Friday was filled with incredible pitching performances, but Gerrit Cole‘s outing against the Tigers stands above the rest. Showing why he still belongs in the conversation for best pitcher in baseball, he took a perfect game into the seventh inning in Yankee Stadium. Cole had just struck out the side in the sixth before getting the first two outs in the seventh. Jonathan Schoop then broke up the perfecto with a single to center field. Miguel Cabrera followed with a base hit before Cole got Javier Baez to strike out swinging. He generated 17 whiffs in the outing to total nine strikeouts. Cole would be done after the seventh inning at 102 pitches -- 73 for strikes. With 13 runs of support, he picked up his fifth win of the year to go with a 2.78 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts over 64 2/3 innings.
The Yankees’ win over Detroit gives them a 37-15 record going into Saturday, the best record in baseball. Everything is clicking for New York through the first two months. Just one day prior, Jameson Taillon took a perfect game into the eighth inning. And Aaron Judge blasted his league-leading 20th homer on Friday. They’ll look to keep it rolling Saturday with Luis Severino on the mound against the Tigers and right-hander Beau Brieske.
Hitters with an EDGE
Lane Thomas vs. Reds
3-for-5, 3 HR, 4 RBI
Thomas blasted three homers Friday against the Reds, doubling his total to six on the year. He launched a two-run homer in the third inning off Mike Minor before adding solo shots in the fifth and seventh. Mostly on a short-side platoon, he’s hit .211/.268/.406 with the six homers and 22 RBI across 128 at-bats.
Aaron Judge vs. Tigers
4-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
Judge is set out to earn the major payday coming his way this winter. He added four hits on Friday against the Tigers, including his major league-leading 20th homer. The blast came on a solo shot in the third inning off of Elvin Rodriguez. The 30-year-old slugger is hitting an incredible .316/.384/.679 with the 20 homers, 41 RBI, and three steals across 217 plate appearances.
Kyle Schwarber vs. Angels
2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 1 BB
Schwarber broke out of an 0-for-18 slump earlier this week with a couple of multi-hit games against the Giants that included two homers. He added his third multi-hit game in the last four contests on Friday while slugging two more home runs against the Angels. He led off the first with a blast off of Chase Silseth. After drawing a walk in the fifth, he took Jaime Barria deep in the sixth for his 14th homer this season.
Pitchers with an EDGE
Tyler Anderson vs. Mets
6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
14 swinging strikes, 30% CSW
Anderson was impressive Friday, shutting down the Mets over six innings while generating 14 whiffs for five strikeouts. That is now 20 consecutive scoreless innings over the last three starts for the 32-year-old southpaw. He’ll look for his eighth win of the season Thursday when he takes on the White Sox in Chicago.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. Athletics
6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
16 swinging strikes, 31 % CSW
Coming off a complete game against the Orioles, Eovaldi took advantage of another nice matchup with six shutout inning against the A’s. He scattered four hits and one walk while inducing 16 swings and misses to strike out eight batters. The biggest threat to score came in the fourth inning when the A’s had two runners in scoring position with two outs. Eovaldi induced a groundout by Chad Pinder to end the inning. The 32-year-old right-hander will take a 3.41 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 67 strikeouts over 63 1/3 innings into his next start against the Angels in Anaheim.
Max Fried vs. Rockies
8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
8 swinging strikes, 25% CSW
Fried was at this best Friday in Colorado. He held the Rockies scoreless over eight innings, efficiently throwing 72-of-102 pitches for strikes and inducing 14 groundouts. Unfortunately, the Braves couldn’t score any runs through nine innings to get him a win. Still, this was one of Fried’s best starts of the season, especially considering it was in Coors Field. The 28-year-old left-hander has an excellent 2.74 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 61 strikeouts over 69 innings. He’ll take on the Pirates in Atlanta his next time out.
Joe Musgrove vs. Brewers
8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K
8 swinging strikes, 28% CSW
Musgrove took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Brewers. Over the first seven frames, he hit one batter and issued three walks. The first hit for Milwaukee didn’t come until Kolten Wong doubled in the eighth inning. Musgrove would finish the frame before his day was done at 114 pitches -- 71 for strikes. The 29-year-old right-hander has a 6-0 record, 1.64 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 64 strikeouts over 66 innings. He’ll take on the Mets in San Diego his next time out.
