Esmerlyn Valdez continues hitting cleanup

This didn’t look good at all. Kurtz was in a great deal of pain after taking a pitch off the left arm from Red Sox starter Patrick Sandoval in the opening frame. It appeared to hit him somewhere in the forearm just above his wrist. He managed to stay in the game initially before being replaced by Jeff McNeil at first base in the second inning. The 23-year-old offensive force will head for further evaluation, including X-rays, to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an update his status following the contest.

Sale’s phenomenal season hasn’t been talked about enough. He faced just two batters over the minimum and didn’t let a single runner into scoring position as he decimated the Mets here. His fastball and slider combined to force 14 swings-and-misses and many of those were very ugly chases. They say father time is undefeated, but the 37-year-old Sale now has a 2.08 ERA with 143 strikeouts and 26 walks across 117 innings this season. If not for Jacob Misiorowski, those would be clear and obvious Cy Young numbers. He’s lined up for a two-start week coming up against the Marlins and Yankees.

Iglesias only needed eight pitches to lock down this save and help the Braves avoid a sweep. This was a nice bounce back after blowing his last save opportunity – which only scored due to an error anyway – as Iglesias has been one of the league’s most steady closers with 22 saves and 2.37 ERA.

There were very few opportunities for offense in this 1-0 win for the Braves. Olson drove in the only run though and has had a phenomenal season in total with 28 home runs, 66 RBI, a .264 batting average, and .866 OPS. Look for him to continue to produce at a high level as we come to the home stretch.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a less valuable player than Semien this season. The Mets only mustered two measly singles and one walk against Chris Sale and the Braves’ bullpen here, but Semien was a special kind of lost. He struck out three times and only saw 11 total pitches on his way to doing so. He probably deserves to lose playing time down the stretch with just a .620 OPS this season plus some awful defensive metrics.

Scott stood up to the tall task of battling with the Braves’ lineup and Chris Sale in this game. He matched Sale with zeroes over the first five innings, but gave up a run in the sixth after nine-hitter Jim Jarvis got him for a two-strike double and Matt Olson later drove him in. As far as silver linings go, this was the first time this season that Scott completed six innings and he was highly effective on the whole. His fastball led the way with 10 swings-and-misses and he threw it more than half of the time. Facing a lineup with six left-handed hitters, Scott had to shy a bit away from his trusted sweeper and instead threw some cutters plus more curveballs and splitters than usual. He’s been working hard to make those last two pitches more consistent and while they didn’t miss bats, it was encouraging to see his relative trust in them. He lowered his ERA to 2.99 in what’s been a breakout season so far and is lined up for a two-start week against the Guardians and Pirates coming up.

He’ll split the catching duties with Tyler Heineman in the wake of Logan O’Hoppe being shipped to the division-rival Rangers in a trade. The 37-year-old veteran returns after missing nearly three months with plantar fasciitis.

The trade is now official. O’Hoppe heads to Triple-A Round Rock as additional catching depth for the Rangers behind veteran starter Elias Díaz. The 26-year-old has struggled mightily at the dish over the last two seasons following a 20-homer breakout campaign back in 2024. He also grades out as a below-average defender behind the plate. This feels like more of a long-term play for Texas than an immediate impact, but they didn’t really give up a whole lot to bring in a backstop from a division rival that they’re extremely familiar with.

The deal is now official. Silseth has made the transition from starter to relief look rather easy this season, posting a solid 2.72 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 48/22 K/BB ratio across 39 2/3 innings of work. He’ll jump into a low-leverage role with the Rangers for the final two months of the season.

The Angels acquiring a shortstop named Angel just feels right, doesn’t it? The 19-year-old is the definition of a long-term lottery ticket as he’s yet to play a game above Low-A in the minors.