Joshua Báez crushes 24th homer at Triple-A

Cavalli just keeps getting better. He set the tone by striking out four of the first five batters he faced and never looked back. His 11 punch-outs were the second-most in a start this season and the fifth time he’s reached double digits. A key to his in-season breakout, his improving sweeper was strong against right-handed batters with a nearly 70% strike rate while working as his primary pitch against them. Otherwise, the trio of that pitch, his fastball, and knuckle-curve stymied the Rangers’ lefties and combined to force 12 of his 14 swings-and-misses. He’s completed at least six innings in eight straight starts without allowing more than three runs in any and picked up six wins over that span. That looks something like a league-winner. Next up, he has a two-start week against the Rockies and Marlins, both at home.

In a rare start against a right-handed pitcher, Chaparro showed why he may deserve to play more often. He had three batted balls of at least 104 mph and was a thorn in the side of the Rangers’ pitchers all night. His three-run home run broke this game open in the seventh inning and he could be an intriguing deep league option should he get a bit more playing time.

Seager for exactly half of the Rangers hits as they were shutout by Cade Cavalli and the Nationals’ bullpen in this one. While it’s been mostly a lost season to this point, Seager now has two hits in each of his last three games as he tries to finish strong.

Rocker pitched well overall here despite nibbling far too much early on. He threw 80 pitches through four innings and had to work hard for every out because he was reluctant to throw it in the zone with a barely 40% zone rate and only 11 first-pitch strikes out of the 22 batters he faced. Still, his slider was nasty forcing six whiffs and helped him out of a few jams. On the season, he has a 4.46 ERA, 109 strikeouts, and 48 walks through 121 innings. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against both the Brewers and White Sox on the road.

Despite being given a seven-run lead after the second inning, Gilbert struggled with his efficiency in this one. Nothing came easy as his fastball didn’t force a single swing-and-miss and he didn’t have a single clean inning. This was the second time in his last three starts where he’s walked four batters after not walking more than two since March. Hopefully he can get himself back ahead of a two-start week against the Phillies and Blue Jays.

It took Muñoz just nine pitches to breeze through the ninth here and grab the save. He needed a few easy saves after his five-run implosion last Friday against the Astros and has now gone two straight without giving up a hit.

Naylor helped break this game open with a two-run single off Dustin May in the second inning to make this game 7-0. The Mariners stopped scoring after that, but still had enough to win the game. Despite a poor season at the plate, Naylor has recouped some of his fantasy value with 25 stolen bases.

Ortiz single-handedly tried to drag the Brewers back into this game after they fell behind 7-0 in the second inning. He hit a two-run home run in the bottom of that inning, a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and an RBI single in the 8th to make it 7-4 before their comeback attempt fell short. With Cooper Pratt back off the injured list, he’s going to be competing with David Hamilton and Andrew Vaughn for third base reps.

The Mariners jumped all over May here with four hits and four runs in the first inning. The struggles didn’t stop there either, as he was through 53 pitches with zero outs in the second inning. By the time that frame ended, the Mariners had seven runs on the board, May had thrown 66 pitches, and he was mercifully pulled from this game before the third. He had absolutely no feel for his cutter or sweeper and without those, couldn’t do much. This was his first clunker since being acquired by the Brewers at the deadline and we’re hoping he can put this poor start behind him quickly. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Mets on the road.

Stewart’s homer was a three-run shot off Matthew Liberatore in the bottom of the sixth. The hit gave him 94 RBI this season, which leads MLB. He’s also hitting .259 with 27 homers, 12 stolen bases, and 69 runs scored. He’ll enter 2027 with dual eligibility at first and third base, and he’ll even add second base on sites with a minimum of five games started for position eligibility.