Zack Wheeler gives up two runs in win over Mets

Rice blasted his 24th homer of the season into the right-field stands in the third inning to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead. It was a much-needed bright spot for the slugger who is slashing a measly .175/.230/.386 over his last 15 games and has cooled off significantly after a blistering start to the season that saw him slashing .306/.397/.658 after May. He’s homered twice in his last two games and hit safely in each of his last three, so hopefully Rice is beginning to turn a corner and find his way out of this slump.

Cole retired the first two batters he faced on Friday, but gave up a solo homer to Kody Clemens with two outs in the first to give the Twins an early lead. He would later allow another run to come around and score in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Victor Caratini, but Cole was solid despite the brief four-inning appearance. The righty didn’t allow a walk all night and threw 71.8 percent of his pitches for strikes while striking out seven batters. He’ll draw a tough start next Wednesday on the road against the Rays.

As anticipated, the prized 23-year-old right-hander will be shelved until at least mid-August due to his shoulder issue. At that stage, it wouldn’t be surprising if it winds up costing him the majority of what’s left in the minor league season.

Reynolds hit his 12th homer of the season off Nationals starter Foster Griffin in the third inning to give the Pirates their first run of the night. Later, as the Pirates attempted to come back from an eight run deficit in the ninth inning against the Nationals bullpen, Reynolds would double to drive home Brandon Lowe from second to cut the Nats’ lead to 9-3. Reynolds has now hit safely in three-straight games and is slashing a respectable .288/.373/.475 over his last 15 games.

García put the Nationals on the board in the first inning on Friday when he sent a solo homer 410 feet into deep right-center off of Mitch Keller. He would homer again in the seventh inning, this time sending a two-run blast into the night sky at Nationals Park, pushing his team’s lead to 7-1 in a game that featured five homers by the Nats offense. García has been on some kind of tear as of late, slashing .396/.453/.1.021 overr his last 15 games with nine homers and 17 RBI.

Griffin didn’t have his strikeout pitch working in this one, but he managed just fine without it. The left struck out only two batters on Friday, but held the Pirates to four hits, with the lone extra-base hit coming via a solo homer by Bryan Reynolds in the third inning. He’s allowed one earned run or fewer in each of his last six starts and is scheduled to make his next start at home on Wednesday against the Astros.

Keller gave up a solo homer to Luis Garcia Jr. with one out in the bottom of the first inning to put the Nationals up 1-0. It would be the only run Keller would allow in the frame, but the Nationals would continue to jump all over him in the ensuing innings. Keller surrendered another solo homer to Daylen Lile in the second inning and gave up a two-run homer to José Tena in the second inning, as the Nationals put on an early power surge against the righty. Keller would make it through six innings before being pulled, but his struggles looked all too familiar in this one. He has now allowed five earned runs or more in four of his last seven outings, and has seen his ERA balloon to 5.02 after ending May with a 4.35 ERA. He faces another tough matchup in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday against the Braves.

Basallo was responsible for two of the three runs the Orioles drove in on the night. The rookie slugger blasted an opposite field two-run homer off Reds starter Brady Singer in the third inning to put the O’s up by 3-0, which would prove to be enough to earn the win in this one. It’s the first homer in July for Basallo, who is coming off a down month where he slashed just .205/.258/.325 with three homers in June. Hopefully he can string together a few more strong performances and enter the All-Star break on a high note.

Singer ran into some trouble early in the first inning, allowing three of the first five batters he faced to reach base, with Gunnar Henderson coming around to score on a throwing error by Tyler Stephenson as Henderson was trying to steal third. It would be the only run Singer would allow in the inning, but after pitching a scoreless second inning, Singer fell victim to a two-run homer by Samuel Basallo, who pushed the Orioles’ lead to 3-0 in the third. Singer would settle in after the blast by Basallo, but the damage had been done and the Reds offense mustered only four hits against Trevor Rogers and the O’s bullpen. His next start is scheduled for Thursday at home against the Phillies.

Rogers continues to hold opposing hitters in check and has now allowed just three earned runs over his last 24 1/3 innings pitched. He struggled a bit with his command in this one, walking a season-high five batters, but a solid defensive effort behind him was enough for him to keep the Reds off the board for five innings. He’ll look to keep up his dominant stretch in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday against the Cubs.