Iván Herrera, Cardinals blast Cubs in 17-run rout

Jonathan Bowlan converted the save chance in his place against the Angels. Duran should be day-to-day.

Eldridge’s homer was his 15th of the season. The 21-year-old also drove in a run with a double, and it improves his slash to .254/.345/.448 in his rookie campaign. One of the most encouraging things about Eldridge’s season is that he’s been better against lefties than righties — a .792 OPS against southpaws compared to .776 against right-handers — and his homer today off Kohl Drake was his fifth against same-sided hurlers. He’s gonna be a good one.

Carroll hit one of three homers that D-backs procured against Blade Tidwell. His came with a runner on in the third, and it’s the 19th time he’s hit the ball over the fence in 2026. It’s been a solid season for the 26-year-old and he’s now the owner of an .830 OPS, but it still feels like there’s meat left on the bone in terms of fantasy production.

Nootbaar also singled. The 28-year-old took Blade Tidwell deep to leadoff the game, and it gives him a pair of homers in 18 games with the Diamondbacks after hitting just three in 48 contests with the Cardinals prior to his trade. Nootbaar’s numbers are still far from what fantasy managers should be looking for, but perhaps this is the springboard to a hot final month plus. Weirder things have happened.

Tidwell couldn’t keep the ball in the park, and allowed three homers in the contest; including a leadoff roundtripper from Lars Nootbaar. The right-hander was coming off 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his previous outing against the Red Sox, but Friday was an unfortunate example of what can happen when Tidwell doesn’t have his best command. He’ll try and rebound next week against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Drake was called up to start Friday’s tilt against the Giants, and while he didn’t take a loss, it’s not because he was effective. The 26-year-old allowed a pair of homers, and while he did strike out five against just one walk, the damage was done. The 26-year-old has not pitched pitched effectively in his chances to start with Arizona, and while there’s reason for long-term optimism, there isn’t much reason to trust him as a fantasy hurler for the rest of 2026 even if he gets more opportunities.

It’s the first MLB save of Hoppe’s career. The 27-year-old was the top prospect acquired in the deal that sent Taylor Ward to Seattle, and while he will need to make considerable improvements in his command to reach that level, he has the stuff to someday be a high-leverage option, maybe even a closer.

Lopez, 28, had his usual control issues while issuing three walks and throwing 63-of-100 pitches for strikes. The 6-foot-4 starter also allowed only three hits while striking out six in an outing that showed why Lopez would be so intriguing if he threw more consistent strikes. He’ll look to continue to lower his 4.82 ERA against the Rangers next week in Texas.

Young scattered five hits allowed, and he walked just one while striking out four. The 28-year-old has been one of the true bright spots for Baltimore in 2026, and even though the Baltimore bullpen prevented him from picking up a win — the Orioles did get the victory in extras — he did lower his ERA to 3.38 over his 130 1/3 frames of work. He will look to keep up the good run next week, but it’s worth noting that next start comes in Colorado against the Rockies.

Joyce isn’t charged with the blown save, if you’re looking for a positive, because he came in to pitch in the eighth, and all three runs were charged to him after he exited the game. So instead, he gets a loss and a hold. Weird sport. Joyce didn’t give up a hit, but he walked a pair and hit another with all three runners crossing on a grand slam by Edmundo Sosa allowed by Peralta. Joyce should continue to get save looks — the few the Angels will provide, anyway — but there’s just a lot of volatility in his profile because of his command problems.