Nolan McLean takes tough-luck loss to Red Sox

Vientos picked up right where he left off after homering three times during his final minor league rehab contest at Triple-A Syracuse over the weekend, taking Rays southpaw Ian Seymour deep in the seventh inning for his 12th big fly of the season. It was his lone hit in four at-bats. He’s capable of doing damage against left-handed starters, which gives him some limited appeal in deeper fantasy leagues for the final month of the year.

Simpson delivered a clutch RBI single with two outs in the eighth inning that slashed Tampa Bay’s deficit to a single run at the time. He immediately swiped second base for his 38th steal of the season before being left in scoring position to end the frame. He wraps up the month of August with 11 thefts, his highest single-month total to date.

Senga got the call to protect a one-run lead in the final frame and made things interesting by issuing a leadoff walk to Jonny DeLuca. He bounced back by getting Richie Palacious to ground into a fielder’s choice before coaxing a fly out from Taylor Walls and striking out Yandy Díaz to end it. It was a nice bounce-back for Senga after giving up a walk-off homer to the White Sox in his previous save chance last weekend.

It’s highly unlikely any fantasy managers were trusting Stock in this spot after he was lit up for seven runs by the Brewers his last time out. He kept putting zeroes on the scoreboard against one of the more potent lineups in the American League in this one, allowing just six hard-hit balls with exit velocities over 95 mph, while scattering five singles in the process. He finished with four strikeouts and didn’t hand out a free pass, throwing 50 of 72 pitches for strikes. The 36-year-old journeyman isn’t overpowering, but he fills up the strike zone and has managed to avoid getting burned by the long ball. This was his first win since April 5, 2019. Seriously. He gets a favorable road matchup against the Marlins his next time out on Monday.

Seymour relentlessly pounded the strike zone, throwing 65 of 88 pitches for strikes, while notching his second double-digit strikeout performance of the season. He generated an absurd 19 swinging strikes, including 12 on his fastball and changeup combination, to finish with a near-elite 36 percent CSW. He limited New York’s lineup to just a single run into the middle innings before coughing up a solo homer to Mark Vientos in the seventh. He was charged with an additional run after teammate Casey Legumina gave up an RBI single to Francisco Alvarez later in the frame. The 27-year-old southpaw has allowed three earned runs or more in four consecutive starts since August 9. He’s offset that by striking out at least seven batters in four of those five outings. He’ll close out a two-start week with a road matchup against the Rangers on Sunday.

Devers took Braves starter Bryce Elder deep in the opening frame for his eighth round-tripper since the start of August, reaching the lofty 30-homer plateau for the second straight season and fifth time since 2019. He also walked twice in this contest. The 29-year-old slugger is one of the few legitimate threats in an injury-depleted Giants lineup and it wouldn’t be shocking to see more teams pitch around him during the final month of the season. He has a real shot at surpassing his previous career-high mark of 38 round-trippers, which he set with the Red Sox back in 2021.

Harris took a curveball from Giants starter Anthony Molina out to left-center field with a 401-foot blast that extended his on-base streak to 15 consecutive games. It was his 23rd round-tripper of the season and seventh time he’s left the yard in 43 games since the All-Star break. He’s gone deep three times in his last eight games.

Molina’s six punchouts were a career high as he managed to limit his former team to just six hits, including a second-inning solo shot by Michael Harris II, in his first start of the year. The 24-year-old isn’t a recommended fantasy option at this point, but he’s going to get an opportunity to show what he can do over the final month of the season with San Francisco looking ahead to the future. He’s a name to watch in NL-only formats.

Elder surrendered eight hits, including home runs to Rafael Devers and Osleivis Basabe. He finished with three strikeouts and also issued three walks. It was the second time in his last four starts that he’s allowed five runs or more. It qualifies as a massive letdown considering the lackluster makeup of San Francisco’s lineup after he tossed six strong frames against the Dodgers last week. He won’t get the ball again until he faces the Phillies in a road matchup next Monday with Atlanta moving to a six-man rotation.

Steele is attempting to make it back to Chicago as a reliever for the postseason after suffering a flexor strain a couple months ago that delayed his return from last year’s elbow surgery. The 31-year-old lefty can be ignored in fantasy leagues, but his return should provide a lift for the Cubs in the postseason. He’s going to need at least a week or two of rehab appearances before he’s an option for Chicago’s bullpen.