Mason Miller notches 22nd save with perfect ninth

Wood’s 446-foot grand slam off Astros reliever AJ Blubaugh traveled a staggering 446 feet to straightaway center field and gave Washington a commanding six-run lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. It was his 24th big fly of the year. He also walked three times and picked up his 14th stolen base of the season in this one. The 23-year-old rising star was named to his second consecutive All-Star Game over the weekend and continues to deliver first-round caliber fantasy value this season, hitting .268/.398/.541 with 81 runs scored, 24 homers, 60 RBI and 14 steals through 92 games.

Matthews made things interesting with a three-run shot against Nationals reliever Cole Henry in the eighth inning that brought Houston within a single run at the time. It was his seventh big fly of the year and first time going deep since June 13.

Abrams took Houston starter Mike Burrows deep in the third inning for a game-tying homer to match his home run total from last season. He’s now one big fly shy of his previous career-high mark of 20 round-trippers set back in 2024. The 25-year-old speedster also picked up his 15th stolen base of the season in this one. He’s been arguable the most impactful fantasy shortstop this season with 19 homers, 64 RBI and 15 thefts through 88 games.

Mead put Washington ahead with a fifth-inning tater off Houston starter Mike Burrows. The 25-year-old former top prospect has put together a certifiable breakthrough campaign in his Nationals debut with a career-high 15 homers through 75 games.

Beeter got the call to record the final out of the eighth inning, inducing a harmless ground ball from Jose Altuve. He came back out to face the heart of Houston’s lineup and spun an impressive perfect frame. He struck out Yordan Alvarez, got Isaac Paredes to ground out and coaxed a game-ending fly ball form Christian Walker. The 27-year-old appears to be the clear choice for saves in Washington heading into the All-Star break.

Mikolas gave up nine hits, including a pair of homers. He struck out three and handed out a pair of free passes. He’s unlikely to take the ball again later this week as he’s facing a five-game suspension for his on-field actions during last week’s brawl with the Red Sox that will go into effect once the appeal process concludes. It’s possible he could start this weekend against the Yankees if his five-game ban is reduced on appeal. He’s obviously not a recommended fantasy option at this point.

Burrows was staked to an early five-run lead and wound up giving it all back with a couple calamitous frames. He gave up a whopping nine hits, including a three-run homer to CJ Abrams and a solo shot to Curtis Mead. He struck out three and issued two walks. The unexpected implosion raises his full-season ERA from 5.58 to 5.99 across 94 2/3 innings. He’ll close out a two-start week with a road matchup against the Rangers on Sunday to put a bow on the first half of the season.

Caballero came back to haunt his former team with his first multi-homer performance of the season. He kicked things off by clobbering a tie-breaking three-run blast to left field off Rays starter Griffin Jax before adding a solo shot off reliever Chris Roycroft in the eighth. The versatile 29-year-old set a new career high, reaching double-digit homers for the first time since 2023. He has a legitimate shot at reaching both the 20-homer and 40-steal thresholds, which seemed unfathomable from a projection standpoint coming into the year.

Rice provided a little extra insurance for New York with a ninth-inning dinger against Rays reliever Chris Roycroft. The power-hitting 27-year-old is one round-tripper away from matching last year’s total and is on pace to threaten the lofty 40-homer plateau. He’s cooled off considerably after a sizzling-hot start to the year, but he’s still providing plenty of over-the-fence pop.

Schlittler put together a sublime rebound performance after getting torched for a season-high six runs, including four home runs, by the Tigers in his previous start. A run-scoring single from Richie Palacios in the fifth inning represented the lone tally against him in this one. The 25-year-old burgeoning fantasy ace reached eight punchouts for the seventh time in 19 starts and holds a sparkling 2.01 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 131/21 K/BB ratio across 112 innings. He’ll wrap up a two-start week with a road tilt against the Nationals on Saturday to close out the first half.