Jake McCarthy hits inside-the-parker vs. Pirates

Bazzana singled for all four hits. The 23-year-old’s steal gives him 16 on his rookie campaign, while the three-RBI night bumps that total to 39. Bazzana has had some real ups and downs, but the future certainly looks bright for the 23-year-old based on those aforementioned ups.

Bailey connected on a three-run shot off Zack Agnos that turned a comfortable 5-1 lead into an 8-1 blowout. He’s homered seven times in 2026, and six of those have come in 58 games since being traded to the Guardians. Bailey is in the league because of his prowess behind the plate rather than his success at it, but he does occasionally remind why he was a first-round pick six years ago.

Well that’s frustrating. Cantillo left with a 4-1 lead, but because he got 14 outs instead of 15, it’s a no-decision. The southpaw allowed four hits, but more importantly, walked four which caused him to throw 89 pitches for exiting the contest. The 26-year-old was able to whiff five and lower his ERA to 3.72, but this was more frustrating than impressive, respectfully. He’ll get another friendly matchup against the Angels next week.

Gordon has pitched decently when used in bulk, but his traditional starts have been mostly disasters. Guess what kind of outing this one was? The right-hander gave up nine hits, walked two and struck out just a pair while seeing his ERA shoot up to 5.75. Gordon is eating innings for the Rockies. He’s eating something else in fantasy. He faces the Nationals on Wednesday.

Alvarez doubled in the fifth inning to drive home Nick Allen and put the Astros up 2-0. On the next at-bat, Alvarez would come around to score on an RBI double by Issac Paredes. Alvarez doubled again in the seventh inning to drive in another run, extending the Astros’ lead to 4-0. Alvarez has hit safely in each of his last three games and is slashing .283/.405/.433 in the month of August.

Facing a banged-up A’s team, Wesneski allowed just one hit over five innings, making what was easily his best start of the season. The lone hit Wesneski allowed came with one out in the third inning, but he would go on to retire eight of the next 10 batters he faced before being pulled in the sixth inning for Bennett Sousa. Wesneski will draw a tougher start his next time out when he hits the road to face the Yankees on Thursday.

McNeil posted one of the three hits the Athletics managed on the night, as the offense was shut down by a solid pitching effort from Hayden Wesneski and the Astros’ bullpen. McNeil has hit safely in four of his last five games while driving in four runs, but there’s not much to get excited about here with the A’s down so many key players.

Ginn kept the Astros off the board for the first three innings despite allowing four baserunners over that span, but in the fourth inning, the Astros would make him pay for allowing the first two runners to reach base. With runners on second and third and no outs, Christian Walker would hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Isaac Paredes, and in the fifth inning, Ginn would give up back-to-back doubles to Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, pushing the Astros’ lead to 3-0. Ginn has allowed three earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts and will look to put together another solid outing in his next start, which is scheduled for Wednesday at home against the Twins.

Toglia was able to walk off the field, but his shoulder required extra support as he was escorted to the locker room. He’ll head for further testing. Expect the Reds to provide an update on his status and a potential timeline for his return as soon as more information becomes available.

Fairbanks entered the game in the ninth inning to pick up the save, but after retiring the first two batters of the inning, the veteran righty would walk Jacob Young, who then stole second, and scored soon after on an RBI single by Daylen Lyle. Fairbanks would retire the next batter to end the inning and would pick up his fourth win of the season after Javier Sanoja drove in the winning run in the bottom of the frame. Friday marked the first blown save of the month for Fairbanks, who has otherwise been solid in August, posting a 1.80 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP over five frames.