Christian Yelich smacks two-run homer in defeat

Roden stepped to the plate with two outs in the ninth inning of a tie game and delivered the winning knock. Otherwise, the Twins really had to grind to put him in position for that clutch hit with two infield hits and a walk to finish off this comeback win. Funny enough, they tied this game a few innings before with five walks out of six batters. Hey, a win is still a win. Roden also chipped in another run-scoring hit early on and could siphon off some playing time in this outfield.

Prielipp retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced before back-to-back home runs in the fourth accounted for all three runs on his ledger. Both pitches that left the yard were poorly executed as well. First, a belt high changeup that Brayan Rocchio sent into the upper deck and then a hanging slider that Rhys Hoskins tattooed. Nevertheless, he did well to limit the damage otherwise and will head into the All-Star break with a 5.00 ERA, 71 strikeouts, and 25 walks across 66 2/3 innings.

Rocchio and Rhys Hoskins went back-to-back in the fourth inning as the only runs Twins’ starter Connor Prielipp would allow in this one. Rocchio’s was especially impressive soaring into the upper deck at Target Field. As a switch-hitter, he has much more power from the right side and it was great to see a changeup in a bad spot from Prielipp. Rocchio’s been a breakout player so far this season with seven home runs, 15 stolen bases, and a .272 batting average with 301 at-bats under his belt.

Cecconi cruised through the first three innings allowing just two base runners and was only at 46 pitches entering the third. Then, he allowed singles to the first three batters he faced in the fourth, walked in a run with the bases loaded, and let two more runs score via a sacrifice fly and another single. He was pulled after that two-out hit and it felt like the right decision given how much hard contact he allowed that inning. This wound up as a poor result when it felt like he was turning the corner and he’ll head into the All-Star break with a 4.55 ERA, 77 strikeouts, and 31 walks through 99 innings.

Stewart took this game over. First, with a two-run shot to tie it up in the second inning. It was an impressive piece of hitting by Stewart who smacked a low-and-away fastball from Alan Rangel for an opposite field homer. Then, he was in the middle of the Reds’ back-to-back-to-back shots in the fourth . Those two blasts gave him 19 on the season, which broke Frank Robinson’s 70 year old record for the most home runs by a Reds rookie before the All-Star break. That is one heck of an accomplishment for the first time All-Star who looks like a budding star.

A rare difficult outing for Burns, he didn’t get through a single inning cleanly and felt like he was battling himself all night. His fastball was extremely erratic with just a 44% zone rate and far too many of them wound up at the eyes of the Phillies’ hitters. That issue got worse as the game went on and he wound up being fortunate to get out of this start with just the three runs on his ledger. That’s the mark of a great pitcher though: giving your team a chance to win when you don’t have your best stuff. He’ll head into the All-Star break after an excellent first half with 11 wins, a 2.54 ERA, 118 strikeouts, and 37 walks through 102 2/3 innings.

The ball was flying in Cincinnati tonight. Schwarber’s ninth inning home run was the seventh of this game and his league-leading 32nd of the season. It’s been a banner first half for the slugger with 58 RBI, a .254 batting average, and .945 OPS to go along with those 32 dingers.

Rangel didn’t have a great day here. He was a bit predictable with first-pitch fastballs followed by changeups and sliders. The problem was that he struggled to locate either of those secondaries. So, he often had to battle through tough at-bats and gave up two home runs. After getting to 90 pitches in each of his last two outings, he was yanked before reaching 70 here. Funny enough, this game spun out here soon thereafter when reliever Tanner Banks gave up back-to-back-to-back home runs. Rangel remains a depth option with intriguing stuff but poor command.

He struck out four. Bennett is on an excellent roll, having allowed a total of three runs over 27 innings in his last four starts. In eight starts overall, he’s 4-3 with a 2.64 ERA and a 35/8 K/BB in 47 2/3 innings. It’d be nice to see more strikeouts before giving him a stamp-of-approval as a full rest-of-season option, but he’s in a groove right now.

Martin walked two and threw a run-scoring wild pitch in a three-run third innings and then gave up four singles in a two-run fourth. That took him up to 84 pitches, and the White Sox decided against bringing him back out for the fifth. It’s just the fourth time in 18 starts that martin has allowed more than three runs. However, all four of those have come in his last nine outings. He closes out the first half 9-4 with a 3.41 ERA, and he seems like a shaky bet for the rest of the season.