Blaze Alexander drives in two in win over Nats

Freeland struck out only two and gave up 11 hard-hit balls, but the only damage against him came on Bryce Eldridge’s homer in the fourth. Freeland has allowed three earned runs in his three starts this month, lowering his ERA from 7.34 to 6.27. He’ll make his next start at home against the Dodgers. It’ll be his first time facing them in Coors this year after giving up 14 earned runs over nine innings in two starts in L.A.

According to Statcast, Roupp would have given up three homers in 29 ballparks tonight. However, at Oracle Park, those three batted balls, all in the 410-foot range, produced one homer, one triple and one double. Roupp has lost four straight starts, yielding 14 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings in the process, and the Giants are an incredible 2-16 in his last 18 turns. He’s slated to pitch in Cleveland next time out.

Veen’s blast to right was hit 111 mph off of Landen Roupp, giving him two homers in two games since his recall. That the Rockies play six games at home next week would seem to make him an interesting pickup, but, unfortunately, the team is currently slated to face lefties in four of those games and Veen is expected to do a lot of sitting against lefties. Maybe he can change that if he stays hot this weekend.

It’s McNeil’s fourth career game with three extra-base hits; he last did it by collecting two homers and a double in Coors Field in June 2025. McNeil is now sitting at .409/.437/.561 in 21 games in the second half. He even has five steals during the span, which is four more than he had in the first half and two more than he had in 122 games for the Mets last season. As the Athletics’ current leadoff man against righties, he’s worth playing in mixed leagues when the team is at home in West Sacramento.

Jump had a 3-0 lead until giving up a walk, an infield single and a three-run homer with one out in the sixth. He was pulled immediately after the game-tying blast from Jake Burger. Jump will pitch in Kansas City next week, making him a streaming option in deeper leagues.

Rocker was better than usual about avoiding hard contact tonight, allowing him to survive while walking five. Still, there’s no real excuse to be walking five against this A’s lineup in the first place. The no-decision keeps Rocker 4-9 with a 4.50 ERA and a 106/47 K/BB in 116 innings. He’ll face the Nationals next week.

The 428-foot blast was Burger’s 20th homer of the year and upped his total to 71 RBI. Still, he needs a strong finish here to ensure that the Rangers go forward with him at first base next year. He’s hitting .234/.295/.413, giving him approximately a 102 OPS+. That’s also his mark from the last three years combined.

Pages’ scored the Dodgers first run on Mookie Betts’ first-inning single and later broke a 1-1 tie with the homer in the fifth. It’s his second straight 20-homer season, as he finished with 27 last year. He’s not a sure thing to surpass that total this year, but he is going to cruise past his mark of 86 RBI from last year; he’s tied for the ninth in the majors with 77 right now.

Yamamoto struck out nine and sported a 37 percent CSW. It’s the 11th time in 22 starts this year that he’s allowed one or no runs. He’ll make his next start on six days’ rest next Friday versus the Pirates.

The job got done, but Díaz was all over the place tonight and did nothing to instill anyone with any confidence in him. The HBP started the inning and also would have been a walk on a full-count pitch. Díaz rebounded to fan Christian Yelich and eventually got two groundouts without a run scoring. It took him 26 pitches, bringing his total to 50 the last two days, so he’ll certainly get at least Saturday off after this. With Tanner Scott also having worked two straight days, Alex Vesia might be in line for a save chance.