Priority Pickup
Tyrone Taylor, OF, Brewers -- Available in 72 percent of Yahoo leagues
Taylor has taken hold of an everyday starting job in the outfield for the Brewers after a hot month of May, hitting .279/.337/.535 with six homers and a steal over 95 plate appearances. The 28-year-old has flashed some skills that suggest he can sustain some success over the course of the season. He’s making plenty of contact with an 88 percent zone-contact rate and just a 19 percent strikeout rate. The quality of that contact has been good, with a 41.3 percent hard-hit rate and 8.3 percent barrel rate.
Closing Time
Colin Poche got the call for the Rays on Friday against the White Sox. He recorded just one out after Shawn Armstrong gave up three hits and hit a batter to allow a run to score. Andrew Kittredge began a rehab assignment Friday, so he could return and take most save chances once activated.
Mark Melancon took the mound with a two-run lead in the ninth inning for the Diamondbacks. He worked around a hit while striking out one batter in a scoreless inning against the Pirates to record his 11th save of the season.
After the Cardinals recalled Zack Thompson on Friday, the 24-year-old left-hander pitched the final four innings against the Cubs to record a save. He allowed one run on three hits and a walk while striking out three batters.
Tanner Rainey was summoned in the ninth inning for the Nationals with a three-run lead over the Reds. He walked the leadoff batter before recording the final three outs to secure the win and his sixth save.
Emmanuel Clase shut the door on the Orioles in the ninth inning on Friday. He induced a groundout before getting the final two batters to chase for the third strike, collecting a pair of strikeouts while locking down his eighth save.
Paul Sewald recorded his third save on the year Friday against the Rangers. He worked around a walk, striking out two batters in the scoreless frame. Sewald carries an impressive 2.33 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 19 strikeouts over 19 2/3 innings.
Daniel Hudson recorded the final out in the eighth inning for the Dodgers with a four-run lead. He returned in the ninth to close out the game, striking out two batters for his fourth save.
Matchup of the Day
Logan Webb (SF) vs. Pablo Lopez (MIA)
Saturday’s featured matchup takes us to Miami, where the Marlins are hosting the Giants for a four-game series. The series goes into Saturday tied after Sandy Alcantara‘s brilliant performance Thursday and the Giants’ offensive explosion Friday. Logan Webb will take the mound for San Francisco. He’ll bring a 5-1 record, 3.52 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 50 strikeouts over 61 1/3 innings. Webb is coming off his best start, striking out ten batters over eight innings against the Phillies. On the other side, Pablo Lopez has pitched like an ace, putting up a 1.83 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 61 strikeouts over 59 innings with a 4-2 record. He tossed six scoreless innings with five strikeouts in Colorado his last time out.
American League Quick Hits: The Astros signed Yordan Alvarez to a six-year, $115 million contract extension... Josh Donaldson was activated from the 10-day injured list... Rays placed J.P. Feyereisen on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement... Twins placed Max Kepler, Caleb Thielbar, Emilio Pagan, and Trevor Megill on the restricted list before the team’s series against the Blue Jays in Toronto... Andrew Kittredge began a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Friday... Taylor Walls was held out of the Rays lineup Friday due to soreness in his right calf... The White Sox optioned Jimmy Lambert and Kyle Crick to Triple-A... Kendall Graveman and Dylan Cease were activated from the restricted list... Vince Velasquez was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left groin strain... Royals activated Michael A. Taylor from the COVID-19 injured list...
National League Quick Hits: The Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi... Nolan Gorman returned to the Cardinals lineup and hit a homer Friday... The Cardinals optioned Matthew Liberatore and Kodi Whitley to Triple-A and recalled Johan Oviedo and Zack Thompson... Blake Treinen played light catch on Friday... Steven Matz will make at least one rehab start before rejoining the Cardinals rotation... Cubs’ top pitching prospect Caleb Kilian will make his big league debut on Saturday... Adbert Alzolay resumed playing catch on Friday... The Padres placed Wil Myers on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation... The Nationals placed Dee Strange-Gordon on the paternity leave list... The Giants optioned Sammy Long to Triple-A... Mike Minor was activated from the 10-day injured list... Justin Wilson has undergone Tommy John surgery... TJ Friedl was optioned to Triple-A... Donovan Solano will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday... The Brewers placed Mike Brosseau on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle sprain... Pirated placed Josh VanMeter on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left ring finger and activated Daniel Vogelbach...
