kolten Wong began a rehab assignment on Saturday. … Joey Wendle also began rehab assignment…Ke’Bryan Hayes missed his second straight game with a sore shoulder but said he was feeling better. … Seiya Suzuki hitting again…Marcus Stroman threw a bullpen session. … Max Scherzer made another rehab start on Tuesday. … Jacob deGrom faced hitters again on Saturday. … Jonathan India also left Saturday’s game early but X-rays were negative for a fracture. … J.T Realmuto picked up a combo meal at the local In and Out in San Diego.